AEW crowned two new champions at Worlds End (Dec. 27, 2025) from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL. MJF is world champion, and Jon Moxley survived the gauntlet of the Continental Classic.
MJF wins AEW World Championship
MJF’s plan came to fruition by winning the AEW World Championship. The man is an opportunist, but he also creates those opportunities. MJF picked his spot for perfect timing to defeat Samoa Joe, Hangman Page, and Swerve Strickland in the main event.
This match had a great dynamic for four-way action. The pace was hot throughout. None was hotter than when the ring cleared for a showdown between Hangman and Swerve. The cowboy won that exchange for a Buckshot Lariat, however, Joe was able to break the pin. At one point, Swerve had Joe sized up for the House Call kick. That’s when The Opps rushed the ring to save the champ. Hook fed Hangman to Joe for the Musclebuster. Big kick-out by Hangman at 2. Officials eventually corralled The Opps, and the four-way blitz was on again. Joe snatched Hangman for the Coquina Clutch. Swerve landed a flying stomp on Joe to break the hold. The finish was glorious chaos. Swerve powerbombed Joe out of the corner. Swerve eyed the flying stomp to finish. MJF shoved him off the turnbuckles. Hangman pounded Joe with two consecutive Buckshots, but the behemoth was still standing. Hangman went for number three. MJF shoved Joe out of the way and kicked Hangman in the cojones. MJF seized the moment for the Heatseeker piledriver on Joe to win the gold.
The main event was excellent four-way fighting. I loved the pace and how the level of difficulty was high due to the extra man being able to break near falls or submissions in a creative way. The atmosphere was electric, and the wrestlers kept the vibe hot throughout. There were callbacks in situations with The Opps for well-rounded story. Despite that interference, I appreciate that the finish was clean. Well, clean enough given the rules. MJF won fair and square by using his wits to create that opportunity for victory. That was the type of underhanded win that elevates his character and is also an interesting finish.
Jon Moxley wins Continental Classic
When the Continental Classic tournament began, I doubt many people penciled in Jon Moxley as their prediction to win. On the contrary. There was fans hoping Moxley would drop every match to further the awkward agenda in the Death Riders with their leader as a loser. Now that it’s all said and done, Moxley is the new continental champion, and he was cheered by the crowd. Imagine that.
The PPV opened by finally delivering the AEW dream match between Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada in the semifinal. The action absolutely delivered. Not so much on the finish. Takeshita and Okada exchanged trash talk through gestures, like the middle finger. There was a serious chess match in session with counters and reversals. Much of the flow was a mirror of movement. It was funny to hear the crowd get excited for Takeshita in control of a move, then immediately jeer when Okada reversed position, then flip again for cheers when Takeshita regained control to execute a maneuver. Takeshita and Okada had epic striking exchanges to knock each other silly. On the finish, Okada dipped into his bag of tricks. He pulled out a screwdriver to hide in his trunks. The Rainmaker dance of ducking the lariat trapped the referee in the corner, so the official cowered in fear of getting hit. Okada took advantage to hit Takeshita with the screwdriver to win. He tossed the evidence under the ring on his way out.
Harrumph. After such a good match, that finish was BS. Not only was it unsatisfying to see Takeshita go down in defeat to Okada, the manner in how he lost felt anticlimactic. Working backwards in analysis knowing the full results, I understand why the result was the result. The cheating protects Takeshita for a rematch down the line. He has such good chemistry with Okada that I wouldn’t mind an ironman contest for their next clash. There is also the storyline of ScrewdriverGate. Don Callis was on commentary. So, how much did he know of this plan? Did Callis okay the hit on Takeshita? The Alpha looked heartbroken reaching out for his mentor only to see Callis exit in celebration with Okada. To be clear, Callis was acting more like selfish money-grubber hitching with the winner rather than dumping Takeshita. Still though, this could finally be the catalyst for Takeshita to leave the Callis Family and become a proper babyface. The plot thickened for ScrewdriverGate in the other semifinal matchup.
Kyle Fletcher had age on his side against Moxley. Due to the grueling nature of tournament combat, wear and tear takes its toll. Fletcher looked fresh. Moxley’s ankle still bothered him. Fletcher went to work on that target. Moxley had a dramatic rope-break to escape a dangerous ankle lock. As the match progressed, intestinal fortitude was on full display. Moxley kicked out of a brainbuster finisher. Fletcher kicked out of Paradigm Shift and Death Rider finishers. In the end, Fletcher tried to cheat. He was frantically in search of the screwdriver (that Okada had thrown under the ring) by ripping off turnbuckle pads looking for the weapon. Fletcher lost focus on the fight, and that’s when Moxley took control for the finish. Mox dug deep in his energy reserves to snatch Fletcher for a chokehold. The referee waved off the match as Fletcher passed out. The crowd went wild in support of Moxley.
