Biased Thoughts: AEW WrestleDream
Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle. Washington. 6,4k Tickets Sold. October 1st 2023
MJF vs The Righteous for the ROH Tag Championships (**) I´m tired of MJF as Champion, he is taking the house show schtick to TV and even PPV and at this point I just think of people that could have the Championship and having better storylines and even matches.
Eddie Kingston vs Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH World Championship and the NJPW STRONG Championship (****) Real music here, just guys that rock having a great showing.
Kris Statlander vs Julia Hart (***1/2) Really good match here, Statlander is a very good wrestler and when they give her time she has delivered, I still think she has a higher ceiling. Good match
Young Bucks vs The Gunns vs Lucha Bros vs Hook & Orange Cassidy (***1/4) Fun 4 way spotfest and I think we will get Young Bucks vs FTR 4, hopefully is way better than the All In match.
Swerve Strickland vs Hangman Page (****3/4) This match was special for two things, the selling and the crowd. The selling was an amazing work from both specially how Hangman was always hitting with something the hurt hand of Swerve. The crowd was an all timer cheering for Swerve as well of booing Hangman. Truly fantastic stuff.
Ricky Starks vs Wheeler Yuta (***3/4) This was a very good match, they really beat the shit out of each other and I liked this match because keeps Starks in a PPV, gives him a win and tell us his feud vs BCC continues. Also is nice to have Wheeler in a PPV.
Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr (****1/2) We knew what we wanted, we knew what to expect with this two wrestlers in the same ring… This delivered greatly, awesome showing for both.
Konosuke Takeshita, Will Ospreay & Sammy Guevara vs Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho (****1/2) This was another fantastic match, the sequences between the people feuding with each other as well of showcasing the main strenghts of people that are heavily push in AEW, like Takeshita that lookes like a savage. Another great match.
FTR vs Aussie Open for the AEW World Tag Tean Championship (****1/4) The streak of great matches continues and eventhough I wanted Aussie Open to win I suspect they wanted to have Bucks vs FTR 4 because they know the London match was far from they usual level for both teams.
Darby Allin vs Christian Cage for the TNT Championship (****3/4) This type of match structure can get fucked by a lot of things either injury or overbooking… This match had enough good luck (Darby didn´t get killed) and fantastic booking that was one of the best main events for AEW in 2023. Darby and Christian Cage have revitalized the TNT Championship so well, very happy to see it after the Championship been booked weak. Awesome match and a great way to end WrestleDream.
Rating of the Show: 9/10
This PPV was fantastic and keep the streak of great shows from AEW as well to deliver booking wise. I do wanted Aussie Open to win but Mark Davis fucked his wrist so yeah… Also the women´s match was great too. The hilarious thing is that in my opinion the worst thing of the show was MJF with his overuseness of schtick and lame lay out of matches that feels that is phoning it. My main highlight was Swerve vs Hangman, what a fantastic match and performance by Page, Strickland and Prince Nana.
