The SmarK Rant for AEW Worlds End 2025 – 12.27.25

The SmarK Rant for AEW Worlds End 2025 – 12.27.25

Back home from Christmas with the family, where I didn’t have access to Dynamite or Collision, but I got the results of the CC at least.

Live from Chicago, IL. Speaking of Chicago, I’ve been bingeing the John Wayne Gacy series this weekend and it’s pretty excellent, and I like it takes the total opposite route of a Monster type sensationalized version of the story, focusing on the victims instead of making Gacy out to be some kind of superhero character worthy of sympathy. He’s a lying piece of crap and they make it very clear from the start.

Your hosts are Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Bryan Danielson

Continental Classic Semi-Finals: Konosuke Takeshita v. Kazuchika Okada

We get the expected “Holy Shit” chant before the bell, although it’s kind of weird to just be opening the PPV with this match after months of building to it. Takeshita teases a big chop on the ropes and then gives a clean break instead. Okada takes him down and works the leg a bit, and then they throw the big bomb attempts and Takeshita puts him down with the flying clothesline. Takeshita with some SMALL JOINT MANIPULATION on the mat and Okada bails to the floor to escape and lures him into a DDT out there. Back in the ring with a neckbreaker and that gets a one-footed one count. Takeshita fires up and Okada puts him down with a DDT for two. Takeshita powers him up into a brainbuster and makes a comeback with a rana, putting Okada on the floor to escape. So Takeshita hits him with a tope, and back in for a running boot in the corner and a belly to belly suplex for two. Takeshita with a chinlock, but Okada rakes the eyes to break and puts him down with the neckbreaker. Okada to the top with the flying elbow and does an extended middle finger for Takeshita’s benefit, which understandably angers Takeshita. So they slug it out and Okada goes all wobbly-legged from that, but he fights back with his own forearms and they fight for a tombstone. Takeshita wins that and then turns it into the wheelbarrow suplex, but Okada counters the running knee with a slam. Takeshita with the Blue Thunder Bomb for the double down. Takeshita is up first with the knee, but Okada catches it and hits the Rainmaker….and Takeshita NO-SELLS. So Okada maintains wrist control and hits a second one, and that one puts Takeshita down. Backslide from Takeshita fails, so Okada hits him with a german suplex, but Takeshita rolls him up for two. Okada with the dropkick out of the corner and then another Okada Dropkick, but Takeshita counters the Rainmaker into a poison rana and power drive knee for a very close two. Okada undoes the turnbuckle and finds the ROBERTSON HEAD OF DOOM, hitting Takeshita with that to advance to the finals in 17:27. Got really hot at the end but the finish was a disappintment, albeit deliberately so. ****1/4. They’re clearly cooking something up for a bigger blowoff once Takeshita drops the IWGP title.

Continental Classic Semi-Finals: Kyle Fletcher v. Jon Moxley

They fight for the takedown to start and Kyle goes for the arm, but Mox chops him to the floor. Back in, Fletcher tries to stall, but Mox attacks him on the floor to get the party started and runs him into the announce table. Back in the ring, Fletcher catches him in a FULL BODY LIFT AND SLAM and puts the boots to him in the corner to take over. Kyle with the chops, but Moxley gets a corner clothesline and puts Kyle on the floor again before putting him on a chair and booting him down. Fletcher fires back and goes after the leg, sandwiching Mox’s knee in the stairs to work on that, and back in with a deathlock and some punishment to the knee in the corner. Fletcher with a half crab as they’ve finally found a submission hold lame enough that Moxley won’t tap out immediately. Fletcher with a Michinoku Driver for two and they throw clotheslines until they both go down for a double down. They trade forearms and Moxley wins that with a shotgun dropkick and slugs away in the corner. They fight to the apron and trade kicks out there, but Kyle hits him with a brainbuster on the apron, and back in with a Last Ride powerbomb for two. Kyle goes to the knee again with a kneebar and switches to an anklelock as Moxley desperately tries not to tap, and then gets the ropes instead. Kyle puts the boots to him in the corner and they fight to the top, where Mox tries the choke on the top rope and then brings him down with a sick cut-throat suplex off the top. Moxley with a curb stomp for two, but Fletcher hits him with a half and half and knee strike for one as Moxley fires up. Fletcher with the running boot and brainbuster, but it only gets two. Moxley fights back again and Kyle clotheslines him down and goes looking for the screwdriver, but Okada already took it earlier, so a confused Kyle gets rolled up for two. Mox with the choke, but Fletcher counters for two. Mox with the Paradigm Shift for two. Death Rider gets two. Moxley with the choke and Kyle is turning purple, so the ref stops it at 23:30. And Moxley advances to the finals. Man that missing screwdriver gag was GREAT and Mox can still bring it. ****3/4. Fletcher decides to nail Moxley in the knee again in the name of sportsmanship, setting him up for a rough final against Okada. Also the crowd chants “You tapped out” at Fletcher, which is just not factually correct.

