AEW Worlds End Review - December 30, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale def. Kris Statlander

I'm glad Nightingale and Statlander were added to the event at the last minute with both being Long Island natives. They had a good match, even though the final few minutes were a bit wonky and they had to redo the finish because it was botched the first time. I appreciate them getting as much time as they did, but it's certainly strange that this went longer than either of the women's title matches on the main card considering there was nothing on the line here and they aren't currently feuding.

Zero Hour: Killswitch Won a 20-Man Battle Royale to Earn an AEW TNT Championship Opportunity

I have no idea why the TNT title opportunity could be cashed in at any time like WWE's Money in the Bank contract. I know AEW did something similar with the AEW World Tag Team Championship a few months ago, but otherwise, it's not something AEW has ever done before, and it's clear it was only done to set up what happened later on in the night. This was basically every Battle Royale you've ever seen. Killswitch was the only logical winner as everyone else was fodder.

Zero Hour: FTW Champion Hook def. ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta in an FTW Rules Match (ROH Pure Championship Was Not Defended)

Anything involving the FTW Championship usually loses my interest because I simply do not care about the belt, but this was a fine brawl. Yuta attempted to garner some heat from the crowd beforehand by trashing Long Island, and he's improved on the mic, but it still wasn't a strong promo. This was what it needed to be. Hook facing actual competition is a plus, but it doesn't make his title any less pointless.

Daniel Garcia, Brody King and Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli) def. Jay Lethal, Jay White, Rush and Mark Briscoe

This was billed as an "All-Star" match featuring the losers of the Continental Classic in the Gold and Blue Leagues. Nothing was at stake, but it managed to get everyone on the show and it was a very entertaining affair to kick off the main card. Garcia picking up the win for his team was a pleasant surprise and it's evident Lethal continuing to rack up losses is headed somewhere (hopefully him parting ways with his goofy group).

Miro def. Andrade El Idolo

It was reported earlier in the day (and confirmed by Tony Khan in the post-show press conference) that Andrade is indeed done AEW as of January 1st, so the outcome was never in doubt here. That's why I don't understand why this almost 15 minutes long. I don't want to complain about getting a quality contest out of them and it was better than Andrade getting squashed on his way out, but this really didn't need to be as drawn out as it was. It didn't help that the entire storyline sucked, but at least CJ Perry is back managing her husband.

AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm def. Riho

Both Storm and Riho are both fan favorites (even though Storm is a heel for now), so they were into this match. Storm hasn't had a ton of memorable matches so far since being repackaged because she seems to be primarily focused on the character stuff, but this was a well-wrestled match with Riho looking credible in defeat. Storm's shtick is super over, so there's no reason to take the title off of her any time soon.

Swerve Strickland def. Dustin Rhodes

Strickland was originally scheduled to finally face Keith Lee on this show, but Lee was pulled shortly beforehand due to not being cleared, so that was disappointing. He was replaced by Rhodes, his Naturally Limitless tag team partner. This felt more like an angle than a match with Strickland attacking Rhodes beforehand, and it was well done, but it definitely did not need to last as long as it did. At least this got Strickland in front of the crowd (which was super hot for him) and gave him another win on pay-per-view.

Le Sex Gods, Sting and Darby Allin def. The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs) and AEW World Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks & Big Bill

I'm sure it was obvious while watching the show from home, but being in the building myself, I can confirm that Jericho received a mixed reaction during his entrance and the boos became more audible as the match progressed. There needs to be more transparency regarding the Jericho situation that came to light earlier in the day on social media and time will tell if there will be because I personally don't see it going away on its own. The match itself was a disappointing mess considering the stars involved. Sammy Guevara pinning Starks was lame but understandable with Le Sex Gods challenging for the AEW World Tag Team Championship soon.

AEW TBS Champion Julia Hart def. Abadon

I'm all for there being more women's matches on these AEW events, but this was mediocre at best. Abadon isn't awful, but they're just not on the same level as Kris Statlander, who Hart had great chemistry with during their program. These two never clicked and the crowd largely sat on their hands beyond chanting "This is spooky!" at a few points. Hart retained and that was really all that mattered.

Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage in a No Disqualification Match to Win the AEW TNT Championship; Cage def. Copeland to Win the AEW TNT Championship

This was easily the match of the night and it wasn't even close. They made excellent use of the stipulation and kept the crowd engaged throughout. AEW overdoes the hardcore stuff, but this delivered and was a lot of fun. It's an amazing feat for them to have stolen the show at the age of 50. Copeland's win made for a feel-good moment, but I hated the aftermath with Killswitch hesitantly handing over his TNT title contract to Christian, who immediately cashed it in to get the belt back. Christian is tremendous in his role, but what's the payoff? We're right back to where we were before and Copeland has now beaten Christian in what felt like a blow-off match. That was some pretty asinine booking, but I know not everyone will feel that way.

ROH World Champion and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston def. Jon Moxley to Win the 2023 Continental Classic and Become the Inaugural American Triple Crown Champion 

​This suffered from taking place right after the hot No Disqualification match, but they made the most of the situation and put the hard-hitting affair they're capable of. The crowd was mostly quiet, but not because the match was bad. It felt more like they were paying attention to the action and waiting for something to happen, which is why the finish came off as abrupt. Either way, Kingston winning was the right call. I wasn't a fan of that being the ultimate outcome to the Continental Classic, but his story has been stellar and it further cements him as one of AEW's biggest babyfaces. It was a very cool moment.

Samoa Joe def. MJF to Win the AEW World Championship; Adam Cole Revealed Himself as The Devil

Fans had the reveal of The Devil on their mind, so although the match itself took a bit of a backseat, they still produced a solid main event with convincing nearfalls. I figured Adam Cole would factor into into the finish somehow from ringside, but he did not. The clean win for Joe was so shocking that I honestly didn't believe it until Joe walked up the ramp with the belt, but I was very happy he won. He deserves a run with the world title after the year he's had, even if it's brief. The subsequent reveal of The Devil and his minions was nicely executed with Cole, Roderick Strong, The Kingdom and Wardlow laying out MJF to close the show. Cole was the only acceptable choice as The Devil in my opinion, but I'm curious how they follow this up if Cole is nowhere near ready to return to the ring and MJF will be out for the foreseeable future to rehab his various injuries.

Overall Show

I enjoyed being at Worlds End live (even though it was too damn long as always), but it will go down as one of the weaker pay-per-views AEW has ever done. It wasn't a lousy show by any means, but it wasn't on par with other AEW events from this year. On the bright side, we've got a new AEW World Champion, the Devil storyline had a satisfying payoff, and Copeland and Christian killed it with their match. That stuff was enough to salvage the show for me even if the undercard was a mixed bag.

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