A sixth anniversary celebrated with the Double or Nothing 2025. A major milestone taking place in Arizona, continuing to pave a successful road for All Elite Wrestling.
The pre-show featured two hot matches, the first featuring Harley Cameron and Ana Jay defeating Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne. A lot of attention to detail here, these four women have been feuding for some time, with Cameron in particular a major thorn for her opponents. The initial comedy ended abruptly when Bayne entered the match, which is very appropriate given her no-nonsense persona. While on the losing end, Bayne still looks as intimidating as ever, as Ford took the pinfall loss. Perhaps only a matter of time before Ford gets ditched in favor of more reliable minions.
Next up saw an absolutely insane spot-fest with AR Fox, Komander, Hologram, and ROH World Champion Bandido defeating Roppongi Vice and CRU. I’m still not sold on Andretti and Lio Rush as a team. They’re doing the whole street club tough guy act, but after months still doesn’t seem to find footing. The best they can do are multi-man matches and feuding with Top Flight. AR Fox is a freaking machine. Feature this man more often. Fun match, but a part of me felt a bit dismayed to see Trent and Rocky Romero eat yet another loss. I thought the alignment with the expanding Callis Family would have helped. Hopefully as we get into the summer their fortunes will change.
The main show kicks off with a major fire! Mercedes Mone defeated Jamie Hayter in a Match of the Year Candidate. This hit on all cylinders. Both Mone and Hayter are major fan draws. Hayter is phenomenal, and this match was a colossal reminder if this was forgotten. Mone, for all the hate she gets, will never disappoint inside the ring. I have said this before, and tonight proved it. Her promos may still feel like WWE-style repetition, but her wrestling performances continue to expand to the next level. They brought the best out of each other.
The match for All In is now official, Mercedes Mone will challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship.
The only downside is this potentially ties up a lot of titles in one feud. Call me crazy, but wouldn’t it be something if Mone’s path to All In was littered with title losses? Perhaps Shirakawa defeats her for the RevPro Women’s Championship? Perhaps another challenger steps up and claims the TBS Championship in an unexpected outcome? It’s wishful thinking, but damn unpredictable.
FTR w/ Stokely defeated Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuiness
If Nigel is going to compete every six months, I’m here for it. Something tells me he’s got the itch to return to the ring. Maybe not on a regular basis, but give him a match and let the man go. The story here is perfectly simple. FTR embracing being schoolyard bullies, and I am telling you now they will become bigger heels for it. They bullied Schiavone. They taunted Nigel. Nigel stands up to bullies with help from Garcia. This became Nigel’s story to tell and boy did he do it. He may have been laid out with a crushing Shatter Machine on the floor, but that’s what it took to take him out. Garcia, unfortunately was the red shirt to take the submission, but he too served his role in putting himself in the fighting position his character seems to embrace.
Nigel goes back to commentary. But where does Garcia go from here? It’s time for 2-point-0 and Red Death to return.
Ricochet defeated Mark Briscoe in an Ambulance Match
Blood. blood. blood. More blood. Lots of blood. Buckets of blood. Good grief. There was more blood than alcohol served in the arena. I honestly underestimated this match. I figured they would just be a plunder match in which eventually somebody would get hurled into the ambulance for the win. This turned out to be much more than that. Mark Briscoe felt right at home. Ricochet embraced all aspects of his character, the coward, the manipulator, the smug arrogant troll. At some point Briscoe must have dug a little too deep because blood never stopped. take all the towels and shirts, bleeding never stopped.
Yet, this felt more fitting than any time Moxley ever bladed himself in the past couple years. Both men threw their bodies on the line with leaps off the top rope to the floor, through a stretcher, through tables, and every point was exciting with no end in sight. it’s very rare that a match like this didn’t have some sort of downtime. This felt fluid and non-stop. In the end it took ricochet to craft Lee produce a second pair of golden scissors after the first were confiscated. Major kudos to Briscoe. Even in defeat, looked like a freaking champion.
Ricochet has found his formula. doesn’t need to do any more than he’s doing already. He’s pissing people off, gets the job done and regardless of when or loss, lives to fight another day.
Another match in which I completely underestimated, The Hurt Syndicate defeated the Sons of Texas to retain the AEW world tag team championships. I very much enjoyed this one. MJF at ringside added to some unpredictability, but I was pleasantly surprised that he did not insert himself more often. This is a good thing. but did not insert himself at every turn. When he did try to intervene, Bobby Lashley would prompt him to rethink that decision. Sammy Guevara still looks like a star, and while some may not agree I do feel his pairing with Dustin gave him some valuable time and experience to give himself a better presence on television. Dustin Rhodes at his age could Outlast some of the younger guys on the roster. He still got it, and he’ll never lose it.
Call me crazy, but before the year is out, I want to see Dustin Rhodes versus Shelton Benjamin, and Dustin Rhodes versus Billy Gunn.
Kazuchika Okada retains the Continental Championship against “Speedball” Mike Bailey
This was all Speedball. Okada has been great as an overconfident heel. This match solely focused on Speedball’s ability to fire back with what could be perceived as an endless supply of offensive strikes and moves. I’m more than one occasion, it was believable Okada could lose the championship. Being transparent, I have never watched a match with Mike Bailey until he joined AEW. This kid is something else. His match with Okada gave me the vibe, blending the likes of Rob Van Dam and Paul London.
The one thing which was very noticeable, was the setup for his top rope signatures. He’s done this on Dynamite as well where it seems as though he needs to take a few extra moments to steady himself before leaping off. it seems to lend itself into the flow of the match where commentary will point out how the delay ends up becoming an advantage to his opponent.
