The Devil Unvelied, Title Changes, Major Betrayal & More: AEW Worlds End 2023 Results & Highlights

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, New York was home to AEW’s Worlds Ends PPV. The final PPV from AEW was set to be action-packed to close off 2023. Christian Cage defended the TNT title against Adam Copeland, a 20-man Battle Royal for the TNT Championship ensued, MJF vs. Samoa Joe for the AEW Championship took place and much more was on the line. Here is everything that went down at World’s End.

AEW Worlds End 30/12/2023 Recap

Zero Hour

The Zero Hour segment ahead of the Worlds End PPV started off to warm up the crowd. A countdown timer showed how much time was remaining before the actual show started. The Zero Hour featured three matches.

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

Winner: Willow Nightingale

The first match of Zero Hour was set with Nightingale vs Statlander. Ahead of locking up, the two shook hands to show their respect for one another. Said to be among the most powerful women in AEW, the two did not hold back. As babyfaces, the crowds were backing both ladies during the match. After a Doctor Bomb, Nightingale picked up the win.

20-Man Battle Royal

Winner: Killswitch

With the winner getting a TNT title shot whenever they want it, the tension was high ahead of the match. 20 men including Danhausen, Matt Menard, Lance Archer, Bryan Keith, Angelo Parker, Dalton Castle, Miro, and many more had their eyes set on that title shot. The two most dominating figures in the match were Archer and Killswitch. While each man started to fall like dominos, the final two were Trent Beretta and Killswitch. However, Killswitch attained the final elimination despite getting a low blow.

Hook vs. Wheeler Yuta for the FTW Championship title

Winner: Hook retained the FTW Championship

The final match of the Zero Hour was for the FTW Championship. With no count outs and disqualifications, anything was legal in this match. Both men put on an explosive display of moves, along with a few weapons. Unfortunately for Yuta, a Red Rum was enough to get him submitting allowing Hook to retain.

AEW Worlds End

Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Mark Briscoe with Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King, Jay White, Jay Lethal with Rush – 8-man tag team match

Winner: Claudio Castagnoli with Bryan Danielson, Mark Briscoe with Daniel Garcia

The first match of the PPV saw an 8-man tag team match. With a ton of loved stars like Castagnoli, Danielson, Briscoe, and Garcia acting as the babyfaces, the match was set to be a crowd-pleaser. The sheer talent in the ring was evident as the fans got involved in the match, cheering for the spots and hyping Briscoe and Danielson up. With multiple high spots and good action, this was a great starter to the PPV. Garcia looked great throughout the match, standing shoulder to shoulder with the others. He picked up the win by pinning Lethal.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

Winner: Miro

The finale of the Miro vs El Idolo feud was a splendid match between two talented wrestlers. The storyline of Miro’s wife CJ Perry’s client getting too close saw Miro pick up the win. However, the most shocking aspect of the match was the involvement of Perry in aiding her husband, rather than her client. The slow-paced match with precision saw Perry help her husband get out of the Figure Eight leg lock. This gave him the chance to lock in his own submission on El Idolo for the submission victory.

Toni Storm vs. Riho for the AEW Women’s Championship

Winner: Toni Storm retaining her AEW Women’s Championship

The match for the AEW Women’s Championship felt one-sided, with Storm dominating the match. However, later on, Riho got her opening to mount an effective offense on the ‘Timeless’ Storm. Unfortunately, the underdog was no match for the brute strength and the final DDT for the win. Mariah May would come out to shower Storm in rose petals to celebrate her victory post-match.

Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes

Winner: Swerve Strickland

AEW seemed to pull a page out of Cody Rhodes’ book for this match. Prior to the start, Strickland injured Dustin backstage. However, instead of leaving the venue, he came out to compete. The match was originally planned to feature Dustin’s partner, Keith Lee. However, Lee was not cleared to perform, which is why Rhodes took his place. The match was predictable with the entire length building up Strickland as a heel. He won the match after a Double Stomp to Rhodes.

Ricky Starks, Big Bill, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Kyle Fletcher vs. Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting, and Darby Allin

Winner: Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting, and Darby Allin

The match was the second eight-man tag team match of the night saw eight men in a roller coaster of a match. With the audience lighting up at Sting’s entrance and hot tag during the match. This will be Sting’s second last match ahead of AEW’s Revolution in March 2024. The match was filled with exceptional moments and spots that had the fans cheering. Allin proved his worth by saving his teammates on multiple occasions. However, it was Guevara who picked up the win for his team over Starks.

Julia Hart vs. Abadon for the TBS Championship

Winner: Julia Hart retaining the TBS Championship

In what could be the weirdest match of the night Julia Hart defended her TBS Championship against Abadon in a special stipulation match. The stipulation was that biting was allowed. Both women were exceptional in the match. Abadon turned the creep factor to 11, with fans giving her “This is spooky” chants. Hart was great as the heel. After an interruption from Sky Blue, the match quickly turned in Hart’s favor. This led to Hart hitting a moonsault which resulted in a pinfall victory.

Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland for the TNA Title

Winner: Adam Copeland followed by Christian Cage

The match for the TNA Title was set for no disqualifications. The match between the two former best friends quickly turned into a street fight with both exiting the ring and using the outside to their advantage. With a high-flying spot, a table on fire spot, and a ladder, this match was the highlight of the show. The two men put each other through hell only for Copeland to pick up the win and become the new TNA Champion.

Postmatch: As Copeland was celebrating his victory, Killswitch attacked him. Cage convinced him to forfeit his TNA Title shot, which he won earlier that night during the Battle Royal. Killswitch agreed and gave the title shot to Cage. The bell rang, and Cage hit Copeland with a spear for the pinfall victory. Cage was able to win his title back.

Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston in the Continental Classic 2023 Tournament Final

Winner: Eddie Kingston

One of the most anticipated matches of the night was Moxley vs. Kingston. The match was brutal, with both men attacking each other with non-traditional strikes. The move set for the entire match was very brutal and violent. The match ended with Kingston hitting Moxley with a spinning back fist for the win. As Kingston celebrated, Moxley embraced him before leaving. Kingston was left standing proud with all three belts.

MJF vs. Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship

Winner: Samoa Joe

The match was set up during the last episode of AEW Dynamite. Samoa Joe revealed that he was working for The Devil, which made MJF’s partner Adam Cole come out to the ring. The match seemed to favor Joe from the start with his hard knocks and brute strength. With MJF’s arm still injured, the match was in Joe’s corner. However, a surprise F5 on Joe by MJF startled the crowd. The match proved that both men were willing to go the distance and give it their all. Unfortunately, after a sleeper lock by Joe, MJF could not keep his hand up before the count of three. Joe walked away as the new AEW World Champion.

Postmatch: Once Joe left the ring, The Devil’s henchmen showed up. They attacked both Cole and MJF. Holding Cole back, they showered a beatdown on MJF. However, once the lights went off and came back on, The Devil turned out to be Cole with the henchmen being Wardlow, Roderick Strong, and The Kingdom.

What did you think of AEW Worlds End? Tell us in the comments.