#175: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley, AEW World's End (12/30/2023).
This is the finals of the Continental Classic, where the winner will receive the Continental Crown - the ROH World Championship, the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship & the brand new AEW Continental Championship.
To say that these two have history would be a massive understatement. They are long time friends, rivals, and bitter enemies. Their 2020 feud over the AEW World Championship sparked one of the greatest promos I've ever seen. Eddie saved Mox from being blown up at Revolution 2021, and the two came to blows multiple times in 2023 due to Mox's affiliation with the Blackpool Combat Club.
Eddie defeated fellow BCC member Bryan Danielson to win the Blue League, while Mox defeated Jay White & Swerve Strickland in a Triple Threat Match to win the Gold League.
Both men are talking trash right off the bat. The bell sounds, and both men meet in the middle right away. Crowd is firmly in Eddie's corner. He throws a light kick to Mox's leg.
Mox goes for a guillotine, and Eddie counters into a waistlock. Mox transitions into the Guard Position. Both men are back to their feet. Eddie throws a punch right to the chest. Eddie with a side headlock takedown, and Mox transitions to a head scissors.
They lock hands, and look to out muscle the other. Snap mare by Mox, and a kick to the back. Eddie follows with a combo of his own. They continue to talk trash, and Eddie explodes with a chop. Mox with one of his own, and now we have an exchange.
Mox blocks a shoulder tackle, and so does Eddie. Forearms by Moxley, and Eddie responds with a few chops, including some to the neck. Enziguri follows, and Mox rolls to the floor. Eddie connects with a Tope to the floor to Mox, but Eddie looks like he landed hard on the side of his head.
He rolls Mox back into the Ring, and Mox fires back with a release German Suplex. He kicks Eddie to the floor, and hits the Paradigm Shift, spiking Eddie. Back in the Ring, Mox starts a barrage of kicks to the chest.
Eddie fires back with chops in the corner, but Mox blocks with his forearms and nearly snaps Eddie's arm. Mox rakes the eyes, then grazes the nose against the ropes. Mox stomps at Eddie in the corner, then connects with a piledriver for a nearfall.
Mox stays on the Mad King, as he applies an STF submission. Eddie bites the hand of Mox to break the hold. Eddie gives him a chop, and Mox doesn't seem bothered by it. Mox gives him one in return.
They exchange hard chops back and forth, with Eddie nailing one so hard that the crowd gives a standing ovation. He pulls the straps down and continues the exchange. Mox gives him the double bird, which leads to another hard chop.
Eddie with a middle finger, and another chop that sounds like a machine gun. Double lariat from both men, and Eddie tosses him with an Exploder Suplex. Spinning back fist to Mox, who's knee is giving him trouble.
In the corner, Eddie with the Kobashi style chops to the chest. Mox tries to run away, but Eddie just follows him corner to corner. He connects with a DDT next. Mox explodes with a Cutter! Spinning back fist by Eddie, and the King Kong lariat from Mox!
Northern Lights Bomb out of nowhere by Eddie gets a close 2 count. Eddie transitions into the Bulldog Choke next. Next, Eddie drives his elbow into Mox's jaw, and back into the Bulldog Choke.
Mox is able to counter out of with a choke of his own. He locks the legs around the midsection to apply more pressure. Eddie gets to his feet and gets to the ropes to break the hold. He explodes with the Spinning back fist out of the corner, and Mox kicks out.
Eddie connects with a second Northern Lights Bomb, and Mox once again kicks out. Mox blocks a piledriver attempt, and hits a lariat out of nowhere. Both men are on their knees, throwing forearms at the other.
They exchange nasty headbutts, and Eddie gives a light slap to the face. He's out. Mox slaps Eddie in the face, and Eddie responds in kind. Nice slap exchange! Eddie with the Spinning Back Fist out of nowhere, and that's the win! Eddie Kingston wins the inaugural Continental Classic!
Awesome match. What I took away from this was escalation. All throughout this match, both guys are pushing the other to a certain limit. For Eddie Kingston, it was about pushing Jon Moxley to a point where even he couldn't continue anymore. For Jon Moxley, it was about pushing Eddie Kingston to either see that he is ready for this, or he's weak. That dichotomy was pulled off well.
Both men are stubborn in how they put their bodies on the line, and stubborn in how they are able to take so much punishment from the other. It helped emphasize how important the C2 was for both men. It would've been one more accomplishment in a laundry list of them for Mox in AEW. For Kingston, it was about honoring the legacy of Toshiaki Kawada, his idol, and his hero. To hold the Triple Crown of AEW may not be in the same vein as All Japan, but to Eddie Kingston, it meant that he too could walk a similar King's Road.
His maturity and growth as a performer shined bright here. He stuck his boots in the mud, and he fought like hell. Against a performer like Moxley, that means you're one tough son of a bitch. The fact that Eddie Kingston beat someone the caliber of Jon Moxley - a man he once said left him behind for the big leagues - meant that Eddie Kingston, the Mad King, and the supposed "bum" had also made it to the big leagues.