The name Double or Nothing was originally referenced in a promo that Cody Rhodes made immediately after the September 2018 All In event, which was an independently produced PPV that came as a result of a bet with wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer. Rhodes, a key figure behind All In who would become a co-founder and wrestler for AEW from 2019 to 2022, said "I know when you make a bet, sometimes you go double or nothing"—AEW was then founded in January 2019 with Double or Nothing as its first event that May. The name is also a reference to its Las Vegas theme, with the event traditionally held at arenas on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The only exceptions to this were the 2020 and 2021 events, which were originally scheduled for Vegas but had to be held at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida due to the COVID-19 pandemic—after Florida loosened its COVID-19 protocols, the 2021 event was AEW's first PPV to have a full capacity crowd, as well as the final PPV held at Daily's Place before AEW resumed live touring in July that year.
Since the 2020 event, Double or Nothing has featured a specialized tornado tag team match between two multi-man teams as one of its marquee matches, oftentimes the main event. For 2020 and 2021, this was the Stadium Stampede match. To capitalize on the rise of cinematic matches during the pandemic, both year's events were headlined by the Stadium Stampede match, which was contested in both Daily's Place and the adjacent TIAA Bank Field stadium. With the return to Las Vegas beginning with the 2022 event, Stadium Stampede was replaced by Anarchy in the Arena with the wrestlers fighting all throughout the host venue.
On January 1, 2019, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was officially founded. Along with the announcement, the promotion's inaugural event, Double or Nothing, was scheduled to air on PPV during Memorial Day weekend on May 25, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, with the event taking on a Las Vegas theme.[8][9][10] Double or Nothing would become considered AEW's marquee domestic event,[11] with AEW president Tony Khan later referring to the event as being one of the promotion's "big four" PPVs, their four biggest shows domestic of the year produced quarterly, along with All Out, Full Gear, and Revolution.[12]
While AEW had planned to again host the 2020 event at the same location on May 23 that year, the venue canceled all events up through May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] In response, the promotion announced that the 2020 event would still proceed as planned (which occurred at Daily's Place and the TIAA Bank Field stadium in Jacksonville, Florida), while also confirming that a third Double or Nothing would emanate from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 29, 2021.[14] However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 event was again held at Daily's Place and was moved back a day to May 30.[15][16] AEW resumed live touring in July, thus the 2021 Double or Nothing was the promotion's final PPV held at Daily's Place during the pandemic. It was also the company's first show to run at full venue capacity during the pandemic after Florida loosened its COVID-19 protocols.[17]
In December 2021, it was confirmed that the 2022 Double or Nothing would return the event to Las Vegas,[18] and it would be held at the T-Mobile Arena.[19] It was also announced that the event would host the finals of the inaugural Owen Hart Cup.[18] The 2023 event was also held at the same arena on May 28 that year.[20] On March 27, 2024, it was announced that after five years, the 2024 event would return Double or Nothing to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 26 that year.[21]
