AEW WrestleDream 2023

AEW WrestleDream 2023

October 2023 - Seattle, Washington

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, the AEW World Champion was MJF, Saraya was the AEW Women's Champion, the TBS Champion was Kris Statlander, the TNT Champion was Christian, the World Trios Championships were held by Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed, and the AEW World Tag Team Champions were FTR. 

The first ever WrestleDream kicked off with MJF taking on The Righteous in a 2-on-1 handicap match for the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships. This was mostly played for laughs and built around MJF's pre-match promo and crowd-pleasing spots (a hyped-up bodyslam and the Kangaroo Kick). I liked that MJF had to use leverage to get the eventual pin but Dutch and Vincent definitely didn't come out of this looking very strong. Of course, it's the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championships, not the AEW World Tag Team Championships so it's not like they were or even are considered a top prize. As someone who liked The Righteous, it was disappointing that any of their momentum was halted here. As was noted at the time, MJF not defending his AEW World Championship on this show was a real missed opportunity as even a 10-minute pseudo-squash would've probably been better than this. Not my thing, but excessively panned on Cagematch. For what this was, it had the crowd engaged. (2/5)

Eddie Kingston took on Katsuyori Shibata in the next match with both men putting their respective championships on the line (Kingston being the ROH World Champion and Shibata being the NJPW Openweight Champion). This was meant to be an homage to 90s Japanese wrestling with its physicality and deliberate pacing built around snug submission and stiff strikes, but paying homage can only carry a match so far before you start to want something fresh or original to differentiate it from what its source material. I'm not sure this match had anything new to say and ended up feeling a bit longer than its 10-minute runtime. (1.5/5)

Kris Statlander defended her TBS Championship against Julia Hart of the House of Black in the next match. I dug this one. Statlander hit a killer vertical suplex early before they went to the outside. Hart gained control by tripping Stat up and she took a nasty bump on the apron. Hart hit an ugly off-the-back senton a few minutes later but I appreciated how much these two "went for it" despite not getting too many minutes. Stat hit a beautiful running knee and, after some slight interference from Brody King, slapped the mist out of Hart's mouth before she could use it. Stat performed a ridiculous deadlift German suplex. They eventually got onto the top rope where Hart flipped Stat off the top rope. Hart hit a moonsault (with Stat not even attempting to roll out of the way, which was a bit noticeable) but then Statlander countered a submission attempt into a tombstone, maintained her grip and hit her with the Sunday Night Fever for 3. This was too short to be considered great and there was some obvious cooperation/telegraphing at times, but this exceeded my expectations quite a bit and both women hit some really good-looking offense. A very good sub-10 minute match and the best on the show up till that point. (3/5)

The next match was to decide who would be the Number One Contenders for the AEW World Tag Team Championships - The Gunns vs. The Lucha Bros vs. Orange Cassidy and HOOK vs. The Young Bucks. Fenix came into this match as the AEW International Champion, having won the title in very surprising fashion after Jon Moxley called an audible to take the L when he realized he was hurt during their match a few days before this. Fenix sold how much the fight with Mox had taken out of him from the start as he started the contest against Nick Jackson and then Orange Cassidy. The Gunns took out the Bros on the outside and then tried to pin one another, but the ref wouldn't count it. In came the Bucks to drop them with superkicks as the match devolved into a series of tandem spots and it became unclear who was even legal. HOOK and Matt Jackson squared off with both men delivering body shots and trading Northern Lights Suplexes. This led to a multi-man vertical suplex spot as Schiavone noted that Rey Fenix had seemingly been taken out of the match entirely. Pentagon came in but couldn't get much offense in. The match slowed and got a little wonky when The Gunns and HOOK had their stretch, but Pentagon eventually got the hot tag and the match shifted back into the hands of the more experienced workers. HOOK attempted to apply the Redrum on Austin Gunn but Nick Jackson hit the 450 to break it up. We got a cool finishing sequence from there that featured a unique Pentagon/Matt Jackson combo move in which Penta delivered a cradle piledriver on Cassidy while also having HOOK locked up on his back. The Bucks got the victory from there with a BTE Trigger. This felt like they were holding back a bit and purposefully not trying to burn out the crowd with dives or intricate sequences, which isn't exactly what one might expect from a match involving The Bucks, Pentagon, and OC. It was solid but a bit underwhelming. (3/5)

