AEW has wrapped another successful year with its second annual Worlds End Pay-Per-View. Saturday's big event featured the Continental Classic finals and several high-stakes matches. Now there's one major claim going viral with many comparing the Worlds End opener to WWE's recent CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre match. Veteran journalist Dave Meltzer also chimed in to give his thoughts on the matter.
Worlds End 2024 opened with Toni Storm defeating Leila Grey on the Zero Hour pre-show. Jeff Jarrett then went over QT Marshall, while Lio Rush, Action Andretti, Lance Archer, and Brian Cage defeated Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd, Darius Martin, and Dante Martin. The main card opened with Will Ospreay defeating longtime friend-turned-rival Kyle Fletcher in the C2 semi-finals, which ended in just over sixteen minutes to give Ospreay a spot in the championship finals.
WWE brought back its Bad Blood PLE on October 5 in Atlanta. The 31-minute Hell in a Cell opener saw CM Punk defeat Drew McIntyre to win their rivalry. Fans and analysts widely praised Punk and McIntyre for their performance, and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer gave the bout a full five stars.
The Aerial Assassin and The Aussie Arrow were also widely praised for their AEW Worlds End performances. Discussing the match on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer claimed that the bout was better than Punk vs. McIntyre, and called it potentially the best wrestling opener ever:
"Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher might've been the best opening match on a pay-per-view in history. It's certainly up there... I'm trying to rack my brain to come up with one better. It genuinely could have won Match of the Year in many, many years, and it wasn't even the best match on the card."
Meltzer continued:
"Punk vs. McIntyre have the edge, in a sense, that it had a big feud climax, and was a very well-done Hell in a Cell, but as far as the match goes, Ospreay vs. Fletcher was a lot better."
Meltzer has not revealed his star rating for Ospreay vs. Fletcher as of this writing. He did mention how Ospreay's performance at AEW Worlds End was one of the best single-day performances in wrestling history.
AEW Dynamite: Fight for the Fallen update
AEW will present the sixth annual Fight for The Fallen edition of Dynamite this Wednesday to benefit victims of Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina. Below is the updated lineup:
- Jamie Hayter vs. the returning Julia Hart
- Jeff Jarrett will make announcement on his career
- Adam Copeland and FTR vs. The Death Riders' Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli
The first AEW Dynamite of 2025 will also serve as the big All Elite debut at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville. The event will be simulcast on TBS and Max.