AEW WrestleDream 2024

AEW WrestleDream 2024

Tacoma, WA - October 2024

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Bryan Danielson was the AEW World Heavyweight Champion, the International Champion was Will Ospreay, the Continental Champion was Okada, the World Trios Championship was held by The Blackpool Combat Club's Claudio Castagnoli, PAC, and Wheeler Yuta, Mercedes Mone was the TBS Champion, the TNT Champion was Jack Perry, the AEW World Tag Team Champions were the Young Bucks, and the AEW Women's Champion was Mariah May. 

The show opened with Jay White taking on "Hangman" Adam Page. This was a really good match, though it obviously didn't have the same level of heat as some of Page's recent work with Jarrett and Swerve Strickland. I'm a fan of Jay White so it was nice to see him on a major show in a spotlighted match. He did not disappoint either. Loved Page's powerbomb onto the steel steps and felt like they could've ended the match there because of how vicious it was. Minutes later, Jay White hit a kneebreaker onto the edge of the stage that was also really cool. They got plenty of time to tell a story and they did, plus the clean outcome was unexpected but still felt earned. I wouldn't consider this "must see," but it was a strong opening for the show and certainly an above-average match-up. (3/5)

Mariah May defended the AEW Women's World Championship against Willow Nightingale in the next match. Someone in the audience had a "Best Women's Roster Ever" sign and I'm not sure if they were being serious or sarcastic. Like the opener, this match felt a little bit "microwaved" more than it felt like a part of an actual full-on storyline. Nightingale is great and her and May had a really good match that built up to some thrilling final minutes, but I'm not sure anyone in the arena or watching at home felt like the outcome was ever in question. When Willow wins the big one, it will come after a lengthy pursuit of the title and May has really only just begun her reign and is still, in many ways (including her use of the Storm Zero piledriver as her finisher), linked to the former champion, Toni Storm. Wrestling-wise, I thought this was very good, but storyline-wise, it was missing suspense. (3/5)

The TNT Champion, Jack Perry, defended his title against Shibata in the next match. Shibata is a very good wrestler and he does have an undeniable charisma, but this still felt like a match you might get on an episode of Rampage more than it felt like a PPV-worthy match. Jack Perry is still missing something to me and I'm not sure why he won't go "full chickenshit" despite his bumping and selling maybe being the best part of his game. I think Perry would be wise to study up on some of the all-time chickenshit heels - from Ric Flair to early Jericho to Hollywood Hogan to Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette - and see what he can add to his repertoire because him being an angry, evil tough guy isn't clicking and works against his body, size, and the heat that he is capable of getting. The finish was the best part of the match because Perry lucked into a victory, which is exactly the kind of nonsense that would work best with a more cowardly heel. This led to Daniel Garcia coming out to a big reaction, followed by MJF to an even bigger reaction, followed by Adam Cole, who got an even larger one. The post-match segment was a lot of fun and the lack of mention of the Undisputed Kingdom is a good sign that maybe they'll just forget that whole storyline. The match wasn't bad - it was no less than average because Shibata is almost incapable of putting on a match that doesn't have at least a few cool moments in it - but it didn't feel worthy of being on a PPV. (2.5/5)

The International Championship was on the line in the next match as Will Ospreay defended the strap against Ricochet and Takeshita. This was filled with the kind of ridiculous "spotfest" maneuvers that you would have to be a fool not to expect, but with these three in the ring, its all so impressive and innovative and "I've never seen that before!"-level that its hard to criticize the overt no-selling. Highlights of this match included a wild spot early on when Rico came flying out of the ring onto Takeshita on the outside, got caught, and then Ospreay hit the same splash to bring everyone down, a pair of incredible apron spots (Takeshita hitting a DVD on Ospreay but then eating a Meteora from Rico), a Backslide Bomb from Ricochet to counter a Hidden Blade (this would fall under the category of "I've Never Seen That Before"), and every single Takeshita forearm - which were all brutal as hell. There was a corner spot towards the end that didn't look like it was executed perfectly, but, again, it was the difficulty factor that made it so impressive that they even attempted it. There was a "Chekhov's Gun" element with Takeshita setting up a table on the outside and when it finally did get used, it might've been one of the most vicious table bumps of recent memory as Takeshita put Rico through the table with one of his double-cradle piledriver things. Incredible. I've become a massive Takeshita mark. I loved Callis' interference at the end and the non-reveal of Fletcher being the guy to screw Ospreay as Nigel called it perfectly and didn't do the whole "Who is that under the hood?" gimmick that we've heard countless announcers do despite it being very obvious who is doing the attack. Is it possible that Ospreay was actually the least impressive competitor in this match? Or maybe was spotlighted the least? Any which way, this was a ton of a fun, but I must admit that the rampant no-selling and shrugging off of major moves just for the sake of inserting yet another insane counter or reversal does get to be a bit much to my taste. (3.5/5)

Backstage, we got a cool moment as Jerry Lynn told Orange Cassidy that he could be "The Guy." I liked it. We then got Prince Nana in the ring welcoming Swerve Strickland, who got a huge hometown reception. Strickland announced that he is now medically cleared and was about to share his future before getting interrupted by MVP and Shelton Benjamin. This led to a really great promo from Strickland and a pull-apart between him and Shelton that got a ton of heat. Great, great segment.

