WORLDS END III - 12/27/2025

[Dolfan in NYC]

Here's how I plan on spending Xmas week...

LIVE FROM, um, Hoffman Estates, Illinois? (Jesus, Chicago, why did you put an arena way the fuck out there)  IT'S THE WORLD'S END 3!

THE CARD~

FOUR WAY MATCH FOR THE MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - Samoe Joe (c) vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF†

FOR THE WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - Kris Statlander (c) vs. Jamie Hayter

SEMI-FINAL #1 FOR THE CONTINTENTAL CLASSIC - Konosuke Takeshita (B1) vs. Kazuchika Okada (G2, c)††

SEMI-FINAL #2 FOR THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC - Jon Moxley (B2) vs. Kyle Fletcher (G1)

FINALS OF THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC FOR THE CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP 

CHICAGO STREET FIGHT FOR THE MEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - FTR (Bald/Gun, c) vs. Bang Bang Gang (Robinson/Gunn)

FOR THE WOMENS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Babes of Wrath (Nightengale/Cameron, c) vs. Mercedes Mone & Athena

8 PERSON MIXED NUTS MAYHEM MATCH - Roddy Strong & Timeless Toni Storm & The Conglomeration (Cassidy/Briscoe) vs. Death Riders (Castagnoli/Shafir/Yuta/García)

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd

Eddie Kingston vs. Zach Gibson

Sisters of Sin (Hart/Blue) vs. Hyan & Maya World

 

--

Participants are as of current standings 

† - This is MJF's Casino Gauntlet cash in. 

†† - Okada will vacate both the Continental and Unified Championships with a loss.

[Curt McGirt]

1 hour ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

(Jesus, Chicago, why did you put an arena way the fuck out there)

Must've bribed their alderman pretty damn well.

[jaedmc]

Suburbs of Chicago don't have aldermen, they're their own towns or villages with Mayors and city councils. 

Hoffman Estates has 50,000 people and is next to Schaumberg which has over 70,000, which puts just the two of them together as having bigger populations than say Topeka, Kansas or Hartford, Connecticut. If you add Elgin's population, which is the westerly neighbor to Hoffman Estates, you add another 115,00 people. So just from those three suburbs, you now have approximately 235,000 people in close proximity to the arena, with a population greater than either Baton Rouge, LA, Boise ID, or Richmond, VA. And that's not including other nearby places like Palatine or Arlington Heights, which combined would add another 140,000 people, putting that area outside of Chicago as having a combined population similar to Cleveland or New Orleans. 

And it's easier to drive to from the airport than having folks who are flying in to O'Hare drive into the city, which can be daunting if you're not used to it.

Sometimes it's not corruption. Sometimes it's just economics and logistics.

This has been your unsolicited lesson in just how big the population of Chicagoland is. 

[Stefanie Sparkleface]

24 minutes ago, jaedmc said:

Suburbs of Chicago don't have aldermen, they're their own towns or villages with Mayors and city councils. 

Hoffman Estates has 50,000 people and is next to Schaumberg which has over 70,000, which puts just the two of them together as having bigger populations than say Topeka, Kansas or Hartford, Connecticut. If you add Elgin's population, which is the westerly neighbor to Hoffman Estates, you add another 115,00 people. So just from those three suburbs, you now have approximately 235,000 people in close proximity to the arena, with a population greater than either Baton Rouge, LA, Boise ID, or Richmond, VA. And that's not including other nearby places like Palatine or Arlington Heights, which combined would add another 140,000 people, putting that area outside of Chicago as having a combined population similar to Cleveland or New Orleans. 

And it's easier to drive to from the airport than having folks who are flying in to O'Hare drive into the city, which can be daunting if you're not used to it.

Sometimes it's not corruption. Sometimes it's just economics and logistics.

This has been your unsolicited lesson in just how big the population of Chicagoland is. 

It's always fun to see how many people are outside of the cities proper. Richmond, for example, has neighboring counties Chesterfield and Henrico, both of which each have something like 150% of the population of Richmond proper. (Thanks for basically selling the interior of the city to VCU and pushing people to the counties, Richmond!)

It's also why most of the Richmond Coliseum replacements have been pushed towards Chesterfield and Henrico, simply because more people live there than within Richmond itself. Heck, Henrico just straight up built a basketball arena in the time Richmond has been fiddling around about what to do with the Coliseum and hosted a couple of A-10 tournaments.

