Write Forever: I guess sometimes friends kiss at AEW Double or Nothing for May 25

May 25, 2025

It's Double or Nothing night! I'm not going to say that this is a two-match show for me, but I am exceedingly excited for two matches more than the rest: Jamie Hayter vs Mercedes Moné and Hangman Page vs Will Ospreay. I'm stoked for a lot of the rest of the show as well (Paragon excluded), but those two matches are the main draw for me tonight.

I think both outcomes are basically set in stone without any big surprises, but who knows what could happen! My guess is we're set for Mercedes/Toni and Ospreay/Mox at All In, but I'd be happy with either outcome which I'm not sure is a feeling I've felt about every other Owen Hart Cup tournament final thus far.

We also have Anarchy in the Arena and my hope upon hopes is that, with the inclusion of Gabe Kidd in this whole mess as of late, we get the return of Eddie Kingston. Please, Eddie – backfist every Death Rider into orbit.

Mercedes Moné, the best to ever do it

In the opening match, we answered the question of who will be facing the Women's World Champion at All In with Mercedes Moné vs Jamie Hayter. What a way to kick off the show!

There was absolutely no question in mind that this would be a show-stealer and it was absolutely that. A perfect way to start the PPV proper with the crowd hot the entire way.

They built to a lot of false finishes that I bit on in favor of Jamie Hayter, which I always appreciate when the outcome of a match is essentially certain. That's the fun of being an adult wrestling fan: knowing how the story will likely end but believing the story being told enough to have a moment of disbelief.

Mercedes walked away with the win in an excellent match, adding yet another Match of the Night candidate to her already lengthy list. The ending was a bit frightening with a DDT/small package (was it supposed to be a DDT?) spiking Hayter head-first into the mat. Hopefully she's a-okay and has something ahead for her leading into All In.

That would be the only negative coming out of this: the chance that Hayter gets lost in the shuffle of the main women's feuds going on. Things get even more tied-up with Mercedes, the TBS Champion, challenging for the World Title at All In. With both women's titles potentially tied up in one match, I hope we still get another one or two other women's matches on the show.

Let there be no question about it: Mercedes Moné is one of the, if not the, best that has ever done it. From character work to promos to in-ring work, she may have many peers but few have done it as good or better. Of course, she's walking into All In against the one other woman in this business who may do it all even better which means the Women's World Title match at All In is as likely to be a show-stealer as this match was.

Of blood and scissors

As expected, Mark Briscoe and Ricochet had a bloody, brutal first-ever-in-AEW Stretcher Match. I love a good old-school, goofball gimmick match every now and then especially with wrestlers who can stay true to the heart of the gimmick while upping the quality to meet today's standards.

This wasn't your standard "put the guy on the stretcher, wheel it for a while, the guy escapes, repeat" stretcher match. The stretchers were used mostly as weapons rather than match-winning devices which worked out much better.

Briscoe bled a gusher, looking like an absolute maniac with his face painted red, half of his teeth missing, and brandishing a pair of golden scissors.

Ricochet got the unsurprising win after revealing a second pair of scissors and stabbing Briscoe a few times before depositing him in the ambulance. Y'know, classic wrestling stuff! Ricochet gets a needed win and can move onto, hopefully, a title picture or at least stepping stones to a title picture. The same could be said for Briscoe, though – both guys deliver big time each time out and it'd be heartwarming to see their hard work pay off.

I guess sometimes friends kiss

Toni Storm finished answering the question of what the Women's World Title Match would be at All In by defeating Mina Shirakawa to retain her title. This wasn't my favorite recent match of either Toni or Mina, but it was still a good match. The crowd didn't seem quite as rabid for this as they were for Mercedes/Hayter earlier in the night, but that could be PPV fatigue having set in.

