New Japan Pro-Wrestling closed the book on a defining era at the Tokyo Dome with Wrestle Kingdom 20, a show built around transition rather than nostalgia. Hiroshi Tanahashi's retirement match marked the end of a 25-year in-ring career and served as a clear dividing line for the company moving forward, while the rest of the card focused on consolidation and direction through major title matches and contender-setting bouts. Wrestle Kingdom once again functioned as NJPW's annual truth serum — clarifying priorities, tightening the championship picture, and setting expectations for the post-Tanahashi era.

Elsewhere, AEW wrapped up 2025 with Worlds End drawing an estimated 140,000 buys, pushing the company's annual PPV total near 1.25 million worldwide. MJF reclaimed the AEW World Championship, restored the "Triple B," and immediately introduced volatility to the title scene with challengers lining up on television and a potential independent title defense looming at Limitless Wrestling. Willow Nightingale made history on New Year's Smash by becoming the first woman to hold two AEW championships simultaneously, while Tony Khan confirmed the return of AEW Grand Slam Mexico in 2026 and reiterated plans to expand dual-contract partnerships with CMLL talent.

WWE entered the new year in the midst of its own structural shift. Trick Williams officially joined the SmackDown roster, Giulia regained the Women's United States Championship, and Matt Cardona was confirmed as an active SmackDown competitor. The WWE PPV and PLE archive began its transition to Netflix in the United States as Raw prepares to celebrate its one-year Netflix anniversary with a Stranger Things–themed episode. Injury updates for Dominik Mysterio and Sheamus, combined with The Usos capturing the World Tag Team Championships, further highlighted a roster recalibration heading into 2026.

Tonight's episode breaks down the fallout from Wrestle Kingdom 20, what Tanahashi's retirement means for New Japan's future, and how AEW and WWE are repositioning themselves at the start of a new year. No overstatement, no revisionist framing — just a grounded look at a week that quietly reset the industry's direction.

It's Friday, and you know what that means! It is time to walk through those Tavern doors and order up a round of professional wrestling coverage from The Two Bad Chads! This week we talk AEW and all the happenings of the week! Make sure you go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!

The RAWDOWN boys discuss all of the news coming out of RAW and Smackdown and get you caught up on all of the news happening inside and outside the ropes in WWE. Everything is on the table. This is just the tip of the iceberg with all of the stories and news going on in the WWE. Let's talk about it and everything else in the WWE Universe! WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown, NXT... It's all there! Come get your best weekly fix for all things WWE on The RAWDOWN, right here at The Turnbuckle Tavern! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, SHARE, & CLICK THE BELL! TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern to join our Patreon for only $2.99/mo!

It's time for one of the most anticipated Wrestling Tonight episodes of the year. The Turnies 2025 results are here, and we're bringing them to you exclusively on The Turnbuckle Tavern.

Join your hosts, Acefield Retro and Chad, as we look back on the matches, moments, performers, and stories that defined professional wrestling in 2025. This episode is about more than trophies. It's about recognizing the work that held up across an entire year, the performances that carried pressure, and the moments that shaped how wrestling felt week after week.

From Wrestler of the Year to Tag Team of the Year, we spotlight the performers who separated themselves through consistency, range, and responsibility. Who truly carried the year from bell to bell. Which team set the standard for chemistry and credibility. And who emerged as the most valuable presence in women's wrestling during a year filled with depth and opportunity.

Wrestling is built on moments, the kind that stop you, shift momentum, or permanently change the direction of a story. 2025 delivered no shortage of them. We revisit the biggest conversations of the year as we reveal Moment of the Year, Feud of the Year, and Storyline of the Year, examining not just what happened, but why it mattered.

The Turnies also celebrate the craft itself. We break down Match of the Year, honoring the bout that stood above the rest in structure, emotion, and consequence. We recognize Best Wrestling Maneuver, the move that consistently changed matches and defined a performer's identity. We also highlight growth and arrival with Most Improved and Rookie of the Year, recognizing wrestlers who took real steps forward and new faces who made immediate, lasting impressions.

