This Sunday, May 24 is All Elite Wrestling’s eighth annual Double or Nothing show emanating from the Louis Armstrong Arena in New York City, and your faithful sickos Jeffery X Martin, Josh Wallen, and Sachin Hingoo are here to run down the card and give their predictions!
Buy-In Preshow (free on YouTube at 7pm EST):
5-Minute Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match: Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Cross) vs. Zayda Steel & Viva Van
SH: I’m a fan of Zayda and Viva, but let’s not kid ourselves that anyone’s going the distance with Megan and Lena here. This is a short match to get the tag champs on the card, and not much else. Divine Dominion chalks up another one in their dominant run.
JW: This match appeals to a certain kind of kink, and I’m not one to shame. Divine Dominion are a couple of Queens wrecking shop, and I’m here for it. Gonna be fun when they drop those straps, but it’s not gonna happen at DoN.
JXM: I bet this will be almost five minutes long, so Viva Van and Zayda Steel will get a chance to lay their stuff in. That doesn’t mean V&Z will win, though, because Divine Dominion is on a roll.
Trios Match: The Opps (HOOK, Katsuyori Shibata, Anthony Bowens) vs Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia)
SH: Just announced, this Trios encounter further develops the animosity between the Opps and the Riders that also plays into the Owen Hart Tournament match between Will Ospreay (nominally aligned with the Death Riders at the moment) and Samoa Joe. It’s hard to say how this preshow match will shake out, but it remains amazing to me that a low-stakes match like this could have some show-stealing moments just by having absolute legends like Claudio and Shibata involved. Let’s say The Opps here, what the hell.
JW: I’m happy to see the crowd reaction to Bowens in The Opps. He’s a tough guy to boo, just like Samoa Joe. It’s a perfect fit that I could have never predicted. I hope the experience helps get The Pride of Professional Wrestling into a new phase of his career. I’ll take Bowens gaining a surprise pin-fall win to start stealing some spotlight from Hook.
JXM: The Opps are big mad because Will Ospreay decided to play with the Death Riders instead of them. That makes this match like a suitors’ quarrel, kind of “if we can’t have Will, you can’t either, so we should all beat each other up.” That makes sense because wrestling, but this kind of match doesn’t have a real ending. It’s just collateral damage. I’m going with Death Riders because it’s so hard to take HOOK seriously.
10-Man Tag Match: Boom & Doom (Big Boom AJ and QT Marshall) and The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, Mark Briscoe) vs Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Shawn Dean, Anthony Ogogo, Carlie Bravo)
SH: Who doesn’t love a party match? And if anyone can be counted on for one, it’s Orange Cassidy and the Costco crew. I did try one of their cookies a few weeks ago and found it both way too big and way too sweet. I guess that tracks for this team. Look for Boom & Doom and the Conglomeration to take this one and get the crowd hyped and ready for what’s to come on the big show (not that one).
JW: I love a lot of the folks in this match. It will be entertaining. Certain elements of this match are not my cup of tea. Roderick Strong is one of the most entertaining elements on my AEW TV screen week in and week out. As long as he’s getting screen time, I’m happy. Conglomeration and co.
JXM: This is the crowdpleaser match, the one your kids probably want to watch, and they should. There’s no other match on the card that paints the heel/face dynamic with such broad, cartoonish strokes. Mark Briscoe makes crazy noises. Roderick Strong uses Orange Cassidy as a battering ram. Oh, and there’s the cookie guy from YouTube! Shane Taylor Promotions is full of skulking cheaters with bad attitudes, like the bullies at school. All Elite Wrestling is for the children, and your smaller fans will be excited when Boom & Doom and the Conglomeration get the win.
Main Card (8pm EST on PPV)
Stadium Stampede Match: Jack Perry, Jericho, The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) vs. Don Callis Family (Andrade El Idolo & Mark Davis), The Demand (Bishop Kaun, Ricochet & Toa Liona) & The Dogs (Clark Connors & David Finlay)
SH: This card has a few “throw in the entire kitchen sink” matches lined up, but this one’s the biggest and most star-studded. Jericho, the Elite, and the Hurt Syndicate all on the same team?! This has all the ingredients for the kind of chaotic free-for-all we’ve come to expect from a Stadium Stampede, and I am extremely here for it. I’ll say Team Jericho for the win, as the cracks in the Don Callis Family begin to widen.
JW: What an entertaining clusterfuck this will be. I guess the main through line for this is Jericho vs Ricochet, but there will be many more entertaining elements in this match compared to those two. Will Jack Perry go through real glass? Probably not, but I’m sure he’ll drop an F bomb on the PPV because apparently that’s his gimmick now. I’ll take the Demanding Dog Callis Family.
