In a long post on social media, Adam Copeland explained why he decided to leave WWE and join AEW and urged fans to be just that, fans.
Copeland said that his new home is AEW and excited to work with some familiar faces and most importantly, new faces as well.
Addressing his 25 years with WWE, he said that he loves the company and appreciates everything that they did for him as they put him on the map, gave him a family, and provided him with a wonderful life.
“Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other,” he said. “I wanted to do more. They didn’t have much more for me to do. Simple as that. And that’s ok. I’ll still be watching and still be supporting all of my friends there.”
Copeland noted the divide between WWE and AEW fans and said that this is supposed to be fun and everyone in the business is grateful that there are more choices where to work.
“If you’re actually a fan of wrestling, and not acronyms, that should make you happy too,” he continued.
You can read the full statement below.
“From The Desk of… As some of you may now know, I’m no longer with WWE. My new home is AEW. I’m excited. Whole new roster. Some familiar faces that I wanted to work with again and a whole set of first ever matches. New challenges, and if you’ve followed my career, you know that’s what I’ve always been driven by.”
“But first and foremost I want to address my 25 years with WWE. I love WWE and appreciate everything the company did for me. Always have, always will. They put me on the map, gave me amazing opportunities and through hard work on both ends, I’ve been supplied with a wonderful life. Hell, WWE helped me meet the woman I’d start my family with. Sometimes relationships just grow apart and I feel the WWE and I have just outgrown each other. I wanted to do more. They didn’t have much more for me to do. Simple as that. And that’s ok. I’ll still be watching and still be supporting all of my friends there.”
“I don’t buy into this odd mentality of one company or the other. It’s weird. If you took offense to that, take a walk, get some fresh air and soak up some sunshine. It’s wrestling. An amazing gig. But still, it’s wrestling. Relax. It’s supposed to be fun. And it’s just a segment of the fans, not most fans, and definitely not the performers. Within the industry we all know that more choices is better for everyone and pushes us all to be better. As a wrestling fan, which I still am, it’s exciting that there’s viable companies providing wrestling on national and worldwide platforms. If you’re actually a fan of wrestling, and not acronyms, that should make you happy too.”
“I guess what I’m trying to say is this, if you’ve appreciated my work, you still can, no matter what the initials are. Because I’ll still be bustin my ass everytime I’m out there. This ride isn’t over just yet. Just try to have fun, like it should be. Because trust me I’ll be having fun everytime I’m out there in an AEW ring. Let’s go!”
Darby Allin showed up to the post-WrestleDream pay-per-view media scrum with his arm in a sling after he got injured during the main event match with Christian Cage.
Allin noted that he was going to get an x-ray and see how bad the damage is. The young star is notorious for some whacky, dangerous spots and it’s likely that his injury came when Christian body slammed him from the top of the apron onto the steel steps outside.
Speaking of Darby Allin, the teaser video with Adam Copeland which aired before he came out through the curtain was filmed with Allin and he noted that he met Copeland for the first time earlier this week.
Apart from Copeland’s arrival, Allin has also been directly involved with the arrivals of Sting and CM Punk, something that says a lot about how the company feels about him.
Adam Copeland will be appearing weekly on AEW television and will be wrestling “a lot” as part of his full-time deal with AEW.
The former WWE champion was the first one the face the press in the media scrum following the WrestleDream pay-per-view and said that when he came out for his spot, he “felt free” and it “felt fun” and he got the same feeling when he would come out for his matches during his indie days.
Copeland will be appearing on Dynamite on Wednesday for an in-ring promo and will have his first match the following week on Dynamite on Title Tuesday when AEW goes head-to-head with NXT. Copeland’s first opponent will be Luchasaurus.
AEW has already released merchandise for Copeland bearing the term Rated R Superstar, the same gimmick he used in WWE. WWE abandoned the trademark for the term in 2020 so AEW is free to use it. There is currently no trademark pending for the term from anyone.
Meanwhile, AEW President Tony Khan said that since Copeland has a great relationship with Alter Bridge, they were able to use the song and save some money in licensing fees in the process as well.
WWE Hall of Famer Adam Copeland made his AEW debut last night at WrestleDream.
Following a short teaser video, Copeland arrived after the main event match between Christian Cage and Darby Allin when there was mayhem in the ring. Cage, Luchasaurus, and Nick Wayne were destroying Allin and Sting and Cage setup Sting for the conchairto.
Alter Bridge’s Metalingus hit the speakers to a massive pop from the crowd and Copeland came out doing his familiar WWE entrance, complete with smoke and fireworks.
He entered the ring and was given the opportunity to finish off Sting by his former tag team partner but instead, Copeland laid out Nick Wayne with the chair as Cage bolted. He then hit the spear on Luchasaurus.
Copeland then closed the show by shaking hands with Sting and Darby Allin.
AEW President Tony Khan posted a message on X after the show that Copeland was “All Elite.”
This is the first time that Edge has worked for a different wrestling company other than WWE since he started with WWE back in 1996.
The 49-year-old finished with WWE this past weekend and his contract expired at the end of September. He did have an extension to his deal but opted not to sign it and instead move to AEW.
Copeland was close to joining AEW in 2020 but WWE cleared him to return to the ring and offered him a better deal. He made his return at the Royal Rumble after he originally retired in 2011 due to back issues.
Here are the results from last night’s WrestleDream 2023 pay-per-view which took place from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
ZERO HOUR: Satoshi Kojima, Keith Lee, Athena, and Billie Starkz defeated Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Diamante, and Mercedes Martinez in an eight-person mixed tag team match; Claudio Castagnoli defeated Josh Barnett; Luchasaurus defeated Nick Wayne; The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn defeated Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Bad Dude Tito in a trios match to retain the AEW World Trios titles.
PPV: MJF defeated The Righteous in a 2-on-1 handicap match to retain the ROH World Tag Team titles; Eddie Kingston defeated Katsuyori Shibata to retain the ROH World Championship and Strong Openweight titles; Kris Statlander defeated Julia Hart to retain the AEW TBS title; The Young Bucks defeated The Gunns, The Lucha Brothers, and Orange Cassidy and Hook in a four-way tag team match for a future AEW World Tag Team title shot; Swerve Strickland defeated “Hangman” Adam Page; Ricky Starks defeated Wheeler Yuta; Bryan Danielson defeated Zack Sabre Jr; Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay defeated Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi in a six-man tag team match; FTR defeated Aussie Open to retain the AEW World Tag Team titles; Christian Cage defeated Darby Allin to retain the AEW TNT title.
AEW will present its third pay-per-view in the span of 35 days tonight with the newest addition to the calendar: WrestleDream.
We have the latest odds for the matches tonight and remember, odds will likely change by the time the show gets underway so please be careful when placing any bets.
This TNT title match will apparently headline tonight’s pay-per-view according to Darby Allin and both he and champion Christian Cage are locked in at 5/6 with bookmakers undecided on a winner.