Character and presence matter just as much as athleticism. In this episode, we honor the performers who brought wrestling's emotional stakes to life in 2025. Who defined the year as the Best Heel. Who connected most deeply as the Best Babyface. And who commanded the microphone as Best Stickman, delivering promos that anchored stories and elevated everyone around them.

Beyond the ring, we recognize the voices, minds, and institutions that shaped the wrestling landscape. From Best Non Wrestler and Best Commentary Team to Best Promotion, Best PPV or PLE, and Best Booker, we examine the decisions and performances that influenced the industry at every level.

What makes The Turnies special is the community behind them. Your votes, your perspectives, and your passion are woven throughout this episode. We share fan selections, discuss points of agreement and debate, and reflect on how the wrestling audience continues to shape the conversation around the art form we all care about.

Whether you follow WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA, or the wider wrestling world, this episode is for you. It's a chance to slow down, take stock, and appreciate what made 2025 distinct, challenging, and memorable.

Welcome to The Turnies 2025, exclusively on The Turnbuckle Tavern. Let's get into it.

Subscribe, join the community, take part in the conversation, and let us know your picks in the comments. Let's talk wrestling.

Welcome to Episode 157 of Wrestling Tonight, and we went live immediately after AEW Worlds End from Hoffman Estates because this was a show that demanded to be discussed in real time while the emotions were still raw and the consequences were still unfolding, rather than filtered through distance or softened by hindsight. Worlds End closed the year in a way that felt deeply consistent with what AEW has been building toward all along, presenting a demanding, physical, and unapologetically work driven pay per view that avoided shortcuts and resisted the temptation to chase shock for its own sake, even when that choice asked more patience and endurance from the audience.

This was a long and intense night, occasionally messy in ways that felt earned rather than overproduced, and by the time the final bell rang, Worlds End felt less like a traditional year end finale and more like a deliberate stress test for the roster and the creative philosophy guiding the company into 2026. The Continental Classic served as the backbone of the show, reinforcing AEW's belief that winning should carry weight and that endurance, discipline, and adaptability matter just as much as spectacle, with the matches unfolding at a pace that allowed fatigue, strategy, and resilience to become part of the story rather than something to be edited around.

Jon Moxley standing at the center of the tournament by night's end was not about surprise or reinvention, but about validation, as the Continental Classic once again rewarded a wrestler willing to absorb punishment, adjust under pressure, and keep pushing when the cumulative toll of the tournament became impossible to ignore. Even as the crowd grew tired late in the night, they stayed engaged because the work demanded that investment, and the structure of the tournament justified asking it.

At the top of the card, MJF reclaiming the AEW World Championship in a chaotic and layered main event reflected the broader theme of the evening, offering a finish that was intentionally uncomfortable and unresolved, designed not to provide closure but to reintroduce volatility and tension into a main event scene crowded with credible challengers and lingering grudges. Rather than simplifying the championship picture, the result complicated it, creating forward momentum built on uncertainty instead of finality.

Across the rest of the card, Worlds End found a careful balance between violence, personality, and humor without allowing any single element to dominate, and while not every match landed with the same precision, very little felt disposable or disconnected from the larger direction of the company. More importantly, multiple wrestlers left Hoffman Estates feeling more significant than they did entering the night, which is exactly what a year closing pay per view should accomplish if it is doing its job correctly.

Since its debut on December 30, 2023, followed by December 28, 2024, and now December 27, 2025, Worlds End has quietly established itself as AEW's annual checkpoint, a place where stories close, standings shift, and the path forward becomes clearer even when the answers are intentionally uncomfortable or incomplete. Tonight, we are breaking down Worlds End match by match, examining what worked, what did not, and what feels deliberately unfinished as AEW turns the page toward a new year, offering a grounded and honest assessment of a show that asked a great deal from its audience and largely earned that investment.

