6/1/2025

Adam Page found success in AEW for the first time in three years to cap off a memorable night for the promotion in the desert.

Triumph for Adam Page since “Double or Nothing 2022” has been fleeting; the last 3 years have brought no measurable success for the wrestler, despite continuing to develop heralded long programs with the likes of Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland and putting in some of the strongest character and in-ring work of anyone on the roster. It is almost impossible, in some aspects, to split the time span between kayfabe failures and off-screen happenings; such is the reality of so much being in the public eye in 2025. It is the knowledge of all of that, though, and Page’s way of incorporating real life trials into his character, that led to this year’s “Double or Nothing” feeling like a collective catharsis for the wrestler and his fanbase.

Page defeated Will Ospreay in the main event of the PPV to win the Men’s side of the Owen Hart Tournament, expelling last year’s disappointing defeat in the Tournament final and setting him up for an AEW Men’s World Title match at “All In: Texas” on July 12th against Jon Moxley.

© AEW

The 37-minute affair was different in pacing than a standard Ospreay match, with early action much more about impact instead of being 100 miles per hour. It wasn’t as technically perfect as some other matches this year (the announcer table break where they somehow saved Ospreay from landing completely on his head but turning a Dead Eye setup into somewhat of a backdrop being a perfect example), but the two produced a match with so much weight that there will be few matches this year that will hold the emotional intensity this one did, or be as memorable.

The match reflected the build perfectly from the moment it began, with even the entrances listing the differences between “want” and “need” for each competitor. Page’s need drove him to be solely focused on the task in hand, not distracted by playing to the crowd, whilst Ospreay continued to chase the plaudits of those in attendance, highlighting how his overconfidence had him looking past Page and how easily he thought he could get into his head.

“The Aerial Assassin” had failed to notice that in much of the exchanges prior to the match, Page had not questioned his statements or reacted to the small, passive aggressive provocations of the beer bottle or highlighting his past actions (with only the mention of Christopher Daniels enough to create a small chink in Page’s armour) after saying he had his back immediately right before. He continued to overextend himself in putting the pair in a tag match with the Don Callis Family without consulting Page, wasting energy in the match trying to outperform the manoeuvres of his teammate for a night and failed to heed the warning of the failed Hidden Blade attempt that became the viral moment from the match in Chicago.

Ospreay was awoken rather quickly in this one, with his early offense repelled away by Page’s show of brute force. Instead of adapting his game plan, he became more determined to meet fire with fire. It was a mistake that only led to him becoming more frustrated, whilst still unable to understand that something stronger was behind the drive of his opponent.

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As they reached the finishing stretch, Ospreay turned to the signature moves of Kenny Omega to target Page – a man he had listed the week before as someone he had beaten as part of a list of names (many of which Page had also defeated) – rather than going for his own killer move of the Tiger Driver 98. Page was able to escape, just like he did with Omega himself last time they met and used Swerve Strickland’s “Big Pressure” in counter, illustrating his ability to grow in using it as a transition, whilst Ospreay had begun looking to the past after not being able to find his own answers. It wasn’t the first time Page had incorporated the offense of his previous trials into the match either, successfully hitting the Angel’s Wings on Ospreay before even making an attempt at the Best Moonsault Ever, which didn’t go quite so well. At the end of the match though, these were tools in his offense but the ability to finish was his own, hitting a final Buckshot Lariat after a rapid and thrilling closing sequence, with the pin causing many visible on camera to jump up and down with joy.

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Page was visually emotional after being handed the tournament belt, just as confetti started to fall around him and Ospreay remained laid on the mat in despair. The victor made his way up the ramp before looking back at his opponent in the ring, in a mirroring to the closing of “All Out” in 2024. Page chose to go back to the ring, this time without frightened screams from the audience to stop him, and he waited for the crestfallen Ospreay to make it to his feet before offering him his hand. As the show went off the air, Page held the belt aloft once more on the ramp head, once again mirroring those scenes from last September, but this time it represented a return to the light rather than a descent into darkness.

