AEW Double or Nothing 2026
Queens, New York - May 2026
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Heavyweight Champion was Darby Allin, the AEW Women's World Champion was Thekla, the World Tag Team Champions were FTR, the TNT Champion was Kevin Knight, the TBS Championship was vacant at the time of the show, Kazuchika Okada was the International Champion, the World Trios Championship was held by The Conglomeration (Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy, and Kyle O'Reilly), Jon Moxley was the Continental Champion, Lena Kross and Megan Bayne were the Women's Tag Team Champions, and Mark Davis held the AEW National Championship.
Adam Copeland and Christian challenged FTR in an I Quit match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships to start the show. The Queens crowd was molten hot from the jump as the two teams went at it each other, brawling in and out of the ring. A "We Want Tables" chant started up at minute 2 but got silenced when Dax wrapped his arm in barbwire. Christian took hold of some and wrapped it around the middle rope before tripping Dax into it with a front leg sweep. Copeland went to work with a belt, whipping both members of FTR to the crowd's delight. Moments later, Christian got sent into the ring post shoulder-first and then hit with a chair as Copeland grabbed hold of a ladder. Suplex onto the ladder by Copeland onto Dax! Copeland brought a table out to another big pop and looked to put Wheeler through it but Dax broke things up. Copeland clotheslined Dax out of the ring and went over himself, putting himself in harm's way as Wheeler grabbed a chair. After hitting him in the back with it, Wheeler put it around Copeland's neck and ran him into the post. Dax grabbed a toolbox from ringside and brought it into the ring but Christian caught him with a lowblow. Christian grabbed pliers and yanked on Dax's nose and then Wheeler's crotch! Dax saved his partner by slamming the box into Christian's head and then delivered some wicked chairshots to Christian's injured arm. Copeland took the next big bump, a spike pile-driver on the announce table (which didn't break). Considering Copeland had to take close to a decade off due to a neck injury, it was a pretty crazy move. FTR tried to crush Christian's wrist with a cinder block but it broke apart on the steps so they simply put it on top of Christian's wrist and then smashed it repeatedly with a chair. Christian still wouldn't quit, making a lewd comment about FTR's mother when the mic was placed in front of him instead, and the crowd erupted into a chant of "Oh, Christian's Your Father" to the tune of "Seven Nation Army." Once again, the ref asked Christian if he wanted to quit - to which Christian responded "Go fuck yourself." Great. FTR couldn't get a spike pile-driver to go and Christian took out both guys, sending Dax into the corner and hitting Wheeler with an Unprettier. Stokely took off the top turnbuckle and gave it to Dax, but Christian caught him with a spear! Christian tried to choke him out with the rope but Wheeler broke it up and then choked Christian out with the barbwire. Shatter Machine! Christian rolled to the outside and then back into the ring, barely selling it. Copeland took out both members of FTR with spears and I'm guessing the awkwardness of that sequence was based on some sort of positioning mistake. Copeland grabbed a chair and Dax begged off but Stokely nailed him with a cheap shot and Copeland got hit with the Shatter Machine! But here comes Beth Phoenix! Stokely went running towards her and got leveled for it, kicked into the steel steps - but then Dax caught her and whipped her into them too! Dax went to set the table on fire, spraying it down with lighter fluid. They positioned Beth Pheonix on the ring apron, with Stokely holding her in place, but Wheeler (predictably) ended up spearing Stokely through it instead. Back in the ring, Dax set Copeland up for a Con-Chair-To but Copeland wouldn't quit and Pheonix saved him with a low blow (followed by a mule kick to the groin by Christian). Copeland hit a pile driver and Christian applied a Sharpshooter but Dax still wouldn't quit so Copeland locked in a crossface too! Pheonix then busted out "spike," the huge club with spikes on it. Copeland rubbed it into Dax's head, finally forcing him to say I Quit. Very solid crowd-pleasing opener that played to Christian and Copeland's strengths in 2026. (3/5)
