All Elite Wrestling’s latest pay-per-view, Wrestle Dream, a show that I wrote a column about earlier last week for its lack of build, is in the books, surprisingly with some newsworthy notes after the broadcast went off the air. Before we discuss the card, it should be noted that there were ten matches scheduled for this line-up, and it can’t be unstated enough how unnecessary this was toward the overall presentation. Quite frankly, I’d rather have 7 or 8 matches on the show that are justified for a show on pay-per-view than the undercard be cluttered with glorified TV matches that don’t add quality to the event, instead just make for a tedious viewing experience. Not every broadcast has to be four hours and not every main event has to be some 30-minute epic clash. The ability to tailor the line-up and the time given to each segment is a part of the art of booking. A paint-by-numbers approach, which is what Tony Khan often takes with his charts and graphs, can often lead to a flat presentation, particularly in terms of pacing the card. At this point, it’s repetitive, but it’s also the case more often than not for AEW pay-per-views.
Adam Page vs. Jay White opened the show, and considering that Jay White still looks to be a heel, and Adam Page was presented like a heel, at least this week, there wasn’t much in terms of storytelling or dramas for this segment. That said, the in-ring work was quality, and if these two were positioned in the right way as far as their characters, it would check all the boxes for a solid segment in the modern era. They worked good technical exchanges until they began to build the contest with a few brutal bumps. Hangman landed a death valley driver on the apron that looked nasty before he power bombed White on the steel steps. White nailed a shin breaker on the side of the ramp way that looked brutal. The finish was very well done, it didn’t overuse finishers, but rather had White counter to land the blade runner to get the win.
Mariah May vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s title was a solid match and showcased what these two could bring to the table if given the opportunity on a more regular basis. Full credit to Mariah, she went from being just a sidekick to one of the better heels in the entire company. As I’ve said before, Willow organically connects with the audience and that can be used to draw money, but there are only so many times that the baby face can come up short challenging for the title before the audience loses faith in their quest for the belt. It was the right call for Mariah to retain, as she should continue to establish herself as a character on AEW programming, but I’m not sure Nightingale was the right opponent, mostly because her character didn’t need to take a defeat on pay-per-view. Still, Mariah’s reign has given a boost to the All Elite female division and more importantly given it a direction. It was interesting to not that Mercedes Mone, one of the high-profile free agents that inked a deal with the organization earlier this year wasn’t on the card, and all things considered, I don’t think it’s too early to label her initial run with the company a flop. She wasn’t quite as big of a star as she thought she was, but she talked up her price, and Tony Khan offered her a hefty contract to sign with his group. That’s not a knock on Mercedes, good for her for being able to get that type of cash, that’s the entire point of the pro wrestling business, but at the same time, it should be noted that the decline in ratings and ticket sales continued after she was brought into the fold for AEW. It might be a harsh reality, but the argument could definitely be made that Willow or Mariah could be more valuable to the company than Mercedes on a long-term basis. This segment was given the right about of time, as the ten minutes gave them enough time to work the match without any flat points. This was another contest where the finish was well done when May hit a hurricanrana off the top and then nailed a flurry of offense with a knee strike and a pile driver to get the victory to emphasis the conclusion.
Much of the same could be said when the other member of The Elite faction, Jack Perry defended the TNT championship against Katsuyori Shibata. Shibata isn’t regularly featured on Dynamite so it’s difficult to see him as a threat to the title and thus this match was reduced to cannon fodder on a line-up that already had 10 matches. The action was decent, but it was just an 8-minute television match on a bigger platform. There was some technical ground sequences that would’ve probably been more suitable for the ROH Pure division, as it was somewhat of a styles clash since Perry isn’t known for the shoot style of mat work. Shibata suplexed Perry on the outside toward the apron, and Perry’s legs awkwardly clipped the apron. It was a rather foolish spot, considering that Eddie Kingston has been on the shelf for months after he injured his leg during a similar sequence on a New Japan Strong show. The biggest takeaway though is, if this contest wasn’t on the card of Wrestle Dream, it wouldn’t have truly affected the quality of the show or made a difference in the buy rate. Shitbata chocked out Perry, but his shoulders were on the canvas so Perry got the coincidental pin fall. retained the belt.
Post-match, Perry hit Shibata with the title until Daniel Garcia made the save. Garcia looked stone-faced as usual when Perry took a powder out of the ring. As Garcia was standing in the ring, MJF returned from filming Happy Gilmore 2 to confront him. As Garcia was faced off with MJF, Perry blindsided him with the TNT championship. During the beat down, Adam Cole made his return to run off MJF. This was booked like something you would’ve seen sandwiched onto an old ECW pay-per-view, take that as a positive or a negative. The problem is, does anyone really want to continuation of Adam Cole/MJF? If anything, Tony Khan should put as much distance as possible between those competitors and any reference of the absolute flop that was the devil mask reveal last year. It’s quite literally a rehash of an angle that didn’t get over last time instead of progressing either character.
