2025 has proved to be a return to form for AEW, recapturing a sense of magic that was lost somewhere after 2021. “Worlds End” was the culmination of their calendar year, emanating from the NOW Arena in Chicago.
It was also the culmination of this year’s “Continental Classic,” kicking off the pay-per-view proper with both semi-finals matches and the tournament’s finale. In addition to the three “C2” matches, four world championships were on the line, including both the men’s and women’s tag titles and both the men’s and women’s world championships.
Unlike past pay-per-vViews, this year’s “Worlds End” felt well-paced and extraordinarily diverse, despite three tournament matches. FTR’s street fight against the Bang Bang Gang felt diametrically opposed to the Babes of Wrath’s first title defense. The “Mixed Nuts Mayhem Match” was the perfect intermission, offering a welcome bit of levity between the undercard and three marquee matches.
Rating: ***¾
Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita
I wistfully long for the Kazuchika Okada who beat the piss out of Kaito Kiyomiya, for daring to become the ace of puroresu. Thankfully, time is a flat circle, and Okada has survived long enough to repel another would-be successor. There were a few key differences, though.
First, Kiyomiya has been replaced by Konosuke Takeshita, who is better at literally everything.
Second, Okada doesn’t douse the flame of Takeshita’s fighting spirit with righteous indignation. Instead, he used a screwdriver.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Okada’s laissez-faire attitude towards nationally syndicated wrestling. The significance of this affair just felt like it necessitated more from the most prolific world champion in New Japan Pro Wrestling history.
Vintage Okada, this was not.
Rating: ***¾
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher
Six months ago, Jon Moxley was public enemy number one. Now, the paradigm has shifted (pun intended), and Mox has become the sentimental favorite in this year’s “Continental Classic.”
That’s what happens when you’re the f*ck*ng ace.
In fairness, Kyle Fletcher deserves his due. For the second year in a row, the “Protostar” fell in the semifinals, swinging, galvanizing the audience to support Mox.
It’s rare to see broad shifts in momentum that are so easily recognizable within the span of a single match. The crowd seemed reluctant to cheer for Mox in the early goings, but quickly fell under the ace’s spell.
For months now, I’ve extolled Moxley’s resurgence, believing that the “Death Rider” has acclimated himself to a state of wrestling nirvana. This match was proof positive of that conceit. Mox harnessed the goodwill that he amassed over the course of the “Continental Classic” to totally command the audience.
That’s what happens when you’re the f*ck*ng ace.
Rating: ****¼
FTR [c] vs. Bang Bang Gang
Traumatic brain injury is real. Just ask Cash Wheeler.
After two highly competitive “Continental Classic” contests, this Chicago street fight was a welcome reprieve.
Juice Robinson has established a great rapport with FTR, and this match continued that great tradition.
Rating: ***¾
Babes of Wrath [c] vs. Mercedes Moné & Athena
Heavy is the head of she who wears the crown.
As champions, the Babes of Wrath bear the responsibility of cultivating an identity for this fledgling tag team division. In Mercedes Moné and Athena, they found themselves standing opposite the longest reigning champions in AEW and Ring of Honor, respectively.
Willow Nightingale has quickly become one of the most entertaining hot tags in all of wrestling, bristling with energy and able to run roughshod over anyone she shares the ring with.
Rating: ***¼
Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd
For all his considerable talent, Darby Allin’s greatest gift is his ability to make my jaw hit the floor every month, for the modest price of $40.
Gabe Kidd may have spent time in a psychiatric hospital (you know he’s “mad,” right?), but he just couldn’t duplicate Allin’s quasi-suicidal pace. Maybe that’s for the best, though. Both men lost pools of blood and poured themselves into this performance.
Allin even delivered a gnarly coffin drop off the top rope onto the concrete floor.
Rating: ***¾
Mixed Nuts Mayhem Tag Match
“Are we witnessing the birth of a throuple?”
From the outset of “Worlds End,” I pegged this mixed tag match as an affair worth omitting. God, I’m tired of being wrong. This had no right to be this good.
The Death Riders marched lockstep, taking a decisive lead midway through the affair. I have to applaud Wheeler Yuta for proudly taking the low road, every time the opportunity presents itself. There’s nothing halfhearted about Yuta’s work. Instead, he’s thrown himself into immortal techniques of stooging; becoming one of wrestling’s best chicken shit heel bastards.
“Timeless” Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy were brilliant together, prompting the aforementioned quote from Excalibur. There was something undeniably fun about this, offering a welcome bit of levity.
Rating: ***½
Kris Statlander [c] vs. Jamie Hayter
In the wake of “Blood & Guts,” the “Continental Classic” has signified a back-to-basics approach to professional wrestling for AEW. In keeping with that spirit, this was the perfect AEW Women’s World Championship match.
Jamie Hayter has spent all of 2025 chasing the world championship, to no avail. In Kris Statlander, Hayter has found a kindred spirit; someone who’s overcome injury and triumphed. There were no babyfaces or heels in this title defense. Instead, both champion and challenger alike wrestled as fellow competitors. While it wouldn’t be wise to replicate that formula across an entire card, it worked in this match.
Rating: ****
Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada
“Jon Moxley simply stated, through cracked, bloodied teeth, ‘he’s just not as obsessed as I am.’”
The crux of this affair was Jon Moxley’s mangled knee, courtesy of Kyle Fletcher. For that reason alone, the scope of what Mox could accomplish here was limited. Kazuchika Okada offered little in return, opting to color in the lines, as opposed to painting his own masterpiece.
Mox took the reins in the final act through sheer force of will, powering his way to the finish line. This was Moxley’s crowd. This was Moxley’s night. This was Moxley’s tournament.
That’s what happens when you’re the f*ck*ng ace.
Rating: ***½
Samoa Joe [c] vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF
When “Hangman” Adam Page won the AEW Men’s World Championship from Jon Moxley at “All In,” the dark shadow that the Death Riders cast over the main event scene seemed to dissipate. AEW finally seemed poised to tell more intimate stories, with the most charismatic babyface in all of professional wrestling at the heart of its programming.
I’m still waiting.
I hate four-way matches. It’s a classic example of subtraction by addition. For all of Page, Swerve Strickland, MJF, and Samoa Joe’s cumulative ability, the stipulation robbed this of any organicity.
I take umbrage with the WWE house style because it often relies on easily anticipated ebbs and flows, centered on big finishing moves. It’s predictable, lacking the artifice of more free-flowing professional wrestling. Four-way matches often pose the same problem. This match certainly did.
To use insider baseball parlance, it felt like the champion and challengers alike were all taking turns “getting their shit in.” And, there’s a lot of fun to be had in that experience. It just left something to be desired.
As for the result, it was Friedman who stole victory from the jaws of defeat. You certainly can’t fault the man for keeping his promise.
“The rent is due, and the Devil has come to collect.”
Rating: ***½
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