Welcome to After 48 on GrapPro where we discuss an All Elite Wrestling pay per view two days after it aired. That way the hot takes cool down and we can think about it with a clear perspective. At least that’s the idea.
Yes I know the pay per view was on Sunday and this is going up Thursday. I didn’t finish watching Double or Nothing until Wednesday afternoon so technically this isn’t even two days after for me.
It so far sounds like Double or Nothing was a smashing success. That’s great for AEW because it’s the Nightmare Mode season. We now go into only a few weeks build up for every pay per view:
May 24 (DON 26) to June 28 (Forbidden Door)
June 28 (Forbidden Door) to July 26 (Redemption)
July 26 (Redemption) to August 30 (All In London 2026)
We don’t know the date yet for All Out but if it’ll either be the Labour Day weekend like previous All Out’s (so September 5 or 6) or it’ll be like All Out Toronto and pushed a few weeks forward (which was September 20) which means less than a month either way.
Then you get WrestleDream in October, Full Gear in November, and World’s End in December.
Yes, Dynasty was in April, but it was April 12. We got a few extra weeks until Double or Nothing. We won’t again until maybe November.
In case you’re wondering, with the addition of Redemption, AEW only has two months now on the calendar without a pay per view: January and February.
This resembles WCW in 1995 and 1996, who also had only 10 pay per views. WCW would expand to 12 in 1997. For WCW? January was usually skipped. The exceptions were the Bunkhouse Stampede Finals during Jim Crockett Promotions and WCW airing the WCW/NJPW SuperShow from Tokyo, Japan.
But the nightmare mode booking is later. We now have Double or Nothing. The current take with the show is it’s one of the greatest AEW shows of all time. After watching it? I’m not there. I feel like it’s definitely the best show of 2026, but I would take Double or Nothing 2025 ahead of it. When the hype comes down I could see it being top 5 at least, especially if it did become a top 5 drawing AEW PPV. Current reports is that it’s under All Out 2021, All In 2023, and Revolution 2024.
A major success gets to fall on the shoulders of the main event as the talk is that the hair stipulation was a smashing success. That could only happen if people were invested in Darby Allin’s fighting champion title run on television and the idea of MJF getting a rematch which could either cost him his hair or make him champion again. The fact it outdrew the previous MJF main evented shows tells you Darby deserves his flowers for this as well.
It’ll hopefully put an end to the idea that Darby Allin can’t be a draw in AEW due to his size as well. Credit to those two, as well as everyone on the show. It’s really a success for All Elite Wrestling, not just the men in the main event.
I think AEW can give themselves a pat on the back for building programs people wanted to see. I think they did a good job building most matches, and the only one I was down on that others don’t seem to be is Kyle O’Reilly versus Jon Moxley. Not a fan of the build up, the booking, the match, or the finish. Guess I’m in the minority for that.
Favourite Wrestling Match
Women’s Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Athena versus Mina Shirakawa
I ended up enjoying the hell out of this because I got pure Athena on an AEW pay per view.
Back in 2024 I said The Future is Athena and made my argument for her to move from ROH to AEW once they find the right person for her to lose to. In Forbidden Door 2025 After 48 I said her match with Timeless Toni Storm should lead to her dropping the ROH Women’s World Championship and move to AEW full time. We’re now in mid 2026 and she’s still ROH Women’s World Champion and still not a regular on AEW TV.
I don’t want to hear how she’s a draw for ROH Honor Club and taking her away from that will hurt ROH Honor Club. I don’t cover ROH here. I cover AEW. I want Athena in AEW, especially now that they are missing so many stars and need someone who can be relied upon for a great wrestling match.
Mina certainly held her own in this but the star for me was Athena. She was aggressive, she snapped that shit in tight, and she bumped and sold for Mina and made her look competitive all at the same time. I didn’t come out of that wanting to watch ROH Honor Club. I came out wanting Athena to win the tournament and become AEW Women’s World Champion.
