Hard to believe we're at the EIGHTH annual AEW Double or Nothing spectacular, but time flies I guess, more and more with each passing year.
This Sunday marks seven years minus one day from AEW's debut event, and as usual the company has a loaded lineup in store. Sadly one match had to be changed due to injury, but even with Willow Nightingale and multiple other big names still missing in action (Hangman, Toni and Mercedes) this show still looks great on paper. And the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium will be huge, over 14,000 as we speak and the show will likely sell out by Sunday.
Also for once I'm actually excited to see the Zero Hour show, because joining Renée Paquette for hosting duties will be none other than the Hardcore Legend himself, Mick Foley! Having rightly decided he no longer wants to be associated with WWE and their pro-MAGA horseshit, Foley is now free to lend his insight and name value elsewhere. It'll be interesting to see if he makes regular AEW appearances, and if he interacts with fellow daredevil Darby Allin. Even if this is a one-off, Foley's presence here will be quite welcome.
Speaking of Zero Hour, let's get to the predictions....
Zero Hour: Divine Dominion vs. Zayda Steel & Viva Van
This is another five-minute Eliminator Match, where any team who can last this scant amount of time against the AEW Women's Tag Champs will get a title shot. These are just Golberg-esque showcase matches for the dominant Bayne/Kross combo, which is fine. I think the champs probably get a squash win here in front of a huge NYC crowd.
Pick: DD
Owen Cup: Mina Shirakawa vs. Athena
So Willow Nightingale, who was not only the TBS Champion but a heavy favorite to win the 2026 Owen, suffered a shoulder injury last week and had to bow out of the tournament and forfeit the title. This sucks. I was expecting Willow to probably challenge either Statlander or a returning Mercedes at Wembley, and now that's almost certainly out the window. So Alex Windsor's first-round opponent will now be a Wild Card, and they're gonna need a big name to fill that spot. Do they bring back Moné earlier than planned and have her win back-to-back Owens? This women's division is now out three of their top stars and will either need someone to come back or someone to step up in a major way. Anyway, Athena vs. Mina should be very solid. I don't see Athena losing in the opening round.
Pick: Athena
Owen Cup: Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe
Alright, we're at the proper start of Will's AEW World Title quest, and he's enlisted the least likely mentor in Jon Moxley, to awaken his killer instinct. Ospreay has begun to adopt a safer, more ground-based attack, with a little of his aerial stuff thrown in. That's probably the best move coming off spinal fusion surgery. The story with Joe should be fun to watch play out, and the submission expert is a good first-round opponent to really help Will showcase what he's learned from the Death Riders. Should be a gritty, intense battle.
Pick: Will
Owen Cup: Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido
Speaking of killer instinct, Swerve will also have a first-round match, against ROH Champion Bandido. This should be fantastic, even if the build has been barely there. They did a couple vignettes and one live brawl, but as it's just to set up a quarterfinal I guess it's better than nothing. I fully expect Ospreay vs. Swerve to be the tournament final, and boy am I here for that. Their Forbidden Door match two years ago was incredible.
Pick: Swerve
Continental Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O'Reilly
This was just added last night, after O'Reilly survived a 20-minute eliminator match with Mox. And this title match will have no time limit, so of course the question is whether Kyle can make Mox tap for a third time. Obviously Mox is retaining, but this should be pretty great and they've done a fine job with this rivalry.
Pick: Mox retains
Tag Team Championship I Quit Match: FTR vs. Cope & Cage
It's the final stop for this feud, at least for now, and if Cope & Cage lose, they can never team again. So obviously they're winning. This match should be very violent and quite good. I'm not super excited about Cope & Cage winning the belts, but I imagine they'll end up defending against both FTR and the Bucks at Wembley (with The New Day apparently AEW-bound, it could even turn into a four-way party match).
Pick: Cope & Cage
International Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Holy shit this'll be incredible. Their previous match was marred by a bad finish, so hopefully this'll be clean. And epic. Takeshita HAS to win this. Has to. This should steal the show if done right.
Pick: Takeshita
Women's World Championship: Thekla vs. Kris Statlander vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter
Four-ways can be hit or miss, but with the talent involved here I'm expecting a fun one. Shida and Kris's rocky relationship will no doubt take center stage. I'm enjoying Shida's unhinged new character and I think there's a lot of fun territory for her to explore in promos. I think Thekla probably retains until Mercedes comes back (unless Mercedes is now being inserted into the Owen).
Pick: Thekla retains
Stadium Stampede: Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Jack Perry/Hurt Syndicate/Young Bucks vs. Ricochet/Andrade El Idolo/Mark Davis/The Dogs/Gates of Agony
Seven guys on each team is a lot, but they always find a way to make these matches great. I predict we'll hear "Judas" many, many times as the soundtrack to this one. I know Stadium Stampede is different than Anarchy in the Arena, but I think this will be a combination of the two. Jericho and the Bucks took a cheap loss this week so the babyfaces probably redeem themselves here.
Pick: Team JericHurtElite
AEW Men's World Championship: Darby Allin vs. MJF
Man, for a title change I was lukewarm to when it happened, Darby Allin's run over the last five weeks has been god damn spectacular. Every one of his defenses has been an absolute banger and I love the story he's telling of "I'm gonna defend this title every week until I physically can't anymore." Couple that with MJF putting his hair on the line, and this should have a ton of crowd heat, not to mention draw a pretty damn strong buyrate. Their match at Full Gear 2021 almost stole the show and they're both levels ahead of that in 2026, so this ought to be a fantastic main event. Somehow Vegas odds have Darby as a slight favorite, but with the story they're telling and MJF's hair on the line I can't see Max losing.
Pick: Max
There's your lineup, and a helluva slate of matches it is. I say it all the time, but nobody does PPV like AEW does PPV.
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