Top Matches I Watched in December 2025

 Top Matches I Watched in December 2025

By Alex Kalil

What a month to end 2025 with! NJPW delivers some big matches, John Cena had his last match ever, ROH had a really good Final Battle. Meanwhile, AEW gave some of the best matches of the year with the C2 and World's End PPV including an easy 5 star match! 2025 is done but we still have more matches to talk about in 2026 before we wrap up the MOTY list.

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: The Knockout Brothers (c) vs. Shota Umino and Yuya Uemura at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2025: An exciting and hard hitting tag match. Things start off hot with all 4 men going right at it as Yuya and Ice pick up where they left off in their singles match with Yuya going after Ice's left arm. OSKAR is able to back up Ice this time though and helps cut off Yuya for the Knockout Brothers to get some heat on him. Shota gets tagged in eventually and runs wild to get his team back in the match before we get some nice back and forth action. The match again becomes about Yuya and Ice as they go at it. Yuya locks in a kimura and Ice fights to escape, even biting Yuya's leg! Yuya decides to go for the Deadbolt Suplex this time but Ice fires back with headbutts to block it, only for Yuya to lay in his own sickening headbutts! This is awesome! OSKAR and Shota come in to help their teammates but in the end, Yuya is hit with the KOB for the Knockout Brothers to retain. Great match from these two teams that had awesome chemistry together. Felt very much like a continuation of Yuya and Ice's match together but with Shota and OSKAR added in. Adds a nice element to the feud where Yuya can beat Ice on his own but not when Ice has his partner. ****1/4

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Yota Tsuji at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2025: Another intense and physical fight between these two. We get a slower start to the match this time with both men feeling each other out. Gabe picks up the pace first with a big dropkick and starts brawling with Tsuji. A nice touch though is Gabe skipping a top rope senton and instead nailing a powerbomb when Tsuji is trapped on the top rope. Gabe knows he is in a big match and can't risk making mistakes. However, Gabe does make a mistake as Tsuji avoids a dropkick in the corner and Gabe lands right on his neck! Tsuji takes over with his own strategy as he goes to work on the midsection and back of Gabe with gutbusters, backbreakers and even a Boston Crab from their Young Lion days. We get some nice selling by Gabe as he has to fight from underneath against Tsuji, who is looking more and more dominant as the match goes on. Gabe fires back as we get the usual awesome back and forth bombfest from these two and some new stuff like Tsuji hitting a Destroyer! Tsuji nails the Guerrero Special and looks for the Gene Blaster but Gabe catches him with a piledriver! What a spot! We get a nice double countout tease before the two men come up trading strikes ending with Tsuji avoiding a Lariat and nailing Gene Blaster! Cover and Gabe kicks out at 1! Another Gene Blaster and Tsuji locks in the Boston Crab! Gabe tries to fight to the ropes but his ribs and back have taken too much punishment and he has to tap! What a match! These two started off slow and built to an incredible back and forth battle with Tsuji able to use his size and power to weaken Gabe before ending things as they began with these two: The Young Lion Boston Crab. ****12

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita at NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2025: An incredible back and forth battle of the submission specialist vs. the powerhouse. We get a nice slow start with both men trying to gain the early edge. We can see that Sabre is the quicker and more skilled wrestler of the two while Takeshita is able to use his power to try and muscle Sabre to the mat. Early on Sabre starts to go after Takeshita's right arm to neutralize his powerful strikes and maybe take away some of his power advantage. Takeshita does a fantastic job of selling the arm while also gritting his teeth and utilizing the arm for his big bombardment of offense he throws at Sabre. Takeshita's strategy starts to pay off with a series of German Suplexes and nailing a big elbow that rocks Sabre. Takeshita goes for the Powerdrive Knee but Sabre catches it and rolls Takeshita into a submission and traps him!  Fucking Brilliant by Sabre! Takeshita has to drag himself and Sabre to the ropes to break the hold. We get some nice callbacks to their past matches like Takeshita going for a top rope Raging Fire but Sabre slips out and hits a sunset bomb and Takeshita blocking Sabre's European Clutch with a Crossface Chickenwing before Sabre breaks the hold by again going after the right arm. Some big back and forth strikes, offense and near-falls from both men until Takeshita removes his elbow pad and uncorks a huge elbow to drop Sabre! Sabre tries for a quick submission to cut off Takeshita but Takeshita just bombs Sabre with a German Suplex and a Poison Rana. Powerdrive Knee before Takeshita drops the knee pad and lands one final Powerdrive Knee! Cover and Takeshita is the new IWGP World Champion! Excellent pro wrestling all match! Loved that Sabre had his game plan and worked it to perfection as he destroyed Takeshita's powerful right arm all match but Takeshita was able to keep powering through and land big bombs before finally hitting Sabre with a big enough blow to keep him down for the cover and the win. ****1/2

