AEW Worlds End 2025 closed the year with a statement on Saturday, Dec. 27, as a stacked lineup of action took over the Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois. AEW’s final pay-per-view of the calendar year once again leaned into chaos, consequence and championship volatility — fitting themes for a show designed to reset the board heading into 2026.
The night’s main event acted as a full-circle moment, crowning MJF as a two-time AEW World Champion one year after he lost the title at the same event. Facing off against the now-former champion Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page in a 4-way matchup, MJF’s cash-in from his Casino Gauntlet contract paid off in stellar fashion. For the majority of the first half of match, MJF was excluded from the action, left to watch from the outside. The re-ignition of “Hangman” and Strickland’s all-time rivalry amid the match was one of the high points, getting the crowd going before Joe nearly heeled his way to a title defense after The Opps’ arrival. Instead, MJF stole the win from “Hangman,” who had Joe wounded from two Buckshot Lariats. With MJF back on top, 2026 suddenly starts off with plenty of intrigue.
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Also at AEW Worlds End 2025, the Continental Classic reached its climax with both semifinal matches and the final taking place on the same night. Boy, was this brilliant — and also the in-ring highlight of the night. On one side of the bracket, reigning champion Kazuchika Okada finally went head-to-head with Konosuke Takeshita, cheating his way to the victory with a screwdriver. It was a fairly anticlimactic way to conclude their long-awaited dream match, but a fine match nonetheless. Most importantly, the finish was needed for the match that followed.
Uncrowned’s Breakthrough Wrestler of 2025, Kyle Fletcher, battled Jon Moxley on the other side of the bracket, coming up short in a late Match of the Year contender. The match perfectly blended in-ring skills with storytelling, ranging from Moxley’s leg being worked over to the veteran pushing a rising star to his limits — so much so that Fletcher desperately resorted to seeking the screwdriver in the corner that Okada removed for his win, ultimately costing him. It. Was. Cinema.
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All of that led to Okada losing to Moxley in the tournament finals. It was another excellent match for Moxley, and his crowning moment to become AEW’s Unified Champion. After his trials and tribulations throughout the year, Moxley has fully gotten over as a babyface again, without ever having one specific turn moment.
Who ever saw this coming? (Ricky Havlik, AEW)
(Ricky Havlik)
In the AEW Women’s World Championship match, Kris Statlander retained her title in a hard-hitting thriller with former champ Jamie Hayter. They traded finishers late, building from earlier technical work. Hayter’s emotions cost her in the end after Statlander spat in her face, leading to her demise from the Saturday Night Fever. The finish felt somewhat flat compared to sequences that came directly prior, which notched the match’s score lower than it could’ve been. Overall, though, these two are an excellent pairing.
Elsewhere on the card, the Babes of Wrath and FTR each retained their AEW Women’s and Men’s Tag Team Titles, while Darby Allin overcame Gabe Kidd. But if there’s one match that made AEW Worlds End a perfectly blended show to end the year, it was the Death Riders against The Conglomeration and their new friend, Toni Storm, in “Mixed Nuts Mayhem.” AEW Worlds End 2025 was just as fun and hard-hitting as any pay-per-view put on by the company throughout the year, setting up 2026 with a lot to look forward to.
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I give AEW Worlds End 2025 a crown score of: 👑 9/10. 👑
AEW Worlds End 2025 Uncrowned Awards
MVP of the Night: Jon Moxley
It really couldn’t have been anyone else. The night almost felt entirely about Moxley, whose story of rising back to the forefront as the heart of AEW shined bright. To do so, he suffered losses along the way, even tapping out several times. But in the end, he was still “that dude,” wrestling twice in one night against two of the best in the world and delivering a tremendously perfect match with Fletcher — even breaking his tooth in the process. There simply couldn’t have been a better reminder of how important Moxley is to AEW than putting him through the Continental Classic like this.
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Uncrowned Gem of the Night: The Conglomeration & Toni Storm vs. The Death Riders
This match was way more fun than I expected it to be, which is probably foolish on my part. Intergender wrestling wasn’t a surprise, but the amount we got was. Storm, while gone for the early portions, was easily the star, generating highlight moments alongside Claudio Castagnoli and Orange Cassidy. There’s nothing Storm can’t do, and the mixture of all these talents just made for a fun time in the ring.
Match of the Night: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher
I’ve already alluded to it throughout the recap, so I won’t overdo it. But Moxley vs. Fletcher did everything right. Everything. From unique spots you never see to Fletcher nearly breaking his neck in half, I mean, everything. It was insane. And Moxley wrestled again after. What?!
Best Spot of the Night: Claudio Castagnoli putting Toni Storm in the Big Swing and Kris Statlander’s Avalanche Fisherman’s Buster to Jamie Hayter
OK, this was again one of those nights where I couldn’t help but highlight the two spots I reacted to most — for very different reasons.
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Listen, the Fletcher neck scare was too much of that: Scary. I was genuinely worried, and he still could be injured from that fall. However, seeing Storm put in Castagnoli’s Big Swing was not something I expected to see tonight. How devious of the former Cesaro. Then there was Statlander’s avalanche Fisherman’s Buster to Hayter, which was absolutely filthy. It was similar to the Fletcher spot, but thankfully, it looked a lot less destructive to the health of Hayter — and it was hit beautifully.
