The stakes for Double or Nothing have never been higher

We are exactly 25 days away from AEW Double or Nothing. May 24, 2026. The professional wrestling world is moving at breakneck speed, and the stakes for Tony Khan's promotion have rarely been higher.

With WWE still riding the massive wave of momentum following WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, AEW needs to deliver a definitive, counter-punching statement. The build has been a chaotic mix of brilliant in-ring television and highly questionable booking decisions. But amidst the noise, one massive piece just clicked into place.

As reported by Wrestling Inc, Jim Ross confirmed on his "Grilling JR" podcast that he believes he is booked for the massive Las Vegas pay-per-view. This isn't just a nostalgic pop for the older fans in the arena. It is a necessary anchor for a company that sometimes loses its emotional center during marathon broadcasts.

In an era where wrestling commentary often feels like highly produced corporate branding, Ross cuts through the noise. He doesn't sound like a guy reading talking points off a monitor; he sounds like a fan watching a fight. That authenticity is exactly why his return to the booth matters. Ross brings a unique, irreplaceable gravity to the desk. When he calls a main event, you believe the outcome matters. You believe the hatred between the competitors is real.

AEW has a remarkably deep broadcast bench with Excalibur calling the high-speed traffic and Taz providing color. But nobody sells a near-fall in the deep waters of a 30-minute classic quite like Ross. He knows exactly when to lay out and let the crowd noise tell the story.

Think back to the original Double or Nothing in 2019. Ross was there, lending immediate mainstream credibility to an upstart promotion that desperately needed it. Now, seven years later, his presence means something completely different. It represents survival.

Through severe health scares and shifting industry tides, Ross has remained a constant. Having him at the desk for AEW's signature event grounds the product. It tells the viewer that this is a tentpole event, not just an extended episode of Dynamite.

Calling out a corporate joke

But Ross isn't just making headlines for his upcoming schedule. The legendary announcer has been speaking his mind freely, and his latest target was sitting squarely in Stamford.

If you want unfiltered opinions, you listen to Jim Ross. According to Wrestling Inc, Ross took aim at WWE's treatment of the late Sid Eudy during the same podcast cycle. Specifically, he torched the decision to dump the former world champion into the Hall of Fame's "Legacy" wing.

"Jim Ross says that the late Sid Eudy deserved to be in the regular section of the WWE Hall of Fame, and calls the Legacy wing of the WWE HOF a joke."

He is absolutely right, and it is a point that needs to be hammered home. The Legacy wing has become a sterile, televised afterthought. It is a one-minute video package rushed through during a pre-show.

For years, the Legacy wing has been a dumping ground for wrestling pioneers and massive stars who simply didn't fit into the current corporate marketing plan. Or, they lacked the political capital to secure a live speech. Sid Eudy was a giant in every sense of the word.

Sid wasn't just a wrestler; he was a larger-than-life comic book villain come to life. His promos, unhinged and dripping with intensity, captivated audiences who were tired of cookie-cutter good guys. When he infamously broke his leg off the second rope in WCW, many thought his career was over. But his legacy had already been etched in stone across multiple promotions.

He main-evented WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan. He main-evented WrestleMania 13 against The Undertaker. He was one of the very few legitimate draws in the 1990s who felt truly terrifying and unpredictable.

Shoving him into a rapid-fire montage instead of giving his family the stage for a proper induction is flat-out insulting. We live in a world where celebrity guests who showed up for two weeks get full speeches, while the master and ruler of the world gets a graphic.

It highlights a clinical, detached approach to history that prioritizes modern PR over respecting the workers who built the foundation. Ross lived through the Monday Night Wars. He watched Sid draw massive money across multiple promotions.

Hearing him tear into WWE's corporate sanitization of wrestling history is incredibly refreshing. You cannot manufacture that kind of authentic frustration. Ross knows what a star looks like, he knows how they should be treated, and he knows WWE dropped the ball.

It is exactly the kind of outlaw energy AEW was built on.

Dakota Kai is far from finished

Speaking of dropped balls, let's look at the current free-agent market. Following her surprising WWE departure, the internet wrestling community did what it always does. They jumped to wild, baseless conclusions based on absolutely nothing.

Rumors immediately began circulating that Dakota Kai was hanging up her boots. Fans assumed her release signaled a quiet, forced retirement. As Ringside News noted, Kai saw the noise and immediately shut it down.

She took to social media to directly call out the fans claiming she was done. She made it explicitly clear that her career is far from over. Good.

The idea that someone with her elite in-ring IQ and striking ability would just quietly fade away is absurd. Kai was consistently one of the most reliable and underappreciated workers in WWE's women's division.

She bumped like a maniac for everyone. She made her opponents look like absolute killers. She had an offensive arsenal that always looked incredibly stiff and credible.

Her ability to transition seamlessly from a sympathetic underdog to a ruthless, calculated heel is rare. Most performers struggle to find one authentic voice; Kai has mastered two.

Think back to her time in NXT. Her brutal heel turn on Tegan Nox inside WarGames remains one of the best character pivots of the modern era. Her run in Damage CTRL showed she could handle high-pressure television segments on the main roster, often acting as the glue holding the faction's matches together.

Her release was baffling. It was a massive failure of creative vision, not a failure of talent. The fact that fans rushed to retire her speaks volumes about how poorly she was positioned in her final months.

When a promotion conditions the audience to see someone as an afterthought, the viewers assume the performer agrees. Kai just proved she does not.

She has survived brutal knee injuries and grueling rehabilitation. She has survived frustrating start-and-stop pushes. She is not going to let a handful of Twitter trolls or a corporate release dictate the end of her story.

She is entering the prime of her career with a massive chip on her shoulder. That makes her incredibly dangerous.

The Double or Nothing prediction

This brings us right back to May 24. AEW currently boasts a stacked women's roster, but there is always room for a generational seller who can instantly slot into the main event scene. Dakota Kai is a tailor-made fit for the fast, physical AEW style.

Imagine the potential matchups. Kai trading strikes with Jamie Hayter. Kai stepping into the ring with Hikaru Shida. Kai bringing her technical aggression against Mariah May.

These are exactly the kinds of hard-hitting bouts that AEW fans crave. The timing aligns perfectly. Here is my prediction. Tony Khan loves a surprise debut at a pay-per-view. It is his favorite booking crutch.

Sometimes it falls completely flat, but sometimes, it provides the exact jolt of electricity the building needs. At Double or Nothing, a major women's championship match is going to end in chaos.

A post-match beatdown will drag on just a little too long. The lights in the MGM Grand Garden Arena will drop to black. When they come back up, Dakota Kai is going to be standing in the center of the ring.

When she delivers her signature running big boot in the corner, the pop will be deafening. It will signal the arrival of a top-tier talent who is finally off the leash and ready to prove an entire boardroom wrong.

And the absolute best part? Jim Ross will be sitting at the broadcast desk, ready to sell the absolute hell out of the moment.

AEW desperately needs forward momentum heading into the summer. Combining the legendary, authoritative voice of Ross with the fiery return of an unleashed Dakota Kai is exactly how you write a compelling new chapter.