JXM: History has shown us that AEW’s camera crews, bless their hearts, cannot fully keep up with the barely-controlled chaos of the Stadium Stampede match. We’re going to miss a lot of spots, but the action we will get to see will be nutty. This match is the Showcase of Flippy Shit, and the Young Bucks will spend more time jumping than actually wrestling. It will be good to see The Hurt Syndicate back in action, especially in an environment where they could legitimately hurt people. Clark Connors, with his long arms and longer hair, should make a great showing. I’m playing it safe and going with the Good Guys here, Jack Perry, Jericho, The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) & The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin), but look for Ricochet to do some heinous stuff to Jericho.
AEW International Title Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita
SH: This was the first match announced for this show and is my personal main event, as two of my favourites in the company face off while their tensions from the last few months boil over. Despite being part of the same stable, this might be the beginning of the Don Callis Family civil war that we all know is coming. And what better a way to kick it off than with two of the best wrestlers on earth? I think it’s time for Takeshita to shine here and really put one over on the Rainmaker while hopefully freeing himself from the grips of the dastardly Callis.
JW: We all know Takeshita is going to take that belt at some point. I’m still not sure it happens here. This feels like the night Don Callis chooses Okada over Takeshita leading to a full blown face Takeshita finally dethroning The Rainmaker at All Out. Give me Okada… Bitch.
JXM: These two don’t like each other. Takeshita doesn’t understand why Okada gets all the praise. Okada thinks Takeshita is a bitch. It has taken months to build the rivalry up to this point, and I don’t think it ends here. Both Okada and Takeshita are tremendous workers. Be amazed by Okada’s perfect dropkick and Takeshita’s German suplex. But don’t be too surprised when Okada retains the title, and the conflict between the two men rolls on to London.
AEW World Tag Team Title I Quit Match: FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood w/Stokely) (c) vs. Adam Copeland & Christian Cage
SH: Let’s be honest, we’re just counting down the days and weeks until we get to a Cope and Cage ladder match at Wembley, and a lot of this feud with FTR feels like wheel-spinning until we get to that point. Still, these teams have pretty good chemistry and Cope and Cage as a team, even with their unusual heel/face dynamic, is their obvious natural resting state. Given that, there’s no way C&C lose the ability to team before Wembley, right? Cope and Cage win the titles and take them into All In this summer.
JW: It’s hard to imagine Cope and Cage losing the ability to team before we get some epic moment in London later this year. I’m not a huge fan of “I Quit” matches, but if anyone can figure out a way to tell a good story, it’s the teams involved in this match.
JXM: I can’t imagine anyone is going to utter the words, “I quit,” in this match. FTR and Cope & Cage know each other too well, and Stokely will have to instigate some shenanigans to help bring the match to an end. If Cope & Cage lose, they must retire as a tag team. I’m okay with that. Cope had a great solo run in AEW, and the Matriarchy has unfinished business with Christian Cage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mama Wayne appear at the top of the ramp when the match is over. My sentimental heart wants Cope & Cage to win, but I’m going with FTR to retain the titles.
Continental Title Match (no time limit): Jon Moxley (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly
SH: On paper, this is another match between two of my favourites in the company with the Continental Title on the line. Kyle O’Reilly, one of AEW’s top Kyles, has tapped out Mox on one occasion and taken him to a time limit draw in another. Usually the Continental Title rules mean that there’s no interference and a 20 minute time limit, same as in the Continental Classic tournament where Mox won the belt in the first place. Getting rid of the time limit stipulation makes some sense in story, but I’d prefer if they’d kept it intact to add some ‘beat the clock’ drama to this one and set it apart some more. As much as I’d like to see this go to Kyle, I think Mox pulls this one out in a marathon.
JW: It feels like TK has been flirting with Kylo holding some singles gold for a while. Add that to the fact Kyle O’Reilly has Moxley’s number. It’s gotta be now or never, right? Right?!??!!? Moxley has a dozen different stories he could tell by losing the strap. I just don’t know what story Kylo tells with the strap. I’ll take Mox retaining in a classic and a handshake finish.
JXM: The No Time Limit stipulation makes sense when you’re trying to book a five-hour-long show. Putting two massive stars into a 20-minute match doesn’t give the paying audience what they want. But, that stip is going to give Mox the advantage. Kylo may think he can wear Moxley down and slap on a submission. But Mox has a gas tank bigger than a semi’s, and the longer a match goes, the meaner Mox gets. Kylo has too much time on his hands, and it’s going to work against him. Mox retains, hopefully with a submission, because that would be poetic.
Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Men’s Tournament Quarter Final Match: Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay
SH: Ho-hum, throw another “dream match I’ve always wanted to see but never have until AEW came around” on the pile. But seriously, beyond the tournament itself and the fact that it would be physically impossible for these two to have anything short of an absolute banger unless one or both fell to a catastrophic injury, there’s a solid story behind this one with Will having to change his wrestling style in the wake of his recent catastrophic injury. For that to be with the aid of Jon Moxley’s Death Riders, the folks that put Ospreay down in the first place, infuriated Joe and his Opps faction, and here we are. I gotta think that Ospreay has an express ticket to Wembley this August and is winning this whole tournament, so I’ll be looking for him to pick up the victory here.
JW: Will Ospreay is a man on a mission and Samoa Joe is step number one. I expect Joe to make every effort to break Bruv’s neck for the duration of this match. Ospreay will mount a comeback before the inevitable Opps interference and Death Riders save. Ospreay snatches victory from the jaws of defeat when Joe refuses to release a choke and Will pins Joe’s shoulders in a roll up victory.
JXM: Samoa Joe has a bone to pick with Will Ospreay. Since Ospreay didn’t join Joe’s faction, the Opps, Joe must beat the crap out of Ospreay. This is wrestling logic. Do not question it. Ospreay has been training with Death Riders, and that rankles Joe even more. In a round-robin tournament situation where the brackets are chosen randomly (allegedly), coming up with an Ospreay/Joe match is fortuitous. Samoa Joe gets his chance at revenge without having to wait in line to get his hands on Ospreay. I believe that Joe will be confused by Will’s new “check your neck” wrestling style that he learned from Death Riders. Look for Will Ospreay to move ahead in the tournament, and for a deeper feud between the Opps and the Death Riders to arise.
Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Men’s Tournament Quarter Final Match: Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido
SH: Bandido and Swerve have been on a, ahem, collision course after both have had a little bit of a reduced TV role recently, but with both back in killer form this should be a hell of a match. I’m looking for Swerve to go far in the Owen, maybe all the way to the finals, so he’s my pick to win this one.
JW: The Vertebreaker onto the chair that Swerve hit on Bandido at Supercard of Honor was brutal. I appreciate the extra effort to make this opening round match in The Owen have even bigger stakes by having Swerve show up on an RoH PPV. It adds an extra wrinkle to a match that’s already guaranteed to be great on paper. I’ll take Bandido winning via DQ when The Most Dangerous Man in AEW leaves him laying in a bloody heap with no regrets for the L.
JXM: Heel Swerve Strickland is a force. He’s completely believable, even when his motives are a little wobbly and unclear. We don’t have to know why Swerve is pissed. All we need to do is get out of the way. Bandido refuses to run from anyone. He’s the most over babyface masked luchador in the last five years. Everyone loves Bandido, except Swerve. Wouldn’t it infuriate Swerve even more if Bandido moved up in the Owen? That would add a whole new level to their feud. Swerve doesn’t need to win this tournament, but he does need to keep creeping on Bandido. At least until Hangman Adam Page comes back. Look for Bandido to win and for Swerve to be mad about it.
Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Women’s Tournament Quarter Final Match: Alex Windsor vs. WILD CARD
SH: This is a tough pick without knowing who the Wild Card is. Some are speculating that it’s the long-absent Mercedes Mone, still recovering mentally from crashing out and losing all her titles, but that’d make me wonder why she wasn’t in the brackets in the first place? A fun surprise like Maki Itoh, a returning Ruby Soho, or perhaps a recently-liberated Nikki Storm/Cross or Kairi Sane/Hojo though? I’d be into that.
JW: The biggest heel in professional wrestling is the injury bug that’s put Willow Nightingale on the shelf. I pray for a speedy recovery because my world is less bright when she’s not on television. With both Willow and Toni Storm dealing with injuries, the Women’s division could use a shot in the arm. I’ll take the Wild Card over Windsah. Whether they insert Billie Starkz to build towards a final with Athena, a returning Mercedes Monè or anyone else; this feels like an opportunity that TK will take advantage of and do something special.
JXM: This was supposed to be Alex Windsor vs. Willow Nightingale, but Nightingale had to drop out of the tournament and abdicate the TBS Championship Title due to injury. I miss her already. As of this writing, we don’t know who Willow’s replacement will be. It doesn’t matter who they bring in as the Wild Card. Alex Windsor wins. Unless the Wild Card is Maki Itoh. Dang, what if it’s Maki Itoh?
