Heydorn's Brass Ring Ratings - AEW Double or Nothing 2025
By: Zack Heydorn
The 2025 edition of AEW Double or Nothing will be remembered for two reasons. First, the pandemonium and madness of Anarchy in the Arena. Second, for the instant classic that was Will Ospreay vs. Adam Page in the finals of the men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament.
The rest of the show was better than fine in every single way, but with most of the matches having certain outcomes, they didn’t have the drama that you’d like to see collectively for a wrestling show.
In the end, it didn’t matter. The highlight matches delivered and then some.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Mercedes Mone vs. Jaime Hayter - Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals
A really strong opener that still had another couple gears it could have gotten to had Mone and Hayter wanted to go there. Mone working the injured back of Hayter was a smart call and the action was stiff all the way through, including two massive lariats from Hayter. Mone getting the win is the right move. The match between her and Toni Storm is the biggest women’s match AEW can put on and going with it at one of the biggest shows in company history is good business.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
FTR vs. Daniel Garcia and Nigel McGuinness
Too long. This had it’s moments, but it was over indulgent in terms of it’s length and drama. FTR bullying Nigel McGuinness and Tony Schiavone didn’t get over that strongly, so that storyline of the match didn’t land well. The crowd was soft for a lot of this, maybe thinking that Cope would show up, which he never did. This did it’s job in terms of getting FTR a heel win, but that’s about all it was.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Ricochet vs. Mark Briscoe - Stretcher Match
This was a fun match with more energy than the build called for. The blood helped not only the drama in the match, but it made Ricochet look like a bad ass heel. Ricochet needed a strong heelish win and got exactly that.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Son’s of Texas - AEW World Tag Team Championship
Not a great match and something that should have absolutely been on AEW Dynamite. This was a TV match that didn’t work on PPV. Shelton Benjamin and Sammy Guevara botched a spot near the finish and that hurt the flow of how things ended. That said, this was a good match to establish MJF in the Hurt Syndicate and how he might impact their matches moving forward. Just not PPV quality at all.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Mike Bailey - AEW Continental Championship
Really good match. Mike Bailey laid in kicks all throughout and that was the common theme of the bout. At multiple points it looked as if he had Okada beat, but couldn’t get the job done. Okada hit a tremendous standing dropkick on Bailey who had jumped off the top rope and then showed the proper urgency as he quickly lifted him up and hit The Rainmaker. The announce team made the point that Okada was waiting for a mistake and the match itself showed that psychology perfectly at the end.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO
Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa - AEW Women’s World Championship
A really smooth match that had a hard time building drama because of the certainty of the outcome. The crowd played along and popped for near falls, but didn’t seem invested in the outcome.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Swerve Strickland, Kenny Omega, Willow Nightingale, and The Opps vs. The Death Riders and The Young Bucks - Anarchy in the Arena Match
Complete and utter madness that was laughable at the beginning of the match. The opening 50% missed on tone and was overly comedic in a way that was unbecoming even for a match like this one. The second half of the match was much better and why was it better? They started to define a good side and a bad side and the audience started to root for the good side in a passionate way. Gabe Kidd was a big part of that coming together. Thrilling action at the end.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
The Paragon vs. The Don Callis Family
Just a run of the mill filler match that didn’t have a chance because of a worn out crowd thanks to Anarchy in the Arena. Hiroshi Tanahashi appearing was a fun surprise that woke up the crowd a bit. Hangman and Ospreay certainly were appreciative of that.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Will Ospreay vs. Adam Page - Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament Finals
The match of the night and really the best match in AEW history when you take into account the full context around it. This had story, incredible action, and peak level stakes that were properly articulated by the announce team, wrestlers, and company. The crispness and viciousness of Adam Page throughout really gave Ospreay a hill to climb. As for Ospreay, he meshed with the style that Page threw at him and altered his to fit, while staying who he was as a wrestler. That’s his true gift — athleticism aside. Page getting the win instead of Ospreay will be studied for the next five years depending on how things go from here. The success of that is all in the follow-up, but clearly Tony Khan likes the idea of redemption as opposed to ascension. In my mind, it was Ospreay’s time and he can pull a better match out of Jon Moxley on a big stage, but time will tell.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOOO
What did you think of AEW Double or Nothing 2025? Let us know in the comments!
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