{"id":171533,"date":"2024-01-03T11:50:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-03T17:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=171533"},"modified":"2024-01-03T13:00:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T19:00:53","slug":"aew-worlds-end-hits-misses-12-30-devil-reveal-christian-vs-copeland-mjf-vs-samoa-joe-kingston-vs-moxley-sting-darby-jericho-guevara-vs-starks-bill-takeshita-hobbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/01\/03\/aew-worlds-end-hits-misses-12-30-devil-reveal-christian-vs-copeland-mjf-vs-samoa-joe-kingston-vs-moxley-sting-darby-jericho-guevara-vs-starks-bill-takeshita-hobbs\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW WORLDS END HITS &#038; MISSES (12\/30): Devil reveal, Christian vs. Copeland, MJF vs. Samoa Joe, Kingston vs. Moxley, Sting &#038; Darby &#038; Jericho &#038; Guevara vs. Starks &#038; Bill &#038; Takeshita &#038; Hobbs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1998851001\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><h3>HITS<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Bryan Danielson &amp; Claudio Castagnoli &amp; Mark Briscoe &amp; Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King &amp; Jay White &amp; Rush &amp; Jay Lethal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was a good, fun opener. Typically I don\u2019t want a match thrown together at the last minute with no real build put onto a PPV but this worked well because it involved almost all of the participants of the Continental Classic and helped cap off some of the fall out of the tournament. It feels like Garcia will be getting some sort of push coming out of the tournament and that there has to be something to Lethal losing every match in the tournament and taking the fall in the \u201cSuperstar 8-man Tag.\u201d Call me crazy but I\u2019m actually more intrigued with the Lethal fall out rather than the Garcia push but I\u2019m still curious to see where each go from here. The biggest question mark will hang over White though because he\u2019s a major talent that finally seemed to be getting used more properly in the months previous to the C2.<\/p>\n<p>Toni Storm vs. Riho (AEW Women\u2019s Title): A well worked match here. Riho has hit Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega status in that I don\u2019t know that you can have a bad match with her. Save the complaints on the comparison; I simply mean that I\u2019ve never seen anyone have a bad match with Riho much like it\u2019s very rare to see the same in those that have matches with Danielson and Omega. I still continue to get a kick out of the \u201cTimeless\u201d character and am very into the story that they\u2019re building with Toni and Mariah May. I guess we\u2019ll find out soon if Riho is planning on sticking around this time or was simply brought in as another \u201cone off\u201d for Toni to just get a win over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland &#8211; TNT Title match<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This match really jumpstarted this PPV and was a much needed boost to the show. Christian and Copeland had a hell of a brawl and was able to breath a lot of life back into the show. While the spot with lighting the table on fire was botched a bit, I still think it was a great match and was probably the match of the evening. I also loved the finish and immediate rematch (and not because I predicted it three hours ahead of time on Twitter\/X, which you should follow me on, details at the bottom). It wasn\u2019t time for Christian to drop the TNT Title yet but Copeland couldn\u2019t lose this match to Christian after losing to him just a few weeks ago. The \u201ccash in\u201d helped keep both of those things intact. The other thing at play here is Christian\u2019s story with Killswitch (the former Luchasaurus). Christian\u2019s had a hold on Killswitch for months and months now and I\u2019m curious to see, ultimately, what the reason is for that and what Christian needs to constantly remind Killswitch about secretly. I\u2019m wondering how the trilogy (it\u2019s technically four matches, I know) to this will be capped off. I could see a cage or whatever AEW wants to call its version of TLC as the way to cap off this feud.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley &#8211; Continental Crown<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was a good, hard hitting match that further helped to turn this show around from its odd start. Also important is that the right guy was chosen to win considering the story that was told. The Continental Crown win would\u2019ve not done much for Moxley but helps to further legitimize Kingston. This probably isn\u2019t the way I would\u2019ve gone at the start of the tournament but considering the stories that were told I was happy with its conclusion and its winner. My original choice of Swerve Strickland being the winner also seems to be on a trajectory for bigger and better things so, again, I\u2019m pretty content with where this landed and I hope the Continental Crown will be treated with respect. Having said that, it\u2019s gonna be tough considering how many titles already exist in AEW (and it\u2019s extended ROH universe).