It's Thursday, and you know what that means! It is time to walk through those Tavern doors and order up a round of professional wrestling coverage from The Two Bad Chads! This week we talk AEW and all the happenings of the week! Make sure you go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!

The RAWDOWN boys discuss all of the news coming out of RAW and Smackdown and get you caught up on all of the news happening inside and outside the ropes in WWE. Everything is on the table. This is just the tip of the iceberg with all of the stories and news going on in the WWE. Let's talk about it and everything else in the WWE Universe! WWE RAW, WWE Smackdown, NXT... It's all there! Come get your best weekly fix for all things WWE on The RAWDOWN, right here at The Turnbuckle Tavern! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, SHARE, & CLICK THE BELL! TELL A FRIEND ABOUT US! Go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern to join our Patreon for only $2.99/mo!

Welcome to Wrestling Tonight, with your hosts Acefield Retro and Chad.

Episode 156 is centered on AEW's year-ending statement show. For the third straight year, Worlds End closes the calendar not by starting new stories, but by finishing them. Set for Saturday, December 27 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Worlds End is AEW's annual reckoning — where endurance, not momentum, decides who carries the company forward.

The backbone of the event is the Continental Classic. AEW's round-robin tournament strips the product down to results and consequences. In 2025, those consequences revolve around Kazuchika Okada. As both Continental Champion and International Champion, Okada enters Worlds End as the Unified Champion. AEW has clarified the rules: only the Continental Championship is awarded through the tournament, league matches do not put titles on the line, and everything comes down to Worlds End. If Okada loses the Continental Championship, the unification ends. One night determines whether the Unified Championship continues to exist.

The format is ruthless. Two semifinals and a final in one night, no recovery, no protection. Winning the Continental Classic means surviving the tournament and the pressure of immediate repetition.

Worlds End also features a volatile AEW World Championship match. Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland, Hangman Adam Page, and MJF in a four-way born from betrayal, unresolved claims, and opportunism. Joe holds the title through control. Swerve brings momentum. Page is chasing redemption. MJF enters by exploiting timing. In a match like this, dominance matters less than navigation.

The women's division is a focal point as well. Kris Statlander defends the AEW Women's World Championship against Jamie Hayter in a clash built on identity and unfinished business, while Willow Nightingale and Harley Cameron face Mercedes Moné and Athena in a defining test for the women's tag division.

We also touch on WWE this week, as John Cena addressed the disappearance of Travis Scott and The Rock from WWE storylines, explaining that once those pieces were gone, the focus shifted immediately to adaptation rather than regret — a revealing look at how WWE pivots when plans change.

Worlds End isn't about comfort. It's about clarity. By the final bell, champions will stand because they endured, not because they were protected.

This is Episode 156 of Wrestling Tonight — where the year answers back.

The week we are joined by Seth and Jordan from The Chick Foley Show and Goal Line! Join us as we ask did WWE botch John Cena's retirement; is AEW in a doom spiral or irrelevancy; and why do you think viewership is down for professional wrestling? It's going to be a fun week here at The Tavern, so to make sure you do not miss anything, go to patreon.com/theturnbuckletavern for all your Tavern needs!

Shot of Nostalgia: The SmackDown Six Era rolls on with your host Acefield Retro, and this week we're stepping into one of the heaviest, most emotionally loaded chapters of the whole project. Episode 7: The Legacy Run covers January through March 2004 — the stretch where the SmackDown Six philosophy stops being "just" a great TV formula and becomes the backbone of WWE's entire main-event scene. Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, the two workhorses who defined this era between the ropes, finally break through the ceiling and hit the very top of the industry at the exact same time.

