‘AEW: World’s End 2025’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of AEW’s latest pay-per-view Worlds End, which closed All Elite Wrestling’s 2025 with another banger of a pay-per-view. The show, which took place in Chicago, Illinois, opened with Zero Hour which saw the Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue) defeat Hyan & Maya World, Eddie Kingston beat Grizzled Young Veterans’ Zack Gibson (after defeating GYV’s James Drake on ROH previously), Bandido and CMLL’s Máscara Dorada defeat Mark Davis & Rocky Romero, and JetSpeed (“Speedball” Mike Bailey & “The Jet” Kevin Knight) and Jurassic Express (Jack Perry & Luchasaurus) give a beatdown to Josh Alexander & The Demand (Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun). Now on to the PPV proper…
Match #1: C2 Semifinal – Kazuchika Okada def. Konosuke Takeshita
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Okada entered Worlds End with a reputation as the greatest tournament wrestler of all time, but he was up against a red-hot Konosuke Takeshita, who went undefeated in league play, won the G1 Climax earlier this year, and parlayed that into the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Okada offered a handshake, Takeshita slapped it away, and the feeling-out process began. Early Rainmaker and rising knee attempts were narrowly avoided before Takeshita dropped Okada with a flying shoulder block. Okada bailed outside, faked an arm injury, then pounced, using the floor and a chair to wear Takeshita down before slowing the pace in the ring. Takeshita abruptly swung the momentum with a brainbuster, a hurricanrana to the floor, and a tope. Back inside, he stayed on offence until Okada used an eye rake and a knee-breaker to regain control, punctuating it with a top-rope elbow and a disrespectful gesture that fired Takeshita up. The match escalated into heavy exchanges: Takeshita countered a tombstone into a Hitodenashi Driver and German suplex, Okada answered with an Emerald Flosion, and a Blue Thunder Bomb narrowly stopped a Rainmaker attempt. Late drama saw multiple reversals, nearfalls, and escalating desperation. Takeshita finally connected with the Power Drive knee on his third attempt, but Okada barely kicked out. When Takeshita went for a Rainmaker of his own, Okada countered, secretly used a screwdriver behind the referee’s back, and stole the pinfall.
My Score: 4.5 out of 5
Match #2: C2 Semifinal – Jon Moxley def. Kyle Fletcher
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Fletcher and Moxley briefly engaged before Fletcher bailed to the floor to taunt the crowd, drawing an impatient Moxley outside for a brawl. Moxley battered Fletcher around ringside, smashing his face off the announce table, but Fletcher caught him re-entering with a bodyslam and immediately turned up the aggression with stomps and chops. The fight spilt outside again, with both men trading barricade shots until Fletcher yanked the ring steps away, sending Moxley crashing awkwardly between the steps and the ring. Sensing blood, Fletcher targeted Moxley’s injured ankle, blasting him with a kick to the steps and locking in a reverse Indian deathlock before transitioning to a single crab. Moxley fought free with a cutter and a reckless dive, but Fletcher cut him off with a Michinoku Driver for a near-fall. The two traded lariats until Moxley dropped Fletcher with a running clothesline. Despite obvious pain, Moxley kept pressing with corner dropkicks and mounted punches, only for Fletcher to dump him over the top rope for another rough landing. Fletcher scored with a thrust kick and a brutal brainbuster on the ring edge, then nearly won via countout. Moxley barely beat the count, only to eat a Liger Bomb, but he kicked out at two. Fletcher returned to the leg, wrenching on an ankle lock until Moxley clawed his way to the ropes as the crowd roared. Fletcher stayed on offence, but Moxley bit his way free on the ropes, clipped Fletcher’s knee, and delivered a devastating avalanche cutthroat suplex. Exhausted, Moxley struggled to cover as Fletcher countered with a crucifix and then unleashed a flurry of strikes and knee blows, stunning the champion with a shocking kickout at one. A running boot and brainbuster still couldn’t finish Moxley. Growing desperate, Fletcher searched unsuccessfully for a weapon, allowing Moxley to rally. After surviving a Paradigm Shift and a Death Rider, Fletcher finally succumbed to a choke, slumping to the mat unresponsive. With no answer, the referee called for the stoppage.
