The Buy-In experience that nobody asked for
AEW rolled into Queens for the Double or Nothing Buy-In, and let’s be real: it felt less like a major kickoff and more like a local gym show that accidentally got a permit to broadcast to the world. We had Divine Dominion squaring off against Zayda Steel and Viva Van in a five-minute challenge that went exactly the way you’d expect. Five minutes is barely enough time to lace your boots, let alone convince a premium audience that these teams deserve a slot on a marquee pay-per-view buy-in.
The Death Riders took on The Opps in a trios match that had the energy of a Tuesday night dark match from 2021. Sometimes, these pre-show segments provide that hidden gem—a sleeper hit that makes you scramble to your phone to tweet about it. This wasn't one of those nights. Instead, we got a collection of bodies in the ring that felt like a placeholder until the actual card began.
Missing the mark on star power
When you put a massive banner like Double or Nothing on a show, you build hype for a reason. You want the Buy-In to feel like the appetizers at a high-end steakhouse; they should be refined, punchy, and make you crave the main course. Instead, this felt like soggy bread that arrived at the table twenty minutes too late. The recent coverage by Amber Nico Photo captures the visual reality of the event, but photos can be deceptive. Watching it live, the pacing was a mess.
I have genuine love for the AEW roster depth, but there is a clear difference between building stars and just putting people on screen because their contracts demand it. It is entirely possible to highlight up-and-coming talent without making it feel like we are waiting for the real show to start. When the highlights of a match are merely the fact that it ended, you have failed the audience.
The booking disconnect remains glaring
We are watching a company that is currently navigating the return of Mercedes Mone and dealing with the legal purgatory of Ryan Nemeth, yet they still somehow have time to produce stuff as forgettable as this Buy-In. The wrestling industry thrives on momentum. You need to keep the foot on the gas if you want to compete with the juggernaut in Stamford. Every minute of broadcast time is an opportunity to hook a new viewer or keep a casual fan from switching to the game.
Instead, we got a five-minute filler segment that did nothing for the characters involved. Is anyone clamoring to see the next chapter for The Opps? Probably not. It creates a ceiling for the performers who are trapped in the Buy-In loop, perpetually viewed as the second-class citizens of the production. Wrestling, at its best, is art. At its worst, it is just white noise filling a schedule. This felt like the latter.
If you want to move the needle, put the people who matter in the spotlight. The production value is there, the talent is incredibly capable, but the vision for these pre-shows is consistently lacking a pulse. Stop treating these openings like a tax write-off and start treating them like the first match of a headline event. The fans in the arena deserve better, and the fans watching at home deserve a reason to tune in an hour early.