I was a bit surprised to not have the return of Mariah May or the debut of Thekla in the post-match. Thekla teases have been happening during women's matches for a weeks now, but maybe she has a different target? And while there have been rumors that Mariah could be WWE-bound (awful news), there's still a contingent that thinks she may just be playing both sides for more money (great news).

Thinking more deeply about it, it wouldn't have made a ton of sense for anyone to show up after the match since Toni's future is figured out through July. So, unless someone was just going to target Mina then ending without shenanigans was just fine.

In the post-match we did get, though, Toni and Mina did bury the hatchet and smooch a little bit to the delight of the crowd and bemusement of Taz on commentary. Toni stays winning by beating her opponents' asses and then making out with them.

Let some of those bodies hit the floor

Anarchy in the Arena was exactly what it needed to be: a bunch of goofball bullshit from before the opening bell even rang. We got three songs playing throughout the match this time around: The Young Bucks' flute and drum intro, "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters, and "Bodies" by Drowning Pool. This will be the first and last time those three songs are ever grouped together in history.

The babyfaces prevailed by locking Death Riders in the back of the ambulance still in the building after the Stretcher Match earlier in the night when Kenny Omega hit Matt Jackson with a One Winged Angel through an exploding table off the ramp while Swerve Strickland stomped Nick Jackson with thumbtack sneakers.

I wasn't expecting a babyface win here, honestly. I figured we'd get more Death Riders standing tall for Mox leading into All In, but the way it was done sours the relationship between Death Riders and The Young Bucks. This opens up stories for Death Riders and The Elite to have a quick falling out that could have interesting implications for All In.

What happens if, later tonight, Hangman becomes number one contender (unlikely) with The Bucks now (possibly) sworn enemies of Death Riders? I don't see a babyface turn for The Bucks already, but they could be a nasty wrench in the gears of Death Riders if everything pans out correctly.

Lots of little bits of intrigue will come out of this match!

My only gripe is that I wish there was more for Willow and Marina to do. We know Willow can go full sicko mode and it would have been great to see her bloody more people/get bloody and do some wacko shit.

Leaves IS plants, dumbass

I predicted from the very beginning that Will Ospreay would win The Owen and go on to dethrone Jon Moxley to save us all from Death Riders at All In. It just made sense. He had been on such an upswing and seemed poised to be the new poster boy for AEW.

But then a funny thing happened. "Hangman" Adam Page happened. It's not like we didn't know the story of Hangman or that he is, undoubtedly, one of the actual pillars of AEW. It just felt like he had his own thing going on and his fears, doubts, insecurities, and obsessions would be he undoing.

Along the way, though, Hanger started to grow. He began to move past his death wish for Swerve Strickland and started to see that the things he had put Swerve through hadn't made him a better or more honest person, but a worse person who needed to atone for his actions.

While Hangman and Swerve still aren't the best of friends, they appear to have a mutual respect and understanding that they didn't have six months ago. With all of that in the rear view, things began to shift a bit. Although I had picked Ospreay to win the tournament, seeds of doubt began to plant themselves in my brain.

From those seeds grew full-blown theories of how Hangman could be the one shining star of AEW to bring the World Title back home.

Tonight, both guys got special entrances and were both made to feel like huge deals. It didn't feel imbalanced at all, which made the unpredictability rates raise even higher.

And then it happened.

"Hangman" Adam Page defeated Will Ospreay to win the 2025 Owen Hart Cup and guarantee himself a shot at the World Title at All In.

I'd never been happier to be wrong about a wrestling prediction.

While both guys beat the hell out of each other and showed some frustration toward one another, they ended the night with a handshake and a hope – the hope that the loser would still have the winner's back against Mox and Death Riders at All In.

Will Ospreay remain a man of his word? Or will the disappointment of not being able to walk into Forbidden Door in London as World Champion grow a darkness in his heart? Only time will tell.