Continental Classic 2025 Gold League Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kevin Knight at AEW Dynamite 12/3: A great match-up of power vs. speed. Things start off with some basic wrestling and holds but we can see early that Fletcher has a clear size and power advantage. Knight knows this and immediately starts pushing the pace and uses his quickness to even things up against Fletcher. Really enjoy Knight being so fantic and quick with his offense and that once he finds success with his Springboard Clothesline, he utilizes the move to cut off Fletcher multiple times. Fletcher is able to keep muscling Knight around at times and eventually tries for a Turnbuckle Brainbuster but Knight traps him in the Tree of Woe and nails the Coast to Coast Dropkick! UFO Splash but Fletcher gets the knees up! Fletcher hits a Liger Bomb but Knight still kicks out. Knight tries to rally and goes for a leaping clothesline but Fletcher catches him with a Superkick! Brainbuster by Fletcher and he gets the win. Awesome match that did an amazing job showcasing both men but especially Knight. Really loved that Knight is so young and inexperienced that he tried for the same combo he beat Darby with and kept spamming the same move when he found success with it. However, Fletcher is more experienced and was able to counter Knight at the right time to get the win. What a match! ****1/4  

Super Junior Tag League 2025 Block B Match: Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Taiji Ishimori and Robbie X at NJPW Super Junior Tag League 2025 Night 8: A very fun back and forth tag match. Things kick off with some nice exchanges and counter for counters from all 4 men before the Sweet Boys are able to take control thanks to their tag team experience. Ishimori and Robbie find a way to cut off the ring and isolate Fujita and go to work on his midsection for some nice heat. Fujita is able to fight back just enough to tag in Eagles who runs wild on both of the Bullet Club members for a bit. Last few minutes of the match is a wild back and forth of big tag team offense and some great near-falls. Robbie takes out Fujita on the floor and leaves Ishimori to lock Eagles in the Bone Lock. Eagles is able to fight to escape and we get a nice sequence from the two men in the ring. Eagles goes to the top for a 450 but Ishimori gets his knees up. Robbie off the top with the X Express and Ishimori hits the Bloody Cross on Eagles and gets the win. While lacking in a proper story to the match, this was just a great back and forth from two very talented teams. Lots of great counters and sequences and an exciting finishing stretch. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Blue League Match: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Collision 12/6: An awesome back and forth match from these two! Things start off nice and slow with both men trying for some mat wrestling and basic back and forth early. Moxley lands awkwardly at one point and starts favoring the ankle that Kyle O'Reilly had gone after for weeks and Takeshita goes right for it. Some great limb work by Takeshita while Moxley sells it perfectly as he frantically tries to fight back. Match spills out to the apron and Moxley creates an opening for himself by kicking at Takeshita's ankle and hitting a brutal Curb Stomp on the apron! This puts Moxley back in the fight as he tries to go after Takeshita's ankle as well and the match becomes back and forth for a bit with both men going at it. Takeshita is able to fight Moxley to the floor and hits a Blue Thunder Bomb onto the announce table! Takeshita looks for the count-out win but Moxley makes it back in the ring at 9, only for Takeshita to come off the top with a Frog Splash. Takeshita looks for the Powerdrive Knee but Moxley plays possum to sucker Takeshita into a roll-up for a near-fall. Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift but Takeshita gets his foot on the rope. So close! Moxley tries to stay on top of Takeshita but his ankle gives out on him, leaving him open for a Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita. Knee pad down and another Powerdrive Knee before a Raging Fire gives Takeshita the clean win! I loved this match! Moxley's injury coming in gave Takeshita an opening to attack and weaken Moxley, who was forced to fight from underneath all match. Some great back and forth action and just when it looked like Moxley was gonna rally to get the win, his body failed him and cost him the match. Some nice character stuff for Moxley while Takeshita continues to be dominant in the ring. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Gold League Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW Dynamite 12/10-Winter is Coming 2025: An incredible battle of speed vs. power! Match starts off with some nice back and forth wrestling with Bailey trying to use his speed to ground the bigger Fletcher early. We get a clear story of the match when Fletcher hits a pair of backbreakers on Bailey and goes to work on Bailey's back while Bailey looks for quick strikes and offense. Some really nice back and forth early with Bailey sticking and moving while Fletcher looks to just hammer Bailey with big bombs. Match spills to the floor and Bailey looks for a Moonsault Knee on the barricade but Fletcher stops him and slams him back first on the barricade! Bailey isn't dead yet though and keeps fighting back on Fletcher, even going for a Shooting Star Press but Fletcher gets his feet up. Last Ride by Fletcher but Bailey kicks out. Both men are exhausted as they exchange strikes but Bailey gets the better of it and lays out Fletcher with Time Adventure! 2 count! Bailey hits Ultimo Weapon but Fletcher still kicks out! Holy Shit! Fletcher rolls to the floor to recover and Bailey goes for Ultimo Weapon off the apron to the floor but Fletcher moves! Powerbomb on the apron and a Brainbuster in the ring for Fletcher! Cover and Bailey kicks out! What the fuck?! HOW?! Fletcher looks for the Turnbuckle Brainbuster as time is running out but Bailey slips out and the two exchange quick roll-ups and pin attempts. Bailey traps Fletcher's arms and legs in a prawn hold and gets the 3 with less than a minute left! What a goddamn match! A simple and easy to follow story of the bigger, stronger Fletcher competing against the speed and striking ability of Bailey. Amazing back and forth action all match with some insane near-falls before Bailey is able to out-wrestle Fletcher just long enough to get the pin. One of the best TV matches all year! ****1/2 

