AEW brought anarchy to Glendale!
The 2025 Double or Nothing event took place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Although Anarchy in the Arena is usually a main event contest, that was not the case this year.
AEW Dynasty on April 6, The Young Bucks returned and interfered in the main event, helping Jon Moxley retain the AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland. A few weeks later at Spring BreakThru, The Opps defeated Death Riders for the AEW World Trios Championship.
The situation led to a Steel Cage match between Samoa Joe and Jon Moxley on May 14 at Beach Break, which Moxley won. After the match, Gabe Kidd appeared and helped Moxley attack Joe. The fight escalated when members of The Opps, The Elite, and others got involved. Swerve Strickland then entered and issued a challenge for an Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing.
Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata, and Powerhouse Hobbs were looking to get violent with Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. Naturally, this match was a big draw for the Double or Nothing show, but it was not the main event.
This match was absolutely crazy, and we highly suggest checking out our full live coverage for more of what went down.
This match carried on all over the arena. Eventually, Kenny Omega grabbed the microphone and had them turn on some angry 90s alternative rock. There were a ton of spots all over the arena, and at one point, they had a four-way split screen on things to keep up with all the action.
Powerhouse Hobbs nailed a big dive off the entrance ramp, followed by Kenny Omega. They carried on from here, with Swerve Strickland keeping Jon Moxley in his grip. Then Mox got free, where he jammed a fork into Powerhouse Hobbs face, busting him open.
Then they moved to the outside, where Willow and Marina were fighting. Marina got a bottle busted over her head, and then Shibata and Wheeler started fighting on the delivery ramp. That eventually turned into Yuta getting thrown in a trash can.
Shibata got some barbed wire, and he wrapped it around his kickpad. Then he nailed a kick on Yuta. They went back to the arena as the Young Bucks nailed a double DDT on Swerve Strickland.
AEW played Bodies by Drowning Pool on repeat as the match continued. Then the women made their way back to the ring, where Willows ear was chained to the ring post. She eventually got free and she helped Hobbs out in the ring.
Eventually, there were bodies all over the ring. There were many chokes applied at once, but they were eventually broken up. The Young Bucks got a staple gun out next, but Powerhouse Hobbs stood up to them, and he welcomed the staple to the head. That didnt phase him at all.
Swerve took a staple to the tongue from Marina. Then Willow took out both Young Bucks with a spear. Eventually, Omega caught Marinas leg, and she told him to do something, so he nailed her with a German suplex. The Young Bucks took out Kenny Omega next, and then they started dishing out a Superkick Party all over the place.
Swerve sent Nick Jackson through a table outside. Then Swerve helped Willow hit an Inditaker on Matt Jackson for a near fall. Samoa Joe naield Moxley with a Muscle Buster and he locked in a Coquina Clutch. Suddenly, Gabe Kidd jumped in the ring to give the heels an advantage.
The Young Bucks held down Omega, and Wheeler put thumbtacks in his mouth. Then they hit him with their double kicks. The punishment continued as Jon Moxley wrapped up a bulldog choke on Omega. Suddenly, Samoa Joe jumped in the ring to break up the hold.
The match continued, and then Mark Briscoe showed up to fight Gabe Kidd. Briscoe was covered in blood after his stretcher match with Ricochet earlier in the night. The Death Riders were locked in an ambulance, leaving only the Young Bucks for their team.
The babyface team ganged up on AEWs founding fathers after that. Omega nailed a V-Trigger and Swerve hit a House Call. Then Prince Nana introduced boots with thumbtacks on the bottom of them, which Swerve put on. As Omega put Nick Jackson through a table with electrical cables, an explosion went off. Then Swerve nailed a double stomp off the top onto Matt with the thumbtack boots to win the match.
This was a brutal match, and another example of how far AEW is willing to go during their pay-per-view events. Only time will tell what they do to top this, but Anarchy in the Arena did not disappoint this time around.
Whats your take on how the Anarchy in the Arena match turned out this time around? Is this AEWs best annual match? Let us know what you think in the comments section!
