Yep. I’m feeling 2025.
The ridicule AEW gets on a daily basis never ceases to astound me. I have seen wrestling journalists and commentators who initially praised AEW and Tony Khan during its inception seemingly turn to becoming the biggest critics, maybe with valid reasons, or maybe because the clickbait brought in the numbers. I firmly believe any TRUE fan, journalist, writer, commentator, whomever, must have appreciation for the World’s End pay-per-view event. From beginning to end, there was not a single match where anyone took a break or opted to skip a match. Every match delivered. Two big returns tonight, Kenny Omega and Adam Copeland appeared to add to an already exciting show.
The pre-show did what it was supposed to do, provided fans with some extra matches with favorites. A fun tag team match where the heels got the victory, a match where I did not have Jeff Jarrett so over in 2024 was just fun, and boy, I’ll tell you, this rookie in Toni Storm sure has potential. She seems great and hopefully gets to continue with being pushed on the pre-show and eventually gets a spot on a PPV when she rightfully earns it.
Action Andretti, Lio Rush, Brian Cage, and Lance Archer defeated The Outrunners and Top Flight
Jeff Jarrett defeated QT Marshall
Toni Storm defeated Leila Grey
The main show kicked off fast and hard as Will Ospreay defeated Kyle Fletcher in a semi-final match in the Continental Classic. I gave this match eleventy billion stars. While they clashed a few months ago at Full Gear, this one still felt different and unique. I will be honest in that it is hard to explain why, but these boys busted their asses to give the wrestling fans something special. Not everything was a flip or dive, but extremely fast paced counters and reversals, which one should appreciate the ability to do things like this with such fluid pace and motion. I was very surprised by the early blood in the show, and boy did Ospreay bleed. Huge shocker of a finish where Ospreay defeated Fletcher using the Styles Clash. Incredible opening match.
Kazuchka Okada defeated Ricochet to advance to the C2 final
Another great match. Again, a surprise with less flying and flipping from Ricochet, with more display of strengths, wrestling, and power to move his larger opponent around. Okada has found a fantastic way to combine wrestling skills and cynical humor. No doubt earning a lot of attention, Okada ran the ropes repeatedly, confusing Ricochet to a point where he covered up in anticipation, but instead, Okada just lazily stopped behind him and slapped the back of his bald head. Wow. The live crowd ate that up and continued their assault with a number of chants about Ricochet being bald.
After the match, Swerve came out and upheld his promise to further embarrass Ricochet, with Prince Nana carting around a wagon full of toilet paper for the fans at ringside to hurl.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Ricochet’s social media grandstanding has been revealed as a ploy to further his heel turn as an annoying jerk. If you keep buying into and commenting on his social media posts, then congrats, you have fallen for and proved Ricochet did his job. He is going to be a great heel in 2025.
Mariah May retains the AEW Women’s Championship in the Tijuana Street Fight against Thunder Rosa
A title change was unlikely, but predictability took nothing away from the fight. Rosa brought a thumbtack-filled pinata, used in gruesome fashion. This was a textbook plunder match, and a piledriver through a table scored the victory. When you want a women’s street fight, you bring out Thunder Rosa. She nails it every time. Pun intended.
MJF defeated Adam Cole
The best part? He won by outsmarting Cole. While MJF pulled an Eddie Guerrero which caused Taven and Bennett to get ejected, it was Cole who got greedy. He tried using the Diamond Ring as a weapon, but MJF hit a low blow followed by the Heat Seeker Piledriver for the win.
This was a much better match than I anticipated, however things got a little hairy afterwards. Roderick Strong saved Cole from MJF, only to be intercepted by Kyle O’Reilly who brought MJF back to the ring. Taven and Bennett returned, and the five of them beat up on MJF. Did my ears deceive me or was the Undisputed Kingdom being booed? Is the Conglomeration no more?
I believe I speak among all others in gratitude that this drawn-out feud is now over. But the big question is, what happens next? MJF is a draw no matter who he feuds with. Cole and the Kingdom? Unless they go after another stable, I am concerned this will be another group fizzling out.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Will Hobbs to retain the AEW International Championship
This match had little build, felt like the booking of WWF and WCW of the early 90s where the matches for each PPV was announced first and then the feud was built off it. Yes there is a story for Hobbs, who wants some payback from how Don Callis abandoned him.
This, believe me or not, was my favorite match of the night. There were other matches which were mind-blowing, but Hobbs and Takeshita stood out because of how damn good each wrestler truly is. This was definitely the match which could easily have been overlooked, but wound up standing out as a fantastic pure wrestling match. The chants of “meat” from the live crowd throughout the match was funny but in a way truly showed how tough each one was . Lots of powerful slams, power bombs, and suplexes were scattered throughout the match. What I enjoyed most was the unpredictability of a match like this, with more than one occasion I truly believed that Will Hobbs could have become the new AEW International Champion.
Both are wrestlers we have not seen very much of on TV this year, however both have the star power to be a pay-per-view only wrestler, or only come out for the big events at all. That being said I would like to see them more on TV because of how damn good they both are.