[RazorbladeKiss87]

1 hour ago, Stefanie Sparkleface said:

It's always fun to see how many people are outside of the cities proper. Richmond, for example, has neighboring counties Chesterfield and Henrico, both of which each have something like 150% of the population of Richmond proper. (Thanks for basically selling the interior of the city to VCU and pushing people to the counties, Richmond!)

It's also why most of the Richmond Coliseum replacements have been pushed towards Chesterfield and Henrico, simply because more people live there than within Richmond itself. Heck, Henrico just straight up built a basketball arena in the time Richmond has been fiddling around about what to do with the Coliseum and hosted a couple of A-10 tournaments.

I need my coffee because I just read this and wondered why there's a county named after Hechicero 

[Curt McGirt]

4 hours ago, jaedmc said:

Elgin

One of my best friends of 20 or so years is from there and I've never in our entire history asked him how big the place is or its exact location. Because of course I wouldn't. 

Thanks for the lesson! Seriously. I rode on a stereotype for a laugh and we got some needed education. 

[Craig H]

5 hours ago, jaedmc said:

Suburbs of Chicago don't have aldermen, they're their own towns or villages with Mayors and city councils. 

Hoffman Estates has 50,000 people and is next to Schaumberg which has over 70,000, which puts just the two of them together as having bigger populations than say Topeka, Kansas or Hartford, Connecticut. If you add Elgin's population, which is the westerly neighbor to Hoffman Estates, you add another 115,00 people. So just from those three suburbs, you now have approximately 235,000 people in close proximity to the arena, with a population greater than either Baton Rouge, LA, Boise ID, or Richmond, VA. And that's not including other nearby places like Palatine or Arlington Heights, which combined would add another 140,000 people, putting that area outside of Chicago as having a combined population similar to Cleveland or New Orleans. 

And it's easier to drive to from the airport than having folks who are flying in to O'Hare drive into the city, which can be daunting if you're not used to it.

Sometimes it's not corruption. Sometimes it's just economics and logistics.

This has been your unsolicited lesson in just how big the population of Chicagoland is. 

Yeah. Chicago is more spread out than people realize. You also have the population of Evanston, or the place my friends say people call Chicago to make it sound less, well, Evanston, which is another 100k or close to it. It's also not that hard to travel around, at least I don't think so but you live there and I just visit regularly. Apparently I'm psychotic because I like driving on the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, and LSD so I don't think getting around is that bad. It's the litany of one way streets and downtown driving that I hate.

Also, Pequod's is close to the Now Arena. I think.

[Dolfan in NYC]

Unless there's a second store, the only Pequod's I'm aware of is closest to Wrigley.  

Standings updated. 

[NikoBaltimore]

Did we just get Jaed math?  Because if so I'm here for it.  I was initially confused about the location but that made perfect sense.

I was excited for the triple threat for the title.  I'm decidedly much less so for MJF's entry into the match.

[Zimbra]

Good news, they finally announced the official craft beer of World's End!

Two Hearted is great so I approve of this partnership.

[Craig H]

Hell yeah, except, well, it should be Oberon and they should sell it year round, but Two Hearted is good too.

[Craig H]

On 12/17/2025 at 11:02 PM, Dolfan in NYC said:

Unless there's a second store, the only Pequod's I'm aware of is closest to Wrigley.  

Standings updated. 

There's a second that's about 20 minutes away from the arena, or closer (or further) depending on whatever hotel someone stays in.

[Curt McGirt]

God I hate the Dan Ryan. Me and my friends used to go to a lot of shows up there and it always makes me want to have a panic attack. One time, matter of fact, I think I DID have a panic attack -- my friend Maggie was driving, she really can't drive (even pulled up on the curb when she parked the car) and I was in the back seat just freaking out. Funny story, she and her boyfriend had picked up some random street punk (really, a homeless oogle) at the pizza shop they worked at to go with us. This guy had a yield sign tattooed on his forehead with 'SPARE CHANGE' written in the middle. The dude spent his money for the venue on vodka and ended up punching the boyfriend after punching himself bloody and they left him on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, I had taken a ride with some other friends that came up to go back instead of dealing with that nonsense, and go figure, we get on the Dan Ryan and a car with six people in it apparently joyriding tried to run us off the road. But hey, we got to see Subhumans and World/Inferno Friendship Society before their singer died; missed From Ashes Rise though. Weird bill.

