AEW WrestleDream 2023: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s review of AEW WrestleDream 2023! The brand new AEW PPV included a plethora of title matches, as well a highly-anticipated contests like Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. The prize of the night, however, came at the very end, when longtime WWE stalwart Edge, now going by his real name, Adam Copeland, arrived in AEW and immediately lined up across from his old friend Christian Cage.

It must be admitted that our WrestleDream opinions gravitate somewhat in the direction of AEW's newest roster member, as any such addition is going to result in some significant pull Fortunately, this column isn't the place where we objectively look at all the evening's events — that would be our live coverage. What you'll find here, instead, is which parts of the show made us think we were dreaming and which parts came straight out of a nightmare — aka three things we hated and three things we loved about AEW WrestleDream.

AEW WrestleDream was all about two things — a tribute to the legendary Antonio Inoki and the first time the company had taken a pay-per-view to Seattle in their four-year existence. With some of the top stars in AEW hailing from the region and three of them being featured in marquee matches, the placement of the likes of Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson on the card left plenty of heads being scratched.

After four matches on the Zero Hour pre-show portion of the night at the Climate Pledge Arena and the main event of the show proper confirmed as hometown hero Darby Allin against Christian Cage, the smart decision would have been to kick things off with a hot match between one of the aforementioned Washington products in Strickland or Danielson. Instead, the decision-makers opted to slot a predictable two-one-handicap match between MJF and The Righteous for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at the top of the card, which is always one of the most important matches on any show as it sets the tone for the night as a whole.

With his partner and brochacho Adam Cole sidelined due to an ankle injury, the reigning AEW World Champion was forced to go it alone against Vincent and Dutch. Despite this, the result of the bout was never in any doubt whatsoever, with MJF retaining the belts on his own in what was essentially a comedy match. The crowd were into it to a certain extent, but the presentation — or lack thereof — for The Righteous on AEW programming likely made it hard for any fan to truly invest in the action.

AEW would have been far better served placing the hot singles feud of Strickland vs Hangman Adam Page or the dream bout between Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr in the show-opening clash, especially given the hard-hitting action that saw the leader of Mogul Embassy and the Blackpool Combat Club member both come away with well-earned victories. The opening four matches of the pay-per-view card failed to feature any Seattle-adjacent stars and outside of MJF, anyone who had been treated like a main-eventer in AEW, making for an overall flat first two hours of viewing.

One of the best storylines heading into this PPV was between Swerve Strickland and Adam Page, as this is one that AEW has taken the time to develop and add some real character and heat to. That led to a lot of excitement about what they'd be able to do, and inside the ring they pulled off one of the best matches of the night in front of what was arguably the hottest crowd reactions of the evening.

While Strickland has been the heel throughout this feud, given that he is from Seattle he was given a babyface welcome, while his opponent was hated on from minute one. It completely changed the dynamics of the story they have told to this point, and that could have thrown a lot of wrestlers. However, Page and Strickland completely leaned into the dynamic change and went with the fans, rather than trying to fight them to get the reactions to suit the long-term storyline.

Page amped up his aggression and mocked Strickland's catchphrase which allowed the fans to boo him even heavier, while Strickland sold throughout the bulk of the match and built up for a big comeback. The reactions are something they were likely predicting, but not guaranteed, so the fact that they can both think on the fly and adapt like that is a positive sign as to where they're at as performers at this stage in their careers.

Considering both men are at the top of the mid-card right now this is an angle that has the potential to catapult either man into a World title storyline, but given "Hangman" has already been there having Strickland win was huge. He is someone with all the talent in the world, and he is making the most of the opportunities he is being handed right now, with this being yet another example of him delivering when he has been handed the ball.

You know how sometimes you're reading this amazing book, and like halfway through you're ready to proclaim this the greatest book of all time, and then the writer just completely faceplants on the ending? That was how Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr. felt to me.

I loved this match. I thought it was absolutely excellent. It definitely should have main-evented the show, and you will never convince me that it wouldn't have if AEW hadn't suddenly found themselves in business with a certain "Ultimate Opportunist," which I completely get and will never complain about, but still. Maybe if it was the main event, this match would have had a finish I found satisfying — a tap out, for example, after the grueling gauntlet of limb work we'd witnessed, or a flash pinfall capping off a fast-paced sequence of technical counters. There are ways to end a "technical dream match," and a flying knee strike is not one of them. It was abrupt, it didn't fit the flow of the action at all, and it put a total damper on what might have been a candidate for Match of the Year.

Now, does it seem like they might have cut this match off at the knees a little in preparation for a rematch between Danielson and Sabre Jr.? Yes. And if the plan really is for two of them to go again, that's fantastic. But plans change. Anything can change. And now you're preventing a "dream match" you have right in from of you from receiving the heights in could potentially reach because you want to save some stuff for the sequel?. Seems risky and best, irresponsible at worst.

