AEW World's End 2025

AEW World's End 2025

Chicago, IL - December 2025

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was Samoa Joe, the AEW Women's World Champion was Kris Statlander, the TBS Champion was Mercedes Mone, the TNT Champion was Mark Briscoe, the AEW Unified Champion was Okada (as he held the Continental and International Championships), Ricochet was the National Champion, FTR were the World Tag Team Champions, the Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron) were the Women's World Tag Team Champions, and The Opps (Samoa Joe, Will Hobbs, and Shibata) were the Trios Champions. 

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada in the first of two semi-finals of the Continental Classic was the opening match of the show. The match began with some tentative mat wrestling, neither guy taking any risks. A "Fuck Don Callis" chant broke out as they picked up the pace and we saw both guys swing and miss with signature strikes until Takeshita took Okada down with a flying clothesline. To the outside they went, with Takeshita winning Okada into the rail but Okada then bringing him into a chair with a drop toe hold. Okada maintained control for the next few days but Takeshita came back with a vertical suplex, a hurricanrana, and a beautiful tope to the floor. Takeshita slowed things down with a chinlock but Okada escaped and hit his signature neckbreaker. Okada followed it up with an elbow drop before playing to the crowd. A strike exchange followed and then we had both men attempting and countering piledrivers with Takeshita eventually delivering a package piledriver followed immediately by a wheelbarrow suplex. Takeshita looked to end it but Okada countered only for Takeshita to counter a Rainmaker into a Blue Thunder Bomb! That sequence brought about a "This Is Awesome" chant. Moments later, Takeshita ate a Rainmaker but didn't go down until he got nailed with a second one. He went for a third but Takeshita caught him with a forearm and we got another excellent sequence ending with Okada hitting a German suplex out of the corner. From here we got beautiful dropkicks, a reverse-rana, Okada kicking out at 2.9 after taking a nasty running knee - it was all excellent. Okada dug a screwdriver out from the corner of the ring and eventually caught Takeshita in the head with it to earn a very dirty win. This was a very solid match and while I didn't mind the cheap finish in theory, I kinda wish they had come up with a different way to do it as getting "knocked out" by a screwdriver (as opposed to, say, brass knuckles) seems a bit odd when using a screwdriver usually means you're opening someone up. (3.5/5)

The other half of the semi-finals - Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher - was next. Like the opener, this was technically a heel/heel contest but it was somewhat expected that Moxley would get cheered. After some feeling out, Fletcher tried to play mind games by spending time on the outside of the ring, which only drew Mox to him. Fletcher continued to play to the crowd, but did some land offense in the form of stomps and chops. Back to the outside they went where Mox whipped Fletcher into the guardrail and then sat him on a chair for a big boot. Fletcher fought back, trapping Mox's leg between the steps and the ring apron. When Fletcher pulled the steps away, Mox slipped and went mouth-first into the steps (chipping his tooth in the process). Back in the ring, Fletcher applied a leglock. Fletcher continued to work on the knee, wrapping it around the second rope and then applying a single-leg crab. Mox escaped and hit a neckbreaker out of nowhere, but Fletcher rolled to the outside. Mox came crashing into him with a suicide dive through the middle rope. Fletcher came back with a Michinoku Driver for 2 as Mox continued to sell leg damage. Fletcher went for a boot in the corner but Mox caught him with a clothesline, leading to a clothesline exchange that ended with Mox nearly taking Kyle's head off. A forearm contest followed and then Mox hit a dropkick and some punches in the corner, but Fletcher dumped him to the apron. Fletcher went for a running kick but Mox countered it. Back on the apron, Mox missed a stomp and Fletcher nailed him with a true brainbruster. Damn. Mox was nearly counted out and then pinned when Fletcher nailed him with a huge powerbomb back in the ring. Fletcher reapplied the half-crab but Mox would not tap. Fletcher pulled back too far, though, ending up caught in the Bulldog Choke! Fletcher escaped by grabbing an Ankle Lock, which seemed like it legitimately popped Danielson on commentary. Moxley was able to grab the ropes and the crowd began to chant his name, rooting him on as Fletcher booted him in the chest and face. Fletcher hoisted him up for a superplex but fought back, biting Fletcher in the head and then bringing him back into the ring with an Avalance Cutthroat Suplex (!). Fletcher took an absolutely nasty head drop. It was unreal that Fletcher could even move after it. Mox hit a stomp as Tenay noted that we were at 19 minutes (which would've been near the time limit in a typical CC match). Fletcher somehow rallied, landing a superkick and a half-and-half suplex, but Mox kicked out at 1! Fletcher hit the running boot and another brainbuster but, again, Mox kicked out! Fletcher sold the disappointment by nearly breaking into tears. Fletcher hit Mox with a big clothesline and then started ripping apart some of the turnbuckles, clearly searching for the screwdriver, but this allowed Moxley to rally and hit the Paradigm Shift for 1...2....Fletcher kicked out! Great false finish there. Mox fired up and hit the Death Rider...and again, Fletcher kicked out! Bulldog Choke by Mox! Fletcher was able to get to his feet but Fletcher, his face nearly purple, had no answer for it as his arm got raised and dropped 3 times. Another very, very good match. I didn't love Fletcher not selling the damage and exhaustion after getting put to sleep, his screaming at Bryce Remsburg coming across a bit too animated for me, but I did like him being an asshole and clipping Mox's knee after the match. This match clearly positioned Mox as the babyface heading into the finals. (3.5/5)