My Score: 4.5 out of 5
Match #3: AEW World Tag Team Championship Chicago Street Fight – FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) def. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Gunn entered armed for war, sporting a kendo stick and a trash can lid for the Chicago Street Fight. At the bell, the action immediately splintered: Harwood and Robinson brawled into the crowd while Gunn and Wheeler fought up the ramp and onto the stage. Gunn smashed Wheeler into the video screen and battered him with a trash can, but Wheeler fired back, blasting Gunn down the aisle. Back at ringside, Big Stoke set up a table as Robinson nearly put Harwood through it, only for Wheeler to make the save with an avalanche suplex. The fight spilled back into the ring, where Harwood punished Gunn with trash cans and turnbuckle shots, while Robinson rocked Harwood with a frog splash and a flurry of strikes for near-falls. Chaos continued outside as titles and weapons came into play. Harwood cracked Robinson with a tag belt, busting him open, while Gunn used the trash can lid to brutal effect on Wheeler, including a crash into the ring post and a table-shattering collision near the guardrail. FTR zeroed in on Robinson’s knee, repeatedly smashing it with chairs and locking in the figure four. Gunn tried to turn the tide with a fire extinguisher, but Wheeler intercepted him with a dive through the ropes, sending both men through a table. Robinson eventually broke the hold with a blast of the extinguisher and mounted a furious comeback, only for Stoke to interfere and derail the momentum. The closing stretch was frantic. Harwood hit a Shatter Machine, but Gunn made the save, surviving a piledriver on a trash can and kicking out to a huge reaction. FTR weren’t finished. After a pair of brutal stuffed piledrivers onto a championship belt, Gunn was left bloodied and broken, allowing Harwood to score the pinfall.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship – The Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) def. Mercedes Moné and Athena
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Nightingale and Moné opened the bout, but Moné quickly blindsided Cameron, allowing Nightingale to unload with corner clotheslines. Cameron tagged in and briefly took control with a knee strike and Russian leg sweep, followed by a double sidewalk slam from Babes of Wrath. Athena made a blind tag, and she and Moné answered with stereo dives. Outside, Nightingale powerbombed Moné onto the apron, but Athena immediately wiped out Cameron with a diving attack before eating a spear from Nightingale. Back inside, quick tags kept Cameron isolated as Moné and Athena connected with a lungblower/backstabber combo and repeated meteoras for near-falls. Cameron finally escaped with a DDT and tagged Nightingale, who ran through Moné in the corner. Athena again tagged blind and narrowly avoided disaster, countering with slick athleticism before rocking Nightingale with a rebound German suplex and a face-first slam for two. Momentum swung wildly as Cameron re-entered and cleared house. A failed double superplex attempt saw Nightingale powerbomb both Moné and Athena, allowing Cameron to hit a top-rope crossbody and score a rare double crucifix near-fall. Babes of Wrath nearly closed it out with their Sole Food combo, but Moné made the save, sparking a chaotic closing stretch filled with counters, miscommunication, and broken submissions. The finish came when Moné put Cameron down with the Moné Maker, only for Nightingale to immediately answer. Moné escaped a powerbomb attempt, but Nightingale rolled through into a backslide, trapping Moné’s shoulders for the surprise three-count.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: Darby Allin def. Gabe Kidd