Swerve Strickland vs. "Hangman" Adam Page in a grudge match followed. This was the first match between these two, the start of an epic rivalry that would bring us some of the most violent matches of the past few years. Swerve was the hometown hero at this show and Page played the heel from the very start. Lots of signature moves out of both guys early on which gave things a 50/50 feel until Page caught Swerve with a powerbomb on the apron and then the barricade before hitting him with the moonsault to the floor. Swerve kicked out of a pop-up Ligerbomb and went to the outside. Page came at him with a tope and then whipped him into the barricade to maintain control. Page delivered a flying clothesline from the top for 2 and a deadlift German Suplex, but Swerve rallied with a Flatliner and then a brainbuster. Strickland followed it up with a nifty backbreaker and went to the top, but Page followed him up to try to bring him down with a superplex. Swerve fought back and hit him with a Swerve Stomp and then a House Call for 2.5. Page went to the apron and evaded another Stomp but got pulled hard into the post. Swerve went for a piledriver on the steps but Page countered it into a Deadeye! Page tried to set up Swerve for the Buckshot but Strickland prevented it by narrowing the gap and not giving him enough space to work. Page attempted one after biting Swerve's hand but Strickland countered it with an armbar and then stepped on Page's bent wrist! Nasty stuff! Page rolled to the apron and was getting looked at by the doctor but Page hit him with another Stomp! And then a 450 on the injured arm for 2.5! Great sequence there that could've been a believable finish. Swerve went for another armbar but Page got his foot on the bottom rope. I didn't love the first Stomp spot because it required too much of Page's cooperation, but the apron one was beautiful. The home stretch was really good with more counters and Prince Nana pulling Swerve's foot onto the rope to save him from a pin. This allowed Swerve to hit Page with Nana's crown when he attempted a Buckshot Lariat and nearly ending the match. From there, Swerve hit two more Last Calls and then the Big Pressure (JML Driver) to finish Hangman off. This was an excellent match that showcased Page and Swerve's chemistry and toughness. (3.5/5)

Wheeler Yuta took on Ricky Starks in the next match. I liked that they had Moxley on commentary but am not sure they needed Good Ol' JR too. Yuta is a bit like Adam Cole in that he doesn't have a great "look," though at least he's reasonably tall and his moveset plays to his strengths - submissions, quickness - and isn't built around shit moves like Panama Sunrise which require obvious cooperation from his opponent. Starks doesn't look all that much bigger, but he's more muscular (I doubt that his true height is 6'0'', though). This felt like a TV match more than anything and seemed to hint towards a Ricky Starks/Jon Moxley match that I don't recall ever happening. Not bad, but not particularly memorable. (2.5/5)

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in a match to determine the best technical wrestler in the world was next. I enjoyed the hell out of this, though I think it would've been an even stronger presentation without Moxley and JR on commentary. JR had little input aside from the occasional bit of praise and seemed to be "drowned out" by Mox, who talked over most of the match. Unlike Yuta and Starks, a much "colder" bout that benefitted from Mox's energy, this was the kind of match where silence would've spoke volumes as the action in the ring told the story better than any narrator could. Commentary aside, this was maybe just slightly underwhelming due to its finish, which saw Danielson take Sabre out with two Baisuku Knees rather than the expected submission finish that I (and maybe most fans) were hoping for. I loved Sabre's work on Danielson's arm throughout the match, especially the way his cut-offs targeted the Dragon's previously-injured forearm. I loved the mirror work on display at times. The crowd was hot for this from beginning to end too. Its rare when a match goes 20+ minutes and you still wish it went another 5-6 but this is that kind of match because all the work was so good and, somehow, it didn't even really feel like both guys had reached their limit. I wanted to enjoy this match more, but it didn't quite reach the level of greatness I was hoping for/expecting. A hair short of must-see but, as is often the case for elite-level workers like Danielson, this sort of match from most any other talent would probably be a career-best but for him wouldn't even rank in the top 20. (3.5/5)

