Samoa Joe Wins AEW World Title At Worlds End, MJF's Historic Reign Ends At 407 Days

Samoa Joe upset the Long Island faithful as he captured the AEW World Championship from MJF at Worlds End.

MJF defended his 407-day title reign in his 12th overall title defense against Joe, a rematch of their "AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam" title bout in September, but the task proved to be insurmountable for MJF in the face of his injuries. MJF was joined by his former ROH Tag title-winning partner Adam Cole at ringside, who would prove instrumental to the result as he fumbled the "Dynamite Diamond Ring" in trying to give the champion an advantage. Joe would capitalize on that slight hiccup, locking in the coquina clutch, though for a brief moment MJF looked to have snatched victory with a roll-up, but Joe reaffirmed his submission for the referee's stoppage. Even referee Bryce Remsburg was surprised by the result before calling for the stoppage, and the crowd didn't seem to know how to react. Joe then walked out with the world title while MJF lay broken in front of his hometown crowd.

Joe will now head into the new year as the reigning world champion after an entire calendar year with MJF holding the title. It was revealed recently that MJF is suffering from a torn labrum.