© AEW, GIF by Emiliana

Reports from Fightful and the Wrestling Observer suggest that both wrestlers were unaware of the match outcome until the weekend of the show, which is a different discussion as to when the decision was made, despite some of the confusion of the two which has been seen hereafter. The match was so in tune with the build narratively that it almost feels impossible to believe that this was a late decision, although we are told by a source that Page was a switch from a previous plan, regardless of when the decision was made.

Page, even still somewhat critically undervalued and disregarded in terms of his drawing record, is a big late ticket mover with a successful record in the Dallas Metroplex market who has an emotional connection with the fanbase that helped make this feel like such an important moment. He is the right man to take the belt from Jon Moxley in order to consolidate himself as a top card draw, but also as an original who has often felt overlooked (despite being on a higher level than others) and someone Moxley has shown genuine fear of early on in the reign. The last program between the 2 men can be seen as pivotal in the development of both current characters and should be played upon alongside the Page and Swerve dynamic, which was the focus of much of the follow up on Wednesday’s “Dynamite”. For a story that has had its ups and downs, both on and off screen, many feel like Page’s redemption is also the story of AEW, with its conversion leading to a lot of the feel-good feeling that is currently surrounding the promotion going into the busy summer period ahead.

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The show opened with the Final of the women’s bracket for the Owen Hart Cup, as Jamie Hayter faced off against Mercedes Moné in what is a rare opening spot for a women’s match on a PPV. Mercedes, decked in pink (Owen Hart winners are now 7-1 if wearing gear paying tribute), was a strong favourite going into the match, which seemed to be consistent with the crowd reactions early on. In an aspect that matched the build to the final, Hayter picked up support as the match went on, with the result feeling as if it really could go either way by the time it reached its closing stages.

This was a physical bout throughout, with Mercedes gaining control in different parts of the matchup through high impact moves, like a Meteora double knees on the apron and repeated shots to Hayter’s previously injured back. This put the audience much more in Hayter’s corner, with her gaining several near falls, including one after a reversal into a tombstone piledriver that got the crowd on their feet. Her increasing sense of momentum meant the finish came as a complete surprise, as Mercedes rolled her up for 3 after what looked like an inadvertent DDT.

Mercedes scrambled up the ramp as soon as the pin was recorded, only celebrating in Mercedes fashion once she was far enough away from the ring. She now moves on to face Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship at “All In: Texas” in what is one of the biggest matches in the company currently available.

For Jamie Hayter, it is back to the drawing board after a somewhat stop/start year since her return on the pre-show of last year’s “All In”. Next up for her is new debutant Thekla, but she has shown more than enough during this short program to justify regular, higher profile programs.

FTR vs Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuiness followed up from the opener in a match where the heel team were able to get a decent level of heat by eventually isolating Garcia from McGuiness, whilst taunting Tony Schiavone on commentary. McGuiness took a lot of the early offense, with the now-veteran commentator left with a purple chest from unrelenting offense from Dax and Cash.

The match went a little too long and had a few too many visits to commentary alongside spots with Stokely before the end but was effective in gaining sympathy for Garcia, even if the pass out finish is massively overused in recent times.

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The energy was immediately picked up in the venue by the emergence of Ricochet and Mark Briscoe for a stretcher match, with an ambulance parked to the right hand side of the stage.

The match started with a dose of comedy, with Ricochet running down the ramp in perfect fashion, only to be caught and have his head shined up by Briscoe before taking a bucket to it. It was Mark Briscoe who ended up bloodied though, after Ricochet threw him head first in the stretcher. Briscoe was gushing as the action moved to the top of the ramp, with Ricochet bundling Briscoe into the ambulance but taking too long to taunt the crowd, allowing for a crutch to be thrown into the gap to stop the door from closing.

Briscoe, who was covered in blood from head to toe at this point, sprayed a fire extinguisher in Ricochet’s face and hit a Froggy Bow through a table, as the action alternated between the ambulance area and the ring.

Bucket to the head as the two fought with scissors before a shot to Briscoe from a Spirit Gun was enough for Ricochet to get him into the ambulance and shut the doors for the win. Ricochet attempted to get hold of a fan’s sign right after, but in a perfect bit of impromptu (and inadvertent) comedy, he was unable to prise it from the fan’s hands.