Best Wrestling Match
AEW International Championship
Konosuke Takeshita versus Kazuchika Okada
I put a lot of pressure on this match in my Preview.
I wanted to see a match of the year candidate. I wanted better than their World’s End match.
I got both.
This was an absolute classic and could have fit on any Wrestle Kingdom during the golden years. Konosuke Takeshita was an absolute force of nature and Kazuchika Okada was for once struggling to keep up instead of holding authority the whole time.
When Okada failed to end the match early he resorted to trying to go blow for blow and it worked until it didn’t. The finish was perfect for the two men. Takeshita hits the running knee and Kazuchika Okada kicks out at one. It looks like we’re getting The Rainmaker back to full power. He bites the rope like an absolute psycho, stands up, and… can’t move. His limbs are frozen. He just stumbles into Konosuke who proceeds to forearm him into another universe. It was as definitive of a win as you could ask.
It’s unfortunate that Konosuke, finally defeating the big bully in his faction, didn’t get much time to celebrate it. The Don Callis Family kicked him out and Kyle Fletcher, now healthy, proceeded to betray his “husband”.
It’ll be interesting to see what Kazuchika Okada does now without gold and how Konosuke Takeshita handles being AEW International Champion unlike Okada.
More Thoughts After 48
Darby Allin: The wheels unfortunately fell off for Darby Allin. A kip up and run to hit a Coffin Drop had a one second delay and you just can’t give that to MJF. He had a phenomenal title run and I doubt he leaves the scene for very long. The program with Kevin Knight is a great way to give him something to do before All In London. Heck, they could run it all the way there if they wanted.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman: Max is champ again. Third title reign at age 30. I’ve noticed the vibe on this is a little different. When he won the title the first time we knew it would be a crowning run. The second run felt inevitable and they ran it at a pace that felt like MJF couldn’t eventually handle. This one is different. He has a clear date of death, anyone who holds it has a clear date of death, and that’s All In London 2026. Will MJF be able to be champion until that night, or will he lose it before hand?
Kevin Knight: Ending the show with Kevin Knight turning heel was a big moment and it’s clear AEW wants to go hard on his push. Asking if he’s ready for it is irrelevant. It’s the wrong question. The better question, as always with AEW pushes, is that once the story with Darby Allin is over, and once the story with Speedball Mike Bailey is over, does AEW have a plan for him? Or does he go back to the midcard?
Kenny Omega: Kenny Omega was the clear top star of the Stadium Stampede and the company for once had no problem admitting it. Even if it technically wasn’t his team to captain? He was clearly the superstar. On Dynamite they had a promo between him and Will Ospreay which really felt like the plan of having Omega versus Ospreay is still the final plan for All In London 2026. Don’t get my hopes up twice Tony.
Chris Jericho: AEW has handled Chris Jericho’s return perfectly. He isn’t trying to be the top guy anymore. He knows he’s an old guy at the twilight of his career. Even after Shelton Benjamin did a tope suicida, when Jericho went to the top rope he did a, “Welp me too” which showed even next to Shelton he isn’t at the height of his physical ability. He knows he’s here for a good time and not a long time. I think this was overall a successful program and made for a successful Stadium Stampede match.
Shelton Benjamin: This was a perfect match to show how much Shelton Benjamin can provide in moments. I wonder what the best use of Shelton is right now. Is it Hurt Syndicate with Bobby Lashley? Or is it a singles run?
Ricochet: Ricochet deserves so much praise, not just for a successful program with Chris Jericho (something people claim is impossible) but also for being a successful heel. Ricochet understands there’s no cool currency as a heel. There’s only heel currency. Being hated will always be better than being cool. I’d love to see The Demand hold Trios Championship gold soon.
Mark Davis: He wasn’t the big MVP of the match like I hoped but I am still very happy with the extra screen time he gets. He’s a fantastic wrestler and really provides something unique to the roster. He’s the yin to Brody King’s yang, and I hope that’s one of his next AEW National Championship opponents.