<\/p>\n<p><strong>MJF vs. Samoa Joe (AEW Title)<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2060479253\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The first thing worth noting is that MJF had a very good title run. It\u2019s always interesting to see a big title run where someone starts as a heel and ends it as a big babyface (or even vice versa; see CM Punk\u2019s 434 day WWE Title run). It\u2019s also been reported that MJF has been working for months now in a lot of pain so kudos to him for gutting that out and putting over a new champion cleanly. It\u2019ll be fun to see what a Samoa Joe world title run will look like in AEW. I could see him holding the title for 6 months. I could also see him holding it for 2-3 weeks. The match itself was very good and the finish was shocking to a lot of people based on the reaction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Devil reveal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This seems to be a polarizing decision but I\u2019m happy with the reveal. The most obvious choice is sometimes the right choice and I\u2019m happy that it wasn\u2019t a surprise or \u201cout of left field\u201d option just for the sake of shock value. Adam Cole does his best work as a series heel and I believe that along with Roderick Strong, Wardlow, and The Kingdom this group could be a blast to watch in the coming weeks and months. However, I do agree with Sean Radican that some of the dots don\u2019t connect when leading up to this. Part of that I think is Cole\u2019s injury throwing a wrench into things. Another part is the trigger on this should\u2019ve probably been pulled at All In. There\u2019s also other factors that make the dots not connect. Having said that, if anyone can cut a promo to make things work it\u2019s Adam Cole. Perhaps they\u2019ll lean into that Cole wanted the title for himself in time but had to get the title off of MJF as his (seemingly in storyline) contract was up with AEW. Cole did fumble around looking for the Dynamite Diamond Ring and gave Joe time to recover ultimately costing MJF the title; let\u2019s not forget that. I\u2019m happy with the reveal and am definitely optimistic while I am in \u201cwait and see mode.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Show<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The show grades out for me as a minor hit. This ultimately was a three match show and those matches happened to be the final three on the show. The first half of this show felt like a fever dream. There were matches where I didn\u2019t know who I was supposed to be rooting for, odd booking for one of AEW\u2019s rising young stars, and subpar in-ring action compared to what I\u2019m used to seeing in AEW (read more about this below). The fact that this was really a three match show also means it would\u2019ve also been a better idea to spread those three matches throughout the show to take the live crowd on a bit of a ride. Personally, I\u2019d have opened up with the Continental Crown match since this show had the finals to the tournament that lead into it. WWE will, at times, put a title match on to open the show and bookend the show with both world titles. That could\u2019ve worked here for the C2 Final. The show was also very newsworthy with the AEW Title change and Adam Cole being revealed as the devil. This was certainly the weakest AEW PPV to end the year but it was largely saved by the final three matches including the main event match and angle. A main event can sometimes save a show. In this case, the big three matches did just that. Overall grade: B-<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>MISSES<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I guess it\u2019s fair to start by saying that there was nothing wrong with the ring work in this match. Both guys worked really hard and it was hard hitting at times. Having said that, who were we supposed to be rooting for in this match? Neither man had been set up as face or heel coming in. A heel vs. heel match almost never works and a face vs. face match can work. But, when neither has been quite defined it doesn\u2019t work at all either. Since it\u2019s been confirmed that Andrade is now gone from AEW, I suppose it\u2019s best to just put CJ Perry back with Miro. But even that felt like it was up in the air at the end as they didn\u2019t leave together and Miro still didn\u2019t look happy despite CJ, seemingly, throwing her support back behind him. When all is said and done, it\u2019s for the best to just have them back together and I\u2019m curious to see where they go from here. It\u2019s just a shame that the story really didn\u2019t hook me like I\u2019d hoped it would the past few months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Swerve