This was the match which put Bailey on the map. As for Okada, we know it’s inevitable for him to face Omega.
“Timeless” Toni Storm retains the AEW Women’s Championship against Mina Shirakawa
This is the sort of contest which should put the naysayers of the women’s division to quiet themselves. fantastic match from Bell to bell. lots of working over limbs, plenty of selling, and plenty of suspense. Early in the match we saw some amusing spots and taunts between them, but the majority of the match was all business. Fun to watch and exciting throughout. Shirakawa is meant for television. Her antics, facial expressions, and body language while wrestling is a prime example of a successful long career. The finish was well done, and the post match events definitely excited fans. It seemed the two rivals made up, and sealed their respect with a kiss. Literally.
The commentary team struggled to hold it together when talking about Storm’s pinfall signature, the Large Package.
Anarchy in the Arena: Team Joe defeated the Death Riders and The Founding Fathers
The intro for this was bonkers. From Justin Roberts dropping an s-bomb, to the ridiculous monologue for the Jackson brothers in full military gear, which played through the arena (as music seems to now be the norm for Anarchy matches), but was thankfully cut off when Kenny Omega demanded some real music take its place. For some ungodly reason the Pointer Sisters’ “I’m so Excited” played first before Omega gave us the real deal, “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” by Drowning Pool. My inner teenager erupted and I thought I was back in the ECW Arena. The cameras Did their best to keep up with all the fighting taking place throughout the arena. This was Carnage in the best possible sense where it felt truly personal. Since swerve was in the match, it was only a matter of time before a staple gun was used again. It seems as though he has grown immune to its use as he shrugged off, laughed off, and even invited his opponents to use it on him. Even having a staple visibly pierce his tongue did nothing to stop him. also inevitable where the women and men roughed each other up, notably when Willow speared the crap out of everyone. On top of that Omega destroyed Marina Shafir with the dragon suplex.
Scary spot for Willow, she appeared to be chained to the ringpost with the padlock going THROUGH her earring?
This is one which has to be seen to be believed. Carnage matches tend to be some stalling or insane brawling, this had none of it. From start to finish the fight never stopped. Some very notable points, the return of Hook was well timed, however it seems there may be some unresolved business within his faction. I’m guessing there’s going to be some confrontation about him being replaced by Powerhouse Hobbs. Gabe Kidd inevitably surfaced, and as Primus as my witness, I truly thought this was the moment Eddie Kingston would return. it wasn’t just me there was an arena full of people chanting for him.
Mad King, Eddie, if for some reason you read this know that you are truly missed not just by myself, but by millions of fans clamoring for your return to the ring.
The end result saw the Death Riders all loaded into an ambulance, and the Young Bucks completely destroyed by Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland who finished the job wearing his new branded sneakers which were covered in thumbtacks.
It seems the fall of the Death Riders continues on, and it seems it will be at All In Texas, where it finally sees its end.
AEW finally took my advice. Rather than have two big-time matches back-to-back, a Trios match gave the crowd a much needed breather and chance to restore their own stamina before the main event. The Don Callis Family (Alexander, Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher) defeated Paragon (Cole, Reilly, Strong). Very good match, however I felt it went to Tad on the longer side. I enjoy all six wrestlers, however lately the overcrowding of the roster is making it hard to feel truly invested. Their position of being a filler between two big matches did come in handy, and while they hold off some impressive wrestling of their own this could have been best suited as the main event of either Dynamite or collision.
Perhaps the true nature of this match took place after the bell, when the entire callus family assaulted paragon but were driven off by a returning Brody King who brought out Tomohiro Ishii, and then introduced their third man in a complete shocker, Hiroshi Tanahashi.
That was completely mind blowing. granted Tanahashi is not exactly in 100% wrestling shape, but his mere appearance alone felt special. Perhaps this is going to be a long build towards the Forbidden Door pay-per-view?
“Hangman” Adam Page defeated Will Ospreay to win the Men’s Owen Hart Memorial Tournament and will face Jon Moxley at All In to challenge for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.
This might be voted as the 2025 match of the year. Not only for AEW, but across all wrestling promotions. This felt special. Two men who have never faced each other, but were brought as opponents with the premise of pursuing the World’s Heavyweight Championship of the company. Both had their own individual backstories. The only story linking them together would be the finals of the Owen Hart tournament. their own individual backstories of their pursuit of the world’s championship and its unique and exclusive meaning for each became the story. for Osprey it’s about his ascension up the ranks of AEW. For Hangman, this was about confidence, identity, and most importantly for him, redemption.
I can’t recall the last time I had such difficulty predicting a winner. Shockingly, I guessed the outcome correctly. but it took me a long and uncomfortably long time filled with doubt to do so. Both men believably could challenge for the championship at the next pay-per-view.
This was a professional wrestling match in every sense and meaning. from a slow and methodical start to a gradual apex of some of the most fluid, fast-paced, and edge of my seat action I have ever seen. they’re facial expressions, their behavior, the body language, they’re interactions, or lack thereof with the crowd. This felt like a serious wrestling match. There are a few moments I actually believed something went off script and the two started delivering receipts to each other. not sure if there’s any truth to that but it sure as hell convinced me.
I firmly believe this is one of the greatest main events of a pay-per-view which All Elite Wrestling has ever produced.
I don’t typically do the whole star rating – but Double or Nothing gets 4.5 out of 5 from me.
