Worlds End review

I penned an  article earlier this week about the momentum shift of the industry throughout 2023 and more specifically, the upswing that WWE was on ahead of next year, with the return of CM Punk to the organization. At the same time, I detailed how the exit of Cody Rhodes and subsequently Punk saw All Elite Wrestling stall much of the momentum it had upon its 2019 launch. The novelty wore off and the organization was going to sink or swim based on its on merit. In typical pro wrestling fashion, Tony Khan's organization found a way to tread water so the narrative of the promotion wasn't entirely negative, but certainly not completely positive either. That's probably the most frustrating aspect of the entire AEW situation, the pieces of the puzzle are still there for the organization to be much more successful than it is, and in some ways, the success of All Elite was almost in spite of its lack of direction.

 

The slapstick approach that Tony Khan takes to his product, one that often either doesn't fully utilize the talent on the roster or scenarios where a performer disappears from television completely, with the exception very minimal exposure of ROH, continues to be a common criticism.

Taking all of that into account, the reveal of the devil storyline that was stretched across All Elite programming for the past several months, perhaps too long, would be key to the momentum or lack thereof for the organization at the start of 2024. So, did the reveal live up to the hype?

Before we discuss the line-up, and I know I've said this before so it will be repetitive, but it remains true, these marathon pay-per-views don't intrinsically increase the value of the broadcasts. A nine-match card becomes tedious rather than anticipated  Furthermore, outside of the devil revelation, which could've been resolved at Full Gear, there wasn't really a reason for the Worlds End event to be added to the calendar. The Continental Classic finals match was an artificial way to build up to a conclusion at the PPV, but again, outside of the devil mask, there weren't angles that justified another pay-per-view before the end of the year. In fact, one of the strengths of All Elite, at least initially, was the schedule that allowed for each pay-per-view to seem like a major event rather than just another broadcast.

 

Another example of Tony Khan's booking quirks, and yet another way to crowbar more names onto the card, was another eight man tag team match added as the opener the show. The mishmash team of Claudio, Bryan Danielson, Mark Briscoe, and Daniel Garcia vs. Rush, Jay Lethal, Jay White, and Brody King was very similar to the other eight man tag contest that was scheduled for later in the night as far as it being an exhibition match, not a bout that any importance to the angles within the company. I'm still not sure if Danielson should be wrestling with the eye injury, but this contest was more or less a waste of his skills. This bout had a lot of action and was fun for what it was, but from a storyline or character perspective, it completely lacked any purpose. If this contest wasn't a part of the pay-per-view, would it have made a major difference in the quality of the show or the selling point for the audience to pay for the event? Garcia got his nose smashed and it looked to be swollen throughout the segment. Garcia got the pin for the victory, but it's doubtful that there will be any major follow-up on Dynamite or Collision.

 

Prior to the broadcast, it was reported online that Andrade planned to finish up with the organization, and all things considered, it wasn't much of a surprise. As I've written before, Andrade wasn't happy with the direction of his career under the guidance of Vince McMahon so he tested the waters outside of the WWE. You can't blame him for that, but the lack of structure and being lost in the shuffle of AEW didn't suite him either. Given that he already has work lined up in Mexico, and is probably willing to return to WWE with Triple H as the head of creative, there's no reason for him to spin his wheels in the Khan-owned organization. Keep in mind, Andrade had his greatest success in WWE during his time in NXT when Triple H made the decisions for the brand. The match was good, but nothing over-the-top, and given the finish, with CJ Perry assisting Miro for the victory, it looked like Andrade might've wrapped up his All Elite tenure.

 

Toni Storm vs. Riho was fine, but nothing spectacular. I know there's some criticism about Riho, but as far as in the ring, she's a decent competitor. Still, since she was brought back into the fold rather quickly and there wasn't much build up for this title match, this was more of a TV match than a pay-per-view bout. I understand why management wanted to get Storm on the card because of the recent success of her new character, and she's done well with it, but there just isn't much to discuss with this segment. Toni Storm retained the AEW Women''s championship.