AEW World tag team title, Chi: FTR v. The Bang Bang Gang

They immediately brawl onto the floor and Cash trades trash can shots with Gunn while Dax fights with Juice in the crowd. Juice puts him on a table at ringside, but falls victim to a sneak attack from Cash, allowing FTR to beat Gunn down and take over. We get the goofy spot with Cash hitting the trash can off Gunn’s head and then proclaiming himself “Better than the White Sox”, which admittedly isn’t saying much. Demolition elbow gets two, as Nigel points out that “Dax and Cash” sounds like “Ax and Smash” and I bet that was a deliberate choice on their part. Juice breaks up a double-team with the trash can and splashes Dax for two before making the comeback with a spinebuster for two. Dax knocks Juice out with the belt, and Austin charges on the floor and overshoots, taking out the Spanish table, and that allows FTR to destroy Juice’s knee in the ring with various weapons. Juice manages to roll up Dax for two and make a comeback, but Cash lays him out with a chairshot again. Dax with a leglock and Gunn tries to save with a fire extinguisher, but Cash sends him into a table outside and follows with a dive. Juice makes the ropes, but there’s no rope breaks so that doesn’t matter. But Juice gets the extinguisher and sprays Dax to break at last. Stokely comes in to take out the ref, allowing Juice to fight back with chairshots, and poor Stoke takes a bump onto the table and misses completely, bumping into the railing after sliding off the table edge in a scary moment. FTR with a low blow on Juice and the Shatter Machine for two as Gunn saves. So then Gunn goes low on Cash, but Dax hits him with a piledriver on the trash can and gets two. Spike piledriver follows, and they hit another one on the belt to finish at 16:54 in a really lame finish to a majorly disappointing match. They just went way too long for what they were trying to do and the crowd was never invested in the idea of the Bang Bang Gang actually winning a match of consequence. **1/2

AEW Women’s tag team title: The Babes of Wrath v. Mercedes Mone & Athena

Interesting that they’ve low key started the process of removing all the titles from Mone. The heels chase the champs to the floor right away, but Willow hits Mercedes with an apron bomb, and Athena dives onto Willow and then catches a Harley dive as well. But Willow spears her and the Babes take over back in the ring. Mercedes and Athena double-team Harley with lungblowers for two, and Mercedes with double knees in the corner for two. Athena with a snap suplex for two. Mone with a pair of double knees for two and they cut off the ring, but Harley fights off Athena and makes a hot tag to Willow. She runs wild and slams Mercedes, but Athena makes a blind tag and hits Willow with a german suplex and an impressive backbreaker for two. Willow comes back with a pounce and Harley hits Athena with a sling blade and goes to the top, setting up a Tower of Doom spot. Harley gets a nice double crucifix on the heels for two, although physics would likely disagree with that move being possible. Everyone brawls, but Athena catches Harley with a stunner and Mercedes takes Willow down into the Bank Statement and Willow has to power out of that and into the death valley driver for two. And then Athena and Mone have some communication issues, but regroup with a double team superplex on Willow for two. Everyone is down and Harley makes the comeback and ROLLS THE DICE on Athena, and Willow gets a wacky backslide rollup on Mone to finish at 13:10. Maybe that should be a sign to Mercedes to never do that Moneymaker again. So you get a Willow v. Mone title program out of this too. This was another match where they went too long with it and couldn’t keep the crowd. ***

Gabe Kidd v. Darby Allin

Darby catches him with a dropkick right at the bell and they slug it out, which ends with Gabe putting Darby on the top rope and shoving him to the floor with a crazy bump. Gabe sends him into the railing, but follows with a charge and misses, setting up a dive from Darby in return. But then Gabe catapults Darby under the stairs, dislodging the steel plate in the process for another crazy spot from Darby. Darby is of course gushing blood from this, and Gabe smashes him with a headbutt in the ring and then whips him into the corner and smashes him into the ringpost for another bump to the floor. Gabe pounds him with forearms out there, but Darby dropkicks a chair back in his face to bust him open. He follows with a missile dropkick to the floor, but charges and hits Gabe’s knees in the corner before getting tossed into the corner. Kidd goes after the bloody head of Darby and they fight to the top, where Darby gets a Code Red for two. Darby goes up with the coffin drop and Kidd bails to the floor to escape. So Darby hits him with a coffin drop to the floor, and sends him back in for two. Scorpion Death Drop sets up the Scorpion Deathlock as the bald guy with the goatee bleeds all over the mat in a familiar visual. But Darby runs out of energy and Kidd escapes and hits him with a lariat and piledriver for two. Kidd tries a sleeper, but Darby rolls over for the pin in the Survivor Series 96 finish at 13:00. OK that 100% had to be a tribute to Bret Hart and Steve Austin. If Bret Hart was clinically insane. ****