AEW Worlds End 2025 full card results and highlights:
AEW World Championship: MJF def. Samoa Joe (c.), Swerve Strickland, Hangman Adam Page — 👑 Crown Score: 4.5/5 👑
Continental Classic Final for the AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley def. Kazuchika Okada (c.) — 👑 Crown Score: 4.5/5 👑
AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c.) def. Jamie Hayter — 👑 Crown Score: 4.25/5 👑
Mixed Nuts Mayhem: The Conglomeration & Toni Storm def. The Death Riders — 👑 Crown Score: 4/5 👑
Darby Allin def. Gabe Kidd — 👑 Crown Score: 3.5/5 👑
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: The Babes of Wrath (c.) def. Mercedes Moné & Athena — 👑 Crown Score: 3.25/5 👑
AEW World Tag Team Championship Chicago Street Fight: FTR (c.) def. Bang Bang Gang — 👑 Crown Score: 3.5/5 👑
Continental Classic Semifinal: Jon Moxley def. Kyle Fletcher — 👑 Crown Score: 5/5 👑
Continental Classic Semifinal: Kazuchika Okada def. Konosuke Takeshita — 👑 Crown Score: 3.75/5 👑
Zero Hour Pre-Show, streaming at 7 p.m. ET on TNT and Max:
JetSpeed and Jurassic Express def. Josh Alexander and The Demand
Mascara Dorada and Bandido def. The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis and Rocky Romero)
Eddie Kingston def. Zack Gibson
Sisters of Sin def. Hyan and Maya World
AEW World Championship: MJF def. (C) Samoa Joe, Hangman Adam Page, Swerve StricklandContinental Classic Final for the AEW Continental Championship: Jon Moxley def. (C) Kazuchika OkadaAEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c.) def. Jamie HayterMixed Nuts Mayhem: The Conglomeration & Toni Storm def. The Death RidersDarby Allin def. Gabe KiddAEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: (C) Babes of Wrath def. Mercedes Moné & AthenaAEW World Tag Team Championship Chicago Street Fight: (C) FTR def. Bang Bang GangContinental Classic Semifinal: Jon Moxley def. Kyle FletcherContinental Classic Semifinal: Kazuchika Okada def. Konosuke TakeshitaRecap of AEW Worlds End 2025 with Uncrowned’s live blog below:Live coverage is over139 updates
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 9:07 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 9:03 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 9:02 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Swerve takes out Powerhouse Hobbs and Shibata with a Swerve Stomp, leaving Joe and Page in the ring. Joe locks on the Coquinha Clutch while Hook distracts Page! Swerve gets back in and Swerve Stomps Joe! Joe fights his way over to the top rope, where Swerve is. Joe gets hit with a nasty Powerbomb as a result. Swerve isn’t done. He’s up top, but MJF shoves him off and into the announce desk! Page kicks off MJF and hits two Buckshot Lariats on Joe! He stands through both! MJF re-enters to low blow Page on the third and hits Joe with a Heat Seeker for the win! MJF does it! He picked his moment and put on a great one with three of AEW’s best. Excellent stuff.
👑 Match crown score: 4.5/5 👑
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM PST
Drake Riggs
MJF hits a huge Panama Sunrise on Swerve! Page breaks it up and hits the Deadeye on MJF! He kicks out! Page lines the Buckshot back up, but Joe knocks him off the rope. Swerve plants Joe with the DDT, looking for another big move — then The Opps come out to give Joe the edge. Joe hits the Muscle Buster on Page. He kicks out!
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:55 PM PST
Drake Riggs
With MJF locked in the Coquinha Clutch, Swerve hits the House Call on Joe. Swerve goes for MJF, looking for the Big Pressure, but MJF counters into a roll-up. No good, as Page boots him and runs into a Swerve and Page boot. They deliver the same to Joe, then windmill kicks into each other and fall. Tremendous.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Page starts to target MJF with everyone in the ring. MJF counters and starts to kick his opponents. An Alabama slam lands on Swerve for MJF before he goes at it with Page, who looks for the buckshot again. No dice. MJF hits the heat seeker and locks on the Fujiwara armbar, but sees Joe choking Swerve and releases to stop that.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:51 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:51 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Page fights off Joe and MJF, trying to keep Swerve for himself. He lands the angel’s wings and seemingly sets up the buckshot, but hits a moonsault on MJF first. He quickly gets up, goes for the buckshot on Swerve, misses, and hits a pop-up powerbomb to no avail.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:49 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Swerve escapes a muscle buster right into a paydirt on MJF — beautifully executed. He follows it with a German suplex to Joe, powerslamming Page, who kicks out after.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:48 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Swerve and Page continue to show their brilliance was never lost, trading high-octane offense that ends with the buckshot. Joe breaks it up and gets the pair in the corner. A superplex from Joe with Swerve and Page hits MJF, and he fails his pin attempts on all three — a hilariously realistic idea by the champion.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:46 PM PST
Drake Riggs
MJF nearly hits the heat seeker on Swerve, but Swerve counters and plants him outside with the Swerve stomp. Page finds an opening in the ring to buckshot off of Swerve to take out Joe and leave the rivals alone in the ring. Chicago pops big.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:44 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Swerve trips up Joe and comes in to attack the champion. MJF gets back in the ring, mocking Swerve with the strut and, let’s say, hand gesture. Then they trade hip thrusts to the face. Swerve hits an over-the-top rope back dive on MJF outside the ring, and Joe follows with a dive into both. But don’t forget about Page! He hits the moonsault, but overshoots, clipping only MJF.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:42 PM PST
Drake Riggs
The match gets going with the early brawl, seeing Page and Swerve work against the heels. Page takes Joe out of the ring, sending MJF behind him. The time allows Joe to re-enter and land big kicks, taking control against Page.
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:38 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:37 PM PST
Drake Riggs
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 8:35 PM PST
Drake Riggs