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Allin jumped Kidd with a dropkick at the bell, but Kidd quickly turned the tide, knocking Allin from the ropes and driving him into the guardrail. The fight spilt outside, where Kidd repeatedly hurled Allin into the barricade before ramming him through the timekeeper’s area and slingshotting him into the steel steps. Allin returned to the ring bleeding, only to eat a charging headbutt. Kidd continued the punishment, bouncing Allin off the ringpost and even smearing Allin’s blood across his own face. A missed chair shot proved costly, as Allin dropkicked the chair into Kidd’s head, busting him open in return, then crushed him with a top-rope dropkick to a seated opponent on the floor. Back inside, Kidd rocked Allin with a big boot and shotgun dropkick, but Allin survived and countered a piledriver attempt with a biting escape before landing an avalanche Code Red for two. Allin followed with a Coffin Drop in the ring, then another from the top to the floor when Kidd rolled outside. Allin nearly finished things with a Scorpion Death Drop into the Scorpion Death Lock, but exhaustion forced him to release the hold. Kidd answered with a headbutt, flying lariat, and a piledriver, yet Allin somehow kicked out. As Kidd looked to apply a choke, Allin countered into a sudden pinfall, stealing the win.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Mixed Nuts Mayhem – Roderick Strong, Toni Storm & The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy & Mark Briscoe) def. Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Under tornado tag rules, all eight competitors exploded into action at the bell. Storm dropkicked Shafir and unloaded with corner punches before Yuta dumped her to the floor, drawing heavy boos. Briscoe answered by working over Yuta, then launched himself onto Garcia outside. Strong briefly gained momentum on Yuta until Castagnoli flattened him with an uppercut, allowing the Death Riders to take control. Cassidy’s antics brought a moment of levity, mocking Garcia and Shafir before the numbers caught up with him. Cassidy was isolated in the corner as the Death Riders took turns beating him down, doing the same to Strong and Briscoe until Storm returned to swing the momentum. Storm and Briscoe combined on Castagnoli, culminating in Storm launching Briscoe through the ropes onto him on the floor. The match devolved into wild exchanges and frequent tagless pairings. Storm and Cassidy briefly danced through the chaos before Shafir shut it down. Big moves followed in rapid succession: Stundog Millionaire, Froggy Bow, German suplexes from Storm, and Castagnoli’s devastating swing. Momentum continued to swing as Strong, Cassidy, and Storm each found brief openings. In the closing stretch, Cassidy dropped Garcia with an Orange Punch, Storm followed with Storm Zero, and Briscoe capitalised, planting Yuta with the Jay Driller to score the pinfall and secure the victory for his team.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #7: AEW Women’s World Championship – Kris Statlander def. Jamie Hayter
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Statlander frustrated Hayter early before the two settled into a fast-paced exchange of reversals and shoulder tackles that ended in a stalemate. Strikes followed, with Statlander catching Hayter in the ropes for a cutter and leg drop across the apron. A risky shooting star to the floor backfired when Hayter moved, but Statlander landed on her feet and sent Hayter crashing into the steps. Back inside, Statlander controlled the pace with suplexes and a second-rope splash, earning near-falls until Hayter answered with elbows, chops, and a clothesline to the floor. Hayter capitalised on the momentum with a dropkick from the Spanish announce desk and a second-rope dropkick back in the ring, followed by a corner lariat for two. She slowed things down with a chinlock, but Statlander fought back with a knee strike and a spinning brainbuster. The match escalated into heavy exchanges and high-risk offence. Hayter scored with a neckbreaker, sliding lariat, and an avalanche exploder suplex, yet Statlander refused to stay down, answering with a package piledriver of her own. A wild top-rope exchange saw Statlander land an avalanche fisherman’s driver, only to miss her follow-up. Hayter nearly finished it with a devastating counter, and later a backbreaker, but both women continued to trade blows on exhausted legs. In the closing stretch, Statlander blocked Hayterade and connected with one of her own, only for Hayter to counter Staturday Night Fever with her own version. After another brutal exchange, Statlander finally caught Hayter coming off the ropes, rolled through the impact, and drilled Staturday Night Fever to score the pinfall and retain the AEW Women’s World Championship.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #8: C2 Final – Jon Moxley def. Kazuchika Okada
