Your hosts for the night: Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were on the call, and yep—it’s Wednesday, you know what that means!
Right off the bat, Excalibur dropped a bombshell: the Death Riders attacked HOOK earlier in the day, and he’s now in the hospital. That means he’s out of tonight’s big main event.
Mercedes Moné (TBS Champ) vs. Athena (ROH Women’s Champ)
This one was all gas, no brakes from the bell. They brawled right out of the ring from the opening tie-up, with Mercedes hitting a big double knee strike early. Athena came back with kicks and elbows, and things just got nastier from there.
Mercedes locked in the Statement Maker, but Athena made it to the ropes. Didn’t stop Mercedes from punishing her outside, though. Athena hit a stunner off the apron, Mercedes responded with a swinging DDT, and the crowd was losing it—“THIS IS AWESOME” chants all around.
Powerbombs, backbreakers, a Death Valley Driver, even a kick to the face—this had everything. Athena tried the O-Face, but Mercedes blocked it and pulled out a slick jackknife pin to advance to the finals!
Toni Storm, watching from the stands with Luther the Butler, gave her the golf clap.
Renee caught up with Hangman, but before he could say much, The Young Bucks and Okada rolled up. The Bucks weirdly accepted an apology Hangman never gave, saying they want him to bring the title home to The Elite. Okada told him to smile more. Yikes.
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Mystery Opponent (Josh Alexander!)
Big reveal: Page’s opponent was none other than Josh Alexander! This was a hard-hitting war. Alexander booted Page early, but Hangman bounced back with a moonsault and a powerbomb. Josh locked in an ankle lock, and Page barely escaped.
After trading finishers, Page caught Alexander with a small package for the win!
Then chaos hit. Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher tried to intimidate Page. Hangman took out Fletcher, but Alexander turned heel outta nowhere, blasting Page with a powerbomb! Fletcher added insult to injury with a brainbuster.
Christian Cage returned and confronted Nick Wayne, calling himself “Daddy.” Nick questioned if Christian’s ego couldn’t handle Cope being champ before him. Christian responded by saying he got Nick a New Japan tournament spot… but warned him not to let “Daddy” down. Creepy as ever.
The Hurt Syndicate (Lashley & Shelton) vs. Gates of Agony
This one started in chaos as Toa jumped them during their strategy huddle. Lots of heavy shots, but Lashley and Shelton were laser focused. Bobby hit back-to-back spears, and that was all she wrote—The Hurt Syndicate stay undefeated!
Post-match, MJF hit the ring, full of swagger. He offered the Hurt Syndicate a night with a bunch of women as a “thanks” if they gave him three thumbs up to join the crew. Shelton almost agreed… but turned his thumb down at the last second.
MJF just grinned and gifted Shelton the watch anyway, promising more goodies if (when) he joins. Classic Max.
Alicia Atout tried to get the scoop backstage. Lashley told MVP he didn’t trust MJF. MVP brushed it off, saying, “This is just business.”
Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita (with Don Callis)
You want fireworks? You got fireworks. These two tore the house down with absolutely wild sequences. Os-Cutters on the ramp, sky twisters, German suplexes, Hidden Blades, and even a Styles Clash from Ospreay!
The crowd hit ‘Fight Forever’ mode and honestly, we could’ve watched this one all night. Ospreay finally landed the Storm Breaker for the hard-earned win.
Death Riders (Mox, Claudio & Yuta) vs. Joe, Shibata & Hobbs
“HOOK remains under observation after the brutal assault earlier tonight. If Moxley can step in for PAC, then Hobbs stepping in for HOOK is only fair,” said Excalibur.
From the opening bell, Hobbs was a wrecking ball. He steamrolled Wheeler Yuta in the corner, pummeling him with unrelenting shots. Moxley rushed in to break the onslaught—only to bounce off Hobbs, who absorbed the blow like it was nothing. Hobbs powerslammed Yuta with authority before tagging in Samoa Joe.
Joe dissected Yuta with surgical precision—stiff jabs, blistering chops, and punishing strikes. Shibata entered next and kept the punishment rolling, but Claudio charged in and sent Shibata crashing into the barricade.
Claudio followed up with a short-arm lariat, but Shibata fired back, refusing to stay down. With a sudden back heel kick, Shibata dropped Castagnoli and scrambled to his feet. Joe and Yuta re-entered as legal men—and Joe flattened Yuta with a massive powerslam!
Moxley, growing desperate, grabbed a steel chair from ringside. But Willow Nightingale sprinted down and yanked it away from him, drawing a roar from the crowd!
Schiavone: “Willow’s had enough of the Death Riders’ chaos!”
In the ring, Hobbs lifted Claudio high and spiked him with a spinebuster. Joe followed up with a brutal lariat to Moxley. Suddenly…
The Young Bucks—Matthew and Nicholas Jackson—strolled down to the ring to loud boos. Matthew picked up a steel chair—only to get dropkicked in the face by Swerve Strickland, who appeared out of nowhere!
Excalibur: “SWERVE JUST TOOK OUT THE EVPs!”
Swerve snatched the chair and crushed Nicholas with it before hitting a Swerve Stomp on Matthew Jackson! The fans exploded.
On the ramp, Shibata locked Claudio in a sleeper hold and then drilled him with a Penality Kick! Back in the ring, Yuta went for a desperate tope suicida—but Hobbs caught him mid-air and slammed him through the announce table!
Marina Shafir stormed down and smacked Hobbs with a chair—but Hobbs no-sold it and turned toward her. Willow took Marina’s head off with a thunderous clothesline.
In the chaos, Joe caught Moxley trying for the Death Rider—and countered into the Coquina Clutch! Moxley struggled… flailed… and then—
PASSED OUT.
WINNERS & NEW AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONS:
Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs
“Somewhere, you know HOOK is smiling. The Death Riders and the Bucks finally got what’s coming to them,” said Schiavone.
As the crowd erupted, the AEW locker room poured out to congratulate the new champions. Samoa Joe, Shibata, and Hobbs stood tall, titles raised high, as confetti rained down.
Excalibur: “A new era begins tonight in AEW!”