Wrapping Up

Nigel McGuinness and Daniel Garcia vs FTR was a fun match hurt a bit by pacing. Once we got to the Tony Schiavone & Nigel telenovela portion of the match, everything slowed down a bit too awkwardly and affected the quality of the rest of the match, in my opinion. Not that the storyline stuff was bad at all! I've loved this entire story, but stuff like this always mucks up a match. Still good stuff from everybody, though.

The Tag Team Title match between The Hurt People and The Sons of Texas was fine, but also suffered from the same thing the other tag match on the show suffered from: too much buffoonery during the match that cut off the flow of the match. When it was just a tag team match it was enjoyable enough but I'm still not gaga over Lashley and Shelton as champions. Here's hoping they can have a feud with an actual tag team now that this MJF shit is over (for now).

Kazuchika Okada and "Speedball" Mike Bailey had an excellent match that, once again, had me biting on finishes from Bailey despite me "knowing" going into things that Okada wouldn't be dropping the belt. Bailey is over big in this household as a non-binary, French-Canadian, Grillo's eating, Balatro gear wearer. I'm still holding out hope that we get a unification match between Okada and Omega at All In.

lol Paragon.

Best AEW Matches of 2025

Don't see a match on the list? It's not because I didn't see the match, but because I didn't do a write-up for that show for whatever reason (timing, schedules, etc.). This list is as comprehensive as it can be.

I've also decided to omit squashes from the list since they're just going to crowd space at the bottom.