Pretty good match with another questionable finish. It’s notable how Moxley surviving that ankle lock was when the crowd became fully invested in his success. That was a babyface turn in real time. As for ScrewdriverGate, we’re left hanging about what to process from it. Why didn’t Fletcher know the screwdriver wasn’t there? That’s my main problem for why the finish was weird in a bad way. It was unclear what was going on in real time. Was Okada supposed to hide the screwdriver again? Or was he selfish without caring about his teammate by tossing the screwdriver under the ring? Did Okada steal Flecther’s planted cheat for himself? And then there’s questions about what Callis knew about the screwdriver. Did he tell Okada? Why not inform Fletcher? Lots of questions need hashing out on Dynamite.
AEW set the table for the Continental Classic final with promos establishing Okada as the heel and Moxley as the hero. Callis was out for revenge from the scar that Moxley gave him on his head. Moxley savored the moment of tournament fighting. It’s all about passion for wrestling.
Okada attacked Moxley’s weakness with with dragon screws and cloverleafs. The strategy was working. Mox grunted in pain and limped to walk like Frankenstein’s monster. Moxley still showed heart to surprise Okada with a Gotch piledriver. They went into deep waters to exchange finisher. Moxley kicked out of a low blow and the Rainmaker lariat. Okada kicked out of the Paradigm Shift at 1. Moxley kept on the pressure for a curb stomp and a Death Rider to win.
Moxley cemented his turn as a fan favorite by dedicating the AEW Continental Championship to the wrestlers in the tournament and the fans in attendance. Those wrestlers gave 100% every single time, because that’s what the fans deserve.
It’s wild to think that Moxley is winner of the Continental Classic and a hero to boot. There’s plenty of worthy criticism to dissect about how AEW presented Mox’s character arc from ruthless world champion to tapping out to Kyle O’Reilly and now champion of the people. There’s also discussions that can be had about the choice of crowning Moxley. What’s done is done. In hindsight, I like this direction. Moxley won me over with his promos during the tournament. He showed a side of his leadership that we hadn’t seen before, and it was clear why the Death Riders follow him into battle. As the tournament progressed, Moxley became the underdog story. I’m curious when AEW decided to book Mox as the overall winner. There were hints along the way like name-dropping the Callis Family a few times. The perceived weakness of his leadership seemed to go away. Plus, Moxley did better than Claudio and PAC, so they have no case to take over. Moxley showed increased toughness to survive submissions, which was growth from the losses to O’Reilly. It was still a gamble that the crowd would be on board. It wasn’t until mid-way through the Fletcher that the turn truly took hold and there were loud cheers for Moxley. Like the quality of the story or not, this is what the people want.
Let’s break down the rest of the show from top to bottom.
AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) defeated Jaime Hayter to retain the title. This was a power showdown that increased in intensity throughout. They pulled out big moves for an avalanche exploder suplex from Hayter and an avalanche Michinoku Driver from Statlander.
The next chapter was slobberknocker striking. Hayter got the better of Statlander to steal her finisher for Saturday Night Fever, but no pin on that. The exhausted competitors rose to their feet, charged to the center, and Hayter clobbered a lariat. Hayter lifted Statlander for a fireman’s carry. StatDaddy reversed into Saturday Night Fever for the win.
This match delivered the goods. The slugging started a little slow with posturing for position, but they more than made up for it with the haymakers from there on out. This wasn’t an up and down flow. It just kept going up and up and up. There was lots of drama around the Hayterade lariat, which was dodged several times. The crowd was fully engaged on the finish. Statlander and Hayter made good on the idea of a powerhouse fight.
I don’t understand why Statlander spit in Hayter’s face. It didn’t make sense, because they both wrestled clean. Spitting should be a heel move, so I don’t know if this is foreshadowing or what. Statlander didn’t do anything else heel in this match.
Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong, & Toni Storm defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, & Marina Shafir. Mixed Nuts Mayhem meant tornado tag rules. This was a cooldown match full of chaotic fun, such as Storm and Cassidy in a dance sequence for offense.
Intergender action was fair play, however, it was mostly men teasing aggression toward the women then women hitting counter attacks. Despite that, we were treated to Claudio taking Storm for a ride on his giant swing. There was also a striking exchange between Shafir and Strong (wife and husband in real life, for those that don’t know).
The finish was a nice way to end the party. Yuta grabbed Storm, so Cassidy hit the superman punch on him. Storm connected on a running hip attack, then she fed Yuta to Briscoe for the Jay Driller to win. Everyone cheered, because they all hate Yuta. This will be one of those guilty-pleasure matches with lots of replay value.
Darby Allin defeated Gabe Kidd. Allin’s intro package was a short film with images of a decomposing bunny carcass and Allin meditating in his igloo of solitude. “I’ll remember you as you were, not as what you’ll become.” All I say is that the film pales in comparison to the masterpiece Man Getting Hit by Football.
I didn’t know what to expect for this match, and I was pleasantly satisfied. The action was a car crash, and I mean that in a positive way. Allin and Kidd took loads of punishment tossing their bodies around. Allin surged for a Code Red, a Coffin Drop inside, then a Coffin Drop outside.
