On Sunday, May 26th, AEW held its big event, “Double or Nothing.” This was the show that started it all for AEW back in 2019. Over those five years, we’ve seen AEW grow to new heights. This year’s Double or Nothing was headlined by a huge Anarchy in the Arena match between The Elite (The Young Bucks, Kazuchika Okada, and Jack Perry) and Team AEW (Bryan Danielson, FTR, & Darby Allin).
However, the action didn’t disappoint in the other matches either. We also saw Mercedes Mone challenge Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship, Swerve Strickland put his AEW World Championship on the line against Christian Cage, Adam Copeland defend his TNT Championship against Malakai Black in a “barbed wire steel cage” match, and so much more. So, what were the top three moments of the night?
Top three moments of AEW Double or Nothing
3. Will Ospreay wins the AEW International Championship
In the opening match of the night, we saw Will Ospreay get his first shot at some gold in AEW, as he challenged Roderick Strong for the AEW International Championship. This match didn’t disappoint and got off to an immensely hot start. Ospreay took a scary fall and landed on his neck in the early going of the match. Thankfully, he was fine and everything went on as normal.
Strong and Ospreay went to war for the AEW International Championship. Strong’s allies would make their presence felt, as Wardlow, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven each intervened to ensure that Ospreay would not win the championship on that night. However, their opportunities would fail and Ospreay would overcome all the odds.
Ospreay winning the AEW International Championship was the right call. Taking nothing away from Strong, Ospreay has the makings to bring this title to new heights and make it mean more than it ever has before. This was one of the top moments of the night, and set the tone for an incredible rest of the show.
2. Mercedes Mone gets her first taste of AEW gold/Kris Statlander turns heel
In the first of the three main events, we saw Mercedes Mone look to get her first taste of AEW gold, as she challenged Willow Nightingale for the TBS Championship. Some may argue this should have been the main event, and it’s easy to see why. This match surely didn’t disappoint. This also marked Mone’s first match back in the ring in nearly one year. From the start of the match to the very end, a lot happened here.
Mone went on to be victorious against Nightingale, winning the AEW TBS Championship. This was the right call as Mone has all the star power in the world to make the TBS Championship that much bigger. Nightingale was an amazing champion though, so take nothing away from her reign. However, the bigger story came after this match.
When the match concluded, Statlander hit the ring to stand up for her friend in the face of their manager, Stokely Hathaway. Statlander shoved Hathaway and left with Willow. But, this was all a facade, as Statlander turned on Willow at the entranceway, ripping up her friendship bracelet in the process. She then aligned with Hathaway. A heel Statlander should be very interesting for AEW.
1. The “Prodigal Son” comes home
Following the Ospreay and Strong match, Adam Cole came out to cut a heel promo. He spoke about how he was better than everyone, and yada yada yada. This promo came as a surprise as Cole wasn’t planned for the show, but it made a lot of sense when the promo culminated in the return of the “prodigal son.”
The lights went out in the arena and a bunch of MJF-related items were shown. This led to MJF’s music hitting and he came out to a huge pop from the AEW crowd. At first, it looked like he was going to hug Cole, but this was not going to be the case. MJF landed a low blow on Cole and followed it up with a huge brainbuster.
MJF then cut a hero-type of promo. He spoke about how he will never be trusting anyone again and he’s going to back to hating everyone. He shared a new tattoo of the AEW logo in poker chips surrounded by the words “Bet On Yourself.” He then said he was not leaving and destroyed the “devil” mask before leaving. MJF. Is. Back.
Overall, this show did not disappoint. The Anarchy in the Arena match was about as chaotic as it came, Adam Copeland and Malakai Black tore the house down, Ospreay and Mone winning was a great touch, and MJF returning is massive for AEW.