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada followed with Okada's AEW International Championship on the line. This match had been building for months. Takeshita came in with more babyface support despite this technically being a heel/heel match as both men were members of the Don Callis Family. A "holy shit" chant started before they even locked up. As expected, we got some nifty sequences featuring multiple counters and signature moves, but Okada's heelishness was what stitched everything together. Highlights included Okada nailing a Rainmaker on the apron that sent Takeshita to the floor, an awesome running boot in the corner by Takeshita that was captured beautifully by the camera man, Takeshita countering a Rainmaker into a Blue Thunder Bomb, and some of the best nearfalls I've seen recently due to Okada's expert timing. At one point, Callis prevented Okada from piledriving Takeshita on the floor, which made sense storytelling-wise but still seemed out of character. Okada eventually hit his patented dropkick and attempted a Rainmaker but Takeshita hit one of his own! Okada hit another dropkick but Takeshita hit the Power Drive Knee - but Okada kicked out at 1! Wow. Takeshita hit Okada with another brutal forearm and then hit a Raging Fire to end the match and get the clean win. Very good match. (3.5/5)
After the match, it seemed like the rest of the Don Callis Family was going to possibly turn on Takeshita, but out came Kyle Fletcher, making his return to AEW! Fletcher stared Takeshita down and then got in Okada's face too. Takeshita and Fletcher gave each other a big hug, Fletcher handed Takeshita the title, and then walloped him with a big clothesline. This was really well done and got great heat. Takeshita/Fletcher should be bonkers good. When Fletcher went to lift up the belt, he and Okada both grabbed hold at the same time, which was another really cool twist.
Athena took on Mina Shirakawa in a first round match of the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament next. There was a bit of telegraphing early, but Athena's offense looked terrific and vicious and the crowd woke up as the match wore on (and got smoother). Highlights included Athena's fireman's carry slam, Mina's barrel roll splash to the floor, Mina spiking Athena's head into the mat from a hurricanrana, and Athena delivering a brilliant surfboard-curb stomp move. The closing stretch featured some excellent struggle and a clean finish after Athena hit her finishing move. Another great Athena performance and, without looking into it too deeply, one of Shirakawa's best matches (on the AEW roster at least). (3/5)
The AEW Continental Championship was on the line as Jon Moxley defended the strap against Kyle O'Reilly in the next match. The story here was that O'Reilly had Moxley's number in every one of their previous matches (though I'm not 100% if that's "all-time" or just over the past couple years in AEW). Jim Ross joined the commentary desk for this one, which had the added stipulation of having no time limit (as O'Reilly had gone 20 minutes in an Eliminator match a couple weeks earlier). We got a bit of grappling early on, but most of the limb work was abandoned when they started laying in their strikes. The action went to the floor and O'Reilly hit a running knee off the apron and then some kicks to the chest and back of the leg. Moxley dodged one and O'Reilly's shin went right into the post, changing the momentum of the match considerably. Moxley went to work on the knee from there, but O'Reilly showed tremendous grit, using every opening he could find to nail Mox with one of his signature knee strikes. O'Reilly managed to lock in a Fujiwara armbar but Mox countered it into a half-crab and then a leg lock. Mox went for a Dragon Screw but O'Reilly transitioned it into an armbar and then an ankle lock! Mox refused to tap, biting his fist in pain, forcing O'Reilly to release the hold in order to inflict more damage. Mox went to the outside to regroup and got curb stomped on his way back into the ring, but then hit a cutter to even things up. I didn't love the no-sell on the Stomp there, though Excalibur tried to explain it away as O'Reilly's knee damage causing him to not "get all of it." Both guys were back on their feet for another exchange that ended in a double-down off of some lariats. On their knees, O'Reilly and Mox traded stiff punches and jabs and then got to their feet to do some more sparring. Mox hit a Death Rider and applied a sleeper, but O'Reilly countered it into an ankle lock once more! Mox brought O'Reilly down and applied one of his own, but O'Reilly went for a pin and got 2. Mox kept hold of O'Reilly's ankle and O'Reilly simply couldn't make it to the ropes and was forced to tap. A very solid match with a nice clean ending. The post-match handshake was a cool moment too, another example of how Moxley has morphed into a bit of a Babyface despite not really changing all that much since the days when the Blackpool Combat Club were the most evil and violent of heels. (3/5)
Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe in a Round 1 match from the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament was next. As soon as Joe got in the ring, Ospreay hit him with a springboard cutter, showing incredible urgency. Joe cut him off but Ospreay kept the pressure on, hitting a 450 splash for 2 and then immediately going into an armbar (that got broken up when Joe grabbed the bottom rope). Ospreay went for another big dive to the floor, landed on his feet, and got caught in a choke and then sent into the barricade with ridiculous force. Joe took over back in the ring with his some of his signature striking looking as good as ever. I also really dug Ospreay's selling at this point, making everything look devastating (which isn't hard to do considering how stiff some of the kicks and chops were). Ospreay managed to deliver a double stomp to Joe's left arm, followed it up with a dropkick, applied an armbreaker, hit some chops, and then delivered one of his trademark handspring heel kicks. Ospreay hit some Kawada Kicks, a big kick to the head, but then missed the Oscutter when Joe walked away (to a huge pop). Joe hit the powerbomb-into-the-Boston Crab and then transitioned it into an STF but Ospreay wouldn't tap so Joe turned it into a crossface. I've always loved Joe's submission transitions. Ospreay got his foot on the rope to break things up but then ate a few Hashimoto-style kicks to the chest, powering through to get to his feet. Joe nailed him with open hand shots and then a spinning elbow strike to once again cut him off. Joe went for some sort of suplex or slam but Ospreay countered it into a Styles Clash! Hidden Blade! 1...2...shoulder up at 2.5 (though the ref's pause was noticeable). He went for another Hidden Blade but Joe caught him with a snap powerslam! Ospreay grabbed hold of an arm but Joe used his size to turn it into a pin and then a Coquina Clutch. Ospreay pinned his shoulders, forcing Joe to release the hold...Sidewalk Slam by Joe! Another clutch! Ospreay was on the brink of getting choked out but grabbed the bottom rope on the third arm drop! Joe hoisted Ospreay to the top rope, hit him with some headbutts and attempted a Muscle Buster but Ospreay escaped! Hidden Blade! 1 Count! Another Hidden Blade to the back of the head! That one got him! Wow. Incredible match that didn't overstay its welcome, followed a story that made sense and didn't require any no-selling or "superhero"/"video game" style sequences, and yet another incredible performance from Samoa Joe. Really, really great. (4/5)
Swerve Strickland made his return after a somewhat lengthy in-ring hiatus in the next match, taking on Bandido in another Owen Hart Tournament match-up. Despite being the heel, Swerve had plenty of support from the crowd, though Bandido won many fans over with his impressive shows of agility. Highlights included Swerve's impressive work on the back of Bandido's neck, Bandido delivering a senton off the apron onto Swerve (who was sitting on a chair on the floor), Bandido hitting a reverse hurricanrana from the apron to the floor that was insane, and an even more unbelievable spot in which Swerve jumped onto Bandido's shoulders for a House Call before hitting a Swerve Stomp for 2.5. Bandido's early momentum got cut off when he missed a diving headbutt in the corner and ate the middle buckle with Swerve following it up with a release German suplex into the corner for extra damage. This is where Swerve really leaned into his most heelish tendencies - slowing the pace, targeting the neck, really punishing Bandido without doing anything too flashy or babyface-ish. AEW gets a bad rap for having matches with too little selling or are fought at too fast of a pace, but everything mattered in this match and they built up to the big moments well, giving things room to breathe when they needed to. Bandido attempted (and connected) with his 21 Plex finish but, when he tried to hold the bridge for the pin, his neck couldn't sustain it. We got another incredible sequence resulting in another 21 Plex attempt but Swerve countered it into a Swervedriver! Wow. House Call! Another great, great match. (4/5)
