In New York, basketball fans are watching their beloved Knicks embark on an all-time great playoff run, with much of it happening at Madison Square Garden. Less than 10 miles away from the world’s most famous arena, All Elite Wrestling produced an all-time great pay-per-view: AEW Double or Nothing 2026.
On May 24, Louis Armstrong Stadium hosted the AEW Double or Nothing 2026 event. The show featured nine big matches on the main card, including five title bouts and three opening round contests in the fifth annual Owen Hart Cup. So, with that preamble out of the way, let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t.
Hits for AEW Double or Nothing 2026
MJF vs. Darby Allin/Kevin Knight turns heel
When Darby Allin beat Maxwell Jacob Friedman for the AEW World Championship, he vowed to “ride it until the wheels fall off”. In the weeks that followed, we saw the hinges loosen with every Allin title defense. In his rematch with MJF, the champion reached his breaking point.
Starting with the terrifying missed dive to the outside, Allin’s daredevil tactics being a gift and, ultimately, a curse was the foundational story of the match. That no-brainer narrative choice, along with Allin and Friedman’s great in-ring chemistry, resulted in an outstanding main event. In the end, it came back to one of the most elementary moves in pro wrestling — the side headlock takeover — following a second-rope Tombstone piledriver, giving MJF his third world title win and keeping his pricey follicles intact.
After the match, we got a great angle. Kevin Knight, after chasing off a gloating Friedman, hit a stretcher-confined Allin with a UFO frog splash, cementing a heel turn that had been teased over the last few weeks. The crowd seemed genuinely shocked by Knight’s actions, and it sets up a compelling program with Allin for the near future.
Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada/Don Callis Family betrays Takeshita
Encounter number two between these burgeoning rivals was a strong Match of the Year contender. We haven’t seen it as much since he joined AEW, but Okada hit that “I’m one of the best wrestlers of all time” gear, and Takeshita, a meteoric quasar in his own right, kept pace with him. Takeshita’s win evens the series at 1, which means we’ll get to see these two do this again at some point. Before then, Takeshita must contend with the rest of the Don Callis Family, namely Kyle Fletcher.
“The Protostar” returned after the match to seemingly save his pal from a beatdown from the merry band of midcarders. Instead, Fletcher hit a brainbuster, giving way to the rest of his stablemates to get their licks in. This puts Takeshita on a clear path to revenge, hopefully culminating in matches against Fletcher and Okada. This also freshens up the DCF; there are only so many matches you can have with Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, and Will Ospreay.
FTR vs. Cope and Cage
A hot, violent opener for the world tag titles. Thankfully, these teams avoided the repetitive “hit a move, ask the wrestler if they quit/count to nine” format and opted for the escalating brutality that AEW matches of this ilk are known for. Additionally, we got a good payoff to the Beth Copeland piledriver spot from All Out 2025, as “The Glamazon” returned to get her revenge on Big Stoke and FTR. Then, we got the cathartic ending: Dax Harwood quit under the pressure of a double submission hold and a 2×4 with nails pressed into his face.
The former champions aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but FTR deserves some credit for refurbishing their stale act with this heel run. As for the new champions, they might work with a variety of teams on TV and PPV over the next few months before getting to the dream match with The Young Bucks.
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley
Most fans know Jon Moxley for his deathmatch exploits, but the mark of a true ace is to meet every opponent, no matter the style or skill level, where they are. With Kyle O’Reilly, the Continental Champion handled that responsibility like a pro. The two put on a grappling clinic, giving the audience a needed change of pace after a couple of high-octane matches. Special kudos to O’Reilly for the intricate selling of his leg throughout the bout, which played into the finish.
We’ve talked plenty about how this more sympathetic version of Moxley’s Death Rider character has restored his standing as the promotion’s standard-bearer, and this outing continued to build on his extended renaissance.
Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe
This was another MOTY contender. All of the big spots resonated with the fans, but even the smaller stuff — Joe throwing Ospreay into the barricade, Joe’s trademark walkaway from an Os-Cutter, Ospreay grabbing the ropes at the last second during the arm drop sequence — exemplify what makes these two all-time great workers. At best, there are only a handful of people on the planet that can do the things Ospreay can do, and while Joe has slowed with age, he has more than enough aura, presence, and savvy to make up for it. “The Areal Assassin” continues his march to the main event of All In.
Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido
Swerve’s ridiculous counter of the 21 Plex into a House Call while standing on Bandido’s shoulders was hit-worthy on it’s own. Fortunately, the rest of the match was just as good. Like most of the wrestlers on this show, these two had to follow some high-quality in-ring work, but they were up to the task. Swerve has felt a little aimless since losing to Kenny Omega — he’s vaguely talked about reclaiming power via regaining the world title — but this win over Bandido gets him back on track.
Women’s Title 4-Way
It seems like AEW’s women’s division has lacked direction due to some recent injuries and absences, but that hasn’t affected the matches. Thekla, Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter, and Hikaru Shida brought their A-games to this 4-way match for the women’s world title. Shida and Statlander’s tenuous partnership finally disintegrated, so we’ll see how that progresses in the coming weeks. As for the impressive world champion, she remains in the same spot: needing some fresh babyface challengers. Willow Nightingale’s injury makes that need even more pressing.
Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa
Perhaps Athena could fill that “babyface challenger for Thekla” role? She looked really good working with Mina Shirakawa, the crowd is into her, and it wouldn’t take much to frame her as a babyface that gives “The Toxic Spider” a bit of her own medicine (venom?). Losing to Athena in a good effort won’t hurt Shirakawa much. She has become teflon in the eyes of the fans, but AEW could do a bit more with her, especially if the long-term plan is to reveal her as Toni Storm’s attacker.
Staduim Stampede
This is one of those matches where it’s either for you or it isn’t. If you’re not into wacky violence spots or random cameos from guys like Lio Rush (doing his new Gollum-esque character), this was probably a good time for a bathroom break. For everyone else, this served its purpose: Getting a bunch of stars on the show and letting them hit some cool moves without overexposing the older guys. Ricochet getting saved from Jericho’s Judas Effect means that their feud will last at least until the next big episode of Dynamite or the next PPV. At least that will keep Jericho from suffocating the show with a higher-profile storyline.
Misses for AEW Double or Nothing 2026
Nothing major (again)
For a show this great, it doesn’t feel necessary to go through the usual caveats. Yes, there are aspects of Tony Khan’s booking that need to be tightened up (specifically, with the women’s division). And sure, the shows are still quite long. But if the worst thing you have to say about AEW Double or Nothing 2026 is that it’s a bit too long (okay, very long), then the promotion is doing something right. AEW is enjoying another creative peak after a couple of rough years. Consequently, the company has recouped a lot of its lost momentum, and a potential Show of the Year will only boost its recovering reputation as a viable alternative to WWE.
If you would like even more AEW Double or Nothing Coverage from Chris Jeter, check out more of his articles right here on Let Them Wrestle.
