LONG ISLAND, NY — Entering Worlds End, it felt like a pay-per-view AEW needed to hit out of the park. The second half of the company’s 2023 left something to be desired, with lagging ticket sales, unfortunate injuries to Adam Cole, Kenny Omega and MJF, and backstage controversies remaining constant.
Filling the Nassau Coliseum wasn’t an issue Saturday night; AEW fans loaded the arena waiting on their favorite “scumbag,” the culmination of the Continental Classic and the next step of Christian Cage and Adam Copeland’s feud. The rest of the card had little fanfare since AEW glued it together within the last week, and it showed from the start of the main show until the main event matches.
At the same time, Worlds End was always billed as a three-match show featuring the three longest-running storylines in AEW. Along with the impending reveal of the Devil, the final 90 minutes of the five-hour show held all the eggs in the basket.
But even though fans were awaiting the identity of the person under the mask, questions loomed about MJF’s injury status. Was it his final night wrestling for a while? Did AEW extend his contract into 2024 and beyond? Tony Khan said he can’t comment on the AEW future of the Long Island native after the show, so take that as you will.
AEW answered questions beyond that during Worlds End, though, creating an interesting night of pro wrestling to close 2023.
AEW Worlds End results from Long Island:
- Willow Nightingale def. Kris Statlander by pinfall in a solid match with a bumpy finish at the end.
- A vignette teases Serena Deeb’s return to the ring.
- Killswitch wins the battle royal to become the No. 1 contender to the TNT Championship. Not sure anyone expected Trent Beretta to be the runner-up over Danhausen, and it made the ending anticlimactic.
- Hook def. Wheeler Yuta by submission to retain the FTW Championship.
- Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia and Mark Briscoe def. Jay White, Jay Lethal, Brody King and Rush by pinfall. Danielson and White stepping into the ring together created one of the best pops of the night, and King was very over with the crowd.
- Miro def. Andrade El Idolo by submission in a relatively slow-paced match. During the post-show press conference, Tony Khan confirmed that El Idolo’s contract with AEW will expire at the end of the year, making that the former WWE United States Champion’s final match with the company.
- Toni Storm def. Riho by pinfall to retain the AEW Women’s Championship. Storm’s impeccable character presentation highlighted a fine match.
- Swerve Strickland def. Dustin Rhodes by pinfall. The atmosphere changed on a dime when “Big Pressure” played, waking a mild crowd from the last two matches. Rhodes also replaced Keith Lee, who was replaced an hour before the show due to injury.
- Sting, Darby Allin, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara def. Konosuke Takeshita, Will Hobbs, Ricky Starks and Big Bill by pinfall. Boos toward Chris Jericho dominated this match, with various chants his way that made it to air and some explicit ones the live broadcast might not have registered.
- Julia Hart def. Abadon by pinfall to retain the TBS Championship. A “This is spooky chant” rang out early, but the match work kept the crowd quiet.
- Adam Copeland def. Christian Cage to win the TNT Championship. This show needed a hard-hitting, storytelling-focused match, and the crowd was lively for it. Copeland’s cross body in the crowd received a wild reaction, but the “We want fire” chants were arguably the popular aspect of the night.
- Christian Cage def. Adam Copeland to win the TNT Championship. The live crowd had mixed feelings about Cage winning back the title within minutes after Killswitch gave up the contract. It surprised many, but it also served as a way to keep the feud going and shift the momentum back in the Patriarch’s favor.
- Eddie Kingston def. Jon Moxley by pinfall to win the Continental Classic. This was the grueling, hard-hitting match everyone expected with stiff strikes and some tough spots, including the suicide dive that seemed to hurt Kingston more than Moxley.
- Samoa Joe def. MJF by submission to win the AEW World Championship, ending the 27-year-old’s record title reign, in a match where the now former champion was clearly hurting and even had an audible scream of pain. After the match, Adam Cole revealed himself as the Devil, with Wardlow, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett as his goons.
AEW Worlds End live notes from Long Island:
- Allowing Sting to receive an ovation in one of his last matches was a nice touch and a needed atmosphere changer after a forgettable eight-man tag match.
- The reveal of Cole as the Devil was deemed anticlimactic by some of the crowd. It failed to elicit a huge reaction, perhaps because people had suspected Cole to be the man behind the mask all along. However, at times, the proper call doesn’t need to send shockwaves.
- Throughout the night, the crowd felt like a sleeping giant. They wanted something to cheer for, and they wanted to react loudly. It arguably took until Copeland vs. Cage for that to happen, though, which was too long.
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