Owen Hart Foundation 2026 Women’s Tournament Quarter Final Match: Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa
SH: As much as I want my Forever Champion, Athena, to run away with this whole thing, she has other business to attend to in Ring of Honor. But she should also be able to make short work of Mina here and at least advance past the first round, so Athena is my pick.
JW: As a loyal Minion In Training, I am required to choose Athena here. The injury to Willow shakes things up for this tournament. Could this finally be the time Athena claims her spot in the AEW Women’s division? I would love to see it, but I’m not getting my hopes up only to have them crushed… AGAIN.
JXM: Here’s a fun little grudge match! Athena broke Mina’s hand at last year’s AEW All In: Texas. It’s safe to assume Mina is still a bit salty about that. Athena has been the Ring of Honor Women’s Champion since before we all were born. She’s nigh on unstoppable. Does Athena take time away from Ring of Honor to chase the Owen Cup? I’m betting not. My guess is that Mina Shirakawa will have her revenge on Athena and move forward in the tournament.
AEW Women’s World Title Four Way Match: Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander
SH: Thekla has been on a tear in her reign as champ and this match against three former world champions has ample opportunity for her to show out once again. At the same time, the bizarre dynamic between Shida and Stat provides just as much drama to make no outcome a sure thing here. I think Thekla sits back while the other three ladies beat the brakes off one another, sliding in to backdoor her way into retaining the title.
JW: The Shida/Stat Saga hasn’t done much for me. It seems formulaic and unless something happens soon, it will feel like it’s gone on too long. I have to imagine something happens with those two that leads to Thekla stealing a victory. These ladies are capable of stealing the show. I’d love to be talking about this match on Monday.
JXM: How far off the rails can a match go? I’m hoping this one is insane. I’m more interested in watching Stat Daddy beat the piss out of Hikaru Shida than anything else in this bout. We might see some color in this match, too. None of these women are afraid to wear the crimson mask. Jamie Hayter is a little outshined by the other competitors in this match, so she will have to do try hard to keep up. It won’t be a shock if Thekla lets the other three women wear each other down before getting the pin on Hayter. I’m calling for Thekla to retain.
AEW World Title Vs. Hair Match: Darby Allin (c) vs. MJF
SH: A lot of people were skeptical of Darby winning the world title from MJF, and I get it. The guy who looks like he dragged himself out of a dumpster and puts himself through hell in nearly every match doesn’t exactly exude the kind of aura that one might expect from a world champion. But in only about 7 weeks, Darby has proven himself something beyond just a fighting champion, taking on every challenger week in and week out in grueling contests, and despite coming out the other side with the Big Plat intact, he seems to be running out of gas. With Max’s hair on the line and, in turn, his vanity, I think he’ll be going at a higher gear than usual and as much as I’d like to see Darby take it home again, I’ll go with MJF here.
JW: I have a hard time believing that Max gets shaved… then again, he’d give off Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor vibes with his charisma, so maybe there’s something there? I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t intrigued by a Darby Allin title reign until I saw the title defenses he’s had. “Till the wheels fall off” is perfect, and dammit! I’m not ready for them to fall off! I’ll go with a returning Hangman Adam Page making a timely intervention preventing Max from getting a deceptive victory. Darby lives to fight another day. Max gets a new look and a new reason to hate The Main Character of AEW.
JXM: AEW’s discrimination against bald men continues with this match, where Maxwell Jacob Friedman will get his head shaved if he loses to Darby Allin. You want a reigning and defending champion? Look no further than Darby Allin. He’s been on every AEW show, including the hilarious and surreal Fairway to Hell special, keeping everyone away from that title. MJF loves his hair. He also loves cheating, chicanery, and hitting people in the face with the Dynamite diamond ring. How will Max Bugs Bunny his way out of getting an unwanted haircut? I don’t know. I’m going to hedge here and say Darby Allin will retain, but MJF will find a way to keep his hair. If Max comes to the ring in a bald cap, I’m going to spill my popcorn.
In the United States, you can order Double or Nothing on HBO MAX, Prime Video, PPV.COM, YouTube, Fubo, DirecTV, Sling, Dish, and traditional cable and satellite providers. Canada and select international countries can order Double or Nothing on Prime Video, Triller, PPV.COM, and YouTube. HBO MAX and TNT viewers can watch the Buy-In, a live pre-show beginning at 7:00 PM EST. Double or Nothing begins at 8:00 PM EST and will very likely go past midnight. And that’s not even counting the post-show press scrum on Youtube afterwards.
