Peter Klein previews the exciting AEW WrestleDream event, featuring huge matches like Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley for the World Title and Mark Brisco vs. Chris Jericho for the ROH Title. Plus, Peter gives his thoughts on top bouts like Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Hangman vs. Jay White, and more. Don't miss this detailed preview of AEW’s can’t-miss show!
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Yes, Wrestle Dream going down this weekend from Tacoma, Washington in the main event.
00:08It is Bryan Danielson putting his title and career on the line against Jon Moxley, but
00:14a lot to get to before we get to that.
00:17We will discuss this as it goes along, and it's something we've talked about a lot with
00:21AEW pay-per-views.
00:2211 matches on the main card is too much, and I don't know if someone at Wikipedia is just
00:27shitting with us with this thing, but holy fuck, man.
00:32This is, it's a lot, and it's one of those where, like, obvious, and look, like, a lot
00:36of times I would say, well, and you could stack up some Dynamites and really make, like,
00:40must-see TV all the way through.
00:42It's not like Dynamites haven't been stacked lately, right?
00:45So there's just, there is a lot, it's probably too much, but we are probably going to come
00:50out of this card and be talking about AEW as the biggest wrestling show of, or one of
00:56the great wrestling shows of the year.
00:59So that's probably what's going to happen here.
01:01So, let's get into it.
01:02We will start with the Ring of Honor television, or not television championship, just the Ring
01:06of Honor title on the line as Mark Briscoe defends against Chris Jericho.
01:10I joined a lot of people in saying that the Chris Jericho line about Jay Briscoe was...
01:19too far.
01:20And it is something that you would hope that Chris Jericho was good enough that he wouldn't
01:24need to do in order to get any kind of heat or anything like that, but the Jericho Vortex
01:29hasn't really been going all that great for people, so I think that it just, it kind of
01:33reeked of desperation, and I didn't, I didn't think it was necessary.
01:37I didn't like it.
01:38And so, it just, it was just a bit of like a, ugh, really?
01:44Really?
01:45This match is going to be interesting.
01:47It's not a match that I think a lot of people thought of in terms of, oh, well, who is Chris
01:51Jericho going to wrestle at some point in his career?
01:53Obviously, Mark Briscoe.
01:55But I think this will be an interesting match.
01:56I think it'll be a whole lot of fun.
01:58It's good to get Mark Briscoe on a pay-per-view.
02:00I am interested that there has been, I feel like, maybe, and this is just anecdotally,
02:06it feels like there has been a little bit more Ring of Honor engagement in some stuff
02:09lately, and so I do wonder if that ends up being part of the new TV deals and all of
02:14those sorts of things, but I think Briscoe gets the win here.
02:18That's kind of where I think this ends up going.
02:20I think this is going to be a fun match, for sure.
02:23Darby Allin taking on Brodie King.
02:24Just a singles match.
02:26Darby Allin venting his frustration about losing a championship opportunity, and now
02:30he faces Brodie King.
02:31I think the way they got there was pretty good, where these guys kind of discussed,
02:34like, yeah, we have a past, we know each other, and Brodie King kind of being jealous of what
02:42Darby Allin has, I think that there's, I think they did a pretty good job of getting that
02:46one going pretty quick.
02:47I think this match is going to be incredibly physical, and it is going to be a match that
02:52I think really does get a lot of people's attention, and hopefully starts to elevate
02:57Brodie King a little bit, because that is a project that I think AEW should maybe put
03:02a little bit more into.
03:03So I, honestly, I don't know where they go with this one, because Darby feels like he
03:08should be above Brodie right now, and, like, you just, you see Darby, and he is just so
03:14unique from anything else that is in wrestling, and the entrance is amazing, and the crowd
03:18is behind him.
03:19And I feel like there should be something with him, and if the main event goes kind
03:24of the way I think it's going to go, then I think Darby Allin should have a bit more
03:27momentum here.
03:28So I would have Darby pick up the win in this particular bout.
03:31Jack Perry against Katsuyori Shibata for the TNT Championship, this will be another one
03:36that is a good match, but I think this is another one that is just continuing to build
03:39up Jack Perry, and continues to make him feel like a big deal, and add another big name
03:46to his resume.
03:47So I think that's probably going to be the gist of it.
03:50And this is another thing, and this isn't a unique one, so I'm not going to go too far
03:54into it, but too many titles in AEW, and I almost kind of hope that the way they combined
04:01three championships last year, with, what was it, the Strong, the Ring of Honor, and
04:06the Continental Championship, I hope they do that again, but with the International,
04:10the TNT, and the Continental, and just combine it into one championship belt for AEW, just
04:19one secondary championship for this company right now.
04:23But until then, we have International title, and this is going to be, I don't think you
04:28could have a more hyped match than Will Ospreay-Ricochet and Konosuke Takeshita.
04:34This is a bout that I think a lot of people are really excited for, and Ospreay-Ricochet,
04:40they get the screwy finish, and so it's a little disappointing because so many people
04:44have such a great memory of that bout from eight or nine years ago.
04:48The sport certainly has evolved since then, with a lot of guys doing a lot of things from
04:53that match, and so these guys need to find another level.
04:56And they didn't quite do that on Dynamite.
04:58Still an excellent match, but it was not the caliber that I think you thought these guys
05:02were going to get to.
05:03Adding a Takeshita in this, I think, is very intriguing, because he is a different style
05:08but he is also a fantastic performer.
05:11And I think this is going to be such an incredible bout.
05:14I do think that Ospreay comes away from this one with a victory, but I can see this being
05:20one of the match of the year candidates.
05:22No questions asked.
