The SmarK Rant for AEW Double or Nothing 2026 – 05.24.26

The SmarK Rant for AEW Double or Nothing 2026 – 05.24.26

Live from Queens, NY

Your hosts are Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness

AEW World tag team titles, I Quit Street Fight: FTR v. Cope & Cage

The arena is a very nice setup tonight. FTR bails off a slugfest and Christian slugs away on Dax in the corner, but Stoke immediately sends some barbed wire in for Dax to use. So Cage gets a DDT and grabs his own barbed wire to decorate the middle rope, before tripping Dax onto it and choking him out. That doesn’t draw a submission, so they steal the ref’s belt and whip FTR with it. Cage gets sent into the ringpost to turn the tide, but Cope suplexes Dax onto a ladder outside and we get some tables to get that out of the way. Back in the ring, Cope quickly clotheslines Dax back to the floor, but Cash wraps a chair around his head and runs him into the post. A toolbox gets involved and Christian finds some pliers, but even using them as a nutcracker on Cash doesn’t work. Finally Dax smashes his arm with a chair to stop and they go after Cope on the floor instead. So that results in a spike piledriver on the Spanish announce table, and that table ain’t breaking. Dear Algo: Please stop showing audience reaction shots that are filmed in high framerate because it’s creepy and offputting. Next up, they smash Cage’s arm with a cinderblock and beat on the block with a chair, which doesn’t seem to be very effective according to physics. Back in the ring, Cash undoes the top turnbuckle and they try a piledriver on Cage, but, quote, go fuck yourself, and he escapes. Dax tries to charge with the broken turnbuckle, but Cage spears him and chokes him out. So FTR hits him with a Shatter Machine and Cash grabs a wrench. I’ve heard that if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. But luckily Cope saves with a spear and then beats them down with a chair. But FTR begs for mercy, allowing Stokely to hit them with the gold watch. But then Beth Phoenix hits the ring and kicks Stokely’s ass until FTR runs her into the stairs in an ungentlemanly move. So Dax sets the table on fire, but Cash accidentally spears Stokely into the table to take him out. Back in the ring, Dax tries a Conchairto on Cope but can’t elicit a submission by threatening his family, and Beth saves him with a low blow on Dax and retrieves Spike the Baseball Bat. And then finally a crossface/sharpshooter combo with a spiked bat in the face is enough for Dax to quit, and Cope & Cage win the tag team titles at 19:32. This was of course wild work to open the show. And it was over the top and cartoonishly violent but not gory, which is the sweet spot for this kind of thing. ****1/2

AEW International title: Kazuchika Okada v. Konosuke Takeshita

They slug it out to start and Takeshita hits him with the flying clothesline, but Okada puts him on the top rope and dropkicks him to the floor before sending him into the stairs to take over. They fight out there and back in for a neckbreaker from Okada that gets one due to him using one foot. Another one gets another one footed kickout and that’s gonna come back to bite him I’d bet. They trade forearms and Okada wins that battle with a sneer, but Takeshita hits him with a pair of exploders before going to the top and missing a senton. Okada bails and Takeshita hits him with the tope con hilo. Back in, Okada catches him in another neckbreaker and goes up for the flying elbow, but Takeshita blocks the Rainmaker and we get a cool series of reversals into the wheelbarrow suplex from Takeshita. But Okada dropkicks him and hits a lariat and they’re both down off that as the crowd goes crazy. To the apron and they continue slugging it out there, but Okada hits him with a Rainmaker and Takeshita drops to the floor. Okada follows with a DDT out there and teases a tombstone, but Don Callis isn’t gonna stand for that and begs him to stop. So then Takeshita hits Okada with a brainbuster, which Callis also dislikes, and back in the ring for a running boot in the corner to set up a superplex. Takeshita with a pumphandle into a german suplex for two, but he charges and walks into a tombstone. They slug it out off that, but Takeshita is filled with FIGHTING SPIRIT and hits the Blue Thunder Bomb, but Okada hits him with a tilt a whirl backbreaker and Takeshita cradles him for two, but Okada dropkicks him. And then Takeshita hits his own Rainmaker and follows with the power drive knee, which only gets one as Okada is fired up now. So Takeshita hits the Raging Fire and pins him clean to win the title at 18:56. No screwdriver to save Okada this time. What a fucking pair of opening matches on this show. *****

Afterwards, the Callis Family hits the ring to potentially bounce Takeshita from the family, but Kyle Fletcher hits the ring, saves Takeshita, and then turns on him to the shock of no one except the horrified crowd of dummies who believed Fletcher had turned. Well so much for Proto-Shita. Man and that crowd was READY for Kyle to turn babyface, too. Sucks to be them I guess.

