AEW WrestleDream 2023 is coming up this Sunday and before the event takes place, let’s run down everything you need to know about the upcoming pay-per-view.
Who is scheduled for the card? How interesting does the show seem? What’s going to happen with all the matches?
Here is a full preview of AEW WrestleDream 2023.
PPV EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, October 1, 2023
Start Time: 7 p.m. ET (kickoff), 8 p.m. ET (main show)
Location: Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington
MATCH CARD, PREDICTIONS & HEAT INDEX ANTICIPATION LEVELS
(as currently advertised; card is always subject to change)
Temperature Scale = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Heat Index is my assessment of how interesting the segment is, including how excited I am for the match and how intriguing the feud has been. The hotter, the better. Scorching translates to not being able to wait to see it, while Freezing means I couldn’t possibly care less and think it will be awful.
SINGLES MATCH:
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Heat Index = Scorching
Prediction: Bryan Danielson wins.
Thoughts: Zero build, but this is a rare example where I don’t care. This should rule. Danielson wins so he can be an even bigger threat to fighting Kazuchika Okada again in the future, likely at Wrestle Kingdom.
SINGLES MATCH:
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland
Heat Index = Lukewarm > Temperate
Prediction: Adam Page wins.
Thoughts: Man, I really wish there was something here to make me care about this other than just thinking they’re two talented guys. Their contract signing promo bit on Dynamite was a solid promo and all, but it felt too little, too late. It wasn’t good enough to make me go OOOH SHIIIIT I CAN’T WAIT or anything. This is textbook boiler plate basic upper-midcard filler, so I can’t give it higher than a Lukewarm. Frankly, I’m tempted to go more Temperate, and I can’t really decide between the two. If I’m Tony Khan and I’m looking for someone to fight MJF in the near future, I’m giving this win to Swerve. My gut tells me Hangman just wins it, though.
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
FTR (c) vs. Aussie Open
Heat Index = Chilly
Prediction: FTR wins.
Thoughts: As I’ve said before about Aussie Open, they’re just guys. I feel like their level of talent at this day and age in pro wrestling where there are dozens upon dozens of people equally as good on both WWE and AEW rosters just makes them feel like they’re the equivalent of Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon circa 97 where they’re just sort of there. FTR retains. Definitely. And I’d imagine my brain is going to be half not paying attention to this match until they start heating things up.
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP 2-ON-1 HANDICAP MATCH:
MJF (c) vs. The Righteous
Heat Index = Chilly
Prediction: MJF retains.
Thoughts: Adam Cole is snake bit in AEW, isn’t he? Good lord. That guy can’t sustain a push for more than a couple months without something going wrong. When he was in this match, I still was disappointed because I want MJF to defend the title that actually matters the most in the company, rather than the THIRD most important TAG titles. Even still, I don’t have any buzz around The Righteous, either, so that was already another negative. Now that it’s a handicap match, I’m even less intrigued. Can’t we just get MJF vs Jay White for the world title instead? The only real thing of interest to me here is asking the question “Will there be an angle of some sort?” If there is, then going forward from that is interesting, but leading up to it will just be time filler with maneuvers. Now, if there isn’t an angle, and MJF just retains, then that will be a whole segment of me wondering why this couldn’t have just been on Dynamite, Rampage or Collision instead. And before you imply that this is some anti-AEW hate that I wouldn’t apply to WWE, I’d say the same thing if we had Seth Rollins at Fastlane fighting Tony D’Angelo and Stacks for the NXT tag titles.
TRIOS MATCH:
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi vs. The Don Callis Family (Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay and Konosuke Takeshita)
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: The Don Callis Family wins.
Thoughts: Six super talented guys in the ring, with a fresh heel turn from Sammy Guevara? Yup. This is one of the matches selling this event. I’m assuming the heat needs to stay on Don Callis for this and that side will pick up the victory, but it does have me questioning what the endgame is going to be. We know Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega will likely battle it out at Wrestle Kingdom, but what about the others? Hm…
2-OUT-OF-3 FALLS AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin
Heat Index = Hot
Prediction: Darby Allin wins.
Thoughts: Props on giving Christian Cage the TNT Championship outright. I’m ready for this feud to end with this match. There have been some fun elements along the way, but not everything needs to be some 8 match series that goes on for 5 months. Ideally, I want Cage to retain, but I’m about 50/50 on this. It does seem like there’s a very solid chance this does end only with Allin dropping the title, and possibly because Luchasaurus has a change of heart. Ah…now I’ve convinced myself Allin is winning and need to change my prediction up above.
UNIFIED ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Eddie Kingston wins.
Thoughts: I feel like I’ve seen this match before and I know exactly how it will play out. Eddie Kingston has the same match with anyone from that New Japan type style. So not only is that a “meh” for me after watching it a few times, and not only is it disappointing there’s nothing here as far as substance and it’s just 2 names being tossed together, but there’s NO way Kingston drops those titles, so it’s just a foregone conclusion. I’m not down on this so much as I’m not high on it, if you catch my drift. Give me something more to sink my teeth into. I don’t want to watch exhibitions all the time.
AEW TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart
Heat Index = Cold
Prediction: Kris Statlander wins.
Thoughts: Sorry ladies. Thumbs up for both of you, but this just feels like filler. I can’t imagine Statlander is dropping the belt. They spent too much time waiting around for Jade Cargill to drop it to Stat for her to lose it here. The intrigue about watching these two in the ring isn’t there for me like some Danielson vs Sabre Jr dream match type thing to make me go “Yeah, but I’ll definitely enjoy it regardless of the build.” This is something I won’t remember even happened by the end of the year, I bet, and it clearly isn’t the only one of those on this card.
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP NO. 1 CONTENDER’S FOUR-WAY MATCH:
The Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. Orange Cassidy and Hook
Heat Index = Lukewarm
Prediction: Orange Cassidy and Hook win.
Thoughts: What’s interesting about this match is that I don’t have any idea who will win, as I could see an argument for any of these teams coming out on top. I’ll go with OC and Hook because they’re the most oddball pairing here, naturally, and they haven’t fought FTR like the others. This is a “toss a bunch of people in here” match, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy the segment.
SINGLES MATCH:
Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
Heat Index = Temperate
Prediction: Ricky Starks wins.
Thoughts: I like them both, but again, I’m not gushing over the setup. Between them at this moment, I guess I’m going with Starks winning, as he’s the focal point of his side, whereas Yuta is perpetually still an underling in Blackpool Combat Club. There’s room for Starks to go on to feud more directly with someone like Claudio Castagnoli in a bigger match if he wins this, but if Yuta wins, then what does Starks do?
OVERALL PPV:
How excited am I for the event as a whole?
Heat Index = Scorching > Hot > Lukewarm > Temperate > Chilly > Cold > Freezing
Thoughts: AEW has a tendency to just toss matches on a pay-per-view as if everyone loves everyone on the roster 100% and will just blindly mark out over anything. You’ve got to admire the optimism. But at the same time, when it feels rushed like this and the past few events, it becomes a copy/paste of me saying the matches will range from halfway decent to great, but I’m struggling to care about any of it, and that’s what makes me tune out of a lot of the television product as well.
What do you think is going to happen at AEW WrestleDream? Which matches are you most excited to see? Keep the discussion going in the comments below!