30 Minute Iron Man Match: Lee Moriarty vs. Nigel McGuinness at ROH Final Battle 2025: An excellent battle of technical wrestling from two of the best. Things start off slow with lots of grappling and mat wrestling before Moriarty gets Nigel in the Border City Stretch early on and Nigel taps almost immediately to save himself from further damage. Nigel is able to take over and starts going to work on Moriarty's left arm to set up for the London Dungeon. Match spills to the outside with Nigel keeping on Moriarty with lots of uppercuts and strikes but as Nigel rolls back into the ring, Moriarty catches him with a small package for a second fall! As before, Nigel goes right back to work on the arm and we get a bit of back and forth before Nigel locks in the London Dungeon. Moriarty tries to get to the ropes but can't and has to tap for Nigel's first fall. Nigel tries to go right back to the London Dungeon but Moritary is ready this time and quickly counters into a roll-up for a third fall. Nigel doesn't let this detour him as he keeps on Moriarty's arm with his offense. Some nice near-falls for both men as Nigel hits a beautiful and stiff Jawbreaker Lariat for 2. Moriarty rolls to the outside and a distraction by Shane Taylor allows him to lock Nigel in a sleeper to try for a count-out in a neat spot. Nigel beats the count and Moriarty goes for the Border City Stretch but this time, Nigel is able to counter it into a roll-up for his second fall. Time is running out as Shane Taylor tells Moriarty to run out the clock but Moriarty wants to keep fighting. Nigel scores a roll-up with a handful of tights to tie things up! Another roll-up by Nigel and he takes the lead with 4 falls! Shane Taylor decks Nigel with a punch to knock him out behind the referee's back and Moriarty gets the tying fall with a second left on the clock. It is a draw! Moriarty doesn't want a draw and we get sudden death! Both men go right at it with back and forth pin attempts to get the deciding fall. Moriarty counters a bridging pin into one of his own and gets the win! What a match! Awesome back and forth technical wrestling all match with some excellent storytelling mixed in. Nigel had control most of the match with his size, power and experience but Moriarty was able to pick his spots time and time again and counter at the right moments to get quick and decisive falls over Nigel. The final few minutes were a flurry of quick counters and pin attempts and worked so well. Great way to pass the torch to Moriarty. ****1/4

