All Elite Wrestling’s Worlds End pay-per-view is in the books, and despite looking very solid on paper, it continued the usual trend of AEW PPVs, too much too often, and too long. I found it interesting that at one point in the show, there was a video package to tout the awards that the promotion won from Sports Illustrated, but yet we rarely get video packages to explain the background of the slew of international talent that gets thrown onto various shows without much of an introduction. As I’ve said when Tony Khan values winning The Wrestling Observer awards, unless the Sports Illustrated awards come with a cash prize, does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?
The show opened with a pair of semi-final bouts in the Continental Classic, and while I can understand why the broadcast had to start with them to give the competitors the chance to rest properly before the finals later in the night, it put some of the other bouts on the card behind the eight ball so to speak, which should be a lesson in how to structure a card. Maybe Okada was trying to conserve himself for the finals, and it would be difficult to tell because of his minimalist approach to 95% of his AEW work, but he didn’t kick it into second gear until the last few minutes of the contest. Konosuke Takeshita had his moments in this segment, but there was only so much he could do when his opponent seemed to coast until the conclusion. This was a decent match, but it simply wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it was going to be based on the immense talent of both guys. Sure, Okada had to wrestle later in the night, but if the scenario was such that he couldn’t give a full effort then perhaps Tony should’ve saved this for a different show. I say this not as a knock on them, but rather that I think this rivalry is something that they could build the company around for at least a portion of next year. However, that just didn’t look to be the case here, and the lukewarm first impression of this match-up didn’t create anticipation for anything between the two in the future. Furthermore, the finish with the screw driver was lame, especially when the entire premise of the tournament is based on pure competition without any interference. Okada could’ve won with a heel tactic that wasn’t something as outlandish as a screw driver that the referee had to pretend he didn’t see before the three count.
The Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher match was probably the best match of the night so you had the peak of the entire four-hour broadcast within the first hour of the show. It created an unintentional decline in the pace of the show because everything to this point, and for a period of time after this, was full speed without any attempt to truly pace the event with an effort to allow for natural peaks and valleys for a smoother overall presentation. That said, this was a match that Moxley needed under his belt to reignite his status in the promotion, especially after his role as the centerpiece of the tedious Death Riders angle was more or less unanimously panned. There’s still an argument to be made that he should take some time away from the organization, but based on the results later in the night that doesn’t appear to be the case. This bout with Fletcher was fast-paced, hard-hitting, and very entertaining. It highlighted the positives of the All Elite style. The was a scary moment when Fletcher took a suplex from the top rope, landing directly on his head. Despite the defeat, Fletcher still had a chance to shine and added more to his cache to be a potential top guy in the future. Moxley got the victory via submission
I said earlier that this PPV followed the pattern of too much too often, and the tag team title bout was a prime example of this. I had solid expectations for the Bang Bang Gang vs. FTR, mostly because Juice Robinson is one of the more underrated talents in the business, and FTR is still the best in-ring tag team in the industry. Of course, this had to be a street fight because why not? This storyline didn’t justify a gimmick match, and I’d argue that it took away from the segment. Don’t get me wrong, in a vacuum, this was a solid tag bout, but within the context of this specific pay-per-view, there was no need for what they did in this match. For example, both Juice and Austin Gunn were bleeding during this segment, which meant nothing when Darby Allin and Gabe Kidd bled buckets two matches later. It’s overkill for the sake of overkill and ultimately leads to diminishing returns. This is pro wrestling 101, it’s not some tightly guarded Eddie Graham booking secret so Tony should know the foundation of booking if he’s going to run a national promotion. Cash Wheeler had a very risky dive outside toward a table when he landed head first. More than anything, this seemed to be booked as a street fight to try to avoid a low point from the full speed tournament matches before this. FTR retained the titles.
The Babes of Wrath beat Mercedes Mone and Athena in a 10-minute sprint segment. The tag rules were ignored so that everyone could do a lot of moves without any type of pace. At this point, it became just a scrambled mess of a segment because without the peaks and valleys of the match, there wasn’t a way to build any drama. The Babes of Wrath got the win, but this segment could’ve been cut from the line-up without making a difference in the overall quality of the show.
Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd was the true bloodbath segment on the card, and it was done very well. Given the characters of the performers involved, the high risk, physical bout with blood made sense here. Sure, Gabe Kidd isn’t full-time with AEW so if he should’ve been highlighted like this if he’s not going to be around to follow up on it is a different matter, but for what it was, this was an entertaining contest. This type of bout isn’t for everyone, but it’s one of the few aspects of AEW programming that they can deliever something that you aren’t going to see in the WWE. Some of the bumps the Darby took, including his head bouncing off the apron when he was pushed from the ropes, were ridiculous, but right or wrong, that’s a part of the territory for his matches. There was also a coffin drop spot from the top rope to the floor where it looked like Alin could’ve broken Kidd’s arm with the way he landed directly on it, but there wasn’t a report of an injury after the show. The finish that used the Bret Hart/Roddy Piper spot from Wrestlemania 8 was very well done, as it was something that used a level of psychology, which is something that isn’t usually seen for the AEW product.
The Mixed Nuts Mayhem match was there because of the sponsorship, which is fine because at least it was a segment presented specifically with revenue as the objective. That being said, the bout itself was forgettable and meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. This would’ve been the time to make a turkey sandwich and get a can of Coca Cola from the refrigerator.
Kris Statlander beat Jamie Hayter to retain the TBS championship. After a night of most of the performers running at full speed or bouncing around the ring like a super ball, this was the unavoidable low point on the broadcast. These two are capable pro wrestlers, and maybe they were victims of circumstance in some ways, but this was a rather slow and somewhat boring segment. Statlander retained the belt.
Moxley beat Okada to win the Continental Classic and the Continental championship. Similar to many of the other titles in the promotion, the belt means nothing, and the argument could be made that the tournament format is too inside baseball for it to truly mean anything to an American audience, but that’s a different discussion for a different time. The match itself was solid, another performance that Moxley needed to wash away the “stain’ of the underwhelming Death Riders storyline. I’d still say that he should take some time away from television, but given his post-match speech, it looks like the stable will turn baby face. I have to be honest, I thought this was a set up for the faction to turn against him since it would be rather odd for one of the more devious groups to turn baby face without much explanation, but maybe this is an attempt at a completely fresh chapter for the entire stable.
The main event got to the ring about three and a half hours into the broadcast. Since four-way matches are based on spots rather than organic drama, the match was fine, but the action itself wasn’t anything too spectacular, especially with the amount of endless high spots throughout the night in a similar formula. However, the much bigger and more important point was that MJF won the title. Taking into account that he returned to the company just two weeks ago, there wasn’t a build up or storyline behind it, more proof that Tony Khan is a matchmaker, not a booker, but if this decision can provide some stability within the main event scene then it’s mission accomplished. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, Friedman’s return promo was the best that he has done in the past few years because it had substance and a purpose, it wasn’t a cheap attempt to “shock” the audience.
Obviously, the follow-up and what MJF does next, including who he works with, is key if this run is going to be successful or if he will end up in the same spot that he is now the way that he did for his initial run as the champion. The ability to frame MJF as somewhat of an anti-hero might be the best bet for the time being, specifically because he could work with Samoa Joe to ensure quality matches to get started with the second run as champion.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
