10 Things You Didn't Know About AEW Double Or Nothing
9. Head To Head
WWE has gone head-to-head with AEW before, outside of the Wednesday Night Wars, although it wasn't through the use of their own product. WWE, inexplicably, took advantage of their EVOLVE relationship by hosting Dave Sapolsky's EVOLVE 131 on the WWE Network while AEW presented its maiden Fight For The Fallen broadcast, an event aimed at raising funds for victims of gun crime.
As tasteless as this gesture was, neither event was deemed a 'major' broadcast in the same sense as NXT Battleground and AEW Double or Nothing.
Indeed, WWE will go head-to-head with a major AEW card for the first time, presenting Battleground for its NXT brand. The event's card isn't uninspired - Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak will hardly be tiresome contests - but WWE is shooting itself in the foot. "The holiday does really well for us", described Shawn Michaels when quizzed by BT Sport's Ariel Helwani, that holiday being Memorial Day weekend which AEW has used consistently since 2019 to promote Double or Nothing. It's a targeted move by WWE that won't be of beneficial use.
Moreover, it marks the first time since 1989 that two North American market leaders have gone head-to-head in this fashion. 34 years ago, it was WCW that targeted the then-WWF, promoting the sixth Clash of the Champions against WrestleMania V.