On Saturday, October 12th, AEW returned to Tacoma, WA for its annual event, “WrestleDream.” Tonight’s show was headlined by a massive main event which saw Bryan Danielson put his AEW World Championship on the line against the new and improved Jon Moxley who has been more violent than ever before.
We also saw the return of Swerve Strickland, Jay White go one-on-one with “Hangman” Adam Page, Will Ospreay put his International Championship on the line against Ricochet and Konosuke Takeshita, The Young Bucks put their AEW World Tag Team Championships on the line against Private Party, and so much more. So, what were the top three moments of the event?
Honorable Mention: Konosuke Takeshita wins the International Championship/Kyle Fletcher turns on Will Ospreay
Towards the middle of the show, Will Ospreay put his International Championship on the line against one of AEW’s newest signees, Ricochet, and Konosuke Takeshita. This was an absolute banger of a triple threat match, which ultimately ended with Takeshita winning the International Championship. However, the bigger story came after the fact when Ospreay’s long-time friend, Kyle Fletcher, turned on him. The lines have been drawn in the sand, and Fletcher made his choice at WrestleDream. This was an incredible match, and segment, from top-to-bottom.
3. MJF confronts Daniel Garcia/Adam Cole returns
In the third match of the main card, we saw “The Scapegoat” Jack Perry put his TNT Championship on the line against Katsuyori Shibata. This was a fun match that ended with Jack Perry winning. However, the real drama came afterward, when Daniel Garcia made his way out to save Shibata to a massive ovation from the crowd.
This drew out a returning MJF who came out looking pissed off. The last time we saw MJF came at All Out when he was victorious over Garcia, but got laid out by a piledriver off the top rope and taken out. MJF looked for some payback as he beat down Garcia. He announced he got his diamond ring back and told Garcia he was going to kiss it.
This drew out Adam Cole who charged the ring, forcing MJF to retreat into the crowd. Cole and Garcia shared a sign of respect at the end of this very fun segment. It remains to be seen what may happen from here, but one thing we know for sure is if Adam Cole is indeed healthy again, a match with MJF could be what’s next in store for him. It’s safe to say, the fans are going to love it.
2. Swerve Strickland returns
In the middle of the show, Swerve Strickland made his return for the first time since All Out and his brutal match with “Hangman” Adam Page. He announced that despite his medical stuff being “a little wonky,” he is indeed medically cleared. He said that he wants to tell his hometown about what he’s going to do in the future.
This drew out MVP and Shelton Benjamin. MVP continued to try and get Swerve to join him and Benjamin. As Swerve pondered this decision, he spoke about all the stuff with Prince Nana which still concerns him. Ultimately, he tells Nana he’s always going to be his family and declines MVP’s offer.
Benjamin and Swerve teased a match, and had to be pulled apart by various referees, officials, and Christopher Daniels. The biggest story coming out of this segment is that Swerve is medically cleared, and he looks to be on a fast-track to a match with Shelton Benjamin, and maybe eventually a debuting Bobby Lashley.
1. Jon Moxley wins the AEW World Championship/Wheeler Yuta turns on Danielson
In the main event of the night, Bryan Danielson put his AEW World Championship on the line against his long-term friend turned foe, Jon Moxley. Danielson has become the target of Moxley, and his new faction. Marina Shafir, Claudio Castagnoli, and PAC have made Moxley more dangerous than ever before.
The main event between Danielson and Moxley was hard-hitting, and really did a good job at encapsulating what this entire rivalry was about. These two men loathed each other. There was no more respect for one another, and they went out there and really made it look like they wanted to end each other’s careers.
Ultimately, Moxley defeated Danielson via rear-naked choke to win the AEW World Championship. After the match, Moxley and his new group beat down Danielson until Darby Allin and Wheeler Yuta made the save. This led to Yuta turning on Danielson, and suffocating him with the plastic bag. The show ended with Danielson being placed on a stretcher, seemingly unconscious.
This was a very impactful ending. On one hand, the full-time career of Danielson seems to be over. However, Yuta turning on Danielson elevates him into a major heel role with Moxley and his new running mates. This was a fantastic ending to a good show. It remains to be seen what may happen next, but one thing we know is Moxley is at the top of the mountain again, and may be there for a long time.