TBS champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against Julia Hart and Statlander is 2/15 favorite while the House of Black member is 4/1 for her first title in AEW.
FTR, the AEW World Tag Team champions, will put their gold on the line again former ROH Tag Team champions Aussie Open. FTR are the big favorites here with 1/10 odds while their challengers are 5/1.
The ROH World title and the NJPW Strong Openweight title are both up for grabs as champion Eddie Kingston defends against Katsuyori Shibata. The champ is 1/10 favorite while Shibata is at 5/1.
Who will be the number one contenders for the AEW Tag Team titles? The Bucks, The Gunns, Lucha Bros, and Cassidy and Hook will battle it out in a four-way tag team match which has The Young Bucks as the favorites with 1/1 odds. The Gunns and Orange Cassidy & Hook at 2/1, and Lucha Bros at 8/1.
The “dream match” between Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr finally happens tonight and Danielson is the favorite with 1/5 odds while the British star is 3/1.
MJF will defend the ROH Tag Team titles in a handicap match against The Righteous as partner Adam Cole is out injured. MJF is favorite at 5/7 while The Righteous are 1/1 to win.
Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page will face each other for the first time and Strickland is the favorite going in so far with his odds at 5/14 and Page is 37/20 for the win.
Ricky Starks battles Wheeler Yuta in a singles match and Starks is heavy favorite with 1/10 odds while Yuta is 5/1.
Chris Jericho will team up with The Golden Lovers to take on Don Callis’ henchmen in Sammy Guevara, Will Ospreay, and Konosuke Takeshita. The Callis trio are favorites with 1/3 odds while their challengers are 2/1.
The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn look super safe in their AEW World Trios title defense as they are heavy favorites with 1/50 odds against TMDK who are 10/1 for the huge upset.
Nick Wayne takes on Luchasaurus and the young Wayne is currently the favorite with his odds set to 1/2 while the former TNT champion is 3/2.
The eight women who will participate in the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament were revealed last night during No Mercy.
These are Arianna Grace, Dani Palmer, Izzi Dame, Jaida Parker, Jakara Jackson, Karmen Petrovic, Kelani Jordan, and Lola Vice.
Grace was part of last year’s tournament and was eliminated in the first round by Nikkita Lyons. She just recently returned after being out for nearly a year due to an injury.
The single-elimination tournament starts this Tuesday on NXT and the winner will receive an NXT Women’s title shot.
Roxanne Perez won last year’s tournament after she defeated Tiffany Stratton in the final. Stratton replaced Nikkita Lyons after she got injured following the first round.
Darby Allin vs Christian Cage (TNT Title, 2/3 Falls)
Star quality: 8 – Cage is the most over heel in the company. Allin’s among the most featured acts. Thus this is deservedly closing the show in front of Darby’s faithful (and increasing the chance Edge debuts).
Match quality: 8 – They had a belter on Collision a month or so ago. No reason this should be any different. Presumably the recent cheering for Cage won’t continue in Darby’s backyard. Should make for a great atmosphere. Cage has challenged Allin to ‘wrestle’. Went well quality-wise when MJF did the same.
Build: 9 – A lot of this ground was covered during the All Out preview. It’s AEW’s best-booked feud this year. Only enhanced in the interim by Cage stealing the TNT belt from his charge and Allin while sewing the seeds for both Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus to change sides.
Overall Score: 25
Meaning there are a million ways to go with the finish. The obvious headline is Hometown Babyface Wins in Hometown. Possibly helped by Luchasaurus. Possibly helped by Nick Wayne. And Allin insisted he’s not losing in Seattle.
But there’s a problem. Cage continually sitting victoriously atop his dinosaur’s shoulders isn’t an accident. And it’s hard to see how they pay it off if Christian loses. They might, might (though shouldn’t – they’re doing too many turns) even have Wayne go heel in his hometown and cost Allin the match.
Edge alert. Lastly, there’s the possibility Adam Copeland has a hand in the finish. His WWE contract and related red tape ended yesterday. It’d be counterproductive to debut him as a heel given fans will go nuts for him. But it’s possible. Most likely, Cage retains; Copeland comes out afterward.
Have to say, does seem these big show bouts are becoming less predictable. Equally possible yours truly is getting dumber.
WINNER: Christian Cage
Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho & Kota Ibushi vs Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara & Will Ospreay
Star quality: 8 – Three big stars along with Ibushi; Takeshita’s getting over even if he should be wrestling – and winning! – on tv more often; Sammy’s been hurt by too many turns and bad booking.
Match quality: 8 – This heel team is awesome. It’s Guevara’s first meaningful ppv work since May: that lad’s going to kill himself to steal the show. Then there are the exchanges between what most consider the match series of the year so far.
For this to hit the real heights, Omega’s going to have to carry the babyface load. Though Jericho’s match with Ospreay at All In was very good. Whereas Ibushi looked a little off his game again.
Build: 6 – An awful lot’s gone into this (emphasis on awful where Jericho’s booking is concerned) so let’s stick to the main thrust: Don Callis has united his former friends Omega and Jericho against him. His ‘son’ – Omega’s replacement – Takeshita, has bested Kenny twice in a row. So plenty of reason for revenge there.
While gaining the moniker ‘the Alpha’ in a clever move which has understandably pissed off both the former ‘Alpha’, Jericho, and of course ‘Omega’. The latter of whom’s also driven by the heels making a target of his best friend Ibushi.
It even made sense for Jericho and Kenny to team as reluctant partners on some ‘enemy of my enemy’ ish. Collision effectively rammed this home.
Overall Score: 22
Callis said this’ll settle things. Babyfaces tend to win when things are settled. And they’ve been consistently losing to Ospreay and Takeshita. On the other hand, Sammy could do with a win. Especially over Jericho. There’s the story of Kenny losing since leaving Callis. And the looming possibility of Omega/Ospreay III.
A lot to juggle. Probably lean toward the good guys. Be interesting to see who takes the pin.
WINNER: Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho & Kota Ibushi
Hangman Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland
Star quality: 6 – It was made pretty clear how fans feel about these two on Wednesday. Outside of chants regarding Swerve’s abode and Page’s feces, those in attendance were not exactly rabid for the two most underutilized talents in the company. The tale of Page not being at the level he should is all too real. Strickland loses like Hulk Hogan lies.
Match quality: 8 – Despicable as his actions are, Swerve’s hard to boo because he’s cool. AEW don’t really do ‘cool’. They mostly veer into ‘dorky’. Even with their top acts. Which might mess up the crowd reactions in Strickland’s homestate. Swerve even played to those fans by talking up his homefield advantage.
Outside of that, both guys are really good. Page hits hard – as JR likes to emphasize – yet is agile enough to hang with the lithe Strickland. So there’s a nice mesh of styles but one which shouldn’t clash.
Storyline can merge with reality too. With that ‘cloud’ now banished back to Chicago, hopefully Page is motivated for this one. Swerve will surely be out to legitimately prove he deserves a top spot.