We start at the 2004 Royal Rumble, a one-match show that actually delivers exactly what WWE needed. Paul Heyman stacks the deck, forces Benoit into the #1 slot, and dares him to fail. Instead, Benoit puts together a marathon performance: 61 minutes, six eliminations, and a finish built around pure will, dragging Big Show over the top rope in a head-and-arm choke that feels earned instead of cute. Along the way we hit all the key beats that made this Rumble feel alive in the building — Orton's elevation through the Foley feud, Goldberg getting robbed by Brock, Big Show as a real "final boss," and the sense that for once, the obvious story actually got the right payoff.

From there, we turn to No Way Out 2004, where Eddie Guerrero walks into San Francisco with three weeks of build… and a lifetime of baggage. We walk through how a thrown-together title program becomes a full redemption story: the SmackDown Rumble that sends Eddie to the title shot, the promo duel where Brock mocks his addictions and Eddie weaponizes his own past, and the infamous mariachi "celebration" that starts as comedy and turns into something dead serious. Then we break down the match itself as a heavyweight title fight built on structure and psychology — Brock's 2002 monster template, Eddie chopping down the base, the STF that flips the crowd from hopeful to believing, Goldberg's spear that protects the champion without stealing Eddie's moment, and the DDT-onto-the-belt into Frog Splash finish that still plays as one of the most cathartic three-counts WWE has ever produced.

After that, we head to Madison Square Garden for WrestleMania XX, where the World Heavyweight Championship closes the show for the very first time. We don't ignore the reality of Benoit's crimes or how impossible it is to watch his work the same way after 2007 — that context lives with this match forever. But we also walk honestly through what this main event represented in 2004: the SmackDown Six template blown up to world-title scale. We dig into how the triple threat with Triple H and Shawn Michaels turns a format that usually feels cheap into a 24-minute clinic — the "Let's Go Benoit" crowd, the rotating pairings, the Crossface spot where Hunter literally grabs Shawn's hand to stop the tap, the table bump that buys time for the final act, and the visual of Triple H tapping clean in the middle of MSG. It's the one time in that era where the finish matches the story they told for months.

We keep rolling with Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle from that same night — maybe the most "pure SmackDown" match on the card. This is where we zoom in on everything that made Eddie special at this stage of his career: the improvisation, the timing, the creativity that compensated for a body that had taken way too much punishment. Angle tries to strip the magic away and turn it into a straight amateur wrestling lesson — grinding holds, targeted rib and ankle work, suplexes on a loop — and for most of the match, he succeeds. Eddie's comeback isn't about overpowering him; it's about surviving just long enough to create one opening. We break down the boot spot in detail, why it works as psychology instead of a cheap gag, and how that final small package stacks up as the perfect "lie, cheat, steal" finish without burying Angle for a second.

And then we close with the image that defined this era at the time: confetti falling in Madison Square Garden as Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit celebrate together, both holding world titles, both representing a version of WWE where skill and heart could overcome size and politics. Today that shot is complicated, even haunting, because of what would happen in the years that followed — Eddie's death, Benoit's actions. We sit in that discomfort instead of pretending it isn't there, but we also talk about what that night meant in 2004 for fans who had lived through the entire arc of the SmackDown Six: the B-show workhorses finally standing on top of the company they had quietly carried.

By the time we're done with early 2004, the SmackDown Six era isn't just about a tag formula or a handful of TV classics. It's a storytelling blueprint — athletic, grounded, character-driven — that bleeds into both brands, reshapes what a WWE main event can look like, and influences everything from peak-era NXT to how AEW builds its big match payoffs today.

Shot of Nostalgia: The SmackDown Six Era Episode 7 — The Legacy Run — premieres Saturday, December 13, 2025, wherever you listen. Like, subscribe, and leave a review to help the show grow. Visit TurnbuckleTavern.com for merch, archives, and the full network schedule, and support the project at Patreon.com/TheTurnbuckleTavern for just $2.99 a month to help keep these deep dives going.

Powered by G FUEL and Dick Lazers — use code TAVERN at checkout for 20% off your entire order.