Fans are going to remember this show for a while. The 2026 AEW Double or Nothing PPV event in New York City didn’t have any five-star matches, but it had action. Action that actually mattered. Action that took place inside the ending of important company stories.
FTR vs. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage, Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet vs. Chris Jericho, and Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher, all were top tier television storylines that got attention and the time to cross the finish line. The matches for those moments delivered and did so in a way that had the New York audience’s attention.
AEW knows how to do PPV. They flexed their muscles with this one.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
FTR vs. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage - AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championship “I Quit” Street Fight
There were some pet peeves in this one that seemed to be directly right at me. The big one being the AEW cameras showing the crowd cheering and chanting “holy shit,” after Dax Harwood hit a piledriver on Adam Copeland onto the announce table. That’s your big heat spot in the match. If the focus is on the gleeful audience, the spot is meaningless. Ok, that aside, this was a strong opener to the show that the audience was invested in — albeit for the wrong reasons early on. Copeland and Cage finished off their story with FTR in the exact way they needed to. Things felt dangerous and the table on fire spot very helped define that tone. Something bad had to happen to Stokely Hathaway because of all he did throughout this feud. I’d say the fire table was fitting, but it felt like production made the wrong call to shoot the spot from the floor rather than from the hard cam shot, which could have featured a better viewing angle.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita - AEW International Championship
Tremendous action. The hard-hitting spots and the high-impact moves were insane, but what stood out more than anything else was the pace. These two worked incredibly fast, but with an incredible crisp at the same time. The match flowed and delivered on the story being told of both guys being titans of The Don Callis Family. Takeshita needed the win. Not only to wrap his Okada story, but start the showdown with the rest of the Callis Family and Kyle Fletcher. The Fletcher return got some heat in the end and that was good. The swerve? Why? It’s a sacrifice of logic for an opportunity at added drama. Fundamentally, I wouldn’t make that sacrifice.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/2
Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa - AEW Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament First Round Match
This landed in a tough spot on the card. The crowd was inevitably going to be recovering during this one because of the energy expended for Takeshita vs. Okada. Plus, it was a late addition to the show. Both women worked hard to get the audience back and they pretty much got there. Athena sold Shirakawa’s offense with a little extra sizzle in an attempt to hook fans back into the action. Not a surprise to see Athena win and advance in The Owen. In terms of booking, that was the only way to go.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly - AEW Continental Championship No Time Limit Match
Exactly what everyone thought it would be. It felt slow to me. They were working with precision holds and strikes, but weren’t able to find the drama in that story inside of the action they laid out. Moxley finally got his win on O’Reilly. The audience did not finally get a hint as to how Tony Khan and AEW want them to react to Moxley. This is essential.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe - AEW Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament First Round Match
Man, Ospreay took a beating in this one. Needed to, though. Joe had to look menacing and a beating like the one he took makes the mountain he needs to climb to All In that much steeper. Ospreay can do all the flashy moves, but he does the nuts and bolts too. That’s what makes him truly great. Ospreay’s sell job on the final choke by Joe was magnificent. He soaked in sympathy and worry from the audience in a near-perfect way and at a perfect time.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/4
Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido - AEW Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament First Round Match
Creative as hell. The finisher counters were unique and got huge pops from the audience. They made the match because Strickland winning was an all but certain outcome. I’ll say it again. Bandido does not have bad matches right now. Ever.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 1/4
Thekla vs Jaime Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander - AEW Women’s World Championship Fatal Four-Way Match
Thekla has beaten all of these women in singles matches, so the idea that they were a threat was kinda wonky. Yeah, it’s a fatal four-way and yada yada, but the match felt like what it was — something that existed because AEW didn’t have another singles match to go with for Thekla on this show. Thekla did Thekla things. She is in constant connection with the audience and that connection drives everything she does in the ring.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Jack Perry, and The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand, The Dogs, Mark Davis, and Andrade El Idolo - Stadium Stampede Match
Total madness and not in a good way. The best thing to say about it was that it was true to Stadium Stampede form. Wild and goofy action to get a laugh. In the same match, Chris Jericho tossed a couple tennis balls at Ricochet AND Jack Perry ran over Mark Davis with a car. Tradition is good, but it also needs tweaks. Stadium Stampede is due for a tweak. Moonlighting it for a couple years is a valid idea at this point.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 3/4
Darby Allin vs. MJF - AEW Men’s World Championship
Darby Allin almost killed himself in this match. Now, that was the entire story of his title run, so a fitting end I guess? Without concerning yourself with Allin’s real physical state, it was a strong end to his world champion storyline. MJF is the new world champion and well, he kinda told Allin this was how things would go. I like when stories end that way. Allin was who he was until the end — same with MJF. It’s a fun storyline dynamic between two wrestlers that are so different, but that have such a vast history together. The one hiccup in this was Allin being woozy and nearly passing out. The announce team didn’t convey well enough that those spells were because of an accumulation of all the damage he took in previous title matches. They mentioned that story, but didn’t tie it directly back to the fainting. The world title belt being around MJF’s waist feels right. Let the build to MJF vs. Will Ospreay at All In begin.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/2
What did you think of AEW Double or Nothing 2026? Let us know in the comments!
Subscribe to the Brass Ring Media Newsletter HERE.
Follow Zack Heydorn on Bluesky @zackheydorn.bsky.social.