AEW Goes ALL IN in the Big Apple as They Tore the Roof Off at Double or Nothing
All Elite Wrestling returned to pay-per-view last Sunday with one of their biggest shows of the year, Double or Nothing. This year, the show emanated from Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. This was my second Double or Nothing in a row, following last year’s installment from Phoenix, Arizona. Last year’s show held around 8,000 people, and they absolutely crushed that this year, drawing over 15,000! While AEW takes a lot of criticism for their storylines at times, one thing that cannot be argued is that when it comes to pay-per-view, they give the fans their money’s worth, and this year’s show did exactly that, in my opinion.
We kicked off the pre-show with Mick Foley and Renee Paquette getting the show started, and Foley being announced as All Elite. Great move, in my opinion, because Foley is an absolute legend, and even though we may not see him in the ring anymore, having someone like him only brings more eyes and knowledge. Foley was interrupted by MJF and kicked in the balls, which brought out then-champion Darby Allin to make the save. After the save, Foley had words of wisdom for Darby and told him how he reminded him of a more athletic version of himself and said, “Win one for the weirdos.”
We started off the night with the Divine Dominion, Lena Kross and Megan Bayne, and their 5-minute challenge, which was answered by Jayda Steel and Viva Van. I personally have been a fan of Viva Van for quite a while from her work on the indies, New Japan, and Ring of Honor, and was happy to see them get the shot and put up a lot more of a fight than most who have stepped up to the 5-minute challenge. While Kross and Bayne were victorious, during a post-match beatdown, we saw the return of Tay Melo and Anna Jay to make the save. This will also be good, as it puts another real tag team back into the AEW Women’s tag division, which took a hit with Willow Nightingale’s injury.
That brings us to The Opps: Hook, Anthony Bowens, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Death Riders: Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Daniel Garcia. While The Opps are still getting back to full strength with the return of their original leader, Samoa Joe, and the addition of Anthony Bowens, it was good to see them out there being former six-man champions in a different incarnation. The Death Riders were ultimately victorious. This match was fast-paced and a free-for-all of sorts, which is on brand for the car crash that can be an AEW PPV.
We also had Shane Taylor Promotions, which consisted of Shane Taylor, Anthony Ogogo, Shawn Dean, Carlie Bravo, and Lee Moriarty, against The Conglomeration: Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, and Roderick Strong, as they teamed up with Big Boom AJ and QT Marshall. Anyone who has followed Knockouts and 3 Counts knows we are big supporters of Shane Taylor Promotions, with Shane being one of our day-one supporters, so it was great to see them back on AEW PPV. There was history in this one, as Shane had his run-in with The Rizzler and Wayne Brady at AEW Revolution earlier this year. AJ picked up the win for their team by way of a triple powerbomb. Obviously, there was comedy, which is to be expected with the Costco Guys and Orange Cassidy in a match. This was entertaining. I hope to see more of STP in the future, as they’d be great candidates for the AEW Trios Titles in my estimation.
The main card of Double or Nothing kicked off with a match that brought me back to my childhood, with Cage and Cope facing off for the AEW Tag Team Championships against Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR in an I Quit match, with the stipulation that if Cope and Cage weren’t victorious, they wouldn’t be able to team anymore. This may have been my favorite match on the card. Not only for the nostalgia of seeing Cage and Cope team in 2026, but because it was two of the best tag teams of all time, bar none. The match had everything you could want, from all-out anarchy, as Stokely Hathaway took a spear through a flaming table, a throwback to Cope’s match with Mick Foley at WrestleMania 22, to the return of Beth Copeland. I really hope we see a sustained run from Cage and Cope as champions and that this isn’t the last time we see them and FTR square off, because this match had the crowd electric!
That brings us to Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the AEW International Championship. For those who were unfamiliar with the classics that Okada has had with the likes of Kenny Omega, who we’d see later in the night, this match needs to go right there with them, as Takeshita proved he’s cut from the same cloth. This match had all the action you could want and had the fact that they were both members of the Don Callis Family looming in the background. While we saw the crowning of a new champion, we also saw what could be the beginning of the end for the Don Callis Family after the match, or so we thought. As the other members of the family were set to swarm Takeshita, we saw the return of the Protostar, Kyle Fletcher, only adding to the beatdown as they left Takeshita lying. That said, who knows how Kyle Fletcher and Okada will coexist if Kyle is the one to eventually bring the International title back to the family. One thing that is certain is that Konosuke Takeshita can be the guy for AEW in the future and possibly be the one to be Okada’s successor as the best out of Japan.
Okada vs. Takeshita
Another thing that stuck out to me on the night was the video packages. AEW is widely criticized at times for its storytelling, but the package for this match and the one before Stadium Stampede were great. One highlighted the importance of this match, and the other had a real movie feel to set us up for absolute anarchy.
Next, we had Athena, your Ring of Honor Women’s Champion, vs. Mina Shirakawa in an Owen Hart Tournament quarterfinal. Mina has become a fan favorite in AEW from her time with Timeless Toni Storm, and you have your forever champion in Athena, who I am very happy to see grace AEW PPV again. This match seemed to be a little short but showed, in my opinion, that we need to see more of both of these women. Especially Athena, as she’s been champion for such a long time and is genuinely one of the best in the world, and Mina, not only for her in-ring ability but her entertainment factor, as Athena advanced to the semifinal and, in my opinion, should win the whole thing.