Andrade el Idolo: My favourite moment from Stadium Stampede was Luchasaurus posing as a woman to take a selfie with. He’s absolutely needing to completely turn babyface and leave the Don Callis Family as Konosuke Takeshita has. AEW probably hoped for him to be a top heel for a little longer but he’s a good opponent now for MJF in a program with some decent build up.
The Dogs: Clark and David have serious tag team contender potential. I hope AEW takes advantage of the loss of Gabe Kidd in that way. Feels like they knew looking at how Dynamite has shaken out.
Thekla: I really don’t know what the plan is for her at All In London 2026 but she better make it there. She’s been holding the women’s division together. She doesn’t even really have a story or ideal opponent right now. She’s just the best woman in the company.
Jamie Hayter: I just wanted to shout Hayter out because I thought she looked great in the four way. If the plan wasn’t Brawling Birds I’d seriously consider her in feuding with Thekla again and maybe winning the title. But Divine Dominion certainly must be in her future.
Kris Statlander: I wasn’t feeling Kris in this match. She did a really obvious roll early on that was poorly timed and the strikes just weren’t as strong as I had hoped. I think she did much better in the Philly street fight with Hikaru Shida later. I don’t know what the plan is going forward for Stat but at least she has one of the better (and only stories) in the women’s division.
Hikaru Shida: Shida is really carrying the emotional heft of the division. Her heel turn against Kris Statlander is the only story really running at the moment. I’d honestly look into her winning the vacant TBS Championship unless they bring in Syuri to tag team with.
Swerve Strickland: Swerve was amazing in the match with Bandido and proved that there’s just no way to entirely hate him ever again. Even as a heel, no matter what he does? He’s going to get the fans behind him again. It’s fine. He can stay the heel who the fans still admire. I wonder if there’s any plans to take Kevin Knight under his wing after Knight’s heel turn.
Bandido: I’ve yet to hear any talk of Bandido re-signing with All Elite Wrestling, and I’m not willing to put much more into him than they have until we hear it. I do still feel Bandido could be AEW Men’s World Champion someday, but I wouldn’t do it until he puts his WWE dream aside.
Will Ospreay: Ospreay had a very good match with Samoa Joe, probably one of Joe’s best matches in years, and now has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Everyone knows he’s destined for the main event of All In London. This is going to be his big crowning moment. He’s going to have to thread a very big needle when it comes to finishing this Death Riders story, a potential story with Kenny Omega, and becoming AEW Men’s World Champion. It’s more than just being a draw for the company but being an ace. Tony Khan clearly loves him and sees him as the best wrestler in the world today. Will is going to have to prove it. No pressure, Bruv.
Kyle Fletcher: A fantastic return for Kyle Fletcher with him teasing the babyface run only to turn on Konosuke Takeshita and set up a perfect AEW International Championship match at Forbidden Door, Redemption, or even All In London.
FTR: I may write more on FTR since there’s talk they are in their final year with All Elite Wrestling. It might be time for AEW and FTR to take a break, even if it means FTR in another company. I think they had a fantastic performance against Cope and Christian but I just don’t see what’s left for them to do.
Cage and Cope: Finally. This feels forever in the making. Hopefully even as old guys they make themselves fighting champions and take on as many tag teams as possible. Let’s see an exciting vibrant tag team division again. Give me some dream matches.
QT Marshall: I feel bad for him falling off the top rope. Don’t feel bad for him laying an egg in that match overall. There’s over a hundred wrestlers who would be better for that spot than him. Clearly he’s going nowhere as AEW is happy to put his wrestling promotion on their MyAEW service but I certainly don’t have to like it. Just add Big Boom and the gang to The Conglomeration and leave QT at home.
Kyle O’Reilly: Sorry Kyle. Not sure why you lost that one.