A six-man match pitting Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Kota Ibushi against Don Callis' Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay followed. Good for what it was, but I wish they would've shaved 3-4 minutes from this match and given it to Danielson and Sabre Jr. Everyone "got their shit in," though it was a bit noticeable how much Ibushi was "protected" and I wonder if he wasn't actually 100% for this match. You could tell that everyone in this match was able to take a bit of a night off because they were able to spread the wealth a bit, but that also made this feel a bit perfunctory rather than a super-important, intense match of consequence. Because of the star power and the crowd's enthusiasm, this felt "bigger" than a Dynamite main event - something that couldn't be said of some of the matches on this card - but this was still far from "must see." (2.5/5)

Aussie Open - Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis - challenged FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championships in the next match. I liked this a good bit, but the crowd seemed pretty burned out and uninterested at times. Watching these shows in chunks really helps in that. By this point in the evening, the crowd had seen basically every big "name" on the AEW roster so making them care about an FTR/Aussie Open match was an uphil battle. Fortunaely, both teams are top-notch, deliver excellent tandem offense, and have great timing. I'd also give credit to Mark Davis for not just working through his wrist injury, but weaving it into the match to the point that I had to look up whether or not it was legitimate and not part of the plan. (3/5)

Main event time - Darby Allin vs. Christian in a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the AEW TNT Championship. Darby came in as the hometown hero seeking revenge for Christian's cruel verbal attacks against his family (and that of his trainer, Buddy Wayne, who had passed away in 2017). Speaking of Darby, as expected, he took some absolutely hellacious bumps throughout this match but the spots built around the steel steps were especially gnarly and dangerous (as Christian looked too gassed to perform them safely). I loved the first fall ending with Darby getting something a bit like a "flash pin" and catching Christian off guard and then Christian being forced to get dirty to even things up. This was very in-tune with his character at the time. The 3rd fall was extra rough and violent with Christian exposing the wooden beams underneath the ring mat. Would exposing the wood lead to a DQ? I don't think so (as its not using a foreign object but just modifying the ring...though, that does make me wonder if anyone's ever been disqualified for uncovering the turnbuckle pad). Anyway...the Nick Wayne heel turn was fairly predictable but at least the live crowd "bought in." I don't understand why it took so long for Sting to show up (and why, when he did come out, he looked pretty banged up). Also, did he forget his signature baseball bat? His arrival and Killswitch's arrival both seemed to be messed up in terms of timing and execution. Before they could deliver a Con-Chair-To to the Stinger, we got the debut of Adam Copeland. I liked Copeland's video, I thought the crowd response came off well, and I thought Copeland's spears looked good here (and it was great heel work by Christian to be the only one to avoid one), but him posing and playing to the crowd before saving Sting and Darby was silly and those "moments" could've been saved for after he had dispatched the heels. All in all, this match (and I'm including the post-match) had some very good elements but also some that I was less pleased with. (3.5/5)

Earning a Kwang Score of 2.5-out-of-5 on the Kwang Meter, WrestleDream 2023 starts out slow with two mediocre matches before course-correcting with a strong TBS Championship match, the 4-way tag match, and the Hangman/Swerve bout. While Yuta/Starks felt like a TV match, Sabre Jr. and Danielson, the six man, and the World Tag Team Titles match were all good-to-great (though I wouldn't consider any of them Match of the Year candidates). The main event was a bit of a mixed bag as Darby put on a tremendous performance, but Nick Wayne's predictable turn and the weirdly timed Sting "save" were frustrating in their illogical execution. Adam Copeland's debut in AEW was a cool moment for what it was and, at the time, I can understand Tony Khan wanting it to be the last thing the fans saw...but, knowing now that leaning into the "sports-entertainment" side of things didn't necessarily yield great results in terms of raising viewership or even engagement from the die-hard AEW fanbase, I almost wonder if they shouldn't have swapped it out with the Bryan/Sabre Jr. match, which must better defined what makes AEW different than the WWE. 

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