Owen Hart tournament quarterfinals: Athena v. Mina Shirakawa

This feels like an immediate cooldown match after the first two bangers. Mina hits her with a pair of kicks out of the corner and goes after the knee, but she goes up and Athena kicks her to the apron and follows with a slam on the apron. They fight on the floor and Athena dropkicks her into the LED board for the “short circuit” spot, and back in for two. Mina goes back to working on the leg as the announcers bring up the Toni Storm mystery angle that hadn’t been mentioned in weeks and I just assumed had been dropped. Mina goes up with a bodypress, but Athena catches and slams her for two. Mina with a springboard kick and she makes a comeback with a sling blade and a tornado DDT, putting Athena on the floor. Mina with a tornillo dive to the floor and back in for a missile dropkick and some kind of weird electric chair drop to set up the figure-four. Athena escapes that and curb stomps her for two. To the top for the finish, but Mina reverses her into a rollup for two and takes her down with a headscissors into a cradle for two. They slug it out and Mina hits her with the backfist and goes back to the figure-four, but Athena quickly makes the ropes. So Mina hits another backfist, but Athena reverses her into a tombstone and then goes up for the O Face to finish at 10:38. So unsurprisingly, she advances. She seems like the clear winner unless there’s a ringer replacing Willow on the other side. Match was fine, but they didn’t really seem to have any chemistry and no one takes Mina seriously as a threat. ***

AEW Continental title: Jon Moxley v. Kyle O’Reilly

Moxley goes after the arm to start, but Kyle kicks him in the back, so Mox returns fire and they trade takedowns and fight to a stalemate. Kyle tries a guillotine and Mox powerslams out of it, so Kyle rolls him into an armbar and they head to the floor to break that. So Kyle beats on him with kicks out there while JR forgets his name and calls him “the other kid”. Hey, he’s got some heavy shit in his life. Kyle misses a kick and hits the post instead, injuring his leg as a result, and Moxley just stands there and lets him injure it further with kicks before diving on the injury. Mox works on it in the corner with dropkicks and then wraps him up in a leglock on the mat until Kyle makes the ropes. So Mox bites him on the eyeball, but Kyle fires back with kicks, further injuring his own leg. And Moxley indeed kicks the leg out of his leg and guillotines him in the corner until the ref breaks it. Kyle comes out with a jumping knee for two and tries for an armbar, but Moxley rolls him into a half crab to escape. Kyle makes the ropes and then counters a dragon screw into another armbar and then the anklelock as Moxley desperately tries not to tap again. Kyle stomps the ankle and kicks him to the floor again, but when Moxley rolls in, Kyle curb stomps him. So Mox hits a cutter for a double down, but Kyle fires up and gets a lariat for a double down. They slug it out from their knees and trade submission attempts, but Moxley puts the bad leg in a leglock and taps him out at 18:47 to retain the title. “We’ve got a new champion!” notes JR before Excalibur corrects him. Also JR notes that he didn’t see the Death Riders interfering at all. Well, yeah, it’s a Continental Classic match. Maybe some notes would be helpful for him next time. Weird that they had the no time limit stip if the match was going under 20:00 anyway. Tremendous submission battle here. ****

Owen Hart tournament quarterfinals: Will Ospreay v. Samoa Joe

Will hits an immediate OzCutter and stomps him down in the corner, but Joe wallops him to buy some time. They head to the floor as Ospreay hits him with a dive and back in for a 450 that gets two, and he goes right for an armbar before Joe makes the ropes. Joe bails to the floor and Will takes the SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP, but Joe chokes him to block it and then slams him into the railing for good measure. Back in the ring, Joe slugs him down in the corner and goes for the neck as you’d expect, but he misses a senton and hits the knees. Will stomps the arm from the top rope and hits him with an enzuigiri for a double down and the corkscrew kick gets two. He tries another Ozcutter and Joe walks away from it in a funny spot, and then powerbombs him for two. Into the crab and STF, but Will makes the ropes. Joe batters him with kicks, but Will fires up and stands with Joe. So Joe elbows him down, but Ospreay powers him up into a Styles Clash for two. Hidden Blade gets two. Will wants another one, but Joe catches him in a powerslam. Ospreay goes for the armbar again, but Joe rolls him into another choke and sinks it in. Ospreay is fading but we do the arm drop gimmick and Will makes the ropes on three. I remember when they taught us that in First Aid. If you see someone nonresponsive, always lift their arm and dramatically yell ONE! Joe with the Muscle Buster, but Will escapes and hits a Hidden Blade for one, and then finishes with a second Hidden Blade at 14:00 to advance. I would have preferred him to actually tap Joe out but this was tremendous stuff and Will is showing more babyface fire on the way to the World title. ****1/4