The Hurt Syndicate made a relatively simple defense against Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara whilst MJF stalked around ringside, in a match that was passable in form but still ended with little support for the babyfaces and probably would have been better served on a “Dynamite”. Max’s new shoes were nice, though.

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Kazuchika Okada stepped up his in-ring efforts during his Continental Championship defense against Speedball Mike Bailey. This was the right opponent to get the most out of Okada, with his quick comeback offense matching well with Okada’s power and control segments and the furious exchanges towards the end of the match capturing the crowd. Okada caught Bailey mid-flip with a perfect dropkick to end the challenge of his opponent, finishing things off with the Rainmaker.

There was another title defense in the next match, as Toni Storm retained her AEW Women’s World Title against newly signed Mina Shirakawa in a match that oozed chemistry. The two traded momentum throughout before a nasty headbutt and a Storm Zero. There was no bad feeling in the aftermath; in fact it was quite the opposite, as the two looked upon each other before locking into a kiss.

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The PPV’s signature match, Anarchy in the Arena, continues to display why matches like this feel unique to AEW and are more representative of their identity than most standard matches. It represents the fusion of hardcore elements, daring athleticism, unique characters who feel more than one dimensional, blended together on top of a dash of comedy thrown in. The match is a true crowd pleaser that allows multiple wrestlers to look like complete stars whilst also helping AEW’s top program to move forward.

There was the expected comedic fare, with the over the top Young Bucks “Founding Fathers” entrance fitting them perfectly, before Kenny Omega took charge of the entrance music. The sight of the crowd just completely deflating with “I’m So Excited” was hilarious and only helped to set up the pop for Drowning Pool’s “Bodies”. Kenny Omega looked in his element, holding the mic up to people in the crowd whether they knew the words or not.

This was also the first Anarchy to include women wrestlers in the matchup, with Marina Shafir and Willow Nightingale being incorporated well. Shafir chained Willow to a ring post by the ear, leading fans to chant “please help Willow” before Prince Nana was able to release her. Shafir also gave Swerve a staple to the tongue, in what was one of the most insane things to happen in the match.

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Swerve felt like the biggest star in the match, at one point emerging on top of a forklift before jumping from the machinery for a Swerve stomp onto both Young Bucks on the ramp. His combos with Kenny Omega were electric and potentially important to the dynamics between all of the babyfaces going forward due to both athletes’ prior relationships with Adam Page.

Strickland was the man to end the match, after the OPPS (with an assist from Mark Briscoe) loaded the Death Riders into the ambulance and kept them shut in there, leaving the Young Bucks isolated. Omega took out Matthew Jackson with a One Winged Angel onto a sparking table, leaving Swerve to don a thumb tack-covered version of his new Reebok shoes for another Swerve Stomp on Nicholas for the victory.

© AEW

AEW “Double Or Nothing”
25/95/25
Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Watch On: Amazon/PPV.com/Triller

Pre-Show:
Anna Jay & Harley Cameron defeat Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford (12:35)

Pre-Show:
AR Fox, Bandido & Los Titanes del Aire (Hologram & Komander) (w/Alex Abrahantes) defeat CRU (Action Andretti & Lio Rush) & RPG VICE (Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta) (13:18)

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Women’s Tournament Final:
Mercedes Moné defeats Jamie Hayter (21:17)

FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeat Daniel Garcia & Nigel McGuinness by referee’s decision (23:31)

Stretcher Match:
Ricochet defeats Mark Briscoe (16:11)

AEW World Tag Team Titles:
The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) (c) defeat The Sons Of Texas (Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara) (12:38)

AEW Continental Title:
Kazuchika Okada (c) defeats Mike Bailey (16:02)

AEW Women’s World Title:
Toni Storm (c) defeats Mina Shirakawa (15:52)

Anarchy In The Arena:
Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, The Opps (Katsuyori Shibata, Powerhouse Hobbs & Samoa Joe) & Willow Nightingale defeat the Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir & Wheeler Yuta) & The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) (35:19)

The Don Callis Family (Josh Alexander, Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher) defeat Paragon (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong) (12:48)

Owen Hart Foundation 2025 Men’s Tournament Final:
Adam Page defeats Will Ospreay (36:59)

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