Build: 5 – Back in 2021 when Cody was being booed, there was a Dynamite segment where he ‘went back to school’. He’d lost his spark, got caught up in the limelight, needed to go back to his roots. So he trained in a ring with other up-and-comers. It was a good segment, a smart idea to try to counter said boos, a good start.
Except it wasn’t the start. It was all there was. The next week he was back on tv as usual. There, we’ve given you your story. Except it was only a blurb.
Similarly, Strickland came out to chastise Page for having lost his spark. The next week Hangman beat Bryan Cage then won the ROH Trios Titles.
There were a million easy ways to develop this. Have the announcers discuss Page, have heels and former enemies say he’s not what he was; have the Bucks, Kenny, even Mox (who did more for Page with his talking than the world title did) stand up for the guy. Have Strickland mockingly introduce one of Hangman’s biggest moments every week – ‘remember how great you used to be?’. Why, Page could’ve even talked for himself. He’s pretty good at those introspective promos. Even if he does need to move away from being mopey for a bit.
But no. He might’ve been on a downer; now he’s not. There, we’ve given you your story.
Some of which was mitigated by a strong promo battle Wednesday. With Page talking about the clouds above him starting to lift, but Swerve explaining it’s too late, there’s too much ground to make up too fast; for a guy looking to escape the clouds – ‘it rains an awful lot in Seattle’.
Some more of this and we’d have had ourselves a hot one. Perhaps this continues into Full Gear? It’s a nice, fresh pairing featuring two guys who can drag each other up to where they belong.
Overall Score: 19
As per Miro/Hobbs last month, neither is in a great position to lose. Considering he’s a former-world champion in his early thirties, AEW seem to forget about Hangman a lot. Like a very lot. Strickland’s a great talker, drips charisma and carries himself like a star. But he doesn’t appear on tv enough and most importantly, never wins.
Suggesting this doesn’t end here. Whoever loses can get their revenge in November. Most likely Hangman after Strickland cheats and the former continues his quest back to prominence.
WINNER: Swerve Strickland
Aussie Open vs FTR (Tag Titles)
Star quality: 5 – FTR have not been a feature of tv since their buddy went bye-bye. Probably purely coincidental since they aren’t the first AEW act to randomly have nothing to do. Nonetheless, a lack of focus combined with weak opposition has diminished the act.
Aussie Open are about average. They tend to lose against name talent.
Match quality: 9 – Essentially the entirety of this feud is ‘We had a MOTY candidate in England last year’.
Build: 3 – Last we saw of the Aussies prior to challenging here, they were losing to a team about to implode. The time before that they were losing to a team we were supposed to think would implode. Yet this match is being pitched as a top tier tag between two of the very best duos on the planet. ‘365 days in the making!’.
It’s another of those weird AEW situations where they’re essentially telling the audience to ignore what’s happened on tv because (wink) these teams are genuinely really good in the ring and have good matches.
To the point Fletcher openly talked on Collision about taking ‘FTR to the limit in a five-star classic’. Dax then called them ‘sacrificial lamb(s) to Max and his best friend and Jericho and his best friend’. At best that means they were sent out against teams they had no chance against. At worst that the bookers needed a team those teams could beat.
Yes they tried to bring it together by having the Aussies acknowledge that they haven’t hit their New Japan heights in AEW. But it didn’t cover for an awkward attempt to balance story and reality.
‘‘People don’t want to know how much fun I had with my opponent that night in the ring… They want to be lost…’’, said Eddie Kingston recently. Amen.
Overall Score: 17
It’s very hard to see Aussie Open winning here since they were given zero momentum coming in.
WINNER: FTR
Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr (‘Dream Match’)
Star quality: 6 – See Build
Match quality: 9 – Two great technicians, eighteen months in the making; billing it as a ‘dream match’ doesn’t exactly reduce expectations. But Danielson’s talked about how much each match now takes out of him. It’s part of why he’s cutting down soon. And he had a physical match with Ricky Starks just last Saturday and wrestled on this week’s Collision.
That said, the Dragon had two belters with Ricky Starks. Safe to say Zack’s a better performer.
Build: 2 – When Jade Cargill leaves AEW lamenting missed ‘dream matches’, the term no longer has meaning. By definition they’re unlikely or impossible. Usually involving top stars or all-time performers. They’re Steve Austin vs Goldberg, prime Shawn Michaels vs prime Randy Savage. If a single one happens each year, we as fans are doing well.
So more often than not when AEW use the term, what they really mean is Tony Khan gave it the ‘Dude, sick!’ treatment. And when that happens, he assumes we’ll be just as excited as he is, so they need say no more.
Which is perhaps why they haven’t explained to us why it is one. They haven’t even told us why it’s happening. Zack mentioned he’d ‘surpassed’ Danielson during one of the rare packages. Providing a simple reason for the match. But it wasn’t taken any further. And needed to be.
Because to the average AEW viewer, Sabre’s appeared on tv a couple of times and lost at both Forbidden Door shows. Most notably, he even lost to Danielson’s replacement at the first. Essentially, you have to forget wins and losses, forget placement on the card, and know that these two are legitimately among the best technical wrestlers in the world.
‘Dude, sick!’
Overall Score: 17
Sabre’s not being positioned for a big match in New Japan. Danielson likely is. Against Okada in January.
WINNER: Bryan Danielson
Young Bucks vs Lucha Bros vs the Gunns vs Orange Cassidy & Hook (Winner gets a tag title shot ‘at any time’)
Star quality: 6 – If you watch AEW these guys don’t all need a big explanation. Outside of the Gunns who’re in a decent spot with BCG, all could be better used. So let’s focus on Cassidy. Since he’s a perfect example of why AEW fail to solidify guys at the top of the card.
A month ago, he was on a hell of a run protecting the most defended belt in the company. He and Mox were the focus of company television leading to All Out. He cut serious, big match promos. Then was put over verbally in a way only Jon Moxley can. Before giving the multi-time world champion everything he could handle on his way to losing a close one.
Then he did nothing for the rest of September except duel with Hook for ‘most chill dude’ while eating chips.
He was right there. An established-heel-coming-out-to-interrupt-him away from being made. And they let him drift back into the mid-card. As they have with so many others.
Match quality: 8 – Everyone here given the opportunity to show it (ie outside of Hook) is at least good. Four of the eight had a MOTY contender two years ago. There’s only one actual heel team but this is more like to be a ‘spot fest’ anyway since there’s no setup. And few are better at those than the Bucks and Bros.
A slight caveat being Fenix’ status. The flyer was only cleared late for Dynamite then got dropped painfully on his side by a Jarrett suplex.
Build: 0 – They got a graphic on Collision.
Overall Score: 14
The storyline calls for Cassidy and Hook. Since they’re the only team that has one. Cassidy’s been eyeing gold since All Out. And ‘any time’ will probably be at the upcoming ‘Title Tuesday’ Dynamite. I.e. an unestablished team who can lose is ideal.
