An update is available on how AEW Double or Nothing is performing on pay-per-view ahead of tonight’s show.
Dave Meltzer addressed the show’s advance buys on Wrestling Observer Radio, noting that they are “way above normal” for an AEW pay-per-view.
Meltzer said:
“I’ve heard when it comes to advances on pay-per-view, it’s kind of weird because almost everybody buys day of, so I don’t know what it means, but I do know that the pay-per-view buys ahead of time, as of yesterday afternoon, were way above normal. I expect a pretty big one.”
Meltzer also noted that the title vs. hair stipulation for the AEW World Championship match between Darby Allin and MJF has had a major impact on secondary-market demand for tickets.
Meltzer said:
“I checked yesterday and the scalper price to get in was $153, which means the secondary market tripled from the announcement of the hair match. They were gonna sell out without the hair stipulation. They were tracking to sell out before that. They would not have sold out so quickly without it, but the stipulation absolutely worked, especially on the secondary market.”
Double or Nothing is sold out with 14,028 tickets distributed and the gate closing in on $1.5 million as of Friday. Meltzer noted that would make it the second-biggest non-WWE gate in the history of United States pro wrestling.
The full episode of Wrestling Observer Radio is available here for subscribers.
AEW Double or Nothing lineup
- AEW World Champion Darby Allin defends against MJF in a title vs. hair match
- AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter in a four-way
- AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against Konosuke Takeshita
- AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) defend against Adam Copeland & Christian Cage in an I Quit street fight where Copeland and Cage must win in order to stay a team
- AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Kyle O’Reilly
- Chris Jericho, Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Kenny Omega, Jack Perry, and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona), Mark Davis, Andrade El Idolo, Clark Connors & David Finlay in a Stadium Stampede match
- Will Ospreay vs. Samoa Joe in an Owen Hart men’s tournament quarterfinal
- Swerve Strickland vs. Bandido in an Owen Hart men’s tournament quarterfinal
- Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa in an Owen Hart women’s tournament quarterfinal
- Buy In: Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall vs. Anthony Agogo, Lee Moriarty, Carlie Bravo, Shawn Dean & Shane Taylor
- Buy In: AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) vs. Viva Van & Zayda Steel in a five-minute title eliminator match
- Buy In: Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia & Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Opps (Hook, Katsuyori Shibata & Anthony Bowens)
The double or nothing gate is just under 1.5 million dollars. Second best ever for a non WWE show in the US. Inflation adjusted there are a handful in history.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) May 22, 2026
Ian Carey
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.
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