The AEW World Tag Team Championships were on the line in a Chicago Street Fight as FTR defended against the somewhat-makeshift team of Austin Gunn and Juice Robinson, two members of the Bang Bang Gang. Dax and Juice went brawling in the stands while Gunn and Wheeler fought up the ramp. The latter brought a trash can into the mix as Dax and Robinson made their way back towards the ring. Stokely set up a table but Dax couldn't put it to use right away. Robinson tried to put The Ax through it, but got brought down from the top rope with a back suplex by Wheeler. Dax worked on Gunn with the trash can and a cane got used as well, the champions in full control. The BBG rallied using their speed but Wheeler cut off their momentum by sending Gunn into the steps. Wheeler then brought a belt into the ring, which Dax used to clobber Robinson. Gunn got some offense in with a trash can lid, including a cool back splash while wearing it. Robinson got some "color" (presumably from getting hit by the championship belt) and tried to hit a DDT on Dax but Wheeler made the save the heels worked on Juice's leg, jamming it with a chair repeatedly. Robinson nearly caught them by surprise with an inside cradle on Dax, but then got his leg bashed again with a chair by Wheeler. Wheeler then came off the top rope with a stomp to the knee while Dax held Robinson down on the mat. Great heel work there by FTR. Dax applied a figure four and held onto it as Wheeler dove onto Gunn (and through a table on the floor). Robinson reached the ropes but there are no breaks in a streetfight. He got hold of a fire extinguisher, though, blasting Dax in the face with it to force a release and then hit a front face-driver-thingy for 2 with Stokely breaking up the count. Stokely grabbed a chair but Robinson blocked him and took it for himself, cracking Dax in the back with it a few times and waffling Wheeler with it too. Juice went to use it one more time but Stokely grabbed hold of it. Robinson shoved him off the apron and Stokely went flying into a table, but instead of crashing through it, he bounced off of it and into the announce table! Ouch. That was definitely a painful botch. Back in the ring, FTR hit a somewhat-awkward Shatter Machine for 2 (with Gunn breaking up the pin). Gunn hit a low blow on Wheeler and went for a Fameasser on the flattened trash can but Dax caught him with a piledriver instead. FTR hit a Spike Piledriver and then a second one "on" the championship belt (though, it didn't look too hot) to end the match. This started out a bit underwhelming, had some good work in the middle when FTR focused on Juice's knee, but then got a bit sloppy and messy towards the end with Stokely's bump and some less precise moments in the end. Not bad. (2.5/5)

Mercedes Mone and Athena challenged the AEW Women's World Tag Team Champions - The Babes of Wrath, Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron. Athena came into this match as the Ring of Honor Women's World Champion, a reign that has lasted over 3 years at this point, while Mone came in holding a very respectable 10 Championships, including the AEW TBS Championship. Highlights included - Willow hitting a powerbomb on the apron to Mone but then eating a ridiculously forceful suicide dive from Athena, Mone delivering the double-knees in the corner off an Irish whip from her partner, and Athena somehow getting Willow up for a powerbomb-into-a-Codebreaker-type move that looked hellacious, and Cameron hitting a double crucifix-bomb. There were some awkward moments due to telegraphing and imperfect timing (Cameron's hot tag to Willow looked not a little bit silly), with even some of the better spots looking a tad bit sloppy, but they kept the crowd engaged and Athena looked particularly good here. I loved Mone and Athena inadvertently hitting each other with a splash and a forearm respectively but then combining their effort to hit a series of nifty double-team maneuvers. Though the result was what most fans predicted, I thought the actual finish was a bit of a surprise (and well-executed to boot). Not a Match of the Year candidate or anything, but an effective match and an improvement from the Finals several weeks ago that the Babes had with Storm and Shirakawa. (3/5)