Toni Storm vs Mariah May: Women's World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
"Hangman" Adam Page vs Orange Cassidy (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
Swerve Strickland vs Ricochet (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
Mercedes Moné vs Jamie Hayter (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
"Hangman" Adam Page vs Will Ospreay (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Mark Briscoe: TNT Title (Collision: January 4, 2025)
Konosuke Takeshita vs Orange Cassidy: International Title (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
Mercedes Moné vs Momo Watanabe: TBS Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Megan Bayne: World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Mark Briscoe vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
Kenny Omega vs Ricochet vs Mike Bailey: International Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
MJF vs "Hangman" Adam Page (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Mercedes Moné vs Athena (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
Death Riders vs Rated FTR: Trios Titles (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Will Ospreay vs Kevin Knight (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
"Hangman" Adam Page vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight vs The Young Bucks (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
Konosuke Takeshita vs Kenny Omega: International Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
"Hangman" Adam Page vs Josh Alexander (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Wheeler Yuta vs Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, & Powerhouse Hobbs: Trios Titles (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
Will Ospreay & Brody King vs Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Willow Nightingale, & The Opps vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, & The Young Bucks: Anarchy in the Arena (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
FTR vs Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Rated FTR vs Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
Roderick Strong vs Jay White vs Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Kris Statlander vs Willow Nightingale (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
"Hangman" Adam Page vs Christopher Daniels: Texas Death Match (Collision: January 18, 2025)
Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Dax Harwood (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
Mina Shirakawa vs Julia Hart (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
Jon Moxley vs Swerve Strickland: World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Kazuchika Okada vs Brody King: Continental Championship (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks vs Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs, & Swerve Strickland (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
Mark Briscoe vs Ricochet (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
Orange Cassidy, Powerhouse Hobbs, Mark Briscoe, & Will Ospreay vs Bryan Keith, Mark Davis, Lance Archer, & Brian Cage (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
Ricochet vs Anthony Bowens (Dynamite May 21, 2025)
Private Party vs The Hurt Syndicate: Tag Team Titles (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
PAC vs Komander (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Will Ospreay vs Buddy Matthews (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
Komander vs Nick Wayne: ROH TV Title (Collision: April 17, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Deonna Purrazzo (Collision: January 4, 2025)
Women's Casino Gauntlet (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
Hounds of Hell vs Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
Bryan Keith vs Will Ospreay (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
Kazuchika Okada vs Mike Bailey: Continental Title (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Young Bucks & Ricochet vs Swerve Strickland, Mark Briscoe, & Mike Bailey (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
CRU & Nick Wayne vs Top Flight & AR Fox (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Jon Moxley vs Powerhouse Hobbs: World Title (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Mina Shirakawa: World Title (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Swerve Strickland vs AR Fox (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Adam Cole: TNT Title (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Jamie Hayter vs Kris Statlander (Dynamite: April 23, 2025)
Ricochet vs Mark Briscoe: Stretcher Match (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Nick Wayne vs Jay Lethal: ROH TV Title (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
Will Ospreay, Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, & Mark Briscoe vs CRU, The Beast Mortos, & Ricochet (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
FTR vs Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta: Mid-South Street Fight (Collision: February 1, 2025)
Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Queen Aminata (Collision: April 26, 2025)
Cope vs PAC (Dynamite: January 22, 2025)
Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
Will Ospreay vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: February 5, 2025)
Kenny Omega, Mark Briscoe, Mike Bailey, & Kevin Knight vs Kazuchika Okada, Ricochet, & THe Young Bucks (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
FTR vs Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Jon Moxley, Gabe Kidd, & Marina Shafir vs Willow Nightingale, Mike Bailey, & Mark Briscoe (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford vs Harley Cameron & Anna Jay (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Miyu Yamashita (Dynamite: April 30, 2025)
Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander vs Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii (Collision: April 17, 2025)
The Hurt Syndicate vs The Gates of Agony: Tag Team Titles (Dynamite: April 16, 2025)
The Beast Mortos vs Mike Bailey (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
Toni Storm & Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
Kazuchika Okada & Ricochet vs Brody King & Swerve Strickland (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
Brody King vs Kyle Fletcher (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
Paragon vs Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, & Josh Alexander (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Brody King vs Josh Alexander (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
