Double or Nothing review

All Elite Wrestling presented Double or Nothing on pay-per-view this past weekend, an event that is seen as a milestone on the AEW calendar, as it marks the anniversary of the first official event that took place seven years ago. The highs and the lows of the past seven years are a different discussion for a different time, but in some ways, the 2026 edition was still a reflection of the consistent positives, as well as the negatives of the product. However, as I wrote in an article last week about the build up to the show, the effectiveness of the main event angle avoided some of the usual All Elite pitfalls, which was probably why it was one of the better storylines in the company in recent memory. Furthermore, and this is an example of the return on that television investment when the narrative is presented in a logical manner, the event in Louis Armstrong Stadium sold out with more than 15,000 fans in attendance.

That being said, if there was a common thread throughout the history of the promotion, at least for the vast majority of its existence, it's the notion of too much, too far, and too often.

The opening match was a reflection of that. The I Quit bout for the tag team titles was booked as the payoff of the FTR vs. Adam Copeland and Christian tag feud. As as far the culmination of such a rivalry, this type of gimmick segment makes sense, and very similar to a significant portion of All Elite programming, in a vacuum, this was a very good contest. As far as logic, this was put together as well as one of these types of matches are going to be structured, which was a nod to the quality performers in this match. FTR are still probably the best tag team anywhere in the business, and despite their age, Copeland and Christian maximize everything they do in the ring, especially Christian. For a payoff, this match had barbed wire, tables, ladders, the spiked two by four, and the flaming table spot toward the conclusion that saw Cash Wheeler and Stokely crash through it. Again, as far as ring psychology, this made sense and built toward a crescendo at the finish. Granted, the set up to the table spot was a little goofy because it doesn't exactly make sense that Stokely would have to stand on the apron next to Beth Copeland, but it's one of those things that you can overlook for the prosperity of pro wrestling. After a pair of submissions and an assist from the spiked two by four, Dax Harwood said I Quit for the Copeland/Christian team to win the titles.

I want to make it clear, this was a great payoff. The problem was, it was the first match on a four-hour broadcast. As much as ECW pushed the envelope, even the eccentric Paul Heyman put the flaming table spot in the middle of the show to allow for somewhat of a natural reset or "intermission" before the mayhem continued. In the opening tag match, we saw barbed wire, fire, tables, ladder, chairs, and the ring was partially disassembled. What in the wide world of sports is there really left to do? The audience saw everything and the most high risk stuff in the first twenty minutes of the pay-per-view so everything else that had to follow it will be less effective in comparison. There was a table used in the main event more than three and a half hours later, but it wasn't on fire so is the crowd going to react the same way they would've otherwise? At some point, it all becomes excessive and tedious, particularity when it unintentionally dilutes some of the legitimate risks the other performers take on the rest of the card. As I said, in a vacuum, this was a tremendous tag team I Quit match, but in the big picture, it probably took away from the rest of the card.

The Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada match was absolutely tremendous. This was a modern match done right, they gave the fans the fast-paced, hard-hitting style that you'd expect from two New Japan alumni, but structured it in a fashion that allowed the audience to digest what they were watching, with deliberate moments of selling after bursts of action. There were some incredible sequences in this match, and the series of counters as the advantage tilted back and fourth created a level of drama. As much as Okada is hit or miss in terms of if he's going to mail in a performance in All Elite, this might've been the best match of his AEW career. I've written several times before that Takeshita could be and should be a main event guy for the promotion at some point, and this segment was prove of that. Everything they did was crisp and smooth without degenerating into anything too outlandish or illogical. They gave the audience that big time Japanese main event segment without jumping the shark with some of the modern pitfalls. The finish saw Takeshita hit the falcon arrow to get the pin to win the International title. Post-match, Kyle Fletcher returned from injury, and the Don Callis stable attacked Takeshita, setting up for a full-fledged baby face run that will hopefully move him up the card in the grand scheme of things.

After two great match and more than three and a half hours left in the show, this is where a lack of booking approach can hindered the overall presentation. The opening match had almost every hardcore gimmick possible, and the match after that did the high spot formula so again, what else is left for the rest of the card? We were a little less than an hour into the show and stylistically, the audience saw more or less everything. The twenty minutes of weapons followed by twenty minutes of high impact moves and numerous kick outs don't leave much of a playbook left for the rest of the roster. Because of that, the next few matches were fine, but couldn't really compare to everything that was already on the show. The ten-minute Athena/Mina Shirakawa Owen Hart tournament match wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything that was going to get a major reaction to the audience after the previous 40 minutes of the broadcast. Athena got the victory. In a similar fashion, Jon Moxley/Kyle O'Reilly was a solid bout that emphasized the physicality of the exchanges, but it was basically a lesser version of the Takeshita/Okada bout that viewers already saw so it got somewhat tedious by the time that Moxley got the submission win near the twenty-minute mark.

The Samoa Joe/Will Ospreay Owen Hart tournament match was a good segment, mostly because of how spectacular the British grappler is, and the 12-minute time frame provided a nice change of pace from the copy/paste format of 20 minutes that these types of match are usually given at AEW pay-per-views. It also can't be understated how much of a true pro Samoa Joe is because his matches are consistent quality performances, but he's smart enough to avoid the modern pitfalls mentioned earlier. Ospreay got the pin fall to advance in the tournament, and it should go without saying that he should win the AEW world championship at Wembley Stadium in a few months.

Swerve Strickland and Bandido did some really impressive stuff in their Owen Hart Tournament match. The reverse hurricanrana to the floor was insane. The problem is, specifically because this contest wasn't based on a major angle, this match was forgettable by the end of the night. That's not to say that the athleticism wasn't unbelievable, but rather taking into context everything else the audience had already seen. Strickland got the win to advance in the tournament. The four-way match for the AEW Women's championship fell into the same category, it was fine, but forgettable after so many car crash segments. Thekla retained the title.

Speaking of car crashes, that's more or less what the Stadium Stampede match is designed to be. By nature, this type of gimmick match usually goes too long and becomes somewhat tedious. That being said, all things considered, this was probably the best that this type of match was going to be and provided a fun segment. Chris Jericho got the pin and his post-match Sabu tribute was a nice gesture.

The main event was in a tough spot, but used a lot of ring psychology, specifically based on the storyline to keep the audience invested in the match. There was something at stake and they used that to maximize everything they did. Darby Allin took a scary bump on his neck when he tried to dive out of the ring and clipped his feet on the ropes. He narrowly avoided landing on his head on the floor. The coffin drop from the set through a table was a way to put a climatic exclamation point at the end of the show, which was risky, but fine. Darby suffered a nasty cut on the back of his head from the spot. Eventually, MJF hit a tombstone from the second rope to set up for the pin fall to win the championship. This match and this storyline were very well done. Darby Allin is a bigger star than he was before he was the champion so it was an effective angle, and MJF winning the title sets up for Ospreay to win the belt at Wembley so it was mission accomplished. The post-match Kevin Knight heel turn wasn't needed and was something that could've been saved for television. Overall, there wasn't a bad match on the card, but the structure of the line-up actually hindered the presentation of the pay-per-view.