AEW is ending the year with a bang, as the third annual Worlds End pay-per-view will set the stage for all of the biggest storylines going into 2026.
The main event on the card include MJF making his return to the AEW men’s world title picture in a four-way against Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page.
Other key bouts include the conclusion of the Continental Classic and the Babes of Wrath making their first defense of the AEW women’s tag team titles against Mercedes Moné and Athena in a rematch from the championship tournament.
Here is all the info you need going into Full Gear, including predictions for the match order and the bouts poised to steal the show.
When: Saturday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. ET (Pre-show starts at 7 p.m. ET)
Where: Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois
Watch: HBO Max, Prime Video, Pay-Per-View
AEW Worlds End 2025 Card and Projected Match Order
- Continental Classic Semifinal: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita
- Continental Classic Semifinal: Kyle Fletcher vs. Jon Moxley
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Jamie Hayter
- Chicago Street Fight for AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championships: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (c) vs. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn)
- Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd
- AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship: Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) (c) vs. Mercedes Moné and Athena
- Continental Classic Final: Kazuchika Okada/Konosuke Takeshita winner vs. Kyle Fletcher/Jon Moxley winner
- AEW Men’s World Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF
Top Worlds End Matches to Watch
Continental Classic Semifinals
It’s a bit of a cheat to include multiples matches under the same umbrella, but it’s really impossible to pick between the two bouts that will set up the final taking place later in the show.
Oh, and the final is going to be an incredible match regardless of which pair of wrestlers advances.
Kyle Fletcher has been arguably the MVP of the entire tournament with one incredible showing after another, highlighted by his match with Kevin Knight. The last hurdle between him and the final is Jon Moxley in the first one-on-one bout between the two.
Mox’s storyline since losing the men’s title to Page at All In appears to be slowly building toward him being kicked out of the Death Riders. It doesn’t seem like that is going to pay off on Saturday, but a loss would be the next step in the progression, especially since Fletcher seems like he’s being groomed for a mega-push in 2026.
The other semifinal is maybe the best built match on the show because Okada and Takeshita have had issues on television for several months at this point, so a matchup that will send one of them to the Continental Classic final feels like a fitting way to end this chapter of the feud.
This is also a match where it wouldn’t be a surprise to see at least part of the Don Callis Family implode because Takeshita needs to turn babyface soon because it’s impossible to cheer against him as arguably the best in-ring performer in AEW right now.
Babes of Wrath vs. Mercedes Moné and Athena
As AEW has really invested in building up the women’s division throughout 2025, Harley Cameron’s rise is one of the company’s best success stories. She went from being largely a comic character to getting a high-profile singles bout with Moné at Grand Slam Australia in February to now being one half of the first women’s tag team champs alongside Nightingale.
The pairing of Cameron and Nightingale has brought out the best in them, both as in-ring workers and on-screen characters.
On the other side of the ring, Moné and Athena are two of the best wrestlers in the entire promotion. Beyond that, though, Moné’s storylines are really starting to progress as she has lost two of her titles in the last month, including the RevPro British Women’s Title to Alex Windsor on the Dec. 17 episode of Collision.
A title change would seem out of the question given that Cameron and Nightingale just won the belts and are being elevated, but a rematch with the team of Moné and Athena does leave open a lot of possibilities.
The first bout saw Cameron pin Athena to advance in the tournament. If Moné and Athena are going to lose again, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the CEO take the pinfall if she is going to remain on a downward spiral entering the new year.
Samoa Joe vs. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF
Joe’s victory over Page at Full Gear to win the men’s world title was one of the most shocking AEW moments of the year. It felt like an abrupt way to end Hangman’s reign given how much effort was put into building him up as the one to dethrone Moxley at All In.
The puzzle pieces have started to fit together in the weeks since that event, with Swerve making his return by confronting Joe at the end of Full Gear. Things escalated even more on Dec. 17 when MJF returned after a three-month hiatus to announce he was adding himself into the match by cashing in his casino gauntlet title shot.
There are no shortage of potential storyline directions to go based on any of the possible results. Joe retaining still leaves all three men as challengers, plus the winner of the Continental Classic being added into the mix. Will Ospreay should also be thrown into the mix whenever he returns from injuries, though there doesn’t appear to be a firm timeline for that to happen yet.
MJF, Swerve or Hangman winning, especially if they were to pin Joe to do so, leaves the other two as future challengers.
Joe’s reign probably shouldn’t be a long one, not because he’s a bad or undeserving champ, but his age and reputation makes him someone who should be used to elevate talent.
Of course, it’s also possible The Opps makes their presence felt to help Joe retain and potentially set up a future eight-person match. There isn’t another pay-per-view until Revolution on March 15, so there is a lot of time to fill before the next major show that leaves open a lot of possibilities for the outcome.
