For the last few months, AEW has quietly been building a ton of momentum heading into Double or Nothing. The quality of the weekly television product has been trending in the right direction, and the depth of the roster, especially when it comes to younger talent, feels like it’s at an all-time high.

But that’s only half of the job. Once you get to New York, you’ve got to deliver while the lights are at their brightest. And last night, AEW delivered what many people, myself included, are calling its best pay-per-view event yet.

Just gone through AEW Double Or Nothing with a friend of mine who sort of watches wrestling and likes to get the headlines. Almost too much happened. 😂

What a tremendous show, though. AEW's PPV consistency is second to none. Surely DoN is now in the top 5 ever, if not higher.

— Simon Miller (@SimonMiller316) May 25, 2026

The entire team at AEW should take tons of pride in tonight's show.

15,000 fans were invested from start to finish and were treated to maybe the best wrestling show in company history. A smashing success for the company

— Noah Gilbert (@Noahgilberto19) May 25, 2026

Dave Meltzer called AEW Double or Nothing “among the best” pay-per-views, praising the card, first two matches, many great bouts, six near-out-of-this-world, a fantastic crowd, and an awesome show. He says AEW does the best big shows consistently. #PWMania pic.twitter.com/dmXpg3fIzn

— Pro Wrestling & MMA News (@PWMMANews) May 25, 2026

Dear @TonyKhan. Tremendous show. Maybe the best AEW PPV ever. Please end the media scrum by 1:30 AM ET. I know tomorrow is a holiday, but some of us (me) have kids who still wake us up at 6 AM. Think of those of us (me) with kids.

— Jeremy Lambert (@jeremylambert88) May 25, 2026

The success of last night’s show started with those aforementioned weekly TV shows, and more specifically, with the build-up to the card. Darby Allin had an epic, “the brightest stars burn out the fastest” type of title run on top, which was absolutely perfect for his character (and his first title run). And MJF, who has been doing John Cena-levels worth of media lately to promote the show, has positioned himself nicely as the face of the company.

Of course, the Stadium Stampede match almost sells itself, but AEW still did a great job of mixing established stars and wrestling veterans with newer talent who earned a chance on a bigger stage. Combine the builds of those two matches with everything else — the wild tag team match that opened the show, Okada versus Takeshita, O’Reilly versus Moxley, and the Owen matches — and you have everything you need for a memorable night.

I’m still interested to see AEW do (a lot!) more with their women’s division. Still, I walked away last night really excited at where things are trending there, too. Thekla has so much potential, and she made me an even bigger fan with how she carried herself in the post-match scrum. She’s fun and wacky, which is how I like my ‘rasslin.

There’s also a ton of women tearing it up in ROH right now, so things are looking up there, too.

Production-wise, last night’s show might be my favorite AEW event I’ve ever watched on television. I’m a sucker for sets, arenas, and lighting, and I thought the crew at AEW managed to make Louis Armstrong Stadium look both gritty and professional, without leaning too heavily in either direction, which is hard to do in the LED screen-laden era we’re all currently living in.

The fans were off the charts good all night, too, although the match card and the action made their jobs pretty easy. Speaking of the match card, I thought the match order was crafted incredibly well. Opening with Cage and Cope winning the tag titles from FTR in an “I Quit” New York Street Fight was the right kind of ridiculous needed to set the tone without blowing your load too early.  

From there, the show quickly found a rhythm and never let up. Takeshita beating Okada for the International Championship was the in-ring high point… or at least it was for me. It was physical, perfectly executed, and felt important. Even better, AEW immediately turned Takeshita’s star-making performance (and his celebration) into a story, with Kyle Fletcher returning.

Wrestling is like American football; you always have to keep the chains moving, and AEW did a wonderful job of that last night.

The same can be said of the main event. MJF beating Darby Allin to regain the AEW World Championship could have easily felt like the company returning to a familiar (and safe) option. Instead, the match left me feeling even better about Darby Allin, a character I already like and enjoy almost every time I see him on my screen.

And MJF has never felt like a bigger deal, either, which means everyone walked away from that match in a better place, which is what you want every time there’s a title change.

Over the last 10 years or so, closing your pay-per-view with a hot angle has felt like pro wrestling’s version of those Marvel post-credit scenes. Sometimes they land, sometimes they feel forced, but AEW hit a home run with Kevin Knight attacking Darby Allin after the main event.

MJF standing over Allin’s body while he was on a stretcher was probably the best shot of the night, but Knight managed to walk away with the last word, which is how you build your two top heels at the same time.

So, what happens next? Because the real story coming out of Double or Nothing is that AEW has the hot hand and is primed for a big run. They’ve had that hot hand for a while now, but last night felt like the kind of momentum you need when you want to take things to the next level.

AEW has everything you need to have a run: they’ve got young talent, legends, veterans, and stories people are engaging with and following closely. That’s obviously what you want when you’re running a professional wrestling company that has to do an insane amount of TV each week, but it’s also a lot of weight to carry. And even harder to maintain.

That’s why the next 3 to 4 months might be the most important stretch in company history. The build to All In 2026 is officially on, and I don’t think it’s too early to call it one of the most important shows in the history of the company.