Lance Archer vs Kevin Knight (Collision: April 17, 2025)
Rated FTR vs The Learning Tree (Collision: January 4, 2025)
Private Party vs Lio Rush & Action Andretti: Tag Team Titles (Collision: January 4, 2025)
Mercedes Moné & Harley Cameron vs Julia Hart & Kris Statlander (Collision: April 17, 2025)
Daniel Garcia & FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Katsuyori Shibata: TNT Title (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Kyle O'Reilly vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: February 1, 2025)
The Hurt Syndicate vs The Sons of Texas: Tag Team Titles (Double or Nothing: May 25, 2025)
Bandido & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Big Bill & Bryan Keith (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Men's Casino Gauntlet Match (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
Cope vs Big Bill (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Mariah May vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Will Ospreay & Kevin Knight vs Blake Christian & Lee Johnson (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Penelope Ford vs Thunder Rosa vs Anna Jay (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
Samoa Joe & Hook vs Kip Sabian & Nick Wayne (Collision: February 1, 2025)
Swerve Strickland vs Clark Connors (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Samoa Joe vs Claudio Castagnoli (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
Kenny Omega vs Brian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
Hook vs Christian Cage (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
Julia Hart vs Queen Aminata (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Lee Moriarty: TNT Title (Collision: March 8, 2025)
Swerve Strickland & Willow Nightingale vs Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
Adam Cole vs Kyle Fletcher: TBS Title (Dynamite: May 28, 2025)
Brody King vs Lance Archer (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
Will Hobbs vs Mark Davis (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
The Outrunners vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, & Roderick Strong vs Lee Moriarty & The Infantry (Collision: January 18, 2025)
Julia Hart vs Harley Cameron (Collision: January 18, 2025)
Rated FTR, The Outrunners, & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Death Riders & The Learning Tree (Collision: January 18, 2025)
Cope vs Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
Mark Davis vs Mark Briscoe (Collision: March 15, 2025)
Ricochet vs Angelico (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Chris Jericho vs Bandido: Mask vs ROH World Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Hologram vs Dralistico (Collision: March 8, 2025)
Mark Briscoe vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
Cash Wheeler vs PAC (Collision: April 5, 2025)
Kris Statlander vs Thunder Rosa (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
Kenny Omega vs Blake Christian (Dynamite: March 26, 2025)
The Hurt Syndicate vs The Outrunners: Tag Team Titles (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Max Caster vs RUSH (Collision: February 1, 2025)
Bobby Lashley vs Mark Briscoe (Dynamite: January 8, 2025)
Private Party & Mark Briscoe vs Shelton Benjamin, Bobby Lashley, & MVP (Dynamite: January 15, 2025)
Serena Deeb vs Momo Watanabe (Collision: March 8, 2025)
Kazuchika Okada vs Kevin Knight (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
Orange Cassidy vs Hechicero (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
Mercedes Moné vs Julia Hart (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Mike Bailey vs Dralistico (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Powerhouse Hobbs & Tomohiro Ishii vs Kyle Fletcher & Konosuke Takeshita (Collision: April 5, 2025)
Adam Cole vs Claudio Castagnoli: TNT Title (Collision: April 17, 2025)
Thunder Rosa & Kris Statlander vs Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 5, 2025)
Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii: Continental Championship (Collision: January 18, 2025)
FTR vs Undisputed Kingdom (Collision: March 15, 2025)
The Outrunners vs Premier Athletes (Collision: March 8, 2025)
Adam Copeland vs Claudio Castagnoli (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
Bandido vs Dralistico: ROH World Title (Collision: April 26, 2025)
Ricochet vs Katsuyori Shibata (Collision: March 15, 2025)
Top Flight vs CRU (Collision: April 5, 2025)
Toni Storm vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: April 2, 2025)
Swerve Strickland vs Blake Christian (Collision: April 26, 2025)
The Outrunners, Bandido, & AR Fox vs Roppongi Vice, Kyle Fletcher, & Lance Archer (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Top Flight vs CRU: Tornado Tag Match (Collision: April 26, 2025)
Mike Bailey vs Dralistico (Collision: April 5, 2025)
Samoa Joe & Hook vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
Jon Moxley vs Adam Copeland: World Title (Revolution: March 9, 2025)
Mercedes Moné & Harley Cameron vs Athena & Julia Hart (Collision: April 5, 2025)
Jon Moxley vs Katsuyori Shibata (Dynamite: April 9, 2025)
Top Flight vs CRU: Tornado Tag Match (Collision: April 26, 2025)
The Hurt Syndicate vs The Learning Tree: Tag Team Titles (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Anthony Bowens vs Lee Johnson (Collision: May 8, 2025)
Chris Jericho vs Dax Harwood (Collision: January 11, 2025)
Nick Wayne vs Rhino: ROH TV Title (Dynamite: May 7, 2025)
Thunder Rosa vs Megan Bayne (Collision: March 15, 2025)
Wheeler Yuta vs Willie Mack (Collision: March 1, 2025)
Top Flight & Hologram vs The Infantry & Lee Moriarty (Collision: March 15, 2025)
Willow Nightingale vs Penelope Ford (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
The Acclaimed vs The Hurt Syndicate (Dynamite: January 1, 2025)
Kyle O'Reilly & Roderick Strong vs The Infantry (Collision: March 8, 2025)
Komander vs Dante Martin vs Brian Cage vs The Beast Mortos (Collision: January 4, 2025)
Daniel Garcia vs Adam Cole: TNT Title (Dynasty: April 6, 2025)
Murder Machines vs The Outrunners (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
The Outrunners vs Chris Jericho & Bryan Keith (Collision: February 1, 2025)
Hologram & Powerhouse Hobbs vs Brian Cage & Dralistico (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
Taya Valkyrie vs Harley Cameron (Collision: February 1, 2025)
Deonna Purrazzo vs Harley Cameron (Dynamite: February 26, 2025)
Max Caster vs Konosuke Takeshita (Dynamite: March 12, 2025)
Murder Machines vs Top Flight (Collision: January 18, 2025)
Jeff Jarrett vs Aaron Solo (Collision: January 4, 2025)