Sunday's "AEW Double or Nothing" marked another iteration of AEW's debut pay-per-view event, but it was, according to MVP, historic in a different way. On Sunday, MJF debuted alongside The Hurt Syndicate as the AEW World Tag Team Champions sought to defend their titles against AEW veterans Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. By the time things settled down in Phoenix, The Hurt Syndicate walked out of "Double or Nothing" still the tag team champions.
Rhodes and Bobby Lashley started the match, with Shelton Benjamin quickly getting into the mix with the grizzled veteran. Rhodes performed admirably, but by the time Guevara found his way in between the ropes, the challenging team's strong start had began to crumble underneath the overwhelming power of the Hurt Syndicate.
A hot tag sent Rhodes back into the ring, where he landed a Code Red on Benjamin for a near-fall. MJF tried to help at ringside, but his verbal interference gained the attention of the referee, whose loss of focus on the match allowed Rhodes to strike Benjamin with a low blow and a Bulldog. Despite the setback, The Hurt Syndicate stayed in the match, as Benjamin kicked out of a Cross Rhodes while Lashley recovered from a Shooting Star Press on the outside.
MJF attempted to force the match's close by offering Benjamin his Dynamite Diamond Ring, claiming that the tag champion was "taking too long" to secure the win. Lashley pushed MJF out of the match's affairs, which allowed the team of Rhodes and Guevara to revive themselves enough to stage a brief comeback. Despite the miscommunication, however, The Hurt Syndicate came out of the night on top after Lashley sent Rhodes into the barricade and Benjamin nailed Guevara with a thrust kick. Benjamin pinned Guevara for yet another successful title defense in the team's 124 day (and counting) reign.