Mercedes Mone retains the TBS Championship against Kris Statlander
“Run it back!” “Run it again in 2025!”
I’m sure you’ve heard these phrases before, but these statements couldn’t be truer for these two individuals. Statlander is on another level. If you’ve read my previous columns it’s no secret that I’m skeptical of Mone, but once again my skepticism has been relieved as these two put on a stellar pay-per-view quality match. Early on Statlander proved her dominance by thwarting all of the Champion’s attempts, and later on we got a smooth and fluid exchange of counters, roll-ups, wrestling holds which you’d expect from cruiserweights.
Following that, came a number of shockingly dangerous moves, such as a tombstone on the ring apron. Mid-match Mercedes went for her tribute to Eddie Guerrero, and then hung on for another Trifecta of snap suplexes. pretty cool spot, even if it was coming from a booked heel. Later on, a near count out was stopped by Mercedes, who then resorted to an underhanded tactic of trapping Statlander’s foot into the ring frame. in a clever move, Unleashed her ring boot leaving it there, and nearly finished the match successfully, however Mercedes with a number of clever counters rolled her up by trapping her shoulders for the pinfall victory.
I really thought this was the night where she was going to lose the TBS championship, but Mercedes once again proved the doubters wrong. Next week she has an interesting title match with Mina Shirakawa which includes the RevPro Women’s Championship. Only the New Japan strong Women’s Championship is on the line, so it is possible for Mercedes to lose. If she somehow wins the RevPro British Women’s Championship, I can only imagine the social media outcry.
Kazuchka Okada defeated Will Ospreay to win the Continental Classic, retain the AEW Continental Championship and have a record-setting five tournament career wins.
A work of art. Both wrestlers having competed earlier in the night, clearly not at 100%. Ospreay with dried blood all over him got busted open again during the match. The absolute ridiculous exchanges during this match defied all rules of motion, gravity, and the Space-Time continuum. this was truly one which has to be seen to be believed. it goes without saying much more this is a Match of the Year candidate. Shades of the serious side of Okada during his long NJPW tenure showed more than once, anger at times at being unable to put Ospreay away after the first Rainmaker Lariat.
Ospreay, despite being supposedly lightheaded from blood loss and probably a few injuries in, continues to bring the supreme fighting spirit developed in NJPW, RevPro, and all over the world. His energy ignites a crowd like I have never seen before. Even in defeat, Ospreay feels like a champion. Some wrestlers do not need belts or titles to be top stars.
Ospreay hitting the Styles Clash on Okada with the closest near-fall sent the live crowd into a wild frenzy.
Referee Paul Turner deserves a raise.
It wasn’t over yet. Christopher Daniels announces he will not be the one to present the AEW Continental Championship to Okada, because he is no longer an EVP. He brings out someone who is, in the form of Kenny Omega!
Omega hands the championship over to Okada, and the two have a long stare down, with the All In banner in the background. Coincidence or clever placement?
Chills, baby. Chills.
Jon Moxley retains the AEW World Championship against Orange Cassidy, “Hangman” Adam Page, and Jay White.
I have no idea how they expected the main event to follow Ospreay and Okada, but they figured out how. Early on, a nod to The Shield when Cassidy, Page, and White triple powerbombed Mox through the Spanish announce table, which somehow sliced the back of Mox’s head open. A wild match with everyone gunning for the win, but ultimately the interference from Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli turned the tables. However, Marina Shafir ate a Blade Runner from White before she could cause more damage!
Hangman had the match won, but Yuta knocked out the ref! The closing moments of the match did get a bit chaotic, but was necessary for the Death Riders to prevail. As they gloated in victory, FTR came out to face off, but not alone… as RATED-FTR’ hit the ring, and you guessed what that means, it’s the return of Adam Copeland!
The returning Copeland spears Mox as FTR takes out Yuta and Claudio. Copeland has some very choice words for Mox, putting them on notice.
I’m still on the fence about the whole “taking over AEW” shtick, because clearly they aren’t taking over. This is not like when the nWo took over WCW, because it was a much larger faction and every match in WCW had the suspenseful fear an nWo member would disrupt. Sure, they have the AEW Trios Championships too, but Shafir has not had a single match since joining Mox, no challenge for either the Women’s or TBS Championships. No one else is going for any other singles or tag title. The only championship truly held hostage is the AEW World Championship. It honestly feels more like an afterthought, simply because of the all cliche, out of sight, out of mind. Putting it in a briefcase only causes fans to forget the title exists and there’s been so much focus on other championships, tournaments, and other wrestlers that this whole take over angle really doesn’t feel special. Sure, they supposedly ended Rampage last week, but we all knew that show was coming to an end anyway. had nothing been said and the stable ended the show abruptly that would have made better headlines.
I had hoped with Mox retaining, there would have been a need for a locker room leader, inspiring the return of Eddie Kingston. I’m perfectly fine with Adam Copeland coming back, however this still feels like an isolated story arc which has no effect on the rest of the roster.
With this all being said, this pay-per-view gets an A rating from me. It was very close to an A+, but I don’t believe in perfection.
AEW World’s End 2024 is available on TrillerTV.
