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AEW Dynamite Results [12/31/25]: Willow Nightingale Dethrones Mercedes Moné To Win TBS Title

For the first time in nearly 600 days, there's a new TBS Champion in All Elite Wrestling and her name is Willow Nightingale. Here's the results and highlights from Wednesday's New Year's Smash edition of AEW Dynamite.
Rick Ucchino|
Willow Nightingale
Willow Nightingale | Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

The historic TBS Championship reign of Mercedes Moné has come to an end, and new All Elite Wrestling history was made when she was defeated in the main event of AEW Dynamite Wednesday night.

For the first time in the 584 days since she dropped the title to The CEO, Willow Nightingale finally received her rematch and she closed out the year by becoming the first woman to hold the TBS Championship more than once. As one half of the AEW Women's Tag Team Champions as well, she also became the first woman in AEW to hold two titles at the same time.

This was a hard fought title bout that could have gone either way, but Mercedes got caught going for the Moné Maker one too many times and Willow was able to catch her with the Babe with the Power Bomb to pick up the definitive three count.

As confetti rained down upon the Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Harley Cameron and members of the Conglomeration ran down to the ring to celebrate with Willow. When AEW Women's World Champion Kris Statlander made her way to the ring, however, the crowd went into a frenzy as Stat Daddy gave her estranged friend a massive hug.

It was a spectacular ending, unless your name is Mercedes Moné, to a great show and great 2025 for All Elite Wrestling.

Here's everything you may have missed from a special New Year's Smash edition of AEW Dynamite in Omaha, Nebraska.

AEW Dynamite New Year's Smash Match & Segment Results:

New AEW World Champion MJF took a victory lap to open the show. He bloviated about his victory at Worlds End for a few minutes and then unveiled a brand new 'Triple B' World Title belt. Before he could finish his speech, he was interrupted by Kenny Omega, who was appearing via the video board.

Omega said that he's come to the realization that he's closer to the end of his career than he is the beginning, but he has to know if he still has what it takes to be the AEW World Champion one more time. He put Max, and the rest of the AEW locker room, on notice that he is coming for the title. 

MJF brushed off Kenny's comments, saying that he didn't have the guts to meet him in the ring face-to-face. Just then, "Hangman" Adam Page and Swerve Strickland tried to swarm the champion from the crowd, but they were held back by a sea of security guards. Max told them that he's a true professional wrestler and that he believes in wins and losses. He called both Hangman and Swerve losers and told them to pick up some wins if they want a shot at the 'Triple B".

After MJF had fled the ring, Swerve and Hangman grabbed a mic, and they told Max that the hunt is officially on and may the worst man win. 

You had to expect that Samoa Joe would not stay silent for long, and he very quickly appeared on the big board. Joe claimed that he was the only man who was truly wronged at Worlds End. The now former world champion said Hangman and Swerve were nothing more than obstacles in his path and that he was ordering Hook and Powerhouse Hobbs to attack on sight. Never one to back down from a fight, Swerve issued a challenge for a Lights Out Match next week in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia and Marina Shafir defeated Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong and Timeless Toni Storm in a Mixed Six-Person Tag Team Match. This was a fun and chaotic contest that saw Strom try to deliver a swing to Claudio before taking a big boot from Garcia. Roddy Strong also gave a backbreaker to his own wife, Marina Shafir, but the match came down to Claudio and Cassidy. With Castagnoli lined up for the Orange Punch, Wheeler Yuta climbed onto the ring apron and pulled Cassidy's hair from behind. The distraction allowed Claudio to hit Orange with a big pop-up European uppercut for the victory.

After the match was over, Toni Storm attempted to check on Orange Cassidy but Mina Shirakawa got in between them. Mina is not a fan of the Storm and Cassidy connection that's started to blossom in recent days, even after Storm assured her that 'nothing sexual' was going on.

ROH World Champion Bandido defeated The Beast Mortos. Bandido closed out a spectacular 2025 with another great in-ring performance. In addition to utilizing his speed and agility, Bandido showed off some incredible power by lifting his much larger opponent onto his shoulders to deliver a modified GTS. He followed that up with an equally impressive 21 Plex for the win. Next up for Bandido is a shot at MJF's AEW World Championship in two weeks at Maximum Carnage.

Brody King defeated Lee Johnson. This was an easy night at the office for the big man. Johnson was able to get a few good shots in, but Brody dominated much of the match and he finished Lee off with a thunderous Gonzo Bomb.

Fans heard from Darby Allin during a pre-recorded video package. He said that he's looking forward to climbing to the top of AEW in 2026, but he has some unfinished business to attend to first. Darby has beaten every member of the Death Riders, except for PAC. He said at some point he was going to get a rematch and beat The Bastard, because it's something he has to do for himself. 

AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defeated Josh Alexander in an Eliminator Match. This was a match that was a race against the clock for the Walking Weapon. All Alexander had to do was survive to the end of the 20-minute time limit and he would be in line for a shot at the Continental Championship, and he nearly got there. In the end, however, Mox was able to battle through his lingering injuries from The C2 and he choked out Alexander with just seconds remaining on the clock.

After the match was over, MVP and Shelton Benjamin appeared at the top of the entrance and stared Moxley down. The Continental Champion made eye contact with The Hurt Syndicate before he very gingerly hopped over the guardrail and left the arena through the crowd.

The Triangle of Madness delivered a message to AEW Women's Champion Kris Statlander after she defeated her friend Jamie Hayter at Worlds End. Thekla said it's lonely at the top and that the three of them would happily take her spot collectively.

Ricochet defeated Jungle Jack Perry to retain the AEW National Championship. This one simply came down to the numbers game. Toa Liona took out Perry's back-up early in the match when he attacked an injured Luchasauras at ringside. They ended up backstage for a time, which left Jungle Jack alone to go against Ricochet with Bishop Kaun still hanging around outside. Kaun eventually grabbed at Perry when the referee wasn't looking, and that was the opening that Ricochet needed to hit the Spirit Gun to hang onto the National Championship.

The Gates of Agony assaulted Luchasaurus on the stage after the match was over. They trapped his already injured shoulder underneath a guardrail and smashed it repeatedly with a steel chair. Ricochet delivered a second Spirit Gun to Jack Perry in the ring to keep him from making the save. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select is reporting that Luchasaurus' injury is legitimate and he's expected to miss time away from the ring.

We heard from the Death Riders backstage. Jon Moxley said that MVP and Shelton Benjamin didn't need to make some kind of public statement earlier in the night. He's not hard to fight and he's not going to back down. Wheeler Yuta also corrected Darby Allin. He said he's never been him and he'll have to if he wants to get to PAC.

Willow Nightingale defeated Mercedes Moné to win the TBS Championship. Willow and Mercedes showcased their tremendous chemistry with one another and delivered one final banger for All Elite Wrestling in 2025. The drama was high right up until the end, when Willow was able to escape a count out loss at the last second after she was suplexed onto the commentary table. The CEO tried multiple times to put Willow away with the Moné Maker, but Nightingale was able to slip out of each attempt. She eventually caught Mercedes with the Babe with the Power Bomb and pinned her shoulders to the mat to win the TBS Title for the second time in her career.

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Rick Ucchino
RICK UCCHINO

Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com

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