Next up - a grudge match as Darby Allin took on the Death Riders' mercenary, Gabe Kidd. Before the match, one of Allin's weird videos aired, soundtracked by a "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails soundalike and ending with a cryptic message ("I'll Remember You As You Were, Not As What You'll Become"). Allin took a nasty bump early, spilling onto the floor from a two-hand shove after being perched on the top rope. From there, Kidd continued to dominate, sending Allin into the steps and barrier. Allin hit a suicide dive from the ring to the floor to even things up, but then essentially got thrown into the timekeeper's table in another hellacious bump. In a really cool moment, Kidd set up Allin in a catapult position within the steel steps and dropped back, sending Allin face-first through the top of the steps. Allin managed to get back into the ring but was busted open badly. From there, it was basically a greatest hits of "Allin getting the shit kicked out of him" as we saw him hit the turnbuckles hard, get run off the apron and around the post, and getting blasted with strikes and tossed around by power moves with the occasional hope spot thrown in. It may be formulaic, but it's still captivating. Kudos to Kidd for the bladejob he took too, eating a chair to the face from a Darby Allin dropkick. Allin hit a Code Red from the top rope and then a Coffin Drop but couldn't get the cover as Kidd rolled to the outside, where Allin hit him with another Coffin Drop. At this point, Kidd was sporting the proverbial "crimson mask" as Allin rolled him into the ring and went for another pin but, when he couldn't get it, hit a Scorpion Death Drop and then locked Kidd in the Scorpion Deathlock. Allin couldn't maintain the hold, though, and Kidd came back at him with a series of strikes, including a nasty lariat, and then a classic piledriver for 2.9. Kidd rained down on him with more forearms across the chest but got caught in a pinning perdicament, his shoulders pushed to the mat with Allin's full weight across them. It wasn't a definitive victory so Kidd looked plenty credible even in the loss. That was ultra-violent and very good, maybe a hair short of "must see"/Match of the Year contender territory. (3.5/5)

Next up was Toni Storm teaming up with Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy, and Mark Briscoe to take on Marina Shafir, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castignoli, and Wheeler Yuta in a match dubbed "Mixed Nuts Mayhem" where no tags were necessary. Yuta got great heat early by tossing Storm out of the ring, but then got his comeuppance from Briscoe, who also took out Garcia with an awesome cannonball to the outside. Because this was wrestled under "Tornado" rules, it was non-stop action in the ring with lots of cut-offs and saves and unique pairings. Cassidy was over huge with the crowd and his sequence with Shafir got a big reaction. It eventually became 4-on-1 on Cassidy, with OC getting destroyed in the corner by all four heels until Strong tried to make the save and ended up eating chest chops from Shafir (Strong's real life wife) as well as another 4-on-1 relay of splashes and strikes in the corner. Briscoe came in next and got beaten down as well, the Death Riders once again crushing him in the corner with rapid-fire offense. Storm came in to make the save and we saw her and Shafir go at it with Shafir getting dumped to the outside with a Hip Attack. Claudio grabbed Toni's hair but Briscoe saved her and they hit Claudio with a double shoulder tackle to a sizable pop. We then got a really fun moment in which Cassidy and Storm performed a modified ballroom dance to take out the Death Riders. Briscoe hit the Froggy 'Bow on Claudio and almost got a 3 but Garcia and Wheeler made the save. Storm stood up to them, though, taking both out with German Suplexes. Moments later she hit a tornado DDT on Claudio but ended up in the Giant Swing, tossed halfway across the ring. This left Strong and Shafir in the ring, squaring off, the crowd popping huge. Another huge flurry of offense and saves and signature moves followed with Storm hitting a Storm Zero on Garcia and a Hip Attack on Yuta and Yuta then eating the Jay Driller to end the match. This wasn't Hackenschmidt and Gotch, but it was entertaining as all hell and the exact kind of match you won't really ever see in the WWE. Good stuff. (3/5)

