{"id":209416,"date":"2025-12-29T13:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=209416"},"modified":"2025-12-29T13:03:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:03:57","slug":"aew-top-matches-of-the-week-fletcher-vs-moxley-of-course-but-what-other-two-matches-made-the-list-plus-mjfs-hair-statlanders-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/12\/29\/aew-top-matches-of-the-week-fletcher-vs-moxley-of-course-but-what-other-two-matches-made-the-list-plus-mjfs-hair-statlanders-future\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW TOP MATCHES OF THE WEEK: Fletcher vs. Moxley of course, but what other two matches made the list, plus MJF&#8217;s hair, Statlander&#8217;s future"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-310149365\" 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><p>What a great way to end the year with another week of fantastic wrestling by AEW. I really enjoyed Dynamite and Collision this week and I thought World\u2019s End was a solid PPV bookended by two fantastic opening matches and a great 4-way for the AEW World Title.<\/p>\n<p>AEW made the right choice by putting the World Title on MJF and I would make this a long title run. I think people forget that the first half of MJF\u2019s title run was fantastic and it really didn\u2019t go off the rails until the devil story overtook everything MJF was doing. I\u2019m hoping that Swerve having the promo time against MJF this week on Dynamite means that they are angling for a Swerve-MJF feud right out of the gate.<\/p>\n<p>I had an opportunity to co-host the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wrestling-night-in-america-aew-worlds-end-post-show-leclair-halley-discuss-continental-classic-conclusion-joe-mjf-swerve-hangman-more--69226527\">AEW World\u2019s End PWTorch Post-show with Brandon LeClair<\/a> on Saturday night. It was Brandon\u2019s last show, so I was appreciative of him offering me the spot to co-host with him. I have been a fan of his for a while, so it was a lot of fun to be able to finally talk wrestling with him. Thanks Brandon, for all you\u2019ve done for the Torch over all these years.\u00a0 Shout out to all these hosts at PWTorch who are on these AEW PPV post-shows. To say I was exhausted by the time we were done with recording at 2:00 a.m. was an understatement. Well worth it, though, and I\u2019m hoping to be a co-host on more of these shows in the future.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita \u2013 AEW Worlds End 12\/27\/25<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I thought the hype video before this match was fantastic, and I thought AEW did a great job with all the hype packages for the matches for this PPV. I was a huge fan of Takeshita\u2019s robe when he came out. I\u2019m not sure if that was a new one or if he\u2019s worn that before, but I thought it was beautiful.<\/p>\n<p>I was pumped for this match, but I knew this was probably the first of a few we may be getting from these two over the next year, so I was trying to temper my expectations going into it. It wasn\u2019t the absolute battle I thought this was going to be, but I still really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n<p>I loved Okada going for the handshake to start the match. Just such an asshole move to do that after the way Okada has treated Takeshita the last year and I\u2019m happy Takeshita didn\u2019t take the bait. I loved Okada\u2019s facial expressions throughout this match as well. Takeshita absolutely ate a clothesline from Okada during the match and when Takeshita kicked out the look of worry on Okada\u2019s face was great.<\/p>\n<p>These two also had a sequence where Takeshita hit Okada with a German Suplex, then Okada tried to hit Takeshita with a rainmaker and Takeshita reversed it into a Blue Thunder Bomb. It was just a fantastic sequence. There was also another sequence when Takeshita hit Okada with a reverse huracanrana and then absolutely smoked Okada with a running knee. I really thought that it could have been the end of the match there.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3003948982\" 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>I was not a fan of the ending at all (at first), especially in a tournament that preaches no outside interference or any other type of shenanigans. I just hate when such fantastic matches end with B.S. at the end. After the match, I remembered that Wrestle Kingdom is right around the corner and NJPW most likely didn\u2019t want Takeshita to take a clean pin. I get it. I hate it but I get it though. I am really looking forward to these two going at it again though in the ring. I also thought it was smart to tie in the screwdriver to the Mox and Fletcher match. Speaking of that match\u2026<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of &#8220;Wrestling Night in America,&#8221; part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wrestling-night-in-america-aew-worlds-end-post-show-leclair-halley-discuss-continental-classic-conclusion-joe-mjf-swerve-hangman-more--69226527\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wrestling Night in America - AEW Worlds End post-show: LeClair &amp; Halley discuss Continental Classic conclusion, Joe-MJF-Swerve-Hangman, more\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=69226527&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Kyle Fletcher vs. Jon Moxley \u2013 AEW World\u2019s End 12\/27\/25<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was the best match of the entire Continental Classic for me. These two had put on the best matches throughout the entire tournament so it was fitting that they met in the semi-finals with a chance to go to the final.<\/p>\n<p>I understand the story they are telling with Moxley and the Death Riders, but I was disappointed that Fletcher lost here. I really thought they should have had him win this tournament. AEW needs to start building up their next set of young stars and Fletcher should be at the top of the list. With the way these guys wrestle in AEW, you never know how long you are going to have them or at any moment these guys could go on the shelf for nine months to a year. I felt the same way with Will Ospreay. I thought he should have had the AEW World Title at some point and now he\u2019s on the shelf with a serious neck injury. I just think that AEW needs to start capitalizing on these young guys when they get hot.<\/p>\n<p>I have not been a big fan of Kyle Fletcher\u2019s gear, but I thought he nailed his look at World\u2019s End. His shoulder pads reminded me of Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and it was such a badass look. Fletcher was like a rabid dog in this match the way he was attacking Moxley. His ferocity during his matches is so good and he lays in every move with such power.