ROH Women's World Television Championship Match: Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Red Velvet at ROH Final Battle 2025: An exciting and fast paced fight from these two. Velvet jumps Mone before the bell and we start off hot with some back and forth action and quick roll-up attempts. Mone utilizes her knees in her offense with lots of Codebreakers and Meteoras while Velvet has this fired up nature to all her offense and comes across like she truly wants to punish Mone for beating her last time. Things pick up with both women nailing their finishing moves and big bombs like Mone going for a top rope Lung Blower but Velvet counters into an awesome looking Victory Roll for a near-fall. Mone gets frustrated at Velvet staying in the match before finally locking in the Statement Maker. Velvet fights her way to the ropes but just as Mone tries to push off to roll her back to the center of the ring, Velvet pushes off the ropes herself and rolls up Mone for the cover and the 3! What an upset! Velvet reclaims her TV title! While a short match, these two worked at a great pace and made every move and strike look personal and heated. Velvet looked her best ever as she swung for the fences to try and beat the near unbeatable Mone and, in the end, was able to counter her just long enough for the 3. Awesome stuff! ****

Survival of the Fittest Match for the ROH World Championship: Bandido (c) vs. Hechicero vs. Blake Christian vs. Komander vs. Sammy Guevara vs. The Beast Mortos at ROH Final Battle 2025: An exciting and action filled match with some good storytelling mixed in. Things kick off right away with the LFI teammates working together with Hechicero to take control early on. Some fun spots like Blake trying to work with his fellow heels, Bandido and Komander working as a team to fight back and eventually LFI turning on Hechicero and laying him out. All great stuff to set up stuff for later in the match. Bandido and Komander are able to work together and eliminate Sammy first with an X-Knee/Cielito Lindo combo. Mortos is pissed about his teammate's elimination and starts laying out everyone until Komander catches him with an insane Springboard Reverse Rana! German Suplex by Bandido and a Destroyer by Blake before Hechicero hits a Head Scissor Driver on Mortos for the elimination. Komander and Bandido team up to work over Hechicero until Blake takes out all 3 men. Blake hits a Lethal Injection on Komander to give us another elimination. Nice moment of Blake teasing working with Hechicero before attacking him from behind and all 3 men go at it for a bit. Lots of back and forth action and near-falls before Bandido gets a quick sunset flip pin on Blake to eliminate him. Blake is pissed and attacks Bandido before snapping his bad shoulder. With it down to just Hechicero and Bandido, Hechicero goes right after the bad shoulder and works over Bandido. Awesome selling and babyface comeback by Bandido, who digs deep to keep fighting off Hechicero and his attacks on the arm. Finish comes when Bandido is able to counter Hechicero with a Reverse Rana and small packages him for the 3 and the final elimination. Really great match that allowed everyone involved to shine. Bandido/Hechicero at the end went maybe a little long but nicely played into their past matches while Blake got to be a sneaky heel, Komander the high flying babyface and LFI the bully heels. Great stuff from everyone involved. ****1/4

John Cena vs. Gunther at WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 12/13: A pretty awesome finale to the career of John Cena. Lock-up to start and some stalling from Gunther before he goes to work on Cena by just chopping and stomping away on him. Cena fires up and starts a comeback and even looks for the AA and STF early but Gunther is able to fight it off. Match becomes a classic Cena match with Gunther being a beast and using his size and power to manhandle Cena, while Cena fights back time and time again and looks for his own big offense. Even though Cena fights back, nothing seems to keep Gunther down. AA, STF, AA through the announcer's table and even a top rope AA doesn't get the job done. Gunther can't seem to keep Cena down either with a powerbomb or top rope splash but is able to lock in a sleeper and starts to wear Cena down. Cena keeps fighting up to his feet and even hits an AA to break the hold but Gunther keeps locking the sleeper back in. The referee checks Cena's arm and it drops twice but not thrice! Cena will not give up! Elbows by Gunther and the sleeper is back in deep! For the past 20 plus years, Cena has fought back against the odds and never gave up. But tonight it seemed like Gunther is just too much for Cena. His time is truly up.  With a smile of peace and acceptance on his face, John Cena finally gives up. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Blue League Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Collision 12/13-Winter is Coming 2025: A hard hitting and physical fight from these two. We start off with some basic back and forth as these two look evenly matched in terms of power and get some early standoffs. A little storytelling early on with Claudio working the back and Takeshita nicely selling it while still trying to hammer away and nail some big bombs. Things pick up as both men go for counter for counter. Claudio blocks a Powerdrive Knee into a Giant Swing and a Sharpshooter. Claudio goes for the Neutralizer but Takeshita blocks and hits a Bastard Driver into Wheelbarrow German before nailing a Hidden Blade! Kickout by Claudio! Takeshita looks for the Powerdrive Knee again but Claudio counters again with a Swiss Death this time! Both men are slugging it out and the fight spills to the floor. Takeshita lays out Claudio and tries to steal a count-out win but Claudio makes it back in the ring at 9.t But Takeshita is there with a Powerdrive Knee! Kickout! Takeshita looks for Raging Fire but Claudio counters it into the Neutralizer! Takeshita kicks out! The bell rings and we get a time limit draw! Great stuff by both men. The slow start was nice as we were able to build to a pretty wild and engaging back and forth. Some exciting near-falls down the stretch before time ran out with neither man able to put the other away. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Gold League Match: "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Kevin Knight at AEW Collision 12/13-Winter is Coming 2025: A super exciting back and forth match between two teammates. We get some quick exchanges early on with both men knowing each other and able to counter a lot of what the other throws at them. The match is all fast paced action with tons of counters and exchanges as both men look for that one big shot. Great callback with Knight yet again hitting the Coast to Coast Dropkick and looks for the follow-up UFO Splash but Bailey gets his knees up! Bailey lands a series of kicks and goes for Ultimo Weapon but Knight moves and goes for a cradle! Kickout! Bailey tries for a prawn hold like how he beat Fletcher but Knight kicks out! Bailey gets Knight in the corner and nails the Flamingo Driver to get the win! Just an awesome bell to bell action filled match. Really loved all the counters these two were able to pull off together and both men trying to for tactics and moves that got them wins in the tournament already to try for the win here. ****

IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship Match: Yota Tsuji (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi-Final Homecoming: A really good match between the old Ace and the next Ace. From the start of the match, we can see that Tsuji has the power, size and even speed advantage and uses them to work over Tanahashi's back. Tanahashi has the experience advantage though and nicely goes after Tsuji's legs with some Dragon Screws to slow him down. Tsuji fights back by going back to Tanahashi's back with a Boston Crab for a near submission win. The bigger bombs start coming as Tanahashi goes to the top and nails a pair of High Fly Flows but misses the last one. Tsuji starts firing back and even goes to the top for his own High Fly Flow but Tanahashi rolls out the way and hits his own Gene Blaster! More back and forth action but it becomes clear that Tanahashi doesn't have the power to put away Tsuji. Tanahashi counters a Gene Blaster with a small package for a super close near-fall. A Nakamura Landslide by Tanahashi and he goes for one last High Fly Flow but Tsuji gets his knees up. Tsuji finally hits the Gene Blaster and is able to defeat the Ace at last. Really good stuff all match. Lots of back and forth action and I loved both men using each other's offense to try and get the win. Tanahashi was able to roll back the clock to take Tsuji to his limits but was unable to put him away. ****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Hirooki Goto at NJPW Hiroshi Tanahashi-Final Homecoming: A good hard hitting fight from these two. We get some nice opening exchanges as both men test the waters of the other. Really nice storytelling all match with Takeshita being the younger but equally powerful man while Goto is the battle tested veteran. Takeshita is able to stay on top of Goto most of the match but Goto is able to strike at the right moments to cut off Takeshita and take over with his own big offense. Some really great near-falls with Goto breaking out everything he can think of to get the win: GTR Kai, Shouten and even Kaiten but Takeshita keeps kicking out and fighting back. Goto finally is able to hit the GTR but Takeshita still kicks out! Goto goes back to the well once too often and Takeshita counters with a Poison Rana and a big Last Ride! Goto goes down swinging though as he tries to fight back, only to be hit with a Powerdrive Knee and a Raging Fire to give Takeshita the win. While simple in terms of storytelling, this match still worked. The old guard in Goto fought like hell to defend New Japan from the "outsider" Takeshita but just couldn't withstand the onslaught from the Alpha. Lots of amazing back and forth action, counters and near-falls before Takeshita gets the win to solidize him at the top of New Japan. **** 