Next up - Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match. This felt like it was put on the show to hype AEW's recent deal with Fox Sports Mexico, but hey, who cares? If that's what it takes to put a terrific lucha match on a show like this, I'm all for it. The Beast Mortos is an incredible performer and I could see the argument that he deserved the W here, but I fully understand why TK isn't ready to abandon the Hologram push. It's not like Hologram isn't a fine performer in his own right, but Mortos is something else. This had some good psychology toward the end as both guys tried to finish the other off with the same series of maneuvers that had earned them a fall in the earlier match, but it still felt maybe a touch long overall. (3/5)

Darby Allin took on Brody King in the next match. These two always deliver but this felt almost mild compared to the amount of violence I was expecting. Maybe the lack of a stipulation was why or maybe they just wanted to do a more straight-forward "greatest hits"-type match that referenced their history and wanted to give it some temporary closure rather than build to more? I'm not sure I'd call it a disappointment as that would be going too far and downplaying some of the awesome work both guys did at not only delivering some sick spots (mostly involving the steel steps) but also telling the David-v-Goliath story their entire rivalry has been built around. As noted earlier, this felt a bit like a Last Chapter-for-Now match (especially with Brody finally giving Allin his well-earned respect during the post-match) designed to push Darby Allin even further towards the direction of potentially becoming the AEW World Champion sometime in 2025, a move that will undoubtedly be seen as controversial regardless of how over Allin is. Like Rey Mysterio in 2006, some people will just never be able to look past "the look," his size, his weight, and his style. Anyway, this was another clearly above-average match, but maybe not one that I would consider "must see." (3/5)

The AEW Tag Team Championships were on the line in the next bout as The Young Bucks defended the titles against Private Party. The AEW production team went overboard trying to build up this match as Private Party's big title opportunity and the commentators put in an equal amount of work to remind fans that they hold two victories over the Bucks...but this still felt pretty heatless and, at one point, you could hear a pin drop in the arena because the crowd just didn't seem invested beyond oohing-and-aaahing at the big high-flying spots. The nifty nearfalls towards the end of the match were the only things pushing this match beyond just the average range. Private Party got a nice response from the crowd for their efforts at the end of the match, but they still don't seem remotely over enough to be considered real contenders at this point. (3/5)

Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho for the Ring of Honor World Championship followed. This one somehow earned over 4-stars in the Observer. It was a perfectly fine match and there's no doubt that both guys put in a ton of effort and are working very hard to get this feud over as deeply personal, but it still comes across as a bit too wacky for me. Jericho's over-the-top Learning Tree gimmick isn't the worst character he's ever had, but its far from the best and I don't think they've capitalized on the overness and ability of of Big Bill nearly enough. Mark Briscoe's Redneck Kung Fu wildman gimmick is over with longtime fans of the Briscoes, but because I don't have that connection with him and his character, I find it more irritating than fun. Not a bad match, but nothing really special. (2.5/5)

Main event time - Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson for Danielson's AEW World Championship. This match had "big fight feel" and started off with a bang as Moxley went right after Danielson as he was making his way into the ring. This was a brutal fight with Danielson taking a ton of punishment as Mox worked on his neck throughout the contest. That being said, what looked at times in the beginning like the Lesnar/Cena match from SummerSlam 2014, did not end up being nearly as one-sided as it went on and Danielson got some offense in. I liked Moxley's focus throughout the match, but was maybe a little bit less of a fan of Danielson's work here - which is not something I've probably ever written before. Telling the story of suffering such tremendous neck damage seemed at odds with Danielson's various hope spots, especially the repeated use of the Baisaku Knee, which almost feels like something he couldn't and shouldn't have been able to even have the ability to perform with how much punishment he'd taken. In a way, because of some of the moves Mox delivered - the piledriver on the table, the Paradigm Shift on the concrete - I maybe thought this would've worked better if Danielson had had even less offense towards the end. As for the finish, it was certainly a memorable one, almost a "whimper by design" instead of an exclamation point because of what it symbolized. Though I don't think it was ever fully delineated (like it was for Ric Flair's first retirement), Danielson's story in 2024 has basically been that his next loss would be his last match. The shock of Danielson's career ending by essentially a ref's decision - he did not tap, he was not pinned, he didn't even "pass out" - gives them plenty of wiggle room to build towards an eventual rematch but still worked as making it clear that this version of Moxley was just too dangerous, too unhinged, but also too methodical for Danielson to beat. After the match, we got a big end-of-the-show angle with the BCC coming out and tearing Danielson apart, Wheeler Yuta turning on his mentor, and Darby Allin getting to play the would-be hero (and clearly being positioned as the top babyface in the war against Mox and Co.). A very good match but maybe a bit underwhelming. (3.5/5)

With an overall Kwang rating of 3-out-of-5, WrestleDream 2024 delivered the goods more often than not. AEW's roster is so stacked with talent that its nearly impossible for them to put out a bad product in terms of in-ring action and their PPVs have consistently featured multiple excellent matches. This show was no different as the opener, main event, 2-out-of-3 falls match, Allin/King, and especially the International Championship match were all worth checking out if you're at all a fan of the competitors involved. What hurt this show, as compared to previous offerings, was the lack of real heat in several of the matches - the Page/White feud had little build, the Private Party/Bucks storyline feels lukewarm at best, and the Hologram/Mortos match felt like it was more about pushing AEW's partnership with Fox Sports Mexico than it was about moving Hologram up the rankings and making him more than just the latest luchador to get spotlighted but not really treated like a top guy. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand