It's October and you know what that means!
AEW is back in Washington state for the second-annual WrestleDream PPV, and while it's quite a mixed bag of stuff - much of it thrown together kinda last-minute - there's no shortage of great on-paper matches on this show. The biggest story is of course the situation with Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley; Mox has intimated that someone else has "forced his hand," and that "this company doesn't belong to you anymore," whatever that means. I hope this isn't a Shane McMahon thing, because that would suck. But barring that I'm intrigued to see where this goes. The show feels like a bit of a reset overall, with a lot of unlikely matchups taking place and some new faces being included. There's a ton of variety here so it should at the very least be a fun and easy show to watch. Also Swerve Strickland returns, likely to further his angle with MVP's stable. Do we see the debut of Bobby Lashley?
Let's take a look....
Zero Hour - ROH TV Championship: Atlantis Jr. vs. Brian Cage
No idea who wins this as I haven't kept up with ROH goings-on. Atlantis is a very young wrestler with a CMLL background and Tony's been on a big lucha kick lately so I guess he retains?
Pick: Atlantis retains
ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho
This is a weird one. Is Jericho being tapped to lend his star power to the Ring of Honor brand again in the hopes that Tony can land them a proper TV deal? I'm honestly not sure what you do with ROH at this point; as a viable second AEW brand they kind of aren't needed, but they're a valuable developmental tool for younger talent. They should really be AEW's answer to NXT, but they still need a weekly show that isn't behind an exclusive paywall. Anyway I think Jericho probably wins the title again for a little while.
Pick: Jericho
Darby Allin vs. Brody King
Another odd one. Darby extended an open challenge and his former traveling buddy Brody answered. Is this just to give Darby a win over a big bruiser on his quest for the AEW Title? Match should be really good as these two always gel.
Pick: Darby
The Acclaimed vs. MxM Collection
Two of the most outlandish tag teams from a personality standpoint. While the idea of this match doesn't blow me away, it does feel like the type of undercard tag feud that would be featured on an old WrestleMania show. A good tag division should include rivalries that don't involve the titles, just as a good women's division should. Match should be fine. I guess the heels should win the first battle?
Pick: MxM
2/3 Falls Match: The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram
Tony is all-in on the luchas right now and this match should slap, as the kids say. These two have been building a feud for a while now, so hopefully this match elevates both of them. If given enough time this could be a show stealer (on any show that doesn't feature Ospreay-Ricochet-Takeshita).
Pick: Hologram seems to be the lucha of the hour, although he needs better ring gear that doesn't look so generic.
TNT Championship: Jack Perry vs. Katsuyori Shibata
This one is unexpected as well. Perry also put out an open challenge as I recall, and Shibata stepped up. I imagine this will be an NJPW-style fight. Should be fun. Perry keeps the title and beats a legit tough guy.
Pick: Perry retains
World Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks vs. Private Party
A rematch five years in the making, PP scored an early upset win over the Bucks in the inaugural Tag Title tournament back in 2019. This one really kinda feels like a "let's reset the tag division" match. Bucks are keeping the titles a while longer.
Pick: Young Bucks retain
Women's Championship: Mariah May vs. Willow Nightingale
It's a rematch from the Owen Cup, and should be a low-key banger. I think Willow probably should've beaten Kris Statlander last month if she was getting the shot here, but maybe this was originally intended for Britt Baker (get well soon!)? I could see this going either way. It seems too soon for Mariah to lose the belt but Toni could also come back and cost her the title, and they continue feuding while Willow goes on a title run. I guess Mariah probably shouldn't lose the belt so quickly.
Pick: Mariah retains
International Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Holy jumpin' shitballs. I think Match of the Night has already been decided. Give these guys 20+ minutes and let 'em fly. I reckon Takeshita finally wins AEW gold here, since Will already has a win over him, plus he just severed all ties with Don Callis so I'm sure that will have ramifications.
Pick: Takeshita
Hangman Page vs. Jay White
Another rematch from the Owen Cup, White cites Hangman as one of two people who blocked him from becoming AEW Champion. Not sure off the top of my head who the other was, Christian? Should be a fine contest. I guess White probably gets a win back from the tournament, but I'm not crazy about either of these guys losing right now.
Pick: White
AEW World Championship: Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley
Bryan has never gotten a win over Moxley in AEW, has he? And it doesn't seem like he's gonna start now. Dude seriously needs some time off to get healthy and begin the part-timer phase of his career. At the same time this feels premature, having Bryan's title run end after only seven weeks or so, especially when they sacrificed Swerve's run for it. I hope there's a bigger picture story behind it all - what motivated Moxley to betray Bryan and try to take over the company? Match itself will be great of course, I just need some answers.
Pick: Moxley
Very unusual lineup here and I'm not sure how I feel about the overall direction, but I have no doubt the show itself will deliver.
No comments:
Post a Comment