Continental Classic 2025 Blue League Match: Orange Cassidy vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW Dynamite 12/24-Dynamite on 34th Street 2025: An exciting and well done match from these two. Right at the opening, Cassidy goes for some quick roll-ups looking to steal a win over Takeshita. Cassidy knows he can't take Takeshita in a straight up match and needs to try and catch him off guard. Takeshita is able to cut off Cassidy and works over his back with his strikes and big offense. Cassidy does a great job of finding hope spots with some DDTs and quick counters but Takeshita keeps taking back over with his size and power. Takeshita looks for a Bret's rope Raging Fire but Cassidy counters with a huge Stundog Millionaire and a DDT on the floor to rock Takeshita. Cassidy has the advantage and tries to put Takeshita away but Cassidy's big offense just isn't getting the job done.  An Orange Punch knocks Takeshita over the guardrail and Cassidy looks for the count-out but Takeshita beats the count at 9. Cassidy goes back to looking for a quick roll-up but again, Takeshita is still too strong and is able to just muscle Cassidy up out of a small package and into a Raging Fire for the win. Great stuff from these two! Really enjoyed Cassidy knowing that he was the underdog and trying to find clever ways to still get the win over Takeshita, who just looked near unstoppable here. Very exciting final few minutes where you think Cassidy is going to pull off the upset but Takeshita proved to still be the Alpha. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Gold League Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Jack Perry at AEW Collision 12/25-Christmas Collision 2025: A really good back and forth match from these two. Some good opening exchanges from both men with Fletcher having the size and power advantage so Perry has to use his speed and quickness to try and fight back. Fletcher goes after Perry's bad ankle early on to slow him down and we get the story of the match. Great selling by Perry, who tries to fight back on one leg against Fletcher who just hammers Perry and goes back to the ankle every time Perry starts to gain some momentum. Some brutal targeted offense by Fletcher including trapping Perry's ankle in the ring steps and even taking Perry's boot off to get at the ankle more. Perry starts to make a comeback on Fletcher and goes for a running knee but Fletcher catches the leg and locks Perry in a Half Crab. Fletcher stomps on Perry's head to try and get the submission but Perry catches Fletcher's leg and counters into a Snare Trap! What a counter! Fletcher is just barely able to reach the ropes as time starts to run out. Both men push the pace and start going for quick pins and big bombs to get the win. Perry makes the mistake of going to the top and Fletcher is able to kick Perry's legs out from under him.  Brainbuster by Fletcher gives him the win with less than a minute to go. What a match! Fletcher immediately picked a body part to work over and kept going back to it every time Perry tried for a comeback. Great selling by Perry, who fought through all the pain to try for the big upset but in the end, his hurt ankle cost him the match and Fletcher advanced in the C2. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Gold League Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey at AEW Collision 12/25-Christmas Collision 2025: A very good rematch from these two. We get the standard early exchanges before both men settle on their strategies for the match: Okada wants to work over Bailey's neck while Bailey looks for quick strikes and offense. Lots of good back and forth action and counters from both men. Okada looks to end things early with a Rainmaker but Bailey has it scouted this time and is able to counter and block it. Bailey pushes the pace with his high flying offense but Okada is able to work a smarter match to keep cutting off Bailey. Awesome spot with Okada knocking Bailey off the top, only for Bailey to keep fighting his way back up, rocking Okada with a headbutt and nailing a top rope Hurricanrana. Bailey knows he needs to push himself to beat Okada! Bailey nails Ultimo Weapon but Okada rolls to the floor to avoid the cover! Okada tries to fight back but Bailey rocks him with strikes and hits Ultimo Weapon again but Okada kicks out! Bailey looks for the Flamingo Driver but Okada rolls through into a roll-up for a near-fall. Rainmaker attempted but Bailey is able to keep blocking it and counters with his Prawn Hold pin! Okada sits down on the pin into his own pin and gets the 3! Okada advances! Really good stuff with Bailey fighting back hard to not lose to Okada again and doing an amazing job of blocking the Rainmaker all match to give himself a chance to win. Bailey did just about everything he could to get the win but Okada was just a step ahead of him and countered at the right time to get the win. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Semi-Final Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita at AEW World's End 2025: A fantastic story and action-filled match! We start off with both men feeling each other out but very quickly we see the story of the match play out: Okada wants to keep things steady and in his wheelhouse while Takeshita wants to push the pace and hammer Okada into defeat. Some really nice early exchanges highlight this as Okada goes after the neck to set up the Rainmaker and even gets a little cocky doing it, which only serves to piss off Takeshita. We start getting the bigger bombs as Takeshita counters a Tombstone into a Bastard Driver/Wheelbarrow German Suplex combo. Powerdrive Knee is blocked as Okada counters with a Cobra Flowson. Rainmaker attempted but Takeshita counters with a beautiful Blue Thunder Bomb! Holy Shit! More back and forth counters as Okada looks desperate to hit the Rainmaker but Takeshita is able to keep avoiding it. Powerdrive Knee by Takeshita but Okada kicks out! Okada blocks a Raging Fire and goes to the corner and takes a screwdriver from under the turnbuckle! Referee gets distracted in the corner and Okada nails Takeshita with the screwdriver to steal the win! This match was an excellent set-up for a rematch between these two. Incredible back and forth and near perfect chemistry but more than that was the story being told. Okada was outclassed by Takeshita almost all match to the point where he had to cheat to get the win. Can't wait to see what these two pull off next time. ****1/4