WINNER: Orange Cassidy & Hook
Ricky Starks vs Wheeler Yuta
Star quality: 6 – Yuta’s been locked in the middle. Starks is being established as a top guy on Collision.
Match quality: 6 – The only thing for sure about Starks in-ring is he can have good matches with Bryan Danielson. Which means he doesn’t suck. As for how good he truly is, here’s another chance to prove it. Since Yuta’s talented, but he’s no Dragon.
Build: 2 – They tried to start the angle last Saturday but ran out of tv time. So all we got was Yuta calling out Starks on his BS. Since Ricky keeps trying to paint his losing by means other than pinfall as a victory. But as Yuta pointed out, he couldn’t get back up after Danielson beat his ass last Saturday; Yuta always gets back up.
Nice little short story. But too short to make this feel more than throwaway.
Overall Score: 14
This exists to give Ricky a W.
WINNER: Ricky Starks
Eddie Kingston vs Katsuyuori Shibata (ROH & NJPW Strong Titles)
Star quality: 5 – Kingston’s popular; Shibata has a certain status but comes and goes.
Match quality: 7 – A strange pairing, two babyfaces who were teaming recently. More to the point, one’s a brawler who dumps people on their head while the other needs to avoid blows to that exact area so is better off grappling. As the stuff he did with Sabre Jr and Garcia suggested.
Should be hard-hitting. Hopefully not too hard-hitting.
Build: 0 – New Japan Champ + Former New Japan Star + Inoki-related show = this
Overall Score: 12
The only slight doubt about the finish is Kingston’s hurting. He’s cancelled all Indie bookings while he still has his belts. Unlikely he’d have done so if he’s dropping them here.
WINNER: Eddie Kingston
Kris Statlander vs Julia Hart (TBS Title)
Star quality: 4 – Statlander’s a rare breed in AEW; she’s actually beaten two other ‘names’ on tv in recent weeks defending her title. But we see Julia only when there’s space to fill on Collision. Associating with the House of Black doesn’t help as much when they disappear all the time.
Match quality: 5 – Hart has plenty going for her; she’s still raw in the ring. Unlike the Baker match, fans are unlikely to be intrigued by the outcome.
Build: 1 – A week before the show, Brody King cut a promo saying ‘the violence wouldn’t end’ until Julia got a shot against the only blemish on her record, the TBS champ. After AEW realized Hart hadn’t lost since kindergarten. Reminding us fans of when Dave Meltzer and Mike Tenay totaled up Goldberg’s wins and ‘the streak’ was born. Right?
Also, Statlander called her a bitch.
Overall Score: 10
‘No more to discuss’, as Stat Quo rapped in about 2003. I’m so hip.
WINNER: Kris Statlander
MJF vs the Righteous (ROH Tag Titles)
Star quality: 4 – We all know the score with the champ. But even as a hardcore viewer of Dynamite and Collision, here’s what your writer knows about the Righteous: one’s called Dutch, the other says ‘Dig what I’m sayin?’ a lot, they dress in white and speak in esoteric blabber.
Match quality: 4 – ‘Second verse, same as the first…’. The challengers wrestled on tv once, maybe twice? It was not enough to get a feel for them as performers. They certainly did not stand out. This is likely going to be the world heavyweight champion selling for two guys most fans aren’t into and/or don’t know. Since during last night’s go home promo, the challengers were serenaded with ‘What?’ and aggressive ‘STFU’ chants. From the same fans they’ll be performing in front of during tonight’s festivities.
Build: 0 – Yet another multi-team for a title shot saw the Righteous emerge. Despite the Kingdom being in that match and the obvious storyline fit. Then they’ve spoken in riddles about fake friendship during a couple of promo packages; MJF did manage to squeeze in one line about them on Wednesday while out there for an hour.
If AEW are looking for a reason behind stagnant attendances, they might start with portraying the world champion as serious and his gold as something others want. Rather than having him defend the secondary tag titles on pay-per-view against characters from Far Cry.
Overall Score: 8
MJF promised to hang on to the titles until Cole’s ready; that could be a long time. Dynamite’s show-closing angle could play into things. Perhaps the guys in black help Max; perhaps they cost him. Jay White and BCG might interfere. He absolutely should not be losing to the Righteous. Even if they drive a fleet (pack/group/crash?) of tanks over him. But he might.
WINNER: MJF
Overall Thoughts
After All Out Tony Khan emphasized that he was sick of hearing about poor ‘build’ since the shows are always good anyway. So wasn’t going to bother concerning himself with it. Now, a businessman on his level can’t actually be that stupid. It was surely said in the heat of the moment, in the afterglow of an excellent show, against heavy criticism. Since there are always new fans to reach.
Yet, intended or not, AEW seem to have doubled down on that notion. WrestleDream’s build isn’t any better than All Out’s. Despite having weeks longer to sell the matches.
Partially that’s a product of Grand Slam which they treated like a big show and got the requisite reward in terms of viewership. Partially it’s a result of featuring New Japan talent tied-up until the night itself. But it’s also a result of using television time to show Mox facing AR Fox & Action Andretti; Statlander facing Emi Sakura & Robyn Renegade; and FTR vs the Iron Savages & Workhorsemen. In among three rounds of a tournament only three guys were ever possibly going to win.
All precious tv time which could’ve been used to enhance feuds or at least ensure the talent about to be featured on the big show were beating wrestlers whose names the audience knew. And gaining momentum so they felt hot going into the show (if anyone reading can name five wrestlers Takeshita or Swerve have beaten on tv this year, there’s a cookie with your name on it).
As usual, it’s likely the show will deliver. It almost certainly will. There are a lot of good matches. But having good matches does not seem to be filling seats in arenas. Wrestlers and feuds with momentum do. I.e., ‘build’.
As for the ‘new era’ they leaned hard into last night, the company has a nasty habit of overpromising and underdelivering. And those words are hard to live up to. Even the debuts of Edge and Mercedes – fantastic in any other context – might struggle to justify them. If, even worse, the guys in black who beat down White Wednesday are revealed to be some link to the Undisputed ‘Era’, that’ll be received like, well… the Righteous in Seattle.
As ever, enjoy if you’re enjoying. Card looks very good indeed.
Live from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington, AEW presents WrestleDream 2023 on pay-per-view. The full card is as follows:
PPV: Christian Cage vs Darby Allin for the AEW TNT title; FTR vs Aussie Open for the AEW World Tag Team titles; Kris Statlander vs Julia Hart for the AEW TBS title; Eddie Kingston vs Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH World Championship and Strong Openweight titles; MJF vs The Righteous in a 2-on-1 handicap match for the ROH World Tag Team titles; Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr; “Hangman” Adam Page vs Swerve Strickland; Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi vs Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay in a six-man tag team match; Ricky Starks vs Wheeler Yuta; The Young Bucks vs The Gunns vs The Lucha Brothers vs Orange Cassidy and Hook in a four-way tag team match for a future AEW World Tag Team title shot.