Stickland vs. Dustin Rhodes<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1040988237\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>To me, this was the most baffling booking of the evening. There were three ways this could\u2019ve gone that were better than what actually happened. The first way was simply having Dustin too injured to compete. The crowd was into the attack in a huge way and it felt like that was more than enough for this part of the show. The second way was having Dustin still compete but be squashed immediately. The third way was to have just a straight up match with no pre-match attack. At least with this the length of the match would\u2019ve made sense with Swerve dominating most of the match. This match, as it was constructed with the pre-match attack went about 7 minutes too long. However, for a man that was perceived to have a shattered ankle going nearly 10 minutes with a rising, majorly over wrestler like Swerve was simply incredulous. Swerve, on paper, is still a heel but is receiving 1996-97 Steve Austin type reactions in that he can pretty much do whatever he wants to right now and still get babyface cheers. There\u2019s nothing wrong with that for the time being but sooner or later the full face turn will have to occur.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sting &amp; Darby Allin &amp; Chris Jericho &amp; Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks &amp; Big Bill &amp; Powerhouse Hobbs &amp; Konosuke Takeshita<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First things first, how was this match not promoted as Sting\u2019s final match in the New York market? I suppose there\u2019s a chance they swing through the area again sometime in the next few months but I haven\u2019t seen anything on the calendar for that yet. That aside, this match felt clunky and wasn\u2019t very well worked considering the eight involved. It was also marred by the crowd really laying into Jericho with the 2019 allegations from Kylie Rae resurfacing earlier in the day. It doesn\u2019t seem as though the booking was changed and it looks like we\u2019ll be getting Jericho and Guevara challenging for the tag titles in the near future. With the allegations levied against Jericho and the reaction of both the crowd and media being what it is I\u2019m curious to see if the course going forward will take a detour.<\/p>\n<p>Julia Hart vs. Abadon (TBS Title): I\u2019ll start by saying I think there is a spot for Abadon on the roster and the character has evolved since the first time we\u2019ve seen it on AEW TV way back when. But, this match wasn\u2019t strong and Julia Hart, while much improved, is not yet ready to carry a match yet at her age and experience level. The crowd humored itself with some \u201cthis is spooky\u201d chants but the result never felt like it was in doubt and there wasn\u2019t much heat for it. Hart has come a long way but this match could\u2019ve easily been one that was on any of AEW\u2019s three TV shows.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Tony Donofrio is a Contributor for PWTorch.com. Follow Tony on Twitter\/X and Threads @TonyDonofrio.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>RECOMMENDED NEXT:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2023\/12\/30\/leclairs-aew-worlds-end-2023-report-alt-perpsective-detailed-coverage-of-mjf-vs-samoa-joe-moxley-vs-kingston-cage-vs-copeland-more\/\">LECLAIR\u2019S AEW WORLD\u2019S END 2023 REPORT: Alt perpsective, detailed coverage of MJF vs. Samoa Joe, Moxley vs. Kingston, Cage vs. Copeland, more<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/prowrestling.net\/site\/2024\/01\/03\/aew-worlds-end-poll-results-for-best-match-and-overall-grade\/\">AEW Worlds End poll results for best match and overall grade<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-meta\">\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2018693760\"><div id=\"pwtor-1760993964\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>HITS Bryan Danielson &amp; Claudio Castagnoli &amp; Mark Briscoe &amp; Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King &amp; Jay White &amp; Rush &amp; Jay Lethal This was a good, fun opener. Typically I don\u2019t want a match <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2024\/01\/03\/aew-worlds-end-hits-misses-12-30-devil-reveal-christian-vs-copeland-mjf-vs-samoa-joe-kingston-vs-moxley-sting-darby-jericho-guevara-vs-starks-bill-takeshita-hobbs\/\" title=\"AEW WORLDS END HITS &#038; MISSES (12\/30): Devil reveal, Christian vs. Copeland, MJF vs. Samoa Joe, Kingston vs. Moxley, Sting &#038; Darby &#038; Jericho &#038; Guevara vs. Starks &#038; Bill &#038; Takeshita &#038; Hobbs\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2023\/12\/Screenshot-2023-12-29-at-8.52.15\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171534,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171533\/revisions\/171534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}