Thekla defended the AEW Women's World Championship against Hikaru Shida, Jamie Hayter, and Kris Statlander in the next match. The three challengers went for the champion to start before going after each other. Stat and Hayter had a fun exchange soon before we got some rapid nearfalls. Thekla hit a bunch of sharp running boots throughout the match and a big crossbody from the top to the floor, a spot I usually loathe but actually looked good here. Thekla applied a nasty submission capped off by prying Stat's jaw open but got her hand bit to break it up and then took some big slams. Thekla went for a tarantula but Stat countered it by flipping her face-first into the corner. Up to the top they went where Thekla hit a superplex but got attacked by Shida when she celebrated a bit too long. Shida and Hayter took over in the corner and Shida hit a superplex of her own before Hayter caught her with a spinning belly-to-back. This led to another dizzying array of suplexed and nearfalls that led to all four women selling on the mat. A fourway strike exchange erupted before Stat and Hayter went back at it, trading forearms and hitting each other with big crossbodies. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Shida on Thekla! Falcon Arrow by Shida, but Thekla countered it into another pin attempt! Roundhouse kick by Thekla and then the Bray Wyatt-esque creepy back bridge - but Stat grabbed hold of her and brought her up for the Sunday Night Fever. Thekla escapes and sent her into Hayter, who nailed her with an Exploder! Big boot by Hayter on Thekla! Stat got back up but got whipped into a jumping knee by Shida! Hayter with a backbreaker on Thekla and went for the lariat but Thekla got free and applied the Octopus Stretch submission! Hayter powered out and dropped her with a backbreaker and then nailed her with the Hayterade lariat! 1...2...Shida breaks it up! Shida with another Falcon Arrow and then an awkward submission but Statlander broke it up. Shida slapped Stat in the face so Stat went after her, booting her out of the ring and then sending her into the steps. Statlander with a pump kick on the floor to Hayter! Thekla went for the Spear but Stat jumped over her and hits the Sunday Night Fever! Shida broke it up, though, with a kendo stick to the back! As it is a 4-way match, this was not a disqualification. Hayter took Shida out on the outside as Thekla nailed a stomp in the middle of the ring to get the W. Wow. This was all-killer, no filler. Everyone looked great here. (4/5)
The Stadium Stampede was next with Jericho, Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks (yes, that's SEVEN participants) taking on Ricochet, The Gates of Agony, Mark Davis, Andrade El Idolo, and The Dogs. Before the fight began, we got a short video of the heels arriving in various cars, including a monster truck. The babyfaces also got a neat pre-match video, set to the Metallica deep cut "Devil's Dance," that featured a brief clip of MVP and Jericho shaking hands, a not-so-subtle nod to a reported beef they had several years ago (before MVP joined AEW). The crowd was absolutely amped for this from the jump, singing along to "Judas" and then chanting "We Hurt People" before the bell sounded. As one would expect, this was a wild brawl with wrestlers duking it out everywhere and the cameras unable to capture all of it at the same time. This was not a match for fans of psychology and long-term selling or anything other than fun callbacks and "moments" - Lashley choke slamming Ricochet out of the ring, Andrade delivering Tres Amigo suplexes, a silly cameo from Lio Rush when the fight went to the medical area backstage, Toa Leona hoisting up both Bucks and Jack Perry for a fireman's carry slam, Ricochet hitting a shooting star press onto 8-9 guys, including some of his own teammates, the Bucks super-kicking Clark Connors onto an escalator, a super goofy abdominal stretch leverage spot, the Elite delivering a trio of suicide dives followed by Shelton Benjamin's trademark over-the-top rope one, Andrade taking a breather to get a selfie with a young lady (who ended up switching places with a wig-wearing Luchasaurus!), a 