 

Speaking of matches that could've been put on television, or in this case, not booked at all, Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee was rather pointless for this pay-per-view. Sure, there was a previous feud from several months ago that had no definitive conclusion, but it wasn't as if these two were involved on television to justify a match on pay-per-view. If anything, this was a major step back for Swerve in terms of his character since it recycled a storyline from when he was in a more secondary role in AEW. Granted, I thought the Texas death match with Adam Page was too gory for a national promotion, but Swerve become more popular in recent months so it would've made sense to put him in a position to progress as a character. Another match with Keith Lee, a reference to a feud that flopped at the time, does nothing to help Swerve become a bigger star. If anything, this was shoehorned onto the card to give Swerve something to do and that also does nothing to spotlight his skills. So, when Dustin Rhodes replaced Keith Lee, it didn't have any effect on the prospect of the contest because it would've been just as random or more suitable for television either way. The fact that Dustin can still go at the level he can is remarkable and this match was solid. Furthermore, Dustin's selling did more to establish Swerve's heel persona than any of his other recent matches. Obviously, Swerve getting the win was the right call, but hopefully, there's something more meaningful planned for him after this pay-per-view.

 

The eight man tag team match was an audible called when Kenny Omega suffered diverticulitis, putting him on the sidelines indefinitely. While this change gave Sting a spot on the show as he approaches his retirement in a few months, it morphed what could've been a tag title match that progressed the narrative of a few tag teams into a basic exhibition match without anything at stake. Ricky Starks and Big Bill have done well as a team team after originally being more or less thrown together so they deserve credit for making themselves an asset to the show. On the flip side, both Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs are too talented to be shuffled onto the show as a replacement bout. Takeshita and Hobbs should have much bigger individual roles in the company, despite being mid-card players at this point, and that's one of the booking fumbles of Tony Khan.

The match itself was fine and basically what you're going to expect from an eight man tag, but the question is, particularly with such an extended card, did this match really have to be put on pay-per-view? Would the audience have been disappointed or thought they didn't get their money's worth if they wasn't used as a replacement contest? If not then maybe it would've been better to schedule it for Dynamite. Sammy Guevara got win for his team, but similar to Garcia earlier, it's doubtful that it will actually lead to a bigger role on television. However, it was great to see super fan Vladimir at ringside, especially because I read earlier this year that he had some health problems so hopefully he's doing better.

Julia Hart vs. Abadon was a solid match for what it was, even though it wasn't given enough time to get into second gear with only a ten-minute segment. It should be noted that both of these athletes portray their characters very well and if they can get more in-ring experience to continue to improve their skills, they have a major upside for the promotion. Abadon got themselves in great shape during their hiatus and had the best stint of their AEW tenure recently. Julia Hart only has a few years of experience, but if she can continue to evolve as a performer with a well-rounded skill set, she could be very marketable. Considering that Abadon hasn't been on television too often prior to the set up of this title bout, it made sense for Julia to retain the belt.

 

The TNT title match was one of the few bouts that saved the show from being a glorified TV taping, and in truth, the majority of the roster could learn a lot from this performance. The selling from both competitors emphasized the heat and made the most out of what they did during the segment. Adam Copeland suffered a nasty cut above his eye from a stomp on the steps and that added some depth to the narrative of the match. I'm not sure if Copeland was trying to protect Nick Wayne by landing him toward the edge of the flaming table to reduce the risk of injury, but the spot was somewhat flat since the table just flipped over. I'm not sure a flaming table spot was needed, especially because the finish implied that this feud will continue, and it should, but fire should be saved for the payoff of an angle. Copeland winning only to be attacked by Killswitch and then Christian gets the title back was great stuff. It gets Christian even more heat and as mentioned allows for the rivalry to continue after this. It should be noted that he's arguably the best heel in the business and everything he does has impact. Christian maximizes his minutes on television and his run in AEW added a lot to his legacy. 