Back in the ring, Allin nailed the Scorpion Death Drop and followed for the Scorpion Deathlock. Allin took a few hard hits to the head throughout, so he was selling concussion symptoms. It was more like touch and go rather than a dramatic sell job. I mention that, because Allin had victory in his grasp on the submission only to get light-headed from the pressure. He dropped the hold. Kidd hammered a huge lariat and a piledriver. Allin kicked out at 2. Kidd snatched Allin for a choke. Allin rolled the position over the top to trap Kidd on the mat for three. Victory!
Kidd was a strong foe. I haven’t seen a lot of Kidd’s work, and I left here impressed. His character fills a role, and his wrestling style fits the package. Allin gave the people what they want in his performance with daredevil risk, the homage to Sting, and guts to win.
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: Babes of Wrath (c) defeated Mercedes Moné & Athena to retain the titles. The climax came down to a flurry of finishers. Harley Cameron hit Her Finishing Move on Athena. Mercedes hit her finisher on Harley. Willow Nightingale went for her finisher, Mercedes countered for her finisher, but Willow countered the counter for a roll-up to win.
Solid contest. The Babes of Wrath continue to get better as a team. Willow was the engine that made this match go. She hit timely power moves when the challengers had momentum. The real story is Mercedes flipping out after being pinned again. She was in shock on the apron. Athena shouted at her for losing. Backstage, Mercedes threw a fit to destroy her locker room. The CEO composed herself to say that she will punish Willow in a match on Dynamite. The Moné train going off the tracks continues to be an entertaining story. Mercedes presents the emotion well with her reactions.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) defeated Bang Bang Gang to retain the titles. Chicago street fight. The big drama came as FTR focused on damaging the knee of Juice Robinson. Dax Harwood applied a figure-four. Juice was in terrible pain. He used his wits to spray a fire extinguisher in Harwood’s face to break free.
Stokely Hathaway was a pest. When Juice hit his finisher, Big Stoke tackled the referee to prevent the three-count. Stokely paid the price for his interference when Juice shoved him off the apron onto a table. In the end, FTR took control for two spike piledrivers on Austin Gunn for the win. The second one was on top of the title belt.
This match was a change of pace from the serious wrestling of the Continental Classic semifinals. The action was entertaining with a handful of near falls. FTR looked impressive in a dominant finish that should close the book on this feud. AEW did a good job stretching the series out in an enjoyable manner. Even though there was no chance FTR would be losing the tag titles this soon, it was still easy to get caught up in watching the matches.
The Zero Hour free pre-show featured four matches. AEW did a good job of spicing up this batch of random matches with the return of Ortiz and Luchasaurus coming back from ‘injury’ to keep fighting.
Jurassic Express & JetSpeed defeated Ricochet, GOA, & Josh Alexander. Ricochet had an idea to take out the powerhouse. The Demand attacked from behind on the ramp, then GOA carried Luchasaurus to the back. The match continued as 4-on-3, and that set up the rowdy return of the one-armed dinosaur. Even though Luchasaurus had his shoulder and arm taped, he was still able to chokeslam Ricochet with his good arm. Jack Perry closed with a running knee strike to pin Ric. Amusing way to create a story out of thin air for the match. I suspect that the result leads to Perry challenging Ricochet for the AEW National Championship.
Bandido & Mascara Dorada defeated Mark Davis & Rocky Romero. Good mix of action from the luchadores and character work from the rudos. Those Callis Family lugs excel at being heels, and that set up the crowd getting hot for the high-flying rally. The finish was a cool sequence. Bandido hit the X-Knee on Romero followed by a shooting star press from Dorada. The CMLL star ran the ropes for Bandido to assist with a pop-up on the tornillo dive outside onto Davis. Bandido closed with the 21 Plex on Romero.
Eddie Kingston defeated Zack Gibson. Kingston channeled his ornery attitude to overcame outside interference from James Drake. Gibson was in control for a flying lungblower, then he made the mistake of being disrespectful on trash talk. The Mad King fired up to win on a DDT. Afterward, the Grizzled Young Veterans choked Kingston with their scarf. Ortiz! He made the save to help Kingston. That was a nice little surprise to see Ortiz back with Kingston. I know fans want Kingston to have singles success, but I like the idea of Kingston and Ortiz as a tag team. Or maybe they recruit a youngster to be a trio.
Sisters of Sin defeated Hyan & Maya World. The underdogs have been upgraded from squash victims to mildly competitive. They also have matching gear. Sisters of Sin handled business with Skye Blue receiving the hometown shine. Blue hit the Code Blue on World, but that was not the legal opponent. Julia Hart helped for a teamwork swinging slam from Blue to Hyan for the pin.
Notes: Clon hacked the show with a message that he is coming to Collision.
Stud of the Show: Jon Moxley
Heroic grit and determination to win the Continental Classic tournament.
Match of the Night: MJF vs. Samoa Joe vs. Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland
Fantastic flow of action for a four-way.
Entertainment was high. The matches were on par with PPV quality for AEW. The show closed with momentum to see what happens next.
Share your thoughts about AEW Worlds End. Are you excited for MJF as world champion? What’s your take on Jon Moxley winning the Continental Classic?