The final AEW PPV event of 2025 was a good one. Not great, but certainly good enough for AEW to maintain it’s near-pristine record of always delivering on PPV.
The show was built around the finish of the 2025 AEW Continental Classic tournament and while Jon Moxley winning wasn’t a pick I was willing to make publicly, that booking fell in line with other various outcome surprises we’ve seen throughout this year’s round robin adventure.
So, good booking, but the big matches left a bunch in the tank. Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita was really good, but not anywhere near the classic they tried sell. Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher was a masterpiece, but then Okada underperformed again in the final. More on this later.
The rest of the show was put together nicely and featured good wrestling. The stars of the undercard were both women’s matches and whatever the Mixed Nuts Match was.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita - 2025 AEW Continental Classic Semifinal
This match was really good, until it wasn’t. The story of the bout was Okada and Takeshita trying out alpha the other, but in the end Okada couldn’t successfully accomplish that goal without the use of a screwdriver. Really good action throughout this, even if it didn’t live up to the lofty hype that AEW gave it. These two have at least one more match together, so there was no reason to give it all away in a tournament semifinal. This match turned bad when the finish started. Not only is a screwdriver a silly weapon to “use” during a match, but the way in which Okada secured it was laughable. Yes, he pulls it out of the turnbuckle pad while the referee is looking at him. The ref then looks confused and turns around AFTER seeing the weapon, so that Okada could smash Takeshita in the head with it. This was awful execution. The audience clearly saw the entire thing and ruined match one of this feud.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 3/4
Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher - 2025 AEW Continental Classic Semifinal
Absolutely fantastic and the clear match of the night. These two fought one another. They were stiff, passionate, violent, and conveyed a sense of wanting to win the match. Watching Fletcher try to match Moxley’s intensity was a treat and he succeeded in that endeavor. Fletcher has to be careful. He’s clicking on a higher level than everyone else in the ring right now, but he’s not invincible. When he landed on his head on a suplex from the top rope, my entire row at NOW Arena gasped. Unlike the first semifinal match, these two nailed the finish. Fletcher was a boss in how he sold the sleeper choke submission and prior to that Moxley did the same thing when he nearly tapped out. Masterful drama.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOOO 3/4
FTR vs. Bang Bang Gang - AEW World Tag Team Championship Street Fight
Your typical AEW Street Fight. Nothing fancy here and not a lot of depth either. It went longer than expected, but the fans seemed to enjoy the chaos. Not only was this a comedown match from the two C2 semifinals, but it lacked drama because nobody really thought Bang Bang Gang would win.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Babes of Wrath vs. Mercedes Mone and Athena - AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship
A strong showcase of what a women’s tag team division in AEW can be. Don’t sleep on Babes of Wrath. They got the third biggest pop of the night if you ask me and were one of the most over babyface acts on the show. The match didn’t have the innovative action like others did on the show, but it carried a logical and smart story. Babes of Wrath showed why they were a superior team opposite a random pairing of Athena and Mone. Mone and Athena were clunky and it led to their demise.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd
Can anyone tell Darby Allin “no?” The guy nearly paralyzed himself on more than one occasion in this match and while the commitment to the art is admirable, part of the art is knowing when to kill your body and when not to. This was a run of the mill filler PPV match that Allin wrestled like it was for the world championship. That said, it was a blood feud between Allin and Kidd and they certainly delivered a match that lined up with that story.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
The Death Riders vs. Toni Storm and The Conglomeration - Mixed Nuts Mayhem
A wild and silly match that the audience loved. This kind of match isn’t my thing, but it has a place on AEW cards at this point. Something I liked? The Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy dance number. Something I hated? The Marina Shafir and Roderick Strong bit. These two are not connected inside of the AEW ecosystem. Why is it a big deal when they face-off?
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
Kris Statlander vs. Jaime Hayter - AEW Women’s World Championship
It took a bit, but the commitment both women had to physicality eventually hooked the audience. The crowd was tired at the start of this, but some vicious striking and an extremely dangerous move on Hayter from the top rope woke everyone up. Once they did, the women had the crowd in the palm of their hands. The “Green Bay sucks” chant was disappointing, but more of an indictment on the stubborn length of the show than the match itself.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 3/4
Jon Moxley vs. Kazuchika Okada - 2025 AEW Continental Classic Final
Not the match I thought we’d see, but a good one nonetheless once you box up expectations. This wasn’t fast-paced and it wasn’t packed with drama. It was filled up with slow and methodical striking. That was a stylistic choice. On one hand it worked because this stood out from the other matches on the show and other C2 matches throughout the tournament. On the other, it felt like fans got restless in the building because their expectations weren’t being met. Okada didn’t break out against Takeshita early in the show and kept third, fourth, and fifth gear hiding in this one too. Moxley winning the 2025 Continental Classic leaves him in an odd spot. He’s clearly a babyface now, but saddled with a heel group that doesn’t have an up and coming act that’s ready to work with Moxley at a high level.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Samoa Joe vs. MJF vs. Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland - AEW Men’s World Championship
Well, it felt like a main event thanks to the star power in the match. All four guys shined in that regard, but the action left a little to be desired. It wasn’t bad, but just not on the level of other AEW World Championship matches on PPV. The Page and Strickland fight was the best part of the match. Tony Khan has a huge singles bout there whenever he wants it. As for MJF, it makes sense for him to hold the championship going into 2026. He’s clearly one of the biggest stars the company has and babyfaces chasing him down will work on weekly television. He needs to be more of a definitive heel. Less trolling and more truly bad guy stuff.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO 1/4
What did you think of AEW Worlds End 2025? Let us know in the comments!
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