ZERO HOUR: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Bad Dude Tito in a trios match for the AEW World Trios titles; Luchasaurus vs Nick Wayne; Josh Barnett vs Claudio Castagnoli ; Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Diamante, and Mercedes Martinez vs Satoshi Kojima, Keith Lee, Athena, and Billie Starkz in an eight-person mixed tag team match.
WrestleDream is available on traditional pay-per-view and streaming on Bleacher Report in North American and FITE.TV internationally.
Halloween Havoc is returning to NXT this year as a two-night affair on USA Network.
The first episode of Halloween Havoc will air on Tuesday, October 24 and episode two will air on Tuesday, October 31 which is Halloween night.
Last year’s event was only one episode and featured Bron Breakker vs Ilja Dragunov vs JD McDonagh in a triple threat match for the NXT title as the main event. It did 716,000 viewers on USA Network and was the fourth most-watched episode of NXT in 2022.
The former WCW pay-per-view name was brought back to life in 2020 as an NXT special.
Former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett will be making his AEW debut tonight during the Zero Hour show ahead of WrestleDream.
Barnett will be facing former ROH World champion Claudio Castagnoli in his first match under the AEW banner.
The 45-year-old mixed martial artist has in recent years promoted his own show Bloodsport in association with Game Changer Wrestling and it takes place every year, usually around WrestleMania time.
His most recent match came on March 9 in Osaka, Japan against Masakatsu Funaki in a GHC Martial Arts rules match for NOAH.
Becky Lynch walked out of NXT No Mercy with not only the NXT Women’s title but also with 11 stitches on her arm.
The champ suffered a nasty, deep laceration during the match which required a bandage to cover but soldiered on and finished the incredible match with no apparent changes to it. Becky was in obvious pain and kept clutching her arm for the remainder of the match.
An image was later posted of her injury, with a wide cut and so deep that even fatty tissue came out. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful noted that WWE medical personnel took 11 stitches to close her ugly wound.
Lynch is scheduled to take on Tegan Nox tomorrow night on Raw for the NXT title but it wouldn’t be surprising if she is not cleared that quickly.
(CAUTION: Last slide in the below IG post features an image of the wound)
Two new NXT champions were crowned last night at No Mercy as Ilja Dragunov became the new NXT champion and Trick Williams won the NXT North American title.
Ilja Dragunov beat champion Carmelo Hayes in one of the two main events following a hard-hitting 21-minute match. It was Ilja’s second go at the title after he lost his first one at The Great American Bash.
Hayes’ reign lasted 182 days after he won the title at Stand & Deliver in Los Angeles from Bron Breakker. Dragunov becomes the first star to win both the NXT UK and NXT titles.
Meanwhile, Hayes’ sidekick Trick Williams won the NXT North American title after he beat Dominik Mysterio earlier in the night. This is Williams’ first run with a title in NXT and originally he was not even supposed to be in the match as the released Mustafa Ali was scheduled for it.
Judgment Day’s Mysterio had a 74-day run with the title after he won it on an episode of NXT in July when he beat Wes Lee. His matches and appearances on NXT TV bumped up the viewership when he appeared so that experiment at least paid dividends.
Here are the results from last night’s NXT No Mercy 2023 premium live event which took place from the Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California.
Blair Davenport defeated Kelvin Jordan in the Kickoff show; Baron Corbin defeated Bron Breakker; Trick Williams defeated Dominik Mysterio to win the NXT North American title; Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo defeated Lucien Price and Bronco Nima, The Creed Brothers, and Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo to retain the NXT Tag Team titles; Noam Dar defeated Butch in a British Rounds Rules match to retain the NXT Heritage Cup; Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes to win the NXT title; Becky Lynch defeated Tiffany Stratton in an extreme rules match to retain the NXT Women’s title.
AEW Collision tonight comes to us from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. After last week drawing 562,000 & 0.18 in the 18-49 demo.
*****
Main event heels: Bill said time to trick or treat – he’s handing out size 16 boots, Aussie Open have waited a year for FTR – tomorrow they’ll be taking their titles, Starks answered a fake phone – the ‘caller’ said everyone’s getting their ass beat
Main event faces – Tonight’s a preview of tomorrow – Yuta’s going to preview Starks’ ass kicking, BD yelled ‘Let’s go!’ since they’re in his home town, FTR hit their line
Andrade El Idolo vs Juice Robinson
Backstory: Juice cost Andrade his match vs Jay White last week
Juice out to start the show, along with the Gunns. Don’t remember his theme being this good – some nice hard drums. They showed the show-ending beatdown to Jay White from Weds. – Nigel insisted it was MJF behind the mask. Kelly wasn’t sure. Andrade got a nice pop. Adore those latin guitars.
They replayed the finish of last week’s bout between El Idolo and White. The Gunns had to be forced out the ring by the ref, a shoving match started between Andrade and Juice until the former leg-swept Juice looking for the figure four, Juice slipped free and rushed outside.
El Idolo pursued him, faking him out to dive back in from the top via cross body; snap suplex, a second, hips all kinds of swivelling before the third amigo: early two count. El Idolo back to the top, Juice fled the ring so Andrade crashed through all three heels via moonsault. Juice took the ref, the Gunns grabbed Andrade’s boot and he was smashed off the apron by Robinson.
He took the ref again – the Gunns laid the boots in. BCG used to be better than this low-rent interference. Robinson dropped Andrade face-first against the apron then ran back in to break the count as the Gunns talked trash. Robinson dragged him back in, dropped him via neckbreaker for two.
Snapped him across the knee via backbreaker, Andrade fought back with knife edges until running into a Juice back-elbow/senton combo. Andrade blocked a whip then reversed it, smashing lariat in the corner, ten rights atop the buckle – or nine – Juice dropped him face-first into the top buckle then tripped him into the middle one. Cannonball for desert.
Ads.
Back to Andrade fighting free – shots to the gut, Juice responded via back suplex, blowing his nose on El Idolo. He beckoned Andrade to get up – he did, big overhand, slipping out of another back suplex, pair of dragon screws, diving lariat, kip-up – big pop. CJ Perry was shown watching backstage.
Juice got his knees up on the double jump moonsault, a quick pin bagged two. Robinson looked for Juice is Loose (wasn’t clear how Andrade escaped since they’ve run a ton of pic-in-pic since the break), Andrade dropped him face-first into the buckle, Robinson slumped in the corner, Robinson dragged the ref in front of a rushing Andrade (the ref was basically stood in the way anyway, looked totally contrived) – Juice poked the eyes, powerbomb, stack, two.
To the top, diving cross body, Andrade rolled through, hooked into a cradle by Juice for two, Andrade hip tossed him into the corner, absolutely murdered him with running double knees, figure four coming, the Gunns got in the ring, the ref ejected them after a long discussion, Andrade stood still at the ropes for ages so Juice could roll him up for a near fall.