The AEW Women's World Champion, Kris Statlander, defended her title against Jamie Hayter in the next bout. Good, physical wrestling to start with both women trying for quick pins and hitting impressive shoulder tackles. The stereo kip-up spot wasn't great and I'm not sure why they went for it considering neither one is particularly agile, but things got better from there when Statlander hit a cool leg drop on the apron and then a catapult into the steps. Back and forth it went with Statlander and Hayter both throwing all of themselves into every dropkick, knee strike, and forearm. This was not a "pretty" match, but it was stiff as all hell at times, which made it stand out from the fun, loose spirit of the previous match. The crowd wasn't 100% with them - at one point I think there was a "Green Bay Sucks" chant - but did come alive at times, including for Hayter's Avalanche fisherman's suplex, a sick-looking package piledriver by Statlander, and an absolutely insane Michinoku Driver off the top rope that drew a "Holy Shit" chant (and a considerable amount of ire from online fans who were legitimately concerned). Stat went for Hayter's Hayterade finish soon after but Hayter somehow managed to counter it into an awesome overhead suplex and then a Shining Wizard. This led to yet another impressive sequence of counters and reversals that ended with Hayter hitting a backbreaker and Statlander coming right back at her with a suplex, leaving both women on the mat. A forearm exchange followed with Statlander nearly taking Hayter's head off with a lariat (essentially a Hayterade) only for Hayter to hit her with the Saturday Night Fever! Hayter couldn't make the cover though, too exhausted to even drape her arm over the champion. While Hayter was able to land one more big lariat, Statlander managed to put her down with a Saturday Night Fever to retain the title in one of the most physical matches I've seen in some time. That was an absolute war and a career match for both women. (4/5)

After some backstage promos from the two finalists, it was time for Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada in the tournament finals of the 2025 Continental Classic. As Don Callis noted during the promo, Okada was looking to win back-to-back tournaments. Okada offered a handshake once the bell rang but Mox flipped him the bird in response. Okada gave him one in return after a lock-up. Mox applied a wristlock but Okada went after the heel and lower leg, sending Mox to the outside to recover. Back in the ring, Okada continued his work on the ankle but Mox escaped by grabbing the bottom rope and, moments later, Okada's eye. Okada's focus on Mox's leg didn't make for the most electric opening, but the logic was there. Mox ended up on the top rope and Okada hit him with a dropkick that caused Mox to fall to the floor, catching his leg on the top rope in the process. On the floor, Okada hit a DDT as Mox continued to sell damage to his ankle, stumbling around the ring. Okada hit a kneebreaker on the top of the steps and then a kick to the knee on the floor and back in the ring. Okada applied a leg lock, but Mox fought out with headbutts. Deuling chants started up, which was somewhat surprising. Okada hit an impressive senton by the ropes and then his signature neckbreaker for 2. Okada hit an elbow drop to the chest off the top rope and flipped off the crowd, but Mox grabbed his middle finger and did some joint manipulation before hitting a lariat. Mox went to the mat immediately after though, unable to stay on his feet. Mox applied a figure four, but Okada got to the ropes. Okada caught him with a pair of dragon screws and then applied a Texas Cloverleaf, forcing Mox to the bottom rope around the 13-minute mark of the match. Okada delivered some forearms in the corner and then attempted an Alabama Slam but Mox countered with a Gotch-style piledriver for 2. Mox went for the Bulldog Choke but brought Okada up to his feet to try a Death Rider. Okada managed to evade the move and, with the ref in the corner, hit a low blow on Moxley and then a Rainmaker...but only got 2.5! Another round of deuling chants started up as Okada went to the outside to grab hold of the Continental Championship belt. The ref grabbed it from him and handed it back to the timekeeper, distracted long enough for Mox to hit a low blow of his own. With both men on their feet, we got a strike exchange with Mox landing a series of punches but then eating a dropkick. Mox no sold it, though! Okada went for the backslide but Mox rolled through so Okada hit him with another Rainmaker! Okada kept hold of Mox's wrist, opting not to go for the cover, and got hit by a Paradigm Shift DDT for 2. Mox went for another choke but Okada escaped. Mox caught Okada with a Rainmaker of his own and another Paradigm Shift but only got a 1 count! Curb Stomp by Mox and a Death Rider to end it! I didn't love that the finishing sequence saw Mox stop selling the damaged ankle, which had been the story of the match up until then, but at least the commentators played up the idea that it was Mox's adrenaline that had carried him there. After the match, the rest of the Death Riders came out to celebrate with him. Mox then cut a promo essentially thanking all of the other Continental Classic tournament entrants, the fans, and the rest of the locker room. It was long-winded and repetitive and not his best work, but more oddly, it was antithetical to the Death Riders' established objective (which Danielson noted on commentary too). All-in-all, a good match, but not an all-time great one and a match where your "mileage may vary" depending on how into Mox you are. (3/5)