Mixed Nuts Mayhem: The Death Riders & Marina Shafir v. The Conglomeration & Toni Storm

My daughter recently developed a nut allergy over my objections to her lifestyle choice, but luckily she’s elsewhere for Christmas break right now and can’t be affected by this match. Everyone brawls on the floor while Toni slugs away on Marina in the corner, but Wheeler Yuta breaks it up. I heard prefers sunflower seed butter to real peanut butter, even though he doesn’t need to. Briscoe hits Garcia with a dive to the floor, and Claudio beats Strong down in the corner. Orange offers some dancing lessons to Garcia, but Danny guillotines him and Orange counters with a stunner. Man what a step down that joining the Death Riders turned out to be for Danny. Marina and Orange do dueling pockets kicks, but Orange backdrops her to the floor to win that battle, only for Yuta to break it up. I heard Yuta teaches First Aid classes and tells people with Epipens that it’s “yellow to the sky and blue to the thigh”. The Death Riders all team up on Strong and run a train on him in the corner like someone probably did to Yuta’s mom. And then they all team up on Briscoe with more of the same before Toni saves and sends Marina to the floor with the hip attack. Mark and Toni team up on the Riders, and then Toni and Orange do some dance-fighting in a very wacky series. Orange with a DDT on Claudio and Briscoe hits the froggy bow for two, but Garcia and Yuta save and clear the ring. So Toni again takes things into her own hands and suplexes them both before hitting the Big Package on Marina for two. Claudio saves, so Toni hits him with a tornado DDT, and he responds with the Giant Swing on her. And then we get the Strong-Marina showdown for the big crowd reaction, but it’s quickly broken up and Toni hits Storm Zero on Garcia. Orange Punch on Yuta and he takes the hip attack, and Briscoe hits Yuta with the Jay Driller to finish at 12:38. Man Toni Storm saved this match single-handedly and it ended up being an entertaining trainwreck. ***1/2

Meanwhile, Mercedes Mone denies that 2025 is ended badly for her, and apparently on Dynamite she’s gonna face Willow and “beat her fucking ass”. OK then. Guess we’re saying “fuck” on AEW PPV now.

AEW Women’s World title: Kris Statlander v. Jamie Hayter

I could see a surprise title change here. They fight for a lockup and Kris wins that battle as Hayter retreats to the floor. Back in, Jamie with a rollup for two and she overpowers Stat, but Kris fires back. They collide for a double kip up, and Statlander necks her on the ropes and takes her to the floor in the process. Stat misses her flip off the apron and nearly blows out her knee again on the landing, but she still manages to send Hayter into the stairs and back in for two. Statlander with a pair of splashes for two, but they fight to the floor and Hayter gets a missile dropkick off the table. Back in, they slug it out and Hayter gets the sliding lariat for two. Meanwhile the announcers shill an AEW special at White Castle, which we sadly do not have here in Canada. It’s probably why Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle was such a bomb up here, since we collectively had no idea what White Castle was or why they’d want to go there. Hayter beats on Stat on the ropes, but Stat catches her with a piledriver for two as they’ve just completely lost the crowd for whatever reason. I mean, it’s midnight here for me so I get it. They fight to the top and Stat brings her down with a fucking terrifying headfirst spike to the mat on a slam, but then Hayter dumps her right back on her own head with a backdrop driver for two. Statlander escapes Hayterade, but walks into the backbreaker and it’s a double down. They slug it out and Statlander hits a lariat after spitting at her, but Hayter gets her own Saturday Night Fever and it’s another double down. Hayter comes back with a lariat and they trade reversals, leading to Statlander hitting Saturday Night Fever to retain at 18:14. I feel like they should have just gone home after Hayter got DROPPED ON HER FUCKING HEAD because they couldn’t come close to topping that spot, but they certainly did work hard. ***3/4. I know, people kick out of too much stuff that should end the match, try not to burn yourself on the blazing hot take.

Continental Classic Final: Kazuchika Okada v. Jon Moxley.