Leg lariat missed, Andrade responded with a spinning back elbow for a close call of his own. Then dragged him up into the El Idolo DDT for the win.
Really good action, lively crowd, godawful booking – so much interference. Also surprised how much of the match Juice took, perhaps they’re transitioning away from he and White after White’s interaction with MJF?
Winner: Andrade El Idolo
Schiavone with Jericho and Omega. Jericho said AEW was built on their rivalry. ‘It’s been nothing but stellar’ – he added humbly. They had to figure out if they can co-exist. Omega said they can but it’s not about big double-team moves or going for the tag titles: the Callis Family issue is bigger than theirs – so Kenny promised he’ll have Jericho’s back. The Ocho reciprocated.
‘The Demogod and the Cleaner are gonna take you all out’.
Good stuff. It’s nice to see Omega actually talk – particularly like a serious human being. He seemed like a main event act here. Which he should. But often doesn’t.
*****
Part two of Toni Storm’s interview with RJ City. She had her feet in his crotch. He asked when her peak was – she angrily said ‘now’, all she does is peak. She then took his hand and said she missed the old days – talked about old-timey stuff like pies in the face and write-ups in the trades. She did her ‘chin-up, tits out’ line again just to jam it in there. Then asked if City was flirting with her, he insisted not, she was angry cause he didn’t want her: ‘Am I not good enough for you?’.
There’s a lot that could be said here. But for now a simple question in two parts – What was the point of this? What was it intended to achieve? We know she’s crazy, we know she’s a paranoid fallen star. All this did was repeat that.
The Kingdom vs Best Friends
Backstory: It’s neck health awareness month dammit! And the Best Friends aren’t celebrating
Best Friends attacked right away, looked for piledrivers, the Kingdom bailed. Psyching each other up, Bennett ran back in to be immediately drilled around the ring by Trent. Tag to Chuck, double shoulder block, Bennett down.
Belly to back, Chuck did Jericho’s cocky pin for one. Beretta in – you’ll never believe it but the heels took the ref to take an advantage. Taven hit a missile dropkick to leave Chuck down. Taylor popped back up with a big chop until being dragged outside by Bennett. Taven drilled him with a dropkick through the ropes. Beretta threw himself over the top onto Taven but was flung into the barricade – afterward holding his neck.
Taylor was tripped into it too.
Ads. A bunch more dumb interference and a dead crowd.
Back to Chuck tagging Trent who nailed Bennett with a German, catching Taven off the top into a high-angle one, he avoided a splash in the corner, crushed both heels, diving dropkick to both, crowd coming alive until Taven hit an enziguri. Trent came back via swinging ddt off the buckle for two.
The announcers keep talking about the ‘new era’ coming tomorrow and next week (Tony Khan’s mentioned it this week too).
Kingdom hit a slick double team ending with a running knee to the face, Taylor broke the pin, flinging Taven into the steps; Bennett caught him via discus elbow. Then positioned the steps and looked for a piledriver to Trent. Beretta countered into a DVD on the steps, nasty bump. Holy S from the crowd.
Back inside, Beretta nailed a diving knee strike with Bennett on Taylor’s shoulders. Instead of pinning him, they did the stupid hug. Crowd enjoyed it. Taven ran in, the heels ate stereo piledrivers, Bennett got his foot on the ropes at nearly three.
Bennett landed the weener (have no idea how to spell this, not a word we use in the UK) punch with the ref taken, and another, Taven came off the top for a spike piledriver, Bennett pinned Taylor. Nigel asked who the ‘weener… and loser’ were.
The Best Friends deserve to lose for that stupid hug.
Acting like he was struggling for breath – Bennett choked out ‘weener punch… piledriver… Roddy Strong’. Taven insisted they had to go (they’d brought suitcases to the ring with them) to see Strong. But had a message for Adam Cole. Taven begged Cole to meet them at Roddy’s house ‘right now’, ‘if we’ve ever meant anything to you at all’. Despite knowing Cole is scheduled for surgery.
Until then, Strong has to ‘stay neck strong’.
It filled time.
Winner: the Kingdom
Prince Nana and Don Callis with Alex Marvez. Kelly had introduced this as such; somehow Marvez was surprised at seeing the two together. Callis fled. Marvez asked what it was all about. Nana showed exactly why he shouldn’t be associated with Swerve by being a cartoon and singing ‘We’re in the money’ re: the Gates of Agony’s match with Omega and Jericho – implication being Callis is paying them.
*****
Back to a ‘spooky’ video of Julia Hart out in the woods with occult stuff: talking about herself being a little girl who didn’t see her own potential until the House showed it to her. They played Statlander responding by calling her a ‘bitch’ (because women possess no other derogatory terms for one-another) before saying she didn’t want to make an example of Julia but would (why doesn’t she want to make an example of her?).
Julia Hart vs Vertvixen
Backstory: None
Vertvixen is your token local who’s gonna lose. Hart had new gear with ‘House of Black’ across it. Looks better. She choked Vixen in the ropes, stomped her, Vixen tried to fire back and was immediately battered in the corner.
Hart hit a nice handspring lariat, snapmare, kick to the spine. But didn’t go for a pin. Vertvixen avoided a charge in the corner, Hart hit a thrust kick, got her feet up to block a rushing Vixen and rolled through. Then headed upstairs to land a very tight moonsault (Vixen was almost directly underneath the buckle) for the win.
We’re all totally convinced Julia’s taking the title now right? She did look good here in a short showing tbf.
She took the mic to tell Stat she can’t wait till tomorrow and the champ should come out right now. Which she did to a big cheer. But she’s not an idiot so brought the Best Friends and Rocky Romero (who was also out in the earlier tag). She marched to the ring, not backing down from Brody. The dudes fronted up to Brody – all the guys left.
Statlander begged Hart to hit her if she wanted her so bad. Hart smiled then left the ring. Statlander took the mic to say tomorrow she couldn’t run and would be taking on ‘the defeater of the undefeated’ (get her point but doesn’t make much sense). Statlander told her her time’s up.
Winner: Julia Hart
Kelly sent to a package on Josh Barnett. First we saw Claudio saying he wanted a challenge at the ppv. Barnett said lots of people send out challenges but aren’t ready. He accepted Claudio’s challenge. That’s on zero hour. ‘A dream match of sorts’ per Kevin Kelly. Jesus AEW really cannot help themselves can they?
Don’t know Barnett other than by name but he was very believable. Just talked rather than cutting a ‘promo’.
Don’t really understand using tv time to hype the preview show.
Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho vs Gates of Agony
Backstory: None
Jericho out to a nice pop. Omega out to a similar one. They are hammering p-in-p video packages tonight. Kelly put over what a big deal these two teaming is.
The Gates came out to silence. It wouldn’t have taken much to tie some more hype for Swerve and Hangman into this.