 

As critical as I was of the concept of the Continental Classic, a tournament based on New Japan's G1, being used on American television for no other reason than that Tony Khan is a big fan of the Japanese promotion, Eddie Kingston being as over as he is more or less saved the concept. Ironically, the fans were invested in the finals because of how over Kingston is as a character, not because of the five star matches the tournament was supposed to produce on television. Without the emotional investment from the audience to see Eddie succeed, mostly because he was underutilized as a persona in the past, this tournament would've been just a series of matches without any angle for the crowd to identify with at the conclusion. While the tournament had a few really good matches, were any of them used to truly elevate any of the competitors? Eddie was the champion prior to the start of the competition so his role was already established, but for example, did Rush or Mark Briscoe make any progress as characters in the tournament?

As much as John Moxley has been an MVP for All Elite Wrestling and deserves credit for it, considering he put the company on his back on more than one occasion when needed, he's almost been overexposed because he had to jump into those roles at various times. Basically, he didn't need to advance in the tournament since he's already one of the bigger stars on the roster. Given Swerve's current popularity, this spot would've served him better. The match itself was very good and more or less what you'd expect, it was a very physical, hard-hitting bout. Kingston getting the win was absolutely the right decision because of the level that he's over with the audience, and the fact that the victory wouldn't have done anything for Moxley, he doesn't need it, which is a credit to his star power. The only downside is, I don't think another unnecessary championship should be added to the organization, and this keeps Eddie stuck in a mid-card position rather than a world title run, which you could make the argument for with how much the crowd rallied behind him.

 

The main event was very well done, it didn't drag like the world title match on the Full Gear card, and had enough action to keep a good pace. That said, the finish was very flat and didn't provide much of a moment for Samoa Joe as the new champion. Clearly, the audience was waiting for the reveal of the devil to play a role in the finish and when there was an abrupt conclusion to the title match, it didn't allow for anything to built toward the title switch. That said, MJF is reportedly legitimately injured so he's probably going to take some time off, which is a key factor in what happened in the post-match segment.

As we know, Adam Cole was revealed as the devil, with Rodrick Strong, Wardlow, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett as the henchmen. There are a number of problems with this and it could probably be addressed in its own article, but I will try to summarize the situation. When you take into account how long this angle was stretched, there had to be something shocking about it to justify the extended period of time it was pushed on television. The two most predictable results for this storyline when it started were either MJF was who he said he was all along, or Adam Cole turns on MJF because you'd assume that Friedman would continue to be the heel. If the angle went a month or two, those would be acceptable options, but the longer it was drawn out on television, the more it had to be something worthwhile. This just wasn't a result that was worth the amount of time it was given on AEW programming because why did the fans need months of build up when the reveal was something that was guessed almost immediately after the storyline started?




Furthermore, outside of Roderick Strong, none of the henchmen are going to add to or benefit from this stable. None against Taven or Bennett, they are solid unity workers, but they were less than secondary characters not too long ago so why would they be seen as major additions to this faction? Again, with months of build up, there had to be star power involved in this stable. Putting Wardlow in another group does nothing but put another ceiling on what he can accomplish in the company. The bottom line is, if Wardlow is going to be a bigger star, he's going to have to go elsewhere.

Finally, with MJF injured, he's obviously not going to be able to seek revenge against the group anytime soon. Furthermore, the leader of the stable is also sidelined with a serious injury so what exactly is Adam Cole going to do to keep this storyline relevant on TV? More specifically, with MJF injured, how is the faction going to stay relevant on television? Despite the lackluster reveal, Cole and Friedman are injured so where's the payoff? Is the audience really going to care when the match finally happens? It would be a completely different scenario if Cole was healthy, as he could win championships and gloat about his success to set up for an MJF return to attempt to take away those titles as a form of retribution. Keep in mind, Adam Cole didn't cost MJF the world title.

Overall, The TNT title match and the Continental Classic bout saved this from being a complete flop of a pay-per-view. That's not to say that any of the matches were subpar, but rather that none stood out as more than a TV match besides the two bouts mentioned. That doesn't justify the $50 price tag to order this event on pay-per-view. When a surprise is predictable, it's not much of a surprise, and Adam Cole under the mask was very underwhelming. One of the biggest takeaways from this event was that the focus will be on the mixed reaction to the reveal, not Samoa Joe as the new champion, which demonstrates the lack of focus often seen within the structure or lack thereof of the AEW product.