<\/p>\n<p>Moxley was also at his best in this match. I couldn\u2019t believe how he caught his teeth on the ring stairs. Just such a freak accident. Of all the ways he could have had his teeth knocked out on a match for it to be such a freak accident like that was crazy. I also think that Moxley may have one of the best cutters in the game right now. I love how he also catches his opponent\u2019s mid-flight perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, Moxley\u2019s ankle must be mush now, right? I mean every opponent has worked on that thing for the last few months. Speaking of mush, how about that brainbuster by Fletcher to Moxley on the ring apron? That thing looked nasty. Spots like that always make me cringe because the pinpoint accuracy you need to have to hit and not go awry is unreal.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-4082660324\" 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>I was not a fan of the modified suplex spot to Fletcher off the top rope where he landed clear on his neck. It\u2019s so dumb, especially when your friend Will Ospreay is on the shelf with a neck injury. Just so dangerous and the match didn\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n<p>I also wasn\u2019t a fan of Bryan Danielson calling out Fletcher for having the wrong grip at first on the ankle lock he put on Moxley. It wasn\u2019t something I noticed at first because Moxley was doing such a great job of selling it. I thought Fletcher had the match when he hit Moxley with the brainbuster towards the end of the match. I gasped when he kicked out. There were maybe one or two too many kick outs for my liking, but I thought the end of the match was fantastic and I liked the tie in with the screwdriver from the Okada match before this one. I just really hope that Kyle Fletcher is a focus of AEW for 2026<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of &#8220;Wrestling Night in America,&#8221; part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/wrestling-night-in-america-aew-worlds-end-post-show-leclair-halley-discuss-continental-classic-conclusion-joe-mjf-swerve-hangman-more--69226527\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wrestling Night in America - AEW Worlds End post-show: LeClair &amp; Halley discuss Continental Classic conclusion, Joe-MJF-Swerve-Hangman, more\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=69226527&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Ricochet vs. Bandido \u2013 Dynamite 12\/24\/25<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We must stop with the Macarena mid-match. I\u2019m sorry, It&#8217;s just stupid.<\/p>\n<p>Alright, now that that\u2019s out of the way, let\u2019s talk about this match. I really enjoyed this match. When Bandido won, it was a giveaway that MJF was taking the title at World&#8217;s End. It wouldn\u2019t make sense for MJF to fight another heel for his first title defense. Also, Bandido isn\u2019t going to have that ring for long. MJF walked out with the Dynamite Diamond Ring at World\u2019s End after Bandido had already won it at Dynamite. MJF doesn\u2019t strike me as someone who is just going to be letting his Dynamite Diamond Ring go to someone else.<\/p>\n<p>There were some good spots in this match and I thought Ricochet and Bandido had some great chemistry in this match. Bandido\u2019s overhead press slam to Ricochet when he threw him onto the ring apron was a great spot and Ricochet pulling up Bandido by his belt strap to hit the Vertigo was also super-impressive. Bandido also hit a Liger Bomb out of a Styles Clash setup that was one of the coolest moves I\u2019ve seen in a while. I hope he continues to use that move going forward. I also really loved the finish with the flash pin by Bandido.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, just a fun match that I thought was the best TV match of the week. Once again though, I hope Bandido enjoys the week he\u2019s going to have with that ring because he\u2019s not going to have it for long.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Observations and Thoughts:<\/h3>\n<p>\u2022It&#8217;s time for the Death Riders to turn on Moxley. We are getting to a dangerous point now where the fans are going to revolt if you don\u2019t turn the Death Riders on Moxley. It made no sense story wise for them to just be standing there while Moxley cut an all-time babyface promo after he won the Continental Classic.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022Thank God for Toni Storm because she saved that mixed nuts tag team match. More of her and Orange Cassidy too, please.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022I can\u2019t tell if I hate or love MJF\u2019s new hair. I guess it will have to grow on me like his new plugs grew on him<\/p>\n<p>\u2022The members of the OPPS Dojo should get their money back. The training they are receiving is horrible.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022So, we took the tag titles off a red hot Brodido to put them on FTR so they could have a subpar feud with the Bang Bang Gang and a match where the fans were chanting \u201cGo Home\u201d because they wanted the match to end so badly.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022Thank you for everything Tony Schiavone, but it is time for your watch to end on commentary.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022They are going to turn Statlander heel, huh? I\u2019m preparing myself now for the promo she cuts, blaming the fans for not getting behind her.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AEW World&#039;s End Post-Show w\/ Brandon LeClair &amp; Taylor Halley\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AD5FXd4phE0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3074782676\"><div id=\"pwtor-2486751159\"><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>What a great way to end the year with another week of fantastic wrestling by AEW. I really enjoyed Dynamite and Collision this week and I thought World\u2019s End was a solid PPV bookended by <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/12\/29\/aew-top-matches-of-the-week-fletcher-vs-moxley-of-course-but-what-other-two-matches-made-the-list-plus-mjfs-hair-statlanders-future\/\" title=\"AEW TOP MATCHES OF THE WEEK: Fletcher vs. Moxley of course, but what other two matches made the list, plus MJF&#8217;s hair, Statlander&#8217;s future\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":209417,"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":[52,27,4488],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","category-top-five-lists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2025\/12\/Screenshot-2025-12-29-at-1.02.02-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209416","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=209416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209418,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209416\/revisions\/209418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}