Adam Cole Beats Chris Jericho in Unsanctioned Match at AEW Double or Nothing 2023

In his first pay-per-view bout in 11 months, Adam Cole defeated Chris Jericho in an unsanctioned match at AEW Double or Nothing on Sunday night.

The finish saw Cole, who chained himself to Jericho, beating up on the leader of the JAS with a ground-and-pound when the referee called for the stoppage.

Before the match got to its conclusion, Britt Baker also got a measure of revenge when she attacked Jericho with a kendo stick. Saraya attempted to come down to stop her rival, but Baker got the advantage with the weapon.

During an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship bout that also included Jay White, Kazuchika Okada and "Hangman" Adam Page at AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door in June 2022, Cole suffered a serious concussion that kept him out of action for nine months.

He returned to AEW programming in January when he cut a promo that cemented a babyface turn, but it wasn't until late March that he had his first match back.

On the March 29 episode of Dynamite, Cole faced Jericho Appreciation Society member Daniel Garcia, who had taken issue with the fans embracing the former villain.

Cole won the match, but in doing so he made an enemy in the JAS, which exacted revenge on him on the March 19 edition of Dynamite by brutalizing him and real-life girlfriend Britt Baker.

Jericho and Garcia attacked Cole before handcuffing him to the ropes. That drew Baker into the ring, only for her to be beaten down by Saraya, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho of The Outcasts, while her partner looked on in horror.

Cole did gain some allies in his rivalry with Jericho and Co., specifically in the form of Roderick Strong, who made his All Elite Wrestling debut by saving Cole from another JAS attack.

Strong had been part of the Undisputed Era stable with Cole in WWE NXT, and he helped give his former teammate a fighting chance against Jericho and his cronies.

Given how heated things had gotten between Cole and Jericho in a short amount of time, a traditional singles match at Double or Nothing likely wouldn't have settled their issues.

As a result, they agreed to an unsanctioned match with no rules or regulations. While that would normally favor the devious Jericho, Cole was up to the challenge and scored, arguably, the biggest win of his AEW tenure.

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