Owen Hart tournament quarterfinals: Bandido v. Swerve Strickland

Bandido dropkicks him in the knee, but Swerve puts him down with a clothesline. Bandido evades a kick with a headstand and then presses Swerve and dumps him to the floor with that before hitting him with a dropkick off the apron. Aubrey chastising him in Spanish is a great continuation of that running bit. They fight to the other side of the ring, where Bandido puts him in a chair and hits him with a somersault senton off the apron, breaking Swerve and the chair. Back in the ring, Bandido works him over in the corner, but charges and runs into the turnbuckle to knock himself out. Swerve adds a german suplex into the corner for good measure and goes to work on the neck. Swerve drops knees on the neck and goes to a neck vice, but Bandido fights back with a tornillo dive and some elbows into a german suplex out of the corner. To the top for the frog splash, which gets two. Swerve comes back with a flatliner, but Bandido tries a powerbomb, so Swerve goes up to his shoulders and hits him with a House Call kick in the air, and then pops up to the top for a Swerve Stomp that gets two. They fight to the apron, where Bandido manages to hit him with a poison rana, off the apron, to the floor in an insane spot. Back in the ring, Bandido does the crazy 21 Plex from the mat, but he can’t hold the bridge. But he hits another poison rana and tries the 21 Plex again, and this time Swerve blocks it and hits him with the Vertebreaker and House Call Kick to finish at 14:55. Another fucking crazy match in a series of them tonight. Bandido was out of his mind here and Swerve wasn’t far behind with that House Call off the shoulders. ****1/2

AEW World Women’s title: Thekla v. Jamie Hayter v. Kris Statlander v. Hikaru Shida

Everyone attacks Thekla and gets rid of her, but the others turn on each other and allow Thekla to come back in and get some shots on them. Stat and Hayter trade shoulderblocks and slug it out, but Shida dropkicks Thekla onto them for two and then everyone trades rollups for two. To the floor, where Thekla hits them all with a dive and runs Hayter into the stairs. Back in the ring, Thekla puts the boots to Stat and puts her in a submission on the mat while tearing at her mouth. So Statlander bites the fingers and runs her into the corner. They fight to the top and Thekla gets the spider suplex, but she showboats too much and Shida nails her from behind. So then Shida and Hayter fight on the top and Shida gets the superplex this time, but Hayter powers up into a Saito Suplex. And everyone throws more suplexes until everyone is down. They’re all up and throwing bombs and Shida hits Stat with a high knee by mistake, allowing Hayter to toss them and go after Thekla. Hayter with the backbreaker, but Thekla spins into the armbar, so Hayter puts her down with another backbreaker. And Hayterade gets two, as Shida makes the save. Shida with the Falcon Arrow on Hayter and into an anklelock, but Stat breaks that up and threatens to take her out before Shida apologizes. And then they slug it out anyway and fight to the floor. Back in, Stat hits Thekla with superkicks and the tombstone for two, but Shida breaks it up with a kendo stick to the head of her bestie. So Jamie hauls Shida to the floor to get rid of her, leaving Thekla to curb stomp Stat for the pin to retain at 13:45. Another banger in a series tonight as they just went all action and also told a story with Statlander and Shida. ****

Stadium Stampede: Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Mark Davis, David Finlay, Clark Connors & Andrade v. Jericho, The Young Bucks, Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, Kenny Omega & Jack Perry