The International title match was exactly what you’d expected,an overly-choreographed incredible display of athleticism. There’s a fine line between seamless transitions and one wrestler simply waiting for the opponent to get there. This was the latter, but there’s no doubt that the skill and the maneuvers are impressive. The inverted tombstone that Takeshita used to put Ricochet through a table at ringside looked rough. There wasn’t really a narrative to follow for most of the bout, but that’s what the company is selling here, a new age video game match with high impact and minimal selling. Again, take that as either a positive or a negative depending on your perspective. The finish saw Kyle Fletcher turn on Will Ospreay, hitting him with the screw driver to allow Takeshita to win the title. On one hand, it’s great to see the former DDT star get something of importance to do on the show, as he’s talented enough to be a top guy. On the other hand, Kyle Fletcher vs. Will Ospreay isn’t exactly a feud that fans are clamoring for in AEW.
The next segment was a way to get Swerve Strickland on the pay-per-view, but it didn’t have much impact or meaning in the grand scheme of things. This was something that was completely normal for a television segment, and in that setting, it would’ve been fine. To put an extended promo segment in the middle of a four-hour pay-per-view is bizarre. Did this really do anything to progress the narrative? If this was to set up for the debut of Bobby Lashley then you could argue that it deserved a spot on the PPV, but if the MVP/Nana confrontation wasn’t on this show, but put this week on Dynamite, would it have truly made a difference?
Speaking of not meaning much in the grand scheme of things, if it was presented right, Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos could’ve been a highlight of this pay-per-view, as well as some unique for the company to promote, especially at a time when Hispanic stars are a focus within the industry to capitalize on the Latino fan base. This was a two our of three falls match, which is somewhat of a lucha tradition, but of course, that wasn’t established on TV prior to this so for most viewers, it’s just randomly a two out of three falls bout. The athleticism was incredible, and it reminded me of a comment from the underrated legend, Lance Storm on a podcast a few years ago, “good lucha is amazing, but bad lucha might be the worst wrestling there is.” The style is so different that it is often hit or miss, but when you have two high caliber luchadors like this two in the ring, you can get an incredible contest from them. This was a dazzling spot fest that provided some substance and even some sizzle to the card. The problem is, this was basically a one-off match within the landscape of All Elite Wrestling. Yes, Hologram and Mortos have been featured on Collision, a show that gets about two-thirds of the audience of Dynamite, and their exposure on Wednesday has been minimal. Between the two of them, there was more than enough character traits for the company to highlight with Hologram’s really neat costume, and Mortos’ bull mask that this match could’ve been used to solidify a character, not just another high spot match. Hologram got the win of two falls to three, but let’s hope that both of these competitors get more TV exposure in the future.
Darby Allin vs. Brody King was another TV match on pay-per-view, given just under 10 minutes with nothing that you haven’t seen before on Dynamite or Rampage. In fact, you could argue that either casket match on television was more PPV worthy than this contest. It wasn’t a subpar match, just nothing that needed to be on pay-per-view. Darby got the victory.
The Young Bucks vs. Private Party was the spot fest that ignored all tag rules that you’d expect it to be. It was fine, but we’ve seen the same match several times and given the fact that Private Party was steamrolled by The Blackpool Combat Club a few weeks ago, they didn’t seem to be worthy contenders for this match to be anything more than fluff on the card. It was fine for what it was, but nothing spectacular or “must see” for this pay-per-view. The Young Bucks retained the belts in a 15-minute segment.
Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Jericho for the Ring Of Honor World championship was fine for what it was, it was a segment that fell into the glorified TV match category for this show, because it’s not as though these two have built any rivalry around the championship prior to this. Furthermore, Jericho already did “The Ocho” gimmick before so it was clear that he wasn’t going to win the belt, and he doesn’t need to either. If truth, neither does Mark Briscoe, despite being a 20-yeat veteran, he can still go in the ring, and given the tragic passing of his brother Jay last year, there was an opportunity for Mark to be pushed toward the AEW world title to win it in honor of his brother. The story writes itself, and Mark is more than talented enough to be the world champion, but he was pigeonholed into the ROH brand. Jericho is smart enough to know that he isn’t going to work as flashy of a style at his age so they exchanged a lot of stiff strikes, and they put in the effort, but there just wasn’t any point in the contest where it looked like the title was in jeopardy so there was basically an exhibition match. Mark got the win with the Jay Driller is another ten minutes for a decent segment, but the belt doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things.
The main event was a mixed bag, as it more or less represented the problems and the strengths of All Elite Wrestling as an organization. In a vacuum, the match was a physical contest that had the right amount of selling to emphasize the brutality of the strikes and the bumps. Taking in account the scenario, around the match, it completely and totally missed the mark. The premise of the match is that if Bryan Danielson, one of the greatest of the modern era and arguably of all time, loses he must retire. The end of his career deserves all of the pomp and circumstance, especially for how beloved of a performer he is by his peers and the fans. Nothing is flatter than Danielson being choked out and then using the booking crutch of the plastic bag again, particularly because it’s only trying to manufacturer controversy based on the reaction last time. If anything, it’s a desperate attempt to get heat because Tony usually can’t book heat properly. I’ve said this before, and I will say it again, Jon Moxley carried the company on his back when AEW needed someone to step up in the midst of suspensions and injuries. That said, does anyone want to see another Moxley title reign? It’s not his fault, but he was overexposed. There are too many other guys that could use the belt to solidify there careers for there to be a valid argument why Moxley needs another run. This is actually a compliment to Moxley, he’s already totally over with the audience, he doesn’t need a belt to maintain that status in the company.
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