Next was Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly, and as an MMA fan and fan of grappling, I loved this match. Kyle O’Reilly has always been known for his grappling ability and striking prowess since his days in Red Dragon, and it played so well into the story, with Moxley never being able to get his win back over Kyle, who has made Moxley submit. Moxley finally was able to return the favor, making O’Reilly submit, but the back-and-forth struggle told a beautiful story. After the match, the two shook hands as a sign of respect from the battles, but it left me thinking Kyle would be a great addition to the Death Riders if they ever decided to go that route.
Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe brought a unique twist, with Ospreay enlisting the help of the Death Riders in his training for this one, as it was the Death Riders who had taken him out and Joe and The Opps who had Will’s back. Will Ospreay is unarguably one of the biggest stars on the AEW roster. This match gave fans the opportunity to see some of the new tricks Will has learned from the Death Riders and reminded them about the true OG of this game, Samoa Joe, which was also evident with the amazing shape Joe was in coming back to the ring. Ospreay was victorious and advanced to the next round of the Owen Hart Tournament, but left a lot of questions, not only about how he will do in the tournament, but his association with the Death Riders and The United Empire, as they held off The Opps during the match as well. I asked Will Ospreay about this in the post-show press conference, as he may have to face off with former United Empire teammate Mark Davis later in the tournament. Ospreay acknowledged his relationship with United Empire and said he could see where it would make them feel some type of way working with the Death Riders. That said, he also said that thanks to the Death Riders, his neck had never felt better. He said that there were conversations that he and Callum needed to have, but that he knew if he faced Davis, his piledriver arsenal was something he needed to be on the lookout for.
Whose House?!? Swerve Strickland returned to AEW and faced off with Bandido, which was an amazing match and fun story in the ring. My initial thought after this one echoed what I’ve been saying on the show for a long time, and that is: PUT SOME RESPECT on Bandido’s name! Not only is he the ROH World Champion, but this match proved he belongs in there with the best. Bandido going back to old faithful in the 21-Plex proved to be his downfall, as he hurt his neck and ultimately cost himself the match. It also highlighted the ruthlessness of Swerve, as he was laughing while Bandido seemed to hurt himself from going to the well one too many times, and it cost him. Once again, though, Swerve has proved that he is up there with the best in AEW. With this victory, it also may have opened the door to renewing his rivalry with Will Ospreay, and I’m here for it!
AEW Women’s Championship Fatal 4-Way: Thekla vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter
Self-admittedly, prior to her time in AEW, I didn’t know much about the Toxic Spider, Thekla. That said, her run as champion has opened a lot of eyes, including my own, as she was victorious once again. I enjoyed the pace of this match, and I feel like it raised the stock of everyone involved, with everyone in the match being former AEW Women’s Champions. It was dope to see Jamie Hayter back in the picture, and although I am a fan of the Brawling Birds, I’d love to see Jamie stay around the top for a while. Thekla retained her championship, but I’m interested to see who’s next and what happens when we see the return of a Toni Storm or a Mercedes Moné. In the post-show press conference, I asked Thekla what she attributes her rise to since becoming champion. She said that now she knows she’s the fucking best. Wake up, Thekla, and here we are again in victory.
Stadium Stampede made its return, this time in a tennis stadium! Once again, I loved the movie-style vignettes for both teams, as Jericho, The Hurt Syndicate, and The Elite took on The Demand, The Don Callis Family, and The Dogs. They truly fought all over the place, from tables to driving the Jurassic Express into Mark Davis. The stereo hurricanrana spot was fun, and this match ended up being absolute chaos, fighting right up our section. That said, Toa Liona really stuck out in this match and showed that he is a true savage. Although it sucked to see past guest of the show Kaun be the sacrificial lamb at the end of the match, matches like this or last year’s Anarchy in the Arena are matches that AEW does very well. Nobody left unscathed, though, as Andrade left in a shopping cart, which will put a halt on his selfie-taking, as Luchasaurus gave him some mist for his trouble.
That brings us to our main event for the AEW World Championship. I personally have enjoyed Darby Allin’s reign as champion, as the heart he’s exhibited and the willingness to put it all on the line was definitely on display as he hit the Coffin Drop off the TitanTron. Once again, I loved the opening vignettes as well, with Darby skating through the tunnels of New York before the match. Once again, the storytelling in this one was fun as well, as we know MJF lost the title to Darby via headlock. It was cool to see Max win it back that way, therefore keeping his precious Turkish hair. That said, there was quite the curveball, as Darby was being wheeled out on a stretcher. It looked like The Jet, Kevin Knight, was coming to make the save, but he turned on Darby, hitting the UFO Splash onto the stretcher. Interested to see what comes next from all of this!
All in all, this was one of the most fun atmospheres I’ve been in live, as that crowd was hot from start to finish, and in my estimation, this lived up to the old saying, All Killer, No Filler! Let’s see what’s next in the world of All Elite Wrestling!
By Kyle Collison
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