Zero Hour:
Willow v. Statlander:
The match was good, though it was kinda botchy. Both wrestlers did a good job, despite the misses. Also, I liked the interplay between Stateland and Stokely. I love Stokely. I hope the writers for AEW are trying to create a thread for a story there because I’d love to see more of Statlander, Willow, and Stokely on TV.
20-man Battle Royale for a shot at the TNT Championship:
Dalton Castle!! He’s one of my favorite wrestlers. He has an amazing charisma and gimmick, and he’s fun to watch in the ring. If it wasn’t for his previous back injuries, I think he would have been pushed more from the beginning of AEW.
What is the thing about Action Andretti and water consumption? I don’t get it.
Danhaussen…that’s all.
So Killswitch won. I wanted Beretta to win, but oh well. I bet anyone money that this will play a part in the future with Cage getting a title shot for the belt from Lucha.
FTW Championship Match:
The subway horn was a bit of a no, but I understand why it happened.
The match was good with good wrestling throughout.
I didn’t really care who won, because I like both wrestlers, but I feel that Hook needs to either shit or get off the pot at this point. They need to start pushing him up the ladder towards the TNT Championship belt.
World’s End PPV
8-man Tage match – Brody King, Rush, Jay White and Jay Lethal v. Mark Brisco, Daniel Garcia, Claudio and Danielson:
The action was crazy throughout the match. There were was some crazy moves and storytelling told throughout that can actually turn into some interesting storylines going forward (I’m looking at you Daddy Magic and Brody King).
I think the “meat” chant from the crowd is just going to be a thing going forward not only in AEW, but maybe in Pro Wrestling as a whole, and I love it because it came about organically from the wrestling fans.
Claudio spinning King was crazy and it definitely popped the crowd.
The finishing sequence was awesome, especially with everyone doing their finishing moves before hometown hero Garcia pinned Lethal for the win.
Andrade v. Miro:
When this match started, I didn’t know that this would be Andrade’s last match in AEW. That’s a damn shame, because he wasn’t used well at all in the main roster of WWE, and he wasn’t really used well in AEW either. Andrade is an amazing wrestler, yet it seems, for whatever reason, he hasn’t been able to catch a real break since his days in Triple H’s NXT. I’m just hoping that with Triple H now running the main roster of WWE, Andrade will finally get the push he so deserves. Now…about the match.
Miro was true to his word…he waited until the Contenintal Classic Tournament to stomp the crap out of Andrade.
Both wrestlers are great. The match was very good, and I think Miro needs to be pushed again.
CJ interfering was kinda foul, but Miro is her husband, so…
I was hoping that Andrade would’ve won, but 1)I can’t be too upset that Miro won, and 2) knowing that Andrade is leaving AEW, it makes sense that he’d lose.
Toni Storm v. Riho for the AEW Women’s Championship:
Ok first off, RI-HOOO!!! I absolutely love Riho. I have since the very first All-In, and I’m glad she’s back.
Toni Storm has been killing it the whole year and I’m glad she’s champion.
I liked that the match started off with each wrestler playing into their characters, and I’m glad that they continued throughout the match. The match was good, and I like the story being told.
Though I’m glad that Luther got kicked from the ringside, I know some shenanigans are gonna ensue.
Wow! Well I was wrong…Toni won clean. Concerned about Riho…that last move looked gnarly.
Swerve v. Dustin Rhodes:
I hope Keith Lee is ok. He’s had quite a few issues these past few years healthwise, so I truly hope nothing serious is wrong with him.
What the hell was that?! Swerve straight tried to shatter Dustin’s ankle on a cinderblock I guess that’s Swerve’s new weapon of choice.
Dustin definitely played the ankle injury well.
Though the match was good, I do feel that for the story they were telling in the ring the match went on too long. To me, it would have made more sense to have the match be shorter, and have the entire match be a brutal beatdown given to Dustin by Swerve, especially with the ankle angle before the match even started. That way, Dustin could stay looking strong, while it would have elevated Swerve even more as a badass, brutal brawler/beast type of wrestler.
Sting, Darby, Jericho, and Guevarra v. Takeshita, Starks, Big Bill, and Hobbs:
Ok, before I talk about the match, I have heard the rumors recently going around about Jericho and Kylie Rae. To me, they are just rumors, and until concrete evidence is released, they will stay just that. I will say though that I remember when Rae left AEW. I was saddened about it, cause I like her as a wrestler. That being said, at the time of her departure, even though she said no one made her leave the company, the rumors at the time were that Brandi was bullying her backstage, which was squashed almost immediately. My point is unless irrefutable evidence is brought forward, I’m not going to condemn anyone in this situation. AEW wasn’t the first promotion she’s left abruptly and it wasn’t the last. Now, on to the match…
Was the crowd chanting “Holy Cattle”?
I hope they aren’t booing Jericho because of the rumors.