Main event time - Swerve Strickland vs. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. MJF vs. the AEW World Champion, Samoa Joe. With four guys in the ring and all sorts of history to play off of, this was non-stop action from the very beginning. One early highlight was MJF doing Swerve's dance to a big reaction but then getting a taste of his own medicine when Swerve thrust his crotch in his face. Moments later, Hangman didn't quite nail his moonsault off the top to the floor as he barely touched anybody but all three men sold it. Hangman made up for it with a really cool Buckshot Lariat off the back of Swerve, which led to a Swerve/Hangman staredown that got a huge reaction. Their sequence of counters and reversals was incredible, ending with Swerve hitting the Deadeye but then getting nailed by a Hangman Buckshot Lariat. Joe broke up the pin, though, and went for the Muscle Buster on Swerve but got stopped by Hangman. This led to a Tower of Doom spot in which Joe essentially powerbombed everybody into MJF. Unable to pin any of them, Joe once again went for the Muscle Buster, but Swerve flipped out of it, took out MJF, and then hit a German Suplex on Joe. Page came in, ate a backbreaker and then a wild powerslam out of Swerve for 2. Page hit an Angel's Wings on Swerve and then a moonsault off the apron on MJF but missed the Buckshot Lariat and had to settle for a pop-up powerbomb for another 2 count. Joe came in to take advantage of Swerve and Page's exhaustion, but couldn't get much going. MJF finally got a bit of offense in, stomping Hangman's arm, hitting Swerve with an Alabama Slam, and wrenching him into Joe in the corner. He couldn't hit the Heatseaker, but brought Page into the ring with a neckbreaker and then applied the Salt of the Earth. Joe caught Swerve in the Koquina Clutch, forcing MJF to break his hold to prevent Joe from getting a submission victory. Joe ended up applying the Clutch to MJF, though, a callback to the finish of their championship match two years earlier (which Joe won). Swerve broke it up with a Housecall out of nowhere, though, just as MJF's arm was about to drop for the 3rd time. This was followed by a nice sequence that left all four men on the mat and the crowd chanting "AE-Dub." MJF hit the Panama Sunrise on Swerve, a callback to his one-time partnership with Adam Cole. Page went for another Buckshot but Joe knocked him off the apron. Swerve looked to finish Joe off, but Hobbs, HOOK, and Shibata made their way to the ring and prevented whatever he had planned. HOOK rolled Page into the ring for a Muscle Buster but only got 2. When Hobbs and Shibata went after Prince Nana, Swerve took them out with a Swerve Stomp off the top. Back in the ring, Page went after HOOK but got caught in the Koquina Clutch. Swerve broke it up with a Swerve Stomp onto the shoulders of Joe and then went back to the top. Joe met him up there for a superplex attempt but Swerve climbed down and turned it into a nasty powerbomb! Swerve went back to the top once more, but MJF shoved him off and into the nearby commentator's table. Page knocked MJF off the apron and connected with two Buckshot Lariats (neither of which took Joe down), but when he went for the third, MJF met him in the ring and kicked him in the groin! Heatseeker by MJF onto Joe to end it! I liked that much but didn't necessarily love it. Everyone did their job well and had a chance to shine, but multi-mans are not my favorite type of match and I kinda wish they had found a more interesting way for The Opps to get dispatched (rather than just having the refs force them away from ringside). A very good match. (3.5/5)

With a strong Kwang Score of 3.28-out-of-5, AEW World's End 2025 was another excellent show without a single "dud" match and some very strong performances out of all four men in the main event, Jon Moxley, Kyle Fletcher, Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter, and Athena. What I liked most about this show, though, was the variety it offered. Moxley/Okada was mostly built around a simple story involving Mox's injured leg. Darby and Gabe Kidd had an ultra-violent, bloody "spotfest." The Mixed Nuts match was great sports-entertainment. The main event had Big Fight Feel and though I didn't like The Opps' interference, because the rest of the show didn't have too many run-ins, it at least felt like something we hadn't seen earlier in the show. Statlander/Hayter was my match of the night, a highly physical title fight that exceeded my expectations and deserved bigger reactions from a crowd that didn't seem invested in its outcome or its participants' characters.

FINAL RATING - Watch It