Weird finale to be honest. Also it kind of undermines the importance of winning the blocks when they constantly book the runners-up to be in the finale. We get a slow start and Okada dropkicks Jon off the top rope to the floor, reinjuring the knee early on, and Okada drops his knee on the stairs for good measure. Back in the ring, Okada kicks the leg out of his leg and goes to work on it with a leglock. Okada with a DDT for two. Okada with a back elbow and a slingshot senton and neckbreaker for two. Flying elbow sets up the middle finger, but Mox grabs the finger and makes the comeback with a lariat. Okada misses a dropkick and Mox goes to a figure-four, which Bryan Danielson questions the wisdom of. Okada makes the ropes and takes Moxley down with a dragon screw before putting him in a cloverleaf, and Moxley quickly makes the ropes. Okada pummels him with elbows in the corner, but Mox gets a piledriver for two. Into the bulldog choke, but Okada blocks the Death Rider and goes low behind the ref’s back. Rainmaker gets two as Okada does a bit of SHOCKED TWO COUNT FACE and then grabs the title belt and gets caught. So Mox gets his own low blow and they slug it out with forearms. But then Okada snaps off the dropkick, and Moxley pops up. Okada with a backslide right into a Rainmaker, but Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley goes for the choke and Okada fights up, so Mox hits him with a Rainmaker and Paradigm Shift for one. Mox with the curb stomp as he makes the comeback, and he follows with the Death Rider to win the Continental title at 19:43. Okada never really got out of second gear for this one. Good but never really got great. ***1/2. Afterwards, the Death Riders hit the ring to presumably congratulate their leader for overcoming the odds and un-unifying the Unified title. Also how ironic that the DEATH RIDERS of all groups end up with the Continental title, but I guess that’s the point of his win. He got lazy and complacent until he was forced to win a tournament where he wasn’t allowed to have his friends interfere for him. And then Moxley does a fired up promo about how they always give 100% effort every night, and suddenly the Death Riders are having second thoughts about dumping him, I guess. I think this was a case where the story being told was better than the match they were doing.

AEW World title: Samoa Joe v. Swerve Strickland v. Hangman Page v. MJF

Page takes Joe to the floor and MJF taunts Swerve before hitting him with the devastating crotch bump, but Swerve fights back with forearms in the corner and the middle rope elbow before hitting his own crotch bump. Everyone hits the floor and Hangman hits them with the moonsault, kind of knocking himself silly in the process. Swerve hits MJF with the Swerve Stomp to the floor, but Hangman hits Joe with the Buckshot to get rid of him and we’re left with the Hangman-Swerve showdown. They slug it out and trade tombstone attempts, leading to Swerve hitting the Deadeye. But Page gets the buckshot for two and Joe makes the save. We get the Tower of the Doom powerbomb, right onto MJF, and Joe gets a two count on the other three off that. Joe with a muscle buster on Swerve, but he flips out of it and runs wild on everyone, hitting a powerslam on Page for two that ends up looking more like a DDT on Swerve. It still gets two for Swerve at least but even the announcers now are commenting on how overly yoked Swerve has become and how it might be affecting him adversely. Page with Angel’s Wings on Swerve, but the buckshot misses, so he powerbombs Swerve instead for two. MJF comes back and runs wild on everyone, hitting a slingshot cutter on Page for two. Into the armbar on Page while Joe chokes out Swerve, but MJF releases his armbar to save Swerve. So Joe chokes out MJF instead, but Swerve breaks that up with the house call kick. MJF escapes the JML driver and pokes him in the eye, so Swerve and Hangman team up to take out the heels and then take each other out for a four way down. MJF with a Panama Sunrise on Swerve for two. Page with the Deadeye on MJF for two. Hangman with the buckshot, but Joe breaks it up, so Swerve DDTs Joe, and the Opps run in and wreak havoc. So Joe hits the Muscle Buster on Hangman for two out of that. Hook takes the ref while Hobbs goes after Nana, so Swerve takes them out on the floor. Meanwhile Hangman goes after Hook after Hook was on the apron for like 10 minutes, and Joe chokes out Hangman as a result. Swerve breaks that up with a Swerve Stomp on Joe while the Opps get escorted out, but he goes up again and Joe breaks it up. So Swerve powerbombs him to set up another Swerve Stomp on Joe, but MJF breaks that up. So Hangman hits a pair of buckshot lariats on Joe with no results, only for MJF to kick Hangman in the nuts and pin Joe to regain the AEW title at 20:28. I know everyone is gonna complain, but they’ve burned off too many magic briefcases without paying it off already, so they had to do it. Plus he’s got a million challengers lined up. Match wasn’t great and never really took off, and the finish was super weak, but it was fine. ***1/4

So clocking in at only 4 hours tonight, this was actually a step in the right direction. I didn’t find that the highs here were as high as on the best PPVs from AEW, but nothing was bad and everything was good and it was a good length, so that’s a thumbs up.