NRE The Wrestlverse's YouTube videos serve as bonus episodes, covering three matches at AEW's Double or Nothing '23!

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

MJF(c) vs. Darby Allin vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara

Quite some time ago, four young men were labeled the Pillars of All Elite Wrestling: Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Darby Allin, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, and Sammy Guevara. They were the four young talents looked upon as the future of AEW, the pillars supporting the house's infrastructure, the future champions of the company who would carry it into a bright future.

Darby Allin was the first of the quartet to capture a championship in AEW, the TNT Title, on November 7, 2020; to date, he stands as a 2-Time holder of that title. Sammy Guevara was the next to capture a title, also the TNT Championship, and since his first victory on September 29, 2021, he has captured it three times. “Jungle Boy” would be the third champion of the pillars, claiming the AEW World Tag Team Championship on January 5, 2022, but he's yet to become a singles champion, a fact Jack Perry stated he aims to change in 2023.

The history feeds this match; the journey all four men have taken to get to this point feeds this match; they've all gone through a great deal, personally and professionally, but only one has captured the ultimate prize. In fact, one man, Sammy Guevara, has never even challenged for the AEW World Championship during his AEW career. Getting a title match this Sunday will be a first for “The Spanish God,” but it could be an even bigger first if he, Sammy, or Darby can be the one with their hand raised at DoN '23.

This Sunday night, four of AEW's homegrown competitors, men who fans have watched grow up before their very eyes over the last four years, will step inside the ring to vie for the richest prize in professional wrestling.

Can he do it? Can MJF prove he is the strongest pillar of the four, or will one of his foes rise to the top of the pack and show why they are the dominant one?

ANARCHY IN THE ARENA II

The Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) vs. The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, & Wheeler Yuta)

If you were witness to last year's Anarchy In The Arena spectacle, be it in person or watching on pay-per-view, then you have some understanding of just what this match entails. Chaos reigns supreme, violence goes down everywhere, and there is blood, a cornucopia of blood. Last year there was even some gasoline when Eddie Kingston seemed hellbent on burning...well...even his teammates if that's what it took to get the job done. There are some differences from last year, though; at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022, The Blackpool Combat Club was still in its infancy, having only come together in the aftermath of REVOLUTION 2022 three months prior, and they were far more on the side of the angels than they are today.

Today, after fifteen months of training, fighting, and bleeding together, The BCC is a well-oiled machine of violence and suffering. They are as elite a unit as any other in AEW, choosing to make The Elite their focus of attack in recent months. The Young Bucks, specifically Matt Jackson, have suffered at the hands of Claudio, Yuta, Danielson, and Moxley. Kenny Omega has suffered at their hands and at the hands of Don Callis, who he thought of as family. “Hangman” Adam Page has also suffered under their violent tendencies; Jon Moxley decides he liked his old eye patch look so much he would inflict it on Page the same way Jericho inflicted it upon him.

But there was an unexpected side-effect of The BCC's relentless brutality, which had been hoped for many times over the last several years but always seemed just out of reach for one reason or another. Perhaps there was too much baggage, or perhaps the bridge had been obliterated with all parties standing on it, whichever of the myriad of reasons there are to choose from, the bottom line was that it seemed The Elite would never mend fences. Maybe The Bucks and Hanger could co-exist, but it didn't seem possible that Page and Omega could ever find that again.

Until they did, until the day Hangman strode out onto the stage, stood next to Kenny when he did it, and Omega handed him a weapon to head into battle with The Blackpool Combat Club. That moment told the story; it offered hope, much like it broke a heart several years ago when Hangman went to hand Kenny one of their tag titles, and he wasn't standing there to accept it. And then, when Hangman stood in that ring, made the Anarchy In The Arena challenge, and declared himself, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson once more The Elite, it felt like their world was finally healing. The core of AEW, the foundation upon which it was constructed, the foundation that makes it possible for those Four Pillars to be built up, was finally whole once more and was ready for war!

So that is what they will get tonight inside T-Mobile Arena with Anarchy In The Arena II. No rules save that the match must end inside the ring, there are no restrictions and no regard for life or limb, and all four men are willing to shed blood to end this violent nightmare. Bryan Danielson has called them amateurs, Jon Moxley just said, “F*** The Elite,” and there seems to be a belief on The BCC side that The Elite can't get as dirty and violent as The BCC when it comes time to fight. Mox should know better, especially given he's been in a Lights Out with Omega before; perhaps watch Hangman's Texas Death Matches to see what he's got in the dark parts of his soul and ask The Lucha Brothers what happened when they were inside a Steel Cage with Matt and Nick; suffice it to say, there is a sick and twisted part in the soul of The Elite as well.

This one will not be for the squeamish or faint of heart...

UNSANCTIONED MATCH

Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho

Someone else got the spotlight; ultimately that's what this comes down to and as a result Chris Jericho, with the aid of his J.A.S. and The Outcasts, decided to make Adam Cole's life hellish. It could've simply been a case of Daniel Garcia losing and living to fight another day, but “Le Champion” decided to use Cole's relationship with Dr. Britt Baker, her issues with The Outcasts, and amplify any slight issues with Adam into a very personal situation.

It could've just been Adam Cole versus Chris Jericho in a wrestling match, but “The Ocho” had to stand there as Baker was being brutalized by Saraya, Ruby, and Storm, and encourage them to further violence on the former AEW Women's World Champion...all while taunting the handcuffed, helpless Cole. It was all just a litany of mistakes made by the original AEW World Champion; the mistake of thinking Britt was just a means to antagonize Adam Cole, the mistake of thinking Adam Cole was alone in the wrestling world, and the mistake of running scared from the repercussions.

Roderick Strong's arrival in AEW proved that Adam Cole is not alone in this fight, and the shocking appearance of wrestling legend Sabu last Wednesday night on DYNAMITE further illustrated that fact. Adam Cole has support, he has allies, and even though it is inevitable that J.A.S. will involve themselves in this fight, especially considering it has no rules and it unsanctioned, at least there is some balance provided by those entrants into his scenario. So finally, after having to spend a few events banned from the arena, Adam Cole will be able to get his hands on Jericho inside the ring, and make him pay for his part in what was done to the Good Doctor, and to pay for postponing these repercussions that should've been doled out weeks ago.

Unsanctioned...no restrictions...AEW is washing their hands clean out of concern for what these two men may do to each other, and everyone else involved in this fight from referee to ring crew to camera man. They'll liable to throw everything and everyone at each other, but at least Sabu will be there at ringside to enforce some form of control. Yes, the Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal extreme icon known for barbwire and violence is the one to enforce some decorum...

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