The worst thing about visiting Chicago, and residents can attest to this, is the parking. Especially during winter.

This is what's known as the dibs system, to make sure you keep your spot. I imagine there have been fights and possibly gunfire over this before.

Evanston always makes me think of Big Black. 

Edited December 19, 2025 by Curt McGirt

[Gorman]

On 12/17/2025 at 5:33 PM, Craig H said:

]You also have the population of Evanston, or the place my friends say people call Chicago to make it sound less, well, Evanston, which is another 100k or close to it.

That's where I went to college (Northwestern), although if I wanted to see a wrestling show, I had to take the L train to UIC Pavilion (WCW) or Rosemont Horizon (WWF).

[The Natural]

Looking forward to Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Kris Statlander vs. Jamie Hayter, FTR vs. Bang Bang Gang and Babes of Wrath vs. Mercedes Mone/Athena. Okada vs. Takeshita the most. It's had a lengthy and great build.

[The Natural]

Fuck Gabe Kidd.

[AxB]

I was expecting Toni Storm  vs Marina Shafir one on one on the PPV. But Storm & Cassidy & Briscoe & Strong vs Shafir & Castagnoli & Garcia & Yuta is probably going to be a better match.

[The Natural]

Glad it's a Saturday PPV but bring back the earlier start time of 20:00 GMT like All In 2025 and All Out 2025 than the traditional 01:00 GMT.

[Cliff Hanger]

So were Mixed Nuts Mayhem and Sisters of Sin/Maya and Hyan pre-taped or will Claudio be working twice while New Texas scrambles to find a replacement for Maya?

[AxB]

The Semi-Finals listed in the first post are incorrect. It's Moxley vs Fletcher and Okada vs Takeshita.

[The Natural]

Predictions:

FOUR WAY MATCH FOR THE MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Samoe Joe (c) vs. Hangman Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland vs. MJF.

FOR THE WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Jamie Hayter.

SEMI-FINAL #1 FOR THE CONTINTENTAL CLASSIC: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita.

SEMI-FINAL #2 FOR THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC: Jon Moxley vs. Kyle Fletcher.

FINALS OF THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC FOR THE CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher.

CHICAGO STREET FIGHT FOR THE MEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Dax Harwood/Cash Wheeler vs. Juice Robinson/Austin Gunn.

FOR THE AEW WOMENS TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Willow Nightingale/Harley Cameron vs. Mercedes Mone/Athena.

MIXED NUTS MAYHEM: Toni Storm/Orange Cassidy/Mark Briscoe/Roderick Strong vs. Marina Shafir/Claudio Castagnoli/Daniel Garcia/Wheeler Yuta.

Darby Allin vs. Gabe Kidd.

---

I can see a few outcomes in the CC: Okada winning again, Takeshita winning, Fletcher going 3-0 against Okada or Okada gets his win back and less likely Kyle O'Reilly winning as he's beaten one of the biggest names clean recently in Mox. Going with my gut, Fletcher wins. Hope I'm wrong about MJF. I can see this show going well over four hours.

Edited December 27, 2025 by The Natural

[RazorbladeKiss87]

@The Natural looking through your predictions, I can't say I disagree with any, except maybe the Heavyweight title match. I pray MJF doesn't win it. I could see Joe retaining. My biggest hope is that it dies NOT reignite the Hangman/Swerve feud. I'd prefer them to orbit each other a little longer. This could sew some more seeds into their eventual clash though. 

Fletcher seems like an obvious choice to win. I think 2026 is his year. 

I have to work 18 hours tomorrow and 12 Monday so I won't be watching until Tuesday at the earliest. Will be trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible. 

[tbarrie]

I expect Okada to win the Classic again, because I don't think they'd create the Unified Title just to split it up again later the same year. Though that would be pretty AEW...

Also, I get that in 2025, wrestling characters have more nuance than just "face" or "heel". But having four heels advance to the semifinals is still an interesting choice.

[just drew]

Took a break after that last post. Seasonal depression is real.

Here's my theory; Mox is gonna win the CC. Takeshita is gonna beat Okada. Mox is gonna dig deep and beat Fletcher. Takeshita is gonna have the match won and Okada is gonna cost him. That's gonna trigger the DCF blowup/Takeshita face turn.

[Casey]

Good thing I watch Dynamite after the fact now usually, because World Champion MJF is definitely gonna get the fast forward button.