Continental Classic 2025 Semi-Final Match: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher at AEW World's End 2025: A masterpiece of pro wrestling while also doing a babyface turn in the match. Fletcher looks to stall early on but Moxley makes him pay as he takes the fight to him on the outside. Fletcher goes after Moxley's bad leg though and turns the match around, even trapping the leg between the ring steps and kicking it. Moxley is now fighting on one good leg and Fletcher is not letting up. Some nice submission work by Fletcher to work the leg but Moxley keeps fighting back and hitting desperation offense to buy time. Moxley tries for a stomp on the apron but Fletcher avoids it and nails a Brainbuster on the apron! Fletcher looks for the count-out but Moxley rolls back in at 9 to stay in the match! Liger Bomb still only gets 2 but Fletcher goes right into a Half Crab and really torques on the leg. Moxley is able to fight out of the hold and gets in the Bulldog Choke to a huge pop from the crowd! Fletcher fights as well and reverses to lock in an Ankle Lock! Moxley starts to panic! He has tapped out to this hold before! But this time Moxley isn't giving up! He is fighting to the ropes as the crowd gets behind him and erupts in cheers as Moxley gets to the ropes! Fletcher is furious and stomps at Moxley and looks for the Turnbuckle Brainbuster. Moxley is still fighting back though as he gets behind Fletcher and hits a nasty Sleeper Suplex from the top that drops Fletcher onto the back of his head! Jesus! Stomp by Moxley but only a 2 as Fletcher rolls back into a crucifix pin for his own 2 count. Fletcher comes back with a Half and Half Suplex and a knee but only gets a 1 count! Brainbuster by Fletcher and still only 2! Moxley will not die! Fletcher goes to the turnbuckle and looks for something. He is looking for the screwdriver that Okada took in the last match! Moxley catches Fletcher in a small package but he kicks out. Paradigm Shift! 2 count! Moxley finally hits the Death Rider but that only gets 2! What is it gonna take?! Sleeper by Moxley locked in! Fletcher is trying to fight out of it but Moxley is holding on tight and won't let go. Fletcher passes out and the referee calls it! Moxley is going to the C2 Finals! Holy Fuck! What a match! Fletcher beat the hell out of a wounded Moxley for most of the match but Moxley wouldn't stop fighting back. Even when trapped in the same submission that made him tap out in the past, Moxley kept fighting to win and the crowd got more and more behind him as the match went on. Incredible action and near-falls but the story of Moxley fighting to redeem himself in the ring was something special to see. ***** 

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd at AEW World's End 2025: A really good fiery fight from these two. Darby jumps Gabe before the bell and here we go! These two go at it with a great heated energy to their strikes and offense as the match spills to the floor and they brawl around ringside. Gabe throws Darby into the timekeeper's area and catapults him face first into the ring steps to bust open Darby and take over the match. Gabe takes his time just throwing Darby around the ring and punishing him. Gabe goes to use a chair but Darby ducks it and dropkicks it into Gabe's face to bust him open. Just a physical match as these two punch, bite and claw each other to try and get the win. Darby fights Gabe off the top with a Code Red and hits a Coffin Drop but Gabe rolls to the floor. Darby hits a Coffin Drop from the top rope to the floor on Gabe! Jesus! Darby gets Gabe in the ring but only gets 2. Scorpion Death Drop by Darby for another 2 and he locks in the Scorpion Death Lock! Darby tries to sit back but the punishment and blood loss is too much and he collapses. Gabe takes advantage and nails a Piledriver for only 2! Sleeper by Gabe but Darby rolls back for a cover and gets the win! I loved this! A brutal and violent double juice fight between two insane wrestlers that will do anything to punish their opponent including hurting themselves. Darby being too exhausted to get the win with the Scorpion Death Lock was very clever. I also enjoyed that after all the crazy punishment, a simple wrestling counter was what it took to get the win. ****