Crowd chanting for ‘Kenny’, Jericho to start. He played to the crowd; they got loud. Good fans tonight. A chop battle commenced, Leona landed a headbutt and chop to leave Jericho in the heels’ corner. Kaun in, double team whip into a clothesline. Quick tags in and out with Jericho stuck, he briefly fought back but was stomped down on the wrong side of town.
Irish whip, Jericho hit a kick to the face when Leona ducked, tag to Omega, who snapped the heel across the rope and sent his head to the buckle: no dice. Omega wet to the top – big cross body – crowd chanting his name again. He tried a suplex, couldn’t budge the big guy – Jericho in to block one from the heel and land a double-team suplex. Omega offered a careful fistbump, Jericho reciprocated.
The pair hit a chop but couldn’t whip Leona even together, a double shoulder block knocked him down. Omega took a tag: double sledge to the back, shots and chops, a series of them, Nana grabbed the boot, Leona sent Omega into Jericho, knocking him off the apron.
Kaun in to land Germans and belly to backs for two. Jericho still down, Omega ate a backcracker/elbow drop combo in the corner.
Break. AEW desperately need some creative people who know a way heels can get on top without outside interference. It’s every match tonight. And not subtle.
Back to Omega making a comeback, fighting his way to a hurracanrana, tag to Jericho, shoulders and lariats until being sent to the apron. To the top, double axe handle after just about regaining his footing. Lionsault to a massive pop. Crowd roaring as Jericho played to them. Kaun ran in and was swept into the Liontamer but fought it off.
Sending Jericho to the buckle, the vet got his boots up, Judas Effect coming, Kaun ducked, Jericho was drilled by Leona who hit a lungblower. Kenny in, sent to the corner, ducked a splash, Jericho hit his springboard dropkick, was rolled up by Kaun for two, came up to hit a Codebreaker, Kaun slumped in the ropes, Omega sighted him, V Trigger, Terminator Dive to Leona on the outside, Jericho hooked the Liontamer to bag the tap and the win.
Thankfully, the faces didn’t bicker afterward. They were massively over here. And did a nice job making the heels look like monsters without selling too much.
Jericho took the mic to address the crowd. Omega reiterated what he’d said in the earlier interview. Callis brainwashed him so he never listened to the people about him. But now has seen the light. Ibushi’s lived a life of fighting so takes an attack like Wednesday’s as an invitation. He said it’s time for the original Alpha and Omega to spell the end of Don Callis.
Jericho put over Takeshita (Omega interrupted to joke ‘don’t remind me’ – the Elite just do not know when to leave the comedy alone), Ospreay and the ‘worst of all of them’ Sammy Guevara. He spoke the lyrics to Judas and called Guevara the ultimate Judas. Sammy had called him the villain and he’s ‘damn right’.
In short, tomorrow the good guys win.
Parts of the promo were good; parts not so much. Overall, effective in hyping the babyfaces and the match.
Winner: Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho.
The Righteous package. In that same country house with flowers and trees and men made out of paper. They talked about the ‘ledge of truth’ and kept addressing ‘the two of you’ (MJF & Cole – without naming them, just assuming everyone watching knows). They talked about ‘karma’s deadline’ and will rip away the bond that keeps them together – the ROH Tag Titles.
Assuming these were shot before Cole’s injury. If they weren’t, then why didn’t they address it? If they were, why weren’t they re-done?
*****
An emotional Darby Allin talked about he and Christian main-eventing tomorrow. The TNT Title is the only thing that’s made him feel worth something (he was almost in tears). Cage (from a different location) said he didn’t care. They merged in clips from their sitdown Weds. Including Allin insisting he won’t lose in Seattle. And that Cage is fighting someone he’s never seen before.
Cage said Allin will fall at his feet in front of his friends and family. More excellent work from these two. Really made the match, the title and the event seem important.
The Righteous vs Travis Williams & Judas Icarus
Backstory: None
The guys facing the world champ tomorrow at a pay-per-view came out to zero reaction. The cameras desperately honed in on a single fan clicking along with Vincent.
After a couple minutes of silence, Vincent hit a sloppy sliced bread to one of the enhancement talents. He took a mic and called the fans ‘paper people’ (presumably like the ones in the video). Then called MJF ‘the devil’ and Adam Cole a ‘liar’. The crowd responded with ‘What?’ and a loud, genuine ‘STFU’ chant.
He asked Dutch ‘Dig what I’m sayin?’, since it was obvious no-one else did.
They Pillmanized the dude they beat’s ankle. This only made the crowd more disappointed since they’d expected MJF to make the save. It’s crazy these two are facing the champ at a show fans are expected to pay for.
Winner: the Righteous
They played a Shibata/Kingston package. Mostly focusing on a photo of Shibata as a kid with Inoki. He played a few translated snippets off his phone saying he respected Eddie. Kingston insisted their match would be the one that matters at WrestleDream. Pretty basic. Certainly did nothing to hype a match that’s received none.
*****
They then pushed another match taking place on Zero Hour. Seriously. TMDK were interrupted by the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn. Your usual generic Acclaimed stuff. One of TMDK did a deliberately awful beatbox rap. Tv time is so precious.
Ricky Starks, Big Bill & Aussie Open vs Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta & FTR
Backstory: FTR & AO are feuding, as are Starks/Bill & the BCC, so they’ve done a very WWE thing and merged them into a tag (not that it’s a bad idea)
Zack Sabre Jr came out to join on comms (with a massive TMDK logo on his entrance vid after they’d just looked like huge dweebs). As did JR.
Starks and Bill out together to Starks’ music. Kyle Fletcher’s dancing to Starks’ theme was magnificent. Kelly continually pushed the tag tomorrow as ‘a year in the making’.
Good lord Danielson got himself a pop. Yuta came with. McGuinness complained about the American fans being xenophobic against Sabre.
Cash and Starks to start, quick tag to Yuta – Starks backed up and tagged out. Fletcher in as Starks ran laps on the outside. Yuta got a waistlock, Fletcher grabbed an arm-wringer, Yuta flipped and kipped his way free into a rollup for two, kick to the midsection, chops in the corner, avoiding a charging Fletcher into a back body drop and dropkick.
Harwood in, forced to the heels’ corner, Davis in, those two had themselves a fight – hard chops, Davis dropped Dax via deadlift German, Dax ended up outside, the heels piled on, the faces forced them clear, big standoff, ads. Nice start.
Fletcher planted via belly to back by Dax. McGuinness and Zack were sucking up to each other the whole time – they named Danielson ‘Brittle Bryan’. Fletcher grabbed a headlock, Dax elbowed free, slipped out of a suplex, tag to Cash.
Lariats and dropkicks for all, belly to back to Fletcher, the two worked a suplex – each blocking the other, series of standing switches, Cash dropkicked Bill off the apron, Fletcher landed a bodyslam but took a lariat, Yuta in off the top via leaping elbow strike, Davis dropkicked outside, back to work on Fletcher via enizguri, running chop in the corner, Wheeler did his version of skinning the cat into a German for two.