Sunday's AEW WrestleDream PPV was meant to be a tribute to Antonio Inoki, taking place one year after his death at the age of 79, which is why it was such a pleasant surprise to see Katsuyori Shibata, a disciple of Inoki's Strong Style, fall to Eddie Kingston, an avid believer in Giant Baba's King's Road Style at the Seattle supershow. Wrestling fans that believe in an afterlife can picture Baba and Inoki, chuckling about Baba's trademark style getting the better of Inoki's style on Inoki's big night. The playful rivalry between the two friends and wrestling promoters lasted for the entirety of Baba's life and was one of respect.

Kingston's win on Sunday not only celebrated Baba and Inoki, but the father of Japanese wrestling Rikidōzan. Baba and Inoki both trained under the original Japanese wrestling legend and so Kingston's victory for Baba's legacy is as important a tribute as any bow & arrow hold or octopus stretch that was done in Inoki's honor on Sunday. NJPW itself has embraced the ways that Baba and Inoki's two styles have influenced the modern era of Japanese wrestling and professional wrestling in general. Kingston's emotional reign as ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion is too unique to be thrown away over philosophical differences. Already the North American representative of Inoki's NJPW as NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, the company has made it clear that the old divisions between Strong Style and King's Road are no more.

Shibata winning Kingston's two titles would've been a symbolic moment, as he's one of the few wrestlers that carries Inoki's spirit into 2023, but Eddie Kingston is on a career high and his victory over the legendary Shibata was a memorable moment on a show that was lumpy and unfocused. The clarity of the emotions shined through in ways that other moments didn't.

While the in-ring quality throughout AEW's WrestleDream was fantastic, many fans have spent the last week speculating on the future of the company after Tony Khan began hyping up the idea that this event would mark the end of an era for AEW. It led to a lot of ideas swirling around the wrestling space, from Khan potentially buying New Japan Pro-Wrestling, to the ROH and AEW titles being unified and everything in between.

Ultimately, it was just Khan's way of marketing the impending debut of Adam "Edge" Copeland. While it was fantastic to see the "Rated-R Superstar" officially land in AEW, the fact all of Khan's hype was so that they could see some t-shirts relating to Copeland was quite a cheap trick, and something that left us disappointed. AEW wasted no time showing off the new shirt which is for the "Rated-R Era," an obvious nod to Copeland and his iconic nickname.

Rated R Era! Check out this Adam Copeland shirt in New Arrivals at https://t.co/9hHlXpcSbp!@EdgeRatedR #ShopAEW #AEW #AEWWrestleDream pic.twitter.com/fKxdLSmVvq

— ShopAEW.com (@ShopAEW) October 2, 2023

However, considering Khan's track record for major announcements having been things such as the Owen Hart Memorial trophy, or the fact he was purchasing ROH he had raised the expectation level amongst fans. The rumor mill had already been swirling about the idea of Copeland arriving at this event, especially once it became clear Christian Cage would be part of the main event match, therefore Khan's comments weren't needed as he created a rod for his own back with expectation levels.

Plus, while Copeland is an obvious shot in the arm for AEW as a company due to the star power he commands, building a 'new era' around a wrestler who is 49 years old and will likely be working a more limited schedule isn't the greatest marketing idea. While there could be more to come from these teases down the line, perhaps at "AEW Dynamite" next week, it was teased for this PPV and ultimately wasn't truly delivered on.

Like most AEW PPVs, WrestleDream wasn't really my jam, but that doesn't matter, because Edge is here now, and Tony Khan's product just became a little bit more for me.

Adam Copeland was my first favorite wrestler, back when I started watching wrestling more than 20 years ago. He was my favorite wrestler until he was forced into retirement in 2011, and then I had to come up with new favorite wrestlers. But Edge was always my guy. I couldn't believe what I was seeing when he came back to WWE at the Royal Rumble, and while his appearance at AEW WrestleDream wasn't nearly as much of a surprise, it was still something that made me extremely happy. Not because of what it means for AEW, but because of what it means for me as a fan, and because of what it clearly means to Copeland himself. At the post-show media scrum, he seemed extremely excited about spending what has to be his last run wrestling people he's never wrestled before, helping out behind the scenes of a fledgling promotion, and to paraphrase his daughter, being with Christian Cage and having fun. It's just impossible to not be thrilled for him.

I hate wrestling nostalgia. I generally find it vapid and consider myself largely immune to it. But when it comes to Edge, I am uniquely susceptible. Sunday night, Adam Copeland arrived in AEW — Metalingus blaring around him, the announcers calling him the Rated R Superstar — and I didn't even care about all the problems I had with the main event match that preceded it, or the show as a whole. None of that stuff mattered. Adam Copeland is in AEW, he'll be wrestling matches we've never seen before while also presumably getting to feud with his best friend, and when WrestleDream went off the air, for the first time maybe ever with an AEW PPV, I had a big, stupid smile on my face. So thank you for that, Tony.