Continental Classic 2025 Final Match for the AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Jon Moxley at AEW World's End 2025: A good match of the dominant tournament wrestler vs. the hurt brawling underdog. From the opening bell, Okada is in control as he goes right after Moxley's injured leg and looks to work it over. Lots of submissions and targeted strikes to take Moxley off his feet and give him no base for his own strikes and offense. Moxley does a nice job trying to fight back despite the pain but Okada gives him no room to breathe as he keeps going after the leg. Great spot with Okada locking Moxley in a Figure Four and Moxley headbutting his way out of the hold. Perfect representation of the wrestler vs. brawler story of the match. Okada starts to string together his trademark offense but Moxley keeps fighting back. Okada switches things up and utilizes a Tanahashi Dragon Screw and Texas Cloverleaf to keep the pressure on Moxley's bad leg, but Moxley is able to fire back with a Gotch-Style Piledriver for a 2 count. Moxley looks for the Paradigm Shift but Okada backs him into the referee, who covers up. Low blow by Okada! Rainmaker! Moxley kicks out at 2! Okada tries to use the belt but the referee stops him, which allows Moxley to low blow Okada right back! The two men get to their feet and start trading blows and counters as both look for the finishing blow. Okada gains wrist control and looks for the Rainmaker but Moxley kicks it away and hits the Paradigm Shift. 2 count. Moxley hits a Rainmaker of his own and a second Paradigm Shift! Okada kicks out at 1! Stomp by Moxley and a Death Rider finally ends it as Moxley wins the C2! What a finale to the tournament. The slower start did take it down a notch but worked as Okada was going after Moxley's leg. Moxley's babyface comeback was fantastic and the crowd really got behind him. Some great false finishes before Moxley was able to put down Okada to get the win. ****

Four Way Match for the AEW World Championship: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF at AEW World's End 2025: An exciting and fast paced, action filled multi-man match. Things start off hot with all 4 men going right at it. We get some nice storytelling mixed into the action with Joe being a monster heel, MJF the opportunistic heel and Page and Swerve working together at the start. We do get a great sequence of Page and Swerve going at it to play off their past feud nicely like both knowing how to counter the other and Swerve even hitting Page with a Dead Eye. Everyone stays involved in the match for the most part and we see everyone going for finishers early to get the quick win but they are countered or the pins broken up to keep the energy of the match high. Nice spot of both MJF and Joe locking Page and Swerve respectively in submissions but MJF breaks his hold to stop Joe, only to get caught in the choke and saved by a Swerve House Call to break it up. The Opps come out to help out Joe but Shibata and Hobbs are taken out by a Swerve Stomp to the outside! Hook distracts Page long enough for Joe to get the choke on but again, Swerve is there to break it up with a Swerve Stomp on Joe! Swerve looks to finish off Joe but MJF pushes Swerve off the top to the floor. Page comes in and rocks Joe with a pair of Buckshot Lariats. Page looks for the third and final blow but MJF pushes Joe out of the way. Low blow to Page! MJF hits Joe with the Heatseeker and wins the AEW title for the second time! A very fun match. Lots of great callbacks to past matches and feuds from all 4 of the men involved and some really great action. MJF is able to bide his time and steal the win out from underneath the other 3 men and reclaim the AEW title. ****

AEW TBS Championship Match: Mercedes Mone (c) vs. Willow Nightingale at AEW Dynamite 12/31-New Year's Smash 2025: A really good back and forth match from these two. Mone starts off hot by going after Willow's legs and taking the match to the outside. Mone misses with a Meteora into the barricade and Willow Pounces the hell out of her! Great storytelling in just the opening minutes: Mone is the better technical wrestler but is shaken by the recent losses and is working at a more frantic pace while Willow is still a powerhouse in the ring. We get some really good back and forth action with Mone trying to chip away at Willow, who is looking to throw bombs. Willow nails the Babe with the Powerbomb but Mone gets a foot on the ropes. Willow misses a Moonsault but Mone's follow-up Frog Splash is blocked by Willow getting her knees up. Match spills back out to the floor as Mone hits the Three Amigos with the last one being on the announce table. Mone looks for the count-out but Willow beats the count at 9. Mone is pissed and lays in some elbows before locking in the Statement Maker but Willow is able to fight to the ropes. We get a really exciting back and forth, counter for counter finishing sequence as both women look for their finishing move. In the end, power wins as Willow blocks a roll-up and lefts Mone to hit the Babe with the Powerbomb to get the win! Really fun match with an easy to follow story. Finishing stretch was great as it looked like at any moment we could see the finish before Willow got the huge upset win. ****