The pre-match videos are awesome, particularly the babyfaces using “Devil’s Dance” for a cinematic intro. We get a four-way split screen and the babyfaces all take turns hitting Ricochet with clotheslines in the corner before Lashley chokeslams him onto the pile of heels outside. Andrade hits Perry with the rolling suplexes in the ring and goes up, but Shelton puts him down with a knee. Davis takes Shelton out with a piledriver on the floor, and Toa stacks up the Bucks on his back and hits them both with a samoan drop. Ricochet with a shooting star press to the faces outside and we get a wacky spot with Toa putting Kenny in an abdominal stretch and then chaining all the heels together for leverage. But MVP breaks it up and the Elite get stereo topes onto them. And then Shelton is like “Why not?” and he also hits a tope, and then Jericho dives onto everyone for fun as well. The look on Shelton’s face was hilarious there. We get four ranas in four corner from the babyfaces. Ricochet attacks, but the faces take them down with multiple sharpshooters while Jack Perry uses a vacuum cleaner bag for a weapon, I guess trying for some even more wacky than a bag of onions. The Bucks bring out the tables for the Dogs, but the heels escape and we cut to the backstage area now. GOA and the Hurts renew their feud while Lio Rush tries to help. Back in the ring, Jericho and Omega double-team Andrade while we follow the Bucks and Dogs to the merch stand as they brawl. Connors gets superkicked onto the escalator in a cute spot. And then Andrade goes for a selfie from a MILF who turns out to be Luchasaurus in a surprisingly effective blond wig disguise. Jericho finds a bag of deadly tennis balls and suplexes Ricochet onto those, and bless his heart he sells it. Ric with the death valley driver for two, but we head back to the catering area, where Andrade accidentally interrupts Satnam Singh’s dinner and triggers a food fight. Back at the arena, shopping carts are used for nefarious purposes as this is goofy as fuck in the best way. Finaly uses his whacking stick on Benjamin and Connors spears Lashley. Off to a tennis court in the back now, as Ricochet uses a racket on Jericho (I’ve never seen that in pro wrestling, notes Taz) but Luther appears and gives Jericho a GIANT TENNIS RACKET to use. And Jericho fires tennis balls at him and runs him into the door for two. Back in the ring, Shelton and Matt hit the Dogs with suplexes and try to one-up each other. It’s a SUPERKICK PARTY on Toa and he won’t go down, so Lashley spears him to finish the job. Meanwhile, outside the stadium, Mark Davis is bandaged up and finds a note in a car, which sets up a hilarious sight gag with Jack Perry driving a bus into him like something out of a cartoon. Back in the ring, Kenny runs wild on the Dogs, who appear to be the designated whipping boys tonight, and he hits Andrade with a V-Trigger while Shelton suplexes Toa through a table on the other side of the ring. Mark Davis returns from getting run over and immediately gets suplexed on the floor, and Omega puts Andrade through a table with a One Winged Angel off the apron while the Bucks do stereo dives and put the Dogs through other tables. Finally that leaves Ricochet alone in the ring with the babyfaces and they all take turns smashing him with finishers before Kaun shoves him away and takes the seven way superkick bullet himself. And the Lionsault finishes at 30:42. They were aiming for the moon with these thing and hit it. Just the wildest and craziest shit you’ll ever see in your life. Great composition with all the crazy stuff in the ring broken up with vignettes in the backstage area for variety to keep it flowing constantly. Instead of the violence of the opener, this one leaned into full on Looney Tunes madness and it worked perfectly. ******

AEW World title v. Hair: Darby Allin v. MJF

I have no idea how Darby is gonna follow that. Darby immediately grabs three SIDE HEADLOCKS OF DOOM for two and MJF bails to the floor, but Darby dives and lands on his head. So MJF powerbombs him on the apron, THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING, and then slingshots him into a cutter for two. Darby tries a coffin splash and MJF just hits him with a forearm to the back and follows with a backbreaker for two. They head to the top and MJF wants a tombstone, but Darby kind of reverses to a stunner that doesn’t hit 100%. Darby slugs away and tries for an early coffin drop, but MJF bails to the floor, so Darby hits him with a tope suicida and sends him flying over the desk. Back in the ring, Darby tries a coffin drop and misses, landing on the apron before bumping to the floor. So MJF sets up the stairs sideways and hits him with a package piledriver onto those, which looked terrifying but was totally safe. Back in the ring, MJF tries his side headlock, but Darby goes low and gets his own headlock takedown for two. MJF stomps the arm and goes to work on that, but Darby takes him down into the Scorpion Deathlock and MJF makes the ropes. Coffin drop hits the knees and MJF gets two off that. Heatseeker is countered into the Scorpion Deathdrop. But they trade side headlocks for two and get a series of cradles for two, until Darby hits a Code Red for two. Both guys are down and MJF charges in first, but Darby cradles him for two and Max bails to the floor, where he pulls the cameraman into the way of a Darby tope to save himself. The replay was far less impressive, unfortunately. MJF grabs the clippers up by the entrance, but Darby guillotines him to put him down and then climbs the scaffolding and hits a Coffin Drop off the top and through a table as a tribute to Cactus. And back in the ring, Darby hits another coffin drop, for two. Darby is just gushing blood from the back of his head after that scaffold jump, the only blood of the night so far. Darby with the Scorpion, but he passes out due to concussion, and MJF gets an evil look on his face and gets one last headlock. But Darby reverses to the Scorpion Deathdrop and comes back, only for MJF to crotch him on the coffin drop. So MJF hits his top rope tombstone and one final side headlock takedown for the pin and his third World title at 24:12, as Darby finally runs out of gas. ****1/4

Afterwards, Darby gets loaded on the stretcher and MJF seems to be going for more, but Kevin Knight makes the save….and then turns on Darby and splashes him on the stretcher! Oooooooooooh I knew he was trouble! I’m just surprised he turned on Darby and not Speedball.

I feel like the phrase “One of the greatest PPVs of all time” is losing all meaning with these, but Double or Nothing was easily the best show of the year so far by a mile and will probably win Show of the Year running away. Just a non-stop run of amazing matches tonight, aside from the blip of the Mina-Athena match which was merely “Good” instead of transcendent. But as for the rest, holy shit, buckle up. Highest recommendation here.