AEW closed the book on 2025 the way it loves to end a year — loud, chaotic, consequential, and packed with storyline ripple effects that won’t stop at the calendar flip. Worlds End from a sold-out NOW Arena in the Chicago area delivered major title swings, a tournament crown that instantly re-centered the promotion’s in-ring identity, and one of the most important “tone-setting” main events AEW has done in months: MJF cashing in his Casino Gauntlet contract to force his way into the AEW World Title match — and leaving as champion. 

From the Continental Classic’s final chapter to the women’s tag division taking another leap forward, Worlds End didn’t just wrap stories — it aimed the company straight at 2026 with new power structures, fresh grudges, and a title picture that suddenly feels unpredictable again. 

AEW Worlds End Zero Hour Full Results

• Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue) def. Hyan & Maya World  
• Eddie Kingston def. Zack Gibson  
• Bandido & Máscara Dorada def. Mark Davis & Rocky Romero  
• JetSpeed (Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight) & Jurassic Express (Jack Perry & Luchasaurus) def. Josh Alexander & The Demand (Ricochet, Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun)  

Zero Hour notes that mattered:

• Adam Cole appeared via video during the pre-show panel, teasing more to come in 2026.  
• Ortiz made a surprise return after Kingston’s match when GYV continued the beatdown.  
• A post-match glitch/tease set up El Clon’s return for AEW Collision in January 2026.  

AEW Worlds End Main Card Full Results

• Continental Classic Semifinal: Kazuchika Okada def. Konosuke Takeshita  
• Continental Classic Semifinal: Jon Moxley def. Kyle Fletcher  
• AEW World Tag Team Titles (Chicago Street Fight): FTR (c) def. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn)  
• AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles: Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) (c) def. Mercedes Moné & Athena  
• Darby Allin def. Gabe Kidd  
• Mixed Nuts Mayhem: Roderick Strong, “Timeless” Toni Storm, Orange Cassidy & TNT Champion Mark Briscoe def. Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta & Marina Shafir)  
• AEW Women’s World Title: Kris Statlander (c) def. Jamie Hayter  
• Continental Classic Final / AEW Continental Title: Jon Moxley def. Kazuchika Okada (c)  
• AEW World Title (4-Way): MJF def. Samoa Joe (c) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland  

The Babes of Wrath Win Again — and Moné & Athena Don’t Leave as a “Team”

This was supposed to be the statement win for the Mercedes Moné/Athena power pairing — two belt-collectors combining forces to take the shine off a brand-new women’s tag division.

Instead, it became the night that division proved it’s real.

Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron didn’t survive on luck — they survived on cohesion. And crucially, they survived the growing cracks between two stars who aren’t used to sharing the spotlight. The finish said everything: Moné got caught, got pinned, and the frustration didn’t wait until Dynamite. 

What it means for the champions

For the Babes of Wrath, this win is the kind of defense that turns “inaugural champs” into a legitimate standard. Beating Moné and Athena isn’t just a notch — it’s instant credibility, especially with Willow being the one who ultimately had Moné’s number when it counted. 

What it means for Moné and Athena

For Moné, Worlds End wasn’t just a loss — it was a dent to the aura. AEW leaned hard into her post-match volatility: the frustration boiling over, the sense that the end of 2025 hasn’t gone her way, and Moné snapping into “I’ll do it myself” mode. 

And for Athena? If you’re the ROH Women’s World Champion standing next to “The CEO,” you’re either a partner… or a future target. The tension coming out of this match is the kind AEW can stretch in multiple directions:

• Athena blaming Moné for ego-driven mistakes
• Moné blaming Athena for not “following the plan”
• Both of them realizing they don’t actually want to split the credit if they win — and definitely don’t want to share the blame when they lose

The most telling piece is that AEW didn’t frame this as “welp, it didn’t work.” They framed it as a pressure point — and pressure points in AEW usually become break points.

Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada: The Continental Classic Becomes Moxley’s New Mission Statement

The Continental Classic isn’t just a tournament in AEW — it’s the company planting a flag for what it wants to be: elite wrestling, elite endurance, elite pride.

And at Worlds End, Jon Moxley walked through the bracket and walked out holding the Continental Championship after beating Okada, ending Okada’s lengthy reign with the belt. 

This win also came with a tonal shift: the post-match presentation leaned into Moxley as a rallying point — a fighter speaking like the belt represents the locker room and the fans, not just himself. 

What this changes heading into 2026

• Okada’s dominance finally has a crack in it, and that crack opens the door for new rivalries (and rematches) that don’t feel like reruns — they feel like unfinished business.  
• The Continental Championship now has Moxley’s “fight-first” identity, which can ripple into how Dynamite and Collision are paced: more urgency, more grit, more “earn it” storytelling.  
• AEW has a ready-made 2026 spine: Moxley as the tournament king, defending the most “pure” prize in the company while the rest of the roster tries to drag him back into chaos.

MJF Cashes In, Warps the Main Event, and Reclaims the Throne

This was the headline story of the night for a reason.

Samoa Joe came in with the championship. Hangman and Swerve came in with their own violent agendas. And then the axis tilted: MJF returned, executed his Casino Gauntlet contract, inserted himself into the title match, and turned the entire main event into a Fatal 4-Way — then left with the AEW World Championship. 

The biggest thing Worlds End did wasn’t just put the title on MJF. It made the world title scene feel dangerous again — like anything can be hijacked, stolen, or flipped in one night.

What it means for AEW in 2026

• Joe’s reign ends with chaos, not clean defeat, which keeps him protected and keeps him dangerous.  
• Hangman and Swerve don’t stop being central, because neither was “settled” — they were disrupted. That’s story fuel.  
• MJF’s presence instantly re-centers AEW around a villain you can build a year around, because everyone wants a shot and everyone believes they’re the one to finally shut him up.

This is the kind of Worlds End finish that doesn’t just set up Dynamite — it sets up a season.

Everything Announced for This Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash

AEW is wasting zero time turning Worlds End fallout into booked consequences for Dynamite: New Year’s Smash on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.

Here’s what has been announced coming out of Worlds End:

• TBS Championship: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Willow Nightingale  
• AEW National Championship: Ricochet (c) vs. Jack Perry  
• MJF appearance (his first as the new AEW World Champion coming out of Worlds End)  

Final Word: Worlds End Didn’t Just End 2025 — It Rewired AEW for 2026

Worlds End 2025 felt like a deliberate reset without feeling like a reboot.

• MJF is champion again — and the title picture just became a shark tank.  
• Moxley owns the Continental Classic and the Continental Championship — giving AEW a hard-nosed in-ring centerpiece heading into the new year.  
• The women’s tag division got a defining defense, and the Moné/Athena alliance left the arena looking less like a superteam and more like a countdown timer.  

If AEW’s goal was to make 2026 feel like it has fresh stakes — Worlds End accomplished it. The belts moved, the egos cracked, the tournament crowned a new standard-bearer, and Dynamite is already booked to cash in on the fallout.

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