Darby is just a human wrecking ball
Sting and Jericho are G.O.A.T.s
Guevarra needs to go solo and turn face for a full run, but I don’t know how they turn him face.
Team Starks should have won no doubt about it. The only one on Team Sting that really needed a win may have been Guevarra, but he’s one of the pillars of AEW, so I really think Team Starks would have benefitted more from the win. Bad choice on Tony’s part.
I absolutely love Takeshita, but I prefer him as a face. He’s good as this “I don’t give a shit, I will ‘no sell’ all of your stiffest hits” heel, but as an “Omega/Steamboat” kind of face (he really reminds me of Kenny and Ricky), Takeshita is so much more satisfying. A full run of ‘face’ Takeshita with hard-hitting matches on his way to the AEW Championship could be epic.
Julia Hart v Abadon for the TBS Championship:
I loved the “the is spooky” chants from the crowd. I gotta say though that the crowd was very hit-and-miss through the night til this point. I don’t know if they were waiting for the MJF match or what, but this crowd was in some ways dead, and there was some awesome action going on in the matches until this match.
I love Aubrey! I have from day one of AEW.
This match was kind of crazy in spots, especially with the choking and biting interspersed throughout.
Hart won..
I do feel that the Women’s division needs an overarching storyline, because right now, regardless of how great the wrestling is, without a good storyline driving it, the matches have no real stakes.
Adam Copeland v. Christian Cage for the TNT Championship:
Ah hell…Copeland came out in his Wrestlemania 22 attire for the match. He hasn’t really worn it since he fought Mic Foley. It’s on now!
I love that the match started hot and heavy even before the bell rang.
Copeland in the audience, off the second row to Cage and Wayne was crazy.
So, a TLC match…but in reverse…NICE!!!
So far, this is match of the night for me.
Copeland won! Rock on!
I called it!!! I knew Lucha/Killswitch would give his title shot to Cage. I just didn’t expect it to be NOW!
The twist after Copeland won the match was crazy. What a way to still have Cage with the title at the end of the night…may be the match of the night.
Eddie Kingston v Jon Moxley for the Triple Crown Championship:
If it wasn’t for Copeland/Cage, this would have been my match of the night. This is one of the stiffest, old-school-style brawls I’ve seen this year. Kingston and Moxley left the last of what they had to give in the Tourney in this ring, and finally, Kingston was able to beat Moxley for the belts. There were many times in this match that the chops had me whincing in pain. I was so happy that Kingston won, and I’m hoping that Moxley can get some much-deserved rest after the Hall of Fame year he’s had, especially this year.
MJF v. Samoa Joe for the AEW Championship:
I really felt when MJF got emotional over the crowd chants
Considering MJF is legit hurt, he is straight-killing it in this match. The story of the match was amazing–a hurt, battle-hardened champion in MJF, having to go one more time and pull out all the stops to try and once again defeat the monster that is Samoa Joe.
Having Adam Cole cheering him at ringside was a nice touch.
Joe choked our MJF! Joe won clean! I mean Joe is a beast, so it was always possible, but I was with the crowd in complete shock when Joe actually won by choke out.
The way “the devil” was revealed was kind of garbage. Things were fine when the Foot Clan, the Putty Patrol, or whatever you call them, came into the ring and started attacking MJF, it made sense. It even made some type of sense, when Adam Cole tried to stop the invaders from attacking Max, knowing that Adam Cole is legit recovering from surgery just didn’t hit as well as it should have.
Honestly, this is the way I would have done it. As Adam Cole was in the ring with MJF, trying to pep him up after he lost to Joe, I would have had the screen go black. Then the screen lights up showing ‘the devil’ saying something about taking everything away that MJF cares about. Then I’d have him say, “Well almost everything…” Then I’d have ‘the devil’ take the mask off on the screen revealing Adam Cole being ‘the devil’, laughing at a stunned MJF in the ring. Then the lights come up in the colosseum revealing a completely shocked and distraught MJF on one side of the ring and a smug, smirking Adam Cole with the Putty Patrol behind him on the other side. Right before straight beating Max down, I’d have the Putty Patrol reveal their identities. Then the beatdown ensues with Max being knocked out of action for a while, so he can recover from his injuries. Then MJF would make his triumphant comeback after Adam Cole’s faction (with the addition of either Baker and/or Hayter) runs roughshod over AEW for most of 2024. They could have his reason for resigning with AEW is because of the desire for revenge, or some other reason. Hell, Max’s faction could include a Hangman (who’s in an uneasy alliance with Max, because he was attacked by the Putty Patrol).
That being said, I’d give this PPV a solid 7.5/10. It wasn’t the best AEW PPV of the year, but it was a good PPV on the whole. The last three matches were especially good with Copeland v. Cage being the match of the night for me.
What’d you think of World’s End? Let me know in the comments.