Jon Moxley: I really don’t understand the result of this. I don’t understand people talking about how Jon Moxley “finished his story” by beating Kyle. I don’t see how it benefits O’Reilly, the AEW Continental Championship, or even Jon Moxley to do this. It would have made far more sense for Moxley to lose to KOR, no longer have a belt, and that kicks off his desperation to use Will Ospreay in order to get back into the AEW Men’s World Championship picture. I am fully convinced that Moxley is going to tell Ospreay he has to give up his shot because Death Riders helped him get it. That match makes no sense if Mox is carrying the Continental Championship still. This was an opportunity to pass it to KOR and give the division something to work for. I just don’t get it beyond always protecting Moxley so his losses feel bigger.
Shane Taylor Promotions: Really happy for STP to get a shot on the Buy-In/Zero Hour but it would also be nice for AEW to move them from Ring of Honor to the AEW main shows. Shane Taylor provides something nobody else really can on the roster. There’s thick guys who are actually athletic but he’s a truly big body who can strike better than almost anyone. He’s visually impressive.. Lee Moriarty is a good wrestler. The Infantry might be good for working babyfaces to give them wins.
Mark Briscoe: Gotta say, that time off is doing wonders for his physique. Mark Briscoe came back jacked.
Divine Dominion: AEW is going to find a way to delay the Brawling Birds versus Divine Dominion all the way to All In London, and it’ll probably happen by putting Jamie Hayter in the Owen Hart Tournament.
Orange Cassidy: He went viral again. Or whatever. Might be time to have him do something other than curtain jerk these pay per views?
Vita CoCo: Probably the best mascot/sponsorship since Cracker Barrel. I would love to see that Vita CoCo mascot back.
Road to Forbidden Door
We did get an official announcement on the new All Elite Wrestling pay per view in July called Redemption in Centre Bell in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Tony Khan is absolutely using the names of pay per views he had back when he did notebook fantasy booking and e-feds. I get it. If I ever win the lottery and start a wrestling promotion you’ll see all of my terrible e-fed PPV names in effect. Except Power Struggle. New Japan Pro Wrestling beat me to that one even though I used it multiple times for e-fed PPV’s in the early 2000s. I don’t know their basis but mine was a song by the band Sunna.
However that’s July. June 28 will be Forbidden Door in San Jose, California at the SAP Center. The cover graphic mentions NJPW, CMLL, and Stardom. Hopefully we actually see some real representation from those promotions on this show.
We do know that the final for the Owen Hart Tournament will be here, which is an easy lay up for AEW to ensure either Persephone (CMLL), Hazuki (Stardom), or Sareee (freelancer) in the final for the women’s section. The Men’s section will just be AEW versus AEW.
I figure MJF will still be holding the AEW Men’s World Championship so I’d love to see him defend against either Mistico in CMLL or someone in New Japan Pro Wrestling like Yota Tsuji. There’s a few people I know who just shuddered at the thought of MJF facing Yota Tsuji and I just want to say: you’re welcome.
The real fire? Thekla as AEW Women’s World Champion. She’s in a perfect spot to face someone from Stardom since we know about her exit from the company after attacking Stardom President Taro Okada. It just makes sense for Taro to send someone from Stardom to try and embarrass her for all of her bullying.
What’s most interesting to me is it seems like Kenny Omega is back on the clock? For all we did to try to will his victory at Dynasty it kind of feels like maybe it’s back on for Redemption? The name essentially makes sense for one man, and that’s the man who had to leave AEW for months after the shows in Montreal. Yeah, Kenny Omega.
So they clearly need to start something that gets Kenny Omega on this road, maybe winning a number one contenders match at Forbidden Door.
I feel like Kevin Knight having to defend his TNT Championship against Speedball Mike Bailey could work, allowing you to push a major match against Darby Allin to All In London. Though they might be pulling the trigger on that quicker than I was hoping.
Anyway, as I said? Expect the Nightmare Mode booking’s return. There won’t be much time to catch your breath, but at least AEW feels far more organized than they did in some previous years.