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Moxley and Okada opened with mutual disrespect, trading middle fingers before Okada immediately targeted Moxley’s injured ankle. Moxley fought back with eye rakes and strikes, but Okada repeatedly dragged him down, dropping elbows and sending him crashing to the floor after a dropkick that tangled his ankle in the ropes. Okada stayed in control, picking Moxley apart with strikes, a springboard senton, and a neckbreaker across the knee for near-falls. Moxley rallied with forearms and briefly trapped Okada in a figure four, but Okada reached the ropes. The ankle again became the focus, as Okada landed dragon screws and cinched in a Texas Cloverleaf, forcing Moxley to crawl on his elbows to escape. Momentum swung when Moxley planted Okada with a Gotch-style piledriver and locked in the Bulldog Choke, nearly putting him out. Okada escaped, caught Moxley with a low blow, and blasted him with a Rainmaker, but Moxley kicked out. A brief standoff followed when Okada tried to use the Continental Championship, allowing Moxley to return the low blow and drag Okada into a brutal strike exchange. The closing stretch was frantic. Okada landed a Rainmaker and went for another, only for Moxley to counter with a Paradigm Shift for a near-fall. Moxley survived another Rainmaker attempt, answered with one of his own, then hit successive Paradigm Shifts. The final Death Rider sealed it. Moxley wins the Continental Classic to become the new AEW Continental Champion, ending Okada’s 647-day reign.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #9: AEW World Championship 4-Way Match – MJF def. Samoa Joe, “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
All four men charged at the bell, with Page quickly dumping both MJF and Joe to the floor. Joe answered by punishing Page in the corner before Swerve booted Joe outside. MJF stalled and mocked the crowd, landing cheap shots on Swerve until Swerve fired back with strikes and a crotch bump of his own. A flurry of dives followed, capped by Page wiping everyone out with a top-rope moonsault. Back inside, MJF’s Heat Seeker was avoided, Swerve stomped him on the apron, and Page dropped Joe with a modified Buckshot to the floor. The ring cleared for a tense Swerve–Hangman showdown, erupting into rapid counters and big moves. Page answered a Dead Eye with a Buckshot Lariat, but Joe repeatedly broke up pin attempts, even powerbombing all three opponents and surviving multiple near-falls. Momentum swung constantly as alliances formed and dissolved. Swerve suplexed Joe, Page drilled Swerve with Angel’s Wings, and MJF capitalised with cutters, armbreaking offence, and Salt of the Earth, only to be cut off by Joe’s Coquina Clutch. Swerve saved the match with a House Call, leading to a wild sequence that left all four men down and the crowd on its feet. Outside interference from The Opps escalated the chaos, but Page survived a Muscle Buster, and Swerve countered with high-risk dives. Page finally connected with back-to-back Buckshot Lariats on Joe, seemingly sealing the win, until MJF struck with a low blow. Seizing the moment, MJF blasted Joe with the Heat Seeker on the apron and stole the pinfall victory.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
AEW Worlds End proved to be a fitting exclamation point on the company’s 2025, delivering a show that balanced elite tournament wrestling, violent spectacle, and chaotic main-event drama. The Continental Classic dominated the night in the best possible way, with Okada vs Takeshita and Moxley vs Fletcher both operating at an absurdly high level, before Moxley and Okada closed the tournament with a bruising, story-driven final that felt properly earned. The World Title four-way was peak AEW chaos, packed with momentum swings, near-falls, and just enough controversy to keep things spicy without derailing the match. Elsewhere, the Chicago Street Fight delivered satisfying carnage, Darby and Gabe Kidd beat the hell out of each other, and the undercard largely held up even when it didn’t quite hit top gear. Not everything landed perfectly, but when AEW hits this level, it reminds you why their big shows still feel unmissable.
