It took place during Memorial Day weekend on May 25, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada.

The event aired through traditional PPV outlets, as well as on B/R Live in North America and FITE TV internationally.

Other prominent matches saw The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeat The Lucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix) to retain the AAA World Tag Team Championship, and Cody defeated his brother Dustin Rhodes.

The event was also notable for the surprise appearances of Awesome Kong, Bret Hart (who unveiled the AEW World Championship belt), as well as Jon Moxley (formerly known in WWE as Dean Ambrose).

The Lucha Brothers, and Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes earning the most praise; most critics hailed the latter as the best match of the night.

Along with the announcement, the promotion's inaugural event, Double or Nothing, was scheduled to air on pay-per-view (PPV) during Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 25, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada, with the event taking on a Vegas theme.

Additionally, a one-hour pre-show titled "The Buy In" aired on ITV4 featuring the Casino Battle Royale and other matches.

[18] The following week, it was announced that it would also stream on WarnerMedia's B/R Live service in the United States and AEW's YouTube channel worldwide.

[19] The event comprised nine professional wrestling matches, including two on the Buy In pre-show, that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines.

At AEW's inaugural rally in Jacksonville, a match featuring SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) against Oriental Wrestling Entertainment's (OWE) Cima and two partners of his choosing was announced for Double or Nothing after SoCal Uncensored challenged Cima to a match.

[26] On January 4, 2018, at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 12, Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho in their first encounter.

[34] The following month during AEW's Las Vegas rally, Brandi Rhodes announced that Kylie Rae and Nyla Rose had also signed with the promotion.

[38] On February 20, 2019, on The Road to Double or Nothing, Cody announced the second Over the Budget Battle Royale for the Buy In pre-show, with initial participants being Sonny Kiss, Kip Sabian, and Brandon Cutler.

[18] On April 20, 2019, after weeks of teasing opponents, it was announced that Cody would face his brother Dustin Rhodes at Double or Nothing.

[42] At AEW's inaugural rally in Jacksonville, Adam Page was interrupted by Pac, setting up a feud between the two wrestlers.

[46] The actual pay-per-view opened with SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky) facing Strong Hearts (Cima, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman).

Later, Hikaru Shida, Riho, and Ryo Mizunami faced Aja Kong, Emi Sakura, and Yuka Sakazaki.

After the match, Cody announced he would team with Dustin against The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) at Fight for the Fallen.

[47] In the penultimate match, The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) defended the AAA World Tag Team Championship against Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix).

[49] On the June 3 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that Double or Nothing received "roughly 98,000 buys between television and digital PPV, with close to a 50/50 split between the two ... About two-thirds came from the U.S., with the U.K., which aired the pre-show on ITV4, being the strong second followed by Australia, Germany and Canada.

"[2] Meltzer predicted that further replay buys of Double or Nothing "should easily" result in it overtaking "ECW's biggest-ever show (99,000) and [becoming] the biggest PPV in pro wrestling history that wasn't produced by WWE or WCW.

[51] A CBS Sports article jointly written by Brian Campbell, Jack Crosby, and Adam Silverstein declared that Double or Nothing "felt very much like a historic card that boldly announced new competition for the long-time industry leader WWE", as they successfully built "anticipation of the launch of their weekly fall show on TNT".

They highlighted "AEW's first viral moment" created by the unannounced appearance of Jon Moxley, the "blood and tears exchanged by the Rhodes brothers", and the "theatrics and aerial exploits of Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and The Lucha Bros".

[52] Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN declared: "Double or Nothing was not a perfect first effort for AEW, but the show hit hard where it counted most -- storytelling, emotion and surprise."

The emotion and storytelling was brought by the "vicious, bloody war waged between brothers Cody and Dustin Rhodes".

However, Radican noted that there "were some warts with production and commentary", and also preferred removing "the pre-show and most of the undercard matches" as the event would have been a "total home run" for him if it were shortened to two hours.

[54] Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net wrote that AEW "delivered big in its first pay-per-view effort".

[47] Mike Tedesco of WrestleView described Double or Nothing as an "amazing show" that "started slow" but ultimately reminded him "why pro wrestling can be fun and exciting when done right".

[55] Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Double or Nothing "will go down as one of the landmark PPVs in history, both because of the match quality but more the atmosphere created by the fans."