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AEW Worlds End 2023: MJF Retaining And 5 Smart Booking Decisions

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AEW is expanding its pay-per-view schedule once again, this time presenting the inaugural Worlds End event, a show that AEW President Tony Khan has said will deliver major storyline developments.

Throughout much of its history, AEW has hosted roughly one PPV per quarter, but the company is reportedly changing that up in 2024. Worlds End will mark the beginning of that new era, with a handful of high-profile feuds reaching an important turning point as 2023 concludes.

With WWE Raw linked to a potential move to Warner Bros. Discovery next year, that puts AEW in a vulnerable position. AEW badly needs to improve its overall storytelling, and Worlds End is a chance to get back on track.

With MJF vs. Samoa Joe for the world title, the finals of the Continental Classic and two women’s title matches, AEW needs to nail Worlds End with these smart booking moves.

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Julia Hart And Toni Storm Successfully Defend Their Titles

AEW’s women’s division has plenty of great talents, but has been hampered throughouts its history by lackluster booking. That still rings true today, but the two biggest bright spots right now are easily Julie Hart and Toni Storm, its two respective champions.

At just 22 years old, Hart has been widely praised as arguably AEW’s most improved performer in 2023, and it’s difficult to argue against that. She’s improved leaps and bounds as both a wrestler and overall performer, and along with Storm, she’s given AEW two promising champions to build around.

Storm is AEW’s women’s division’s hottest act while Hart is precisely the type of star the company should be highlighting weekly. At Worlds End, Storm will defend her world title against the recently returning Riho while Hart will put her TBS Championship on the line against Abadon.

Chalk both of these up as easy wins for the champions. As they should be.

Eddie Kingston Wins The Inaugural AEW Continental Classic

When AEW revealed that Eddie Kingston would put his ROH World and NJPW Strong Openweight Championships on the line in the first-ever Continental Classic, it essentially spoiled the ending. That’s OK, though.

Kingston’s arc to get to the finals was a good one befitting of his character, as he had to scratch and claw just to make it to the semifinals. Now, he’s facing a familiar foe in Jon Moxley in the finals, and the winner of the match will leave with his respective two titles as well as the brand new AEW Continental Championship.

There is no better fit for that role than Kingston. He’s not high enough on AEW’s card for this to feel like a step down, and if he wins, he figures to be a fighting champion who could make these titles—and the Continental Classic as a whole—actually mean something.

AEW should give Kingston a career-defining victory and then a renewed push on Dynamite and Collision. That’s the best possible outcome here.

Swerve Strickland Cheats To Defeat Keith Lee

Swerve Strickland didn’t make it to the finals of the Continental Classic, but that’s actually a blessing in disguise. He didn’t take the pin in the Gold League finals, so he was protected and won’t be saddled with three midcard titles that would ultimately hold him back.

Arguably AEW’s hottest act, Strickland will instead finally face his former tag team partner Keith Lee in a match that should have happened a long time ago. Now, Strickland and Lee are on much different trajectories. Lee has had a mediocre run as a singles star while Strickland looks poised to be world champion in 2024.

For now, though, Strickland vs. Lee is a nice stopgap rivalry that should extend over the next few months and help Strickland remain one of AEW’s best heels. That necessitates a cheap win over Lee at Worlds End, which will allow AEW to extend this rivalry into early 2024.

AEW recently teased MJF vs. Strickland but has plenty of time to get there, and in the ideal scenario, it will be Strickland who dethrones the long-term AEW Champion.

Adam Copeland Dethrones Christian Cage

AEW went the most obvious route with Adam Copeland’s first feud, pitting him against his former rival and longtime tag team partner Christian Cage. It’s worked out very well thus far, with Copeland settling in nicely in his new home and helping elevate Cage to uber-heel status.

Copeland is precisely the top of main eventer who can elevate the TNT title to new heights. Cage has done a masterful job of doing just that, but Copeland can take it even further if he defeats Cage in their No DQ match at Worlds End.

It sure feels like we’re still in the middle of what will be a lengthy rivalry between Copeland and Cage, with a rubber match taking place down the road. The ultimate destination, of course, would be one last reunion tour as a tag team, but for now, the next logical step is Copeland winning the belt from his former best friend.

That could cause Cage’s downward spiral and lead to Copeland working with AEW’s rising stars to help them become bigger ones.

MJF Retains And ‘The Devil’ Is Revealed

Despite MJF’s public claims that he’s yet to re-sign with AEW, reports indicate that MJF actually re-upped with AEW a long time ago.

It would be a monumental mistake for AEW to lose MJF, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk—perhaps its three biggest stars—to WWE in the span of just a couple of years, and the result of MJF’s AEW World Championship match against Samoa Joe at Worlds End will give a solid indication of what MJF’s future holds.

If MJF loses to Joe? That could signify that he’s good as gone, even though it remains unlikely. If he retains? That’s a promising sign that he’s sticking around. There is, after all, the ongoing mystery of “The Devil” storyline that MJF is the focal point of, so it’s difficult to envision that storyline just disappearing into thin air, no matter how banged up MJF might be.

The payoff is coming, as Khan himself has indicated the storyline will climax at Worlds End, but there’s no reason to end MJF’s world title reign just yet. The conclusion of this storyline could be the person behind the mask—whoever that may be—ultimately winning the belt from MJF.

But whether that happens or not, it’s time for “The Devil” to be revealed and feud with MJF over AEW’s top prize.

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