Starks tried to sneak in and was snatched into hammer and anvils, Bill in too, Yuta fought both off, the crowd chanted they wanted Danielson as Yuta was wiped out by a Big Bill boot. Then a Starks bodyslam. He and Bill worked over Yuta in the corner, Yuta hiptossed free but was denied the tag by Starks and Bill. Who came in to smack Cash off the apron as a receipt. Fletcher in to do the same to Dax, he and Davis hit a killer double-team running powerbomb (crowd oohed at that).
Another break. Crowd want them some BD; smart to have him wrestle minimally given how much he hurts after matches these days.
Bac to Starks and Yuta, stereo lariats, both down, Danielson desperate for the tag, starting a clap, Starks crawling, Yuta still dead, count at seven when Yuta finally bagged it. Danielson in to smack Starks with chops and kicks in the corner – Zack was unimpressed.
Suicide dive to the outside, shotgun off the top back in the ring, pair of leg lariats in the corner, Starks interrupted a third via clothesline. Tornado ddt, tag to Bill. Bill went for a chokeslam, Danielson countered down into the LeBell Lock. Zack was impressed by this.
Fletcher broke it up, Dax brainbustered him, Cash ddt’d Davis, Yuta superkicked Starks, JR asked who was legal cause it’s a day of the year. All eight in, faces standing, synchronized yes! kicks to the heels all on their knees. Crowd loved it. Danielson and Cash held Bill in place for a Yuta dropkick from the top, Dax followed via diving headbutt, the other heels all broke up the pin and were flung outside.
Leaving Dax and Bill in the ring. Starks flung Danielson into the steps, he grabbed his shoulder. Finally, Bill and Dax met in the middle, Dax ducking, dodging and chopping, Bill missed a corner splash and smacked the ringpost, kicked Dax away looking for a sharpshooter, chokeslam coming, tag to Starks – spear/chokeslam combo – very weird finish with the music late to start after Aubrey’s count. And Cash almost disrupting it. FTR have done that before, and while it nominally adds realism, it always looks like they could just break up the pin but don’t.
Crowd booed partly because of that, partly because they wanted Danielson to win.
All eight brawled, Aussie Open and FTR fought up the ramp, Yuta fed Bill into a busaiku knee, Yuta went after Starks, Danielson pointed to Sabre. The Brit hit the ring, face-to-face with Danielson. Sabre hit a light slap and tried to provoke Danielson who paintbrushed him then looked for the LeBell Lock. Zack slipped free and left the ring. They jawed at each other. It’s a good thing that’s not main eventing. Because they haven’t begun to do enough to hype it.
Good match – Yuta looked really good here. The heels probably needed a win though Aussie Open did in particular. The company seem behind this Bill/Starks combo.
‘Trust me folks, you’ll never forget it, the beginning of a new era,’ were Kelly’s last words about WrestleDream. They have pushed that so hard. It better deliver. And better not be a reference to an Undisputed Era because that wouldn’t begin to meet the hype.
A big multi-man involving Satoshi Kojima and Keith Lee
Claudio Castagnoli vs Josh Barnett
Thumbs Up/Down
Seattle crowd are good everytime, AEW need to come here more
Main event – good action, nothing special but good
Juice vs Andrade – action was good, booking sucked, not the guys’ fault
Allin/Cage promo package
Jericho and Omega came off like megastars; that match feels bigger
*****
Mostly felt thrown together – here’s a bunch of matches
After ignoring it for a month and particularly on Dynamite, not nearly enough was done to explain Danielson vs Sabre, why it’s happening or why it’s special
The majority of the pay-per-view didn’t feel enhanced after this show
Appreciate you reading. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
WWE is back on Peacock tonight for an NXT premium live event in what looks to be their largest attendance of 2023 so far with No Mercy in Bakersfield.
We are presenting the available odds for four of the matches on the card tonight. Remember, the odds might change so be careful when betting with real money. If you’re interested, also check out gambling seo services.
In the NXT title match, Carmelo Hayes will defend it against Ilja Dragunov and Hayes already has a victory over Dragunov. If bookmakers are correct, Hayes will go 2-0 on Dragunov as his odds are 8/15 and favorite to retain against 6/5 of the former NXT UK champion.
Tiffany Stratton will get her NXT Women’s title rematch against champion Becky Lynch tonight in an extreme rules match. Lynch is favorite to win by a wide margin, with her odds at 1/5 while Stratton’s odds are at 11/4.
Dominik Mysterio takes on Trick Williams with the NXT North American title on the line. This time, the challenger Williams is the favorite with 4/6 odds while Mysterio is 10/11 to retain.
And in the last match that odds are available on, Bron Breaker is 1/4 favorite to beat Baron Corbin who is 9/4.
It has been a while but the NXT Women’s title match between Becky Lynch and Tiffany Stratton will be the main event of tonight’s No Mercy premium live event.
The extreme rules match position on the card was announced by Shawn Michaels.
“I’m very proud of our NXT Women’s Division and all the hard work our ladies put in,” HBK wrote on X. “And I’m very proud to announce the Extreme Rules Match for the NXT Women’s Championship between @BeckyLynchWWE and @tiffstrattonwwe will Main Event tonight’s No Mercy Premium Live Event.”
This is the first women’s main event in NXT since June 7, 2020 when Io Shirai defeated Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley in a triple threat match to win the NXT Women’s title at NXT Takeover: In Your House.
While Becky Lynch is no stranger to headlining a premium live event, this will be Stratton’s first shot at the top billing.
AEW President Tony Khan continues to hype up the start of a new era in All Elite Wrestling tomorrow with the WrestleDream pay-per-view.
In a post on X, Khan wrote, “Sometimes, in awe struck gratitude, I can’t believe I’m able to work in wrestling. Tonight’s one of those times.”
He urged fans not to miss WrestleDream and if you’re in attendance in Seattle, he promised a great show.
“If you can’t be here, join us on ppv on Sunday for the start of a new era,” Khan concluded.
Adam “Edge” Copeland and Mercedes Mone are heavily rumored to be starting with AEW soon, with the company hoping that new arrivals will give them a much-needed boost in both television ratings and attendance at television shows.
John Cena got his tag team partner for Fastlane last night on Smackdown as LA Knight came to the rescue to prevent another Bloodline beatdown at the end of the show.
Cena said he was ready to take on Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso by himself if he couldn’t find a partner in time and what was supposed to happen last week happened yesterday, with the super-over LA Knight coming out to even the odds.
Knight was unavailable last week since he had COVID-19 but recovered in time for yesterday’s show.
The match has now been officially changed to John Cena and LA Knight vs Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa.
Impact on AXS TV this week drew 126,000 viewers, up 20,000 viewers from the prior week. The show had a 0.03 rating in the 18-49 demo, up 0.02 from last week. (Ratings credit: Wrestlenomics)
