Kazuchika Okada defeated Konosuke Takeshita in a Continental Classic semifinal marred by a controversial finish involving a screwdriver.
The victory sends the AEW Unified Champion to the tournament final later in the AEW Worlds End pay-per-view.
The opening bout of the main card began with a tense exchange as Okada offered a handshake, which Takeshita slapped away. The action quickly escalated, with Takeshita executing a flip dive to the outside. Okada regained control by dropping Takeshita onto a chair and the barricade, later mocking his stablemate with a middle finger.
The match featured high-impact counters, including Takeshita reversing a tombstone piledriver into a Bastard Driver and a release German suplex.
Okada later connected with a Rainmaker clothesline that Takeshita absorbed, leading to a sequence where Takeshita countered a second Rainmaker into a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Takeshita further threatened an upset with a Poison Rana and a Power Drive Knee, forcing a close two-count.
The finish occurred when Okada retrieved a screwdriver hidden in a turnbuckle pad. After Takeshita initially dodged a strike, referee Paul Turner clunkily turned his attention away from the action, allowing Okada to strike Takeshita with the weapon and secure the pinfall.
Don Callis, who sat on commentary, briefly checked on Takeshita after the bell before leaving up the ramp to celebrate with Okada, abandoning the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in the ring.
Kazuchika Okada advances to the Continental Classic final later in the show against the winner of the upcoming match between Jon Moxley and Kyle Fletcher.