05:24Tag team titles on the line, Young Bucks against Private Party.
05:26There's part of me that thinks they could do kind of a similar thing that they did with
05:30the Gun Club, where a team isn't over yet, but we're going to give them the titles and
05:34hope that that helps them get over.
05:35I hope that is not the case here.
05:37I hope that this is the first step for Private Party towards eventually a championship opportunity
05:43than just a, here, take the titles and go.
05:46Because that's not going to help them, I don't think, at all.
05:49They aren't ready to be champions yet, but I think that this will be a good spotlight
05:53moment for them and a good opportunity for them to show what they can do.
05:57But I don't think that this is a show that, right now, I don't think this is a situation
06:03where they need to be the tag team champions.
06:06So I would keep it on the Young Bucks.
06:07Mariah May against Willow.
06:09It gets set up with a Fatal 4-Way win for Willow on Dynamite.
06:13This will be a good match, but I'm not really buying that Mariah May is going to lose right
06:17now.
06:18I think there is still a lot of story that is left with that one.
06:21But Willow, it's good to see her kind of staying in the championship picture or getting
06:24into the main championship picture right now.
06:28Hangman Adam Page.
06:29It is noteworthy, though, just to say.
06:3011 matches on this card, and one of them is a women's match.
06:35Putting that out there.
06:36Hangman Adam Page against Jay White.
06:39The Jay White return and response was actually a little surprising.
06:44It's not a character that I have felt like has clicked in AEW so far, but he leaves,
06:48he comes back, and all of a sudden he feels like kind of a big deal.
06:52I don't think he gets a win here against Hangman Page.
06:55I think the Hangman trajectory continues, and I don't think you have him win a blood
07:01feud one week so that he can put over Jay White on pay-per-view at the next show.
07:07So I think Hangman gets a victory here, and hopefully starts to progress his way up the
07:11card a little bit more.
07:13MXM Collection against The Acclaimed.
07:16I don't think this is a match that should be on pay-per-view.
07:18Again, this show, already 11 matches long.
07:22And so this popped up on the Wikipedia page.
07:24So if someone on Wikipedia is fucking with me on this, then you got me.
07:29Cool.
07:31But this is not a show that needs this match.
07:35This is not a match that needs to be on this show.
07:37Put it as a blood feud on Collision and call it a day.
07:40I will say The Acclaimed wins because everyone loves The Acclaimed.
07:43Two out of three falls for Hologram against Beast Mortos.
07:48This match will be bananas, but again, this is not a show that needed two out of three
07:54falls for Hologram and Beast Mortos.
07:56When you look at the talent and the matches that are going to be on here, I have no doubt
08:01that these two are going to put on an unbelievable show, but I worry that it could get lost in
08:07some of the other amazing things that are happening.
08:10I do understand, like at some point you do have to start elevating these guys and giving
08:13Brody Kings and Darby Allins and all of them a chance, but you should be able to elevate
08:17those guys and give them chances on an 8-match pay-per-view card.
08:21You shouldn't need 11 matches to be able to elevate your talent.
08:25But I think that we probably get a Beast Mortos win in this one, and I know Hologram
08:31is a pet project for this company right now, but I would say with Mortos joining whatever
08:37the Jake Roberts, uh, Ingobernables faction is going to be, um, I think that that is kind
08:46of the main thing for this right now, and so I think they end up getting the win.
08:51And then in the main event, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Heavyweight Championship.
08:56This match is just going to be unbelievable.
08:58I am so looking forward to it.
09:00Um, Jon Moxley, his promo is, I think he's probably the best promo in wrestling right
09:05now.
09:06I think it is just, it is so different, it is so unique, it is perfect for the character
09:11while still being real, while still, like it's all, he just does it in a way that is
09:16perfect for every aspect that you would want from a pro wrestling promo.
09:22And as I've said before, that there is, I think, reasonable doubt that this is the final
09:28match of the full-time wrestler for Bryan Danielson.
09:32I think we do get Danielson coming back for spot things here and there, but I do think
09:37that there is going to be a, um, a title change here, and thus the end of the full-time wrestler
09:43Bryan Danielson.
09:44I think story-wise, it makes a ton of sense with Jon Moxley getting it to tie up their
09:48whole little loose end from a couple of years ago, and the start of the BCC, and building
09:54it up that way.
09:56And I think it being in Tacoma is good, I think that they kind of speed-ran a couple
10:01of these matches to get Okada and Danielson, and Danielson and Nigel McGuinness, and so
10:08I think it makes a whole lot of sense for this to be the end of the full-time run here
10:12for Danielson, and then have him come back in spot whatevers.
10:15And I do think that this is probably the unveiling of whatever it is Moxley is talking about.
10:21I know a lot of people are thinking that it would be Shane McMahon, or something along
10:25those lines, um, and this kind of NWO type of a thing, um, I think that that would be
10:31it.
10:32And so that's why, I think early in the night, it makes sense for Darby Allin to get
10:35his win, and now you have Jon Moxley, who is trying to take AEW back from whoever, and
10:43you have Darby Allin, who is talking about how important this place has been to him,
10:48and that feud kind of elevates us through the rest of the year, full year, Worlds End,
10:53all of those sorts of things.
10:54So that's kind of how I view this whole thing playing out.
10:58But I do think it'll be interesting to see this show.
11:01Again, I worry it's too long, but I think that this has been a, overall, a pretty well-built
11:06show, and there's obviously a focus on getting a few more people over, um, it's just a matter
11:13of can they now.
11:14So it'll be interesting to see, but I'm looking forward to WrestleDream coming up this weekend.