5-in-a-row hurricanrana spot, Jericho dumping out a huge bag of tennis balls (a nod to the arena being the home of the Billie Jean King Tennis Center) and suplexing Ricochet onto them, etc. etc. I even liked the use of Satnam Singh! This match delivered non-stop fun for well over 30 minutes. The MVP of the match may have been Toa Leona - mostly because I don't think anyone would've predicted that he would be involved so many of the best moments in a match that featured as many stars as this one did. Mark Davis, sporting a bandage wrapped around his head, ended up (theoretically?) crushed by the Jurassic Express schoolbus but somehow survived and ended up at ringside to eat some nasty suplexes on the floor and get put through a table. The closing minutes saw the babyfaces all hit huge moves, including a One Winged Angel through a table onto Andrade. It looked like Ricochet would eat the pinfall, but it ended up being Bishop Kaun in an unexpected twist after Kaun shoved Rico out of the way before Jericho could hit him with the spinning back elbow. A blast of a match. (4/5)
The main event followed - MJF challenging Darby Allin for the AEW Championship in a Title vs. Hair Match. Darby took an absolutely nasty head drop within the first 3 minutes that set the tone for the rest of the match. I'm not sure if it was planned for him to take the bump the way he did, but it absolutely worked at setting up the rest of MJF's attack and the eventual finish. As one would expect, Darby withstood a ton of punishment, both when he connected and when he missed multiple Coffin Breaks. There was heavy use of headlock takedowns and a terrific rolling pin sequence. Some of the highlights included MJF hitting a package piledriver on the overturned steps and Darby coming off the scaffolding by the entranceway with a Coffin Drop through a table. To their credit, the big spots were allowed to breathe and because they often incapacitated both men, it made sense that the subsequent pinfalls - occuring sometimes a full minute or two after the impact of the move - were unsuccessful. When MJF finally did string together enough offense, after Allin's body "gave out on him" mid-Scorpion Death Lock due to blood loss from a gash on the back of his skull, the match wrapped up decisively. Extra kudos to MJF for turning a crowd that, theoretically, could've been 50/50 or even pro-MJF and doing enough heelish shtick to get booed in front of what was essentially his hometown. On any other show, this might be your Match of the Night, but this show was so stacked that this just was another excellent match. (4/5)
Oh, and after the match, Kevin Knight turned heel by attacking Darby Allin. They've been quietly teasing a heel turn for Knight, but I'm not sure I'm fully in favor of it so soon after Swerve Strickland also had a fairly dramatic heel turn that didn't necessarily lead to anything (though there is obviously still plenty of time to build towards a rematch with Omega and it also makes some sense that they'd want a match of that caliber to potentially headline one of the major PPVs between now and All In).
Oh, and after the match, Kevin Knight turned heel by attacking Darby Allin. They've been quietly teasing a heel turn for Knight, but I'm not sure I'm fully in favor of it so soon after Swerve Strickland also had a fairly dramatic heel turn that didn't necessarily lead to anything (though there is obviously still plenty of time to build towards a rematch with Omega and it also makes some sense that they'd want a match of that caliber to potentially headline one of the major PPVs between now and All In).
With a Kwang Score of 3.61, Double or Nothing 2026 was a show so consistently strong that it may go down as the greatest wrestling PPV of all time. When the "worst" match on a show is as fun as the opener, features work as good as what Athena did in the Shirakawa match, or is as solid and physical as the Continental Championship match, you are watching a special show. Remarkably, AEW achieved this without having to rely on any overt gore, keeping the "color" to a minimum and really making sure every big moment "popped" and felt organic in the context of the matches and storylines. Looking at my own database, I only have a handful of shows rated higher overall - specifically Money in the Bank 2023, WrestleMania XXXI, and Bash at the Beach 94'.
FINAL RATING - Curt Hennig Level
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