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A majority of WrestleDream 2023 might not have had storylines heading into the show, but as the name suggests, AEW's latest PPV was all about the dream showdowns!
Tony Khan and the team delivered their latest event in collaboration with NJPW as the boss hyped the arrival of a "new era" and certainly delivered a night of action that most fans will remember for a while.
Having 14 matches on the card meant that there were several noteworthy moments, and we take a look at them all in the complete results and highlights below:
- Satoshi Kojima, Keith Lee, Athena, and Billie Starkz def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty), Diamante, and Mercedes Martinez (Zero Hour AEW Pre-Show)
- Claudio Castagnoli (w/ Jon Moxley) def. Josh Barnett (Zero Hour AEW Pre-Show)
- Luchasaurus def. Nick Wayne (Zero Hour AEW Pre-Show)
- The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) and Billy Gunn (c) def. TMDK (Zero Hour AEW Pre-Show)
- MJF def. The Righteous to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship
- Eddie Kingston def. Katsuyori Shibata to retain the ROH World and Strong Openweight Championships
- Kris Statlander def. Julia Hart to retain the AEW TBS Championship
- The Young Bucks def. The Gunns, The Lucha Brothers, and Orange Cassidy & Hook
- Swerve Strickland def. "Hangman" Adam Page
- Ricky Starks def. Wheeler Yuta
- Bryan Danielson def. Zack Sabre Jr.
- The Don Callis Family def. Chris Jericho and The Golden Lovers
- FTR def. Aussie Open to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship
- Christian Cage def. Darby Allin to retain the TNT title (Nick Wayne turned on Darby before Edge made his AEW debut to join the babyfaces)
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MJF (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) (2-on-1 Handicap match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship)
The match began with MJF having the crowd in the palm of his hands as he outfoxed both members of the Righteous. The AEW World Champion eventually paid the price and got outnumbered, with the heels beginning their onslaught.
MJF took a lot of offense, including multiple variations of slams, but kicked out of several pinfall attempts, much to the frustration of Vincent and Dutch.
The desperation led to a chair being introduced, but MJF hilariously stopped Vincent in his tracks by grabbing onto his private parts for 20 seconds! Yes, you read that right! The referee saw the chair, and after preventing its usage, the match resumed, with MJF now having the upper hand and taking on two men all by himself.
MJF got a massive reaction when he hit Dutch with a thunderous scoop slam. And, of course, the Kangaroo kick was out in full swing as well, and this time, it came in the 'double variation.' He hit the heat-seeking DDT on Dutch and got the three-count using the ropes as leverage during the pinfall.
Result: MJF (c) def. The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch)
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata (ROH World Championship and Strong Openweight Championship)
The match began with a furious exchange of chops as both men tried to seemingly outmatch each other's toughness right off the bat.
Shibata showed off his mat game with some clean holds, but Kingston stayed in the match and fought out of an ankle lock. The figure four leg lock was out next as Kingston and Shibata passionately barked insults at each other.
Eddie's machinegun chops got him some control in the match, but Shibata was as dangerous as ever with his kicks and forearm strikes. A slugfest broke out as they traded their best shots and still somehow, to the crowd's shock, stood on their feet. They applauded the sequence as Eddie and Katsuyori were both flat on their backs at the end of it.
Shibata had the win in his grasp as Kingston almost passed out to an abdominal stretch. The AEW star, though, got his hand up at the third time of asking. He got back right up with two spinning back fists, only to eat a brutal kick from Shibata. Insane! Some members of the audience were on their feet already.
Shibata and Kingston punched each other despite being wobbly on their feet. Eddie got a near fall with a Northern Lights Bomb before connecting with the Uraken and a powerbomb for the win.
Result: Eddie Kingston def. Katsuyori Shibata
Kingston and Shibata showed each respect after a pretty hard-hitting match, getting another deserved pop before they made their way back.
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart (AEW TBS Championship)
After another impressive entrance, Julia Hart began one of the biggest matches of her AEW career on the backfoot as Kris Statlander punished the challenger with some powerful offense.
Hart's long winning streak was on the line while Statlander wished to build her title reign. The champion had the strength advantage which she showcased with a delayed suplex. There was one spot where Statlander walked with Hart on her shoulders before Brody King's momentary distraction helped the House of Black member.
Hart's brief spell on top ended when Statlander landed a few strikes and looked to be setting up the finish. Brody King once again got involved in the match, but Hart missed the mist attack.
Kris planted Julia onto the mat, but the latter kicked out. The champion followed it up with a German Suplex before going to the top turnbuckle. Kris Statlander struggled with her injured ribs as both women were perched up on the top.
Julia launched Statlander down to the ring and hit a massive moonsault! Statlander stayed in the match after her leg hit the ropes just before the three-count. A 'this is awesome' chant broke out as Statlander showed incredible power to pick up Hart on her shoulders and transition to the Tombstone Piledriver!
Kris hit the Friday Night Fever to get the win. The final few minutes of the match were pretty solid!
Result: Kris Statlander def. Julia Hart
And just like that, another streak in AEW ends, and this time, it's Julia Hart's run of wins.
The Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. Orange Cassidy and Hook (Four-way tag team match for a future AEW World Tag Team Championship match)
Rey Fenix and one-half of the tag team champions got the match underway, and the first few minutes had epic moments.
The Gunns tried to sneak away a win with Austin trying to pin his brother, but the referee didn't let that fly. Hook's back-and-forth with Nick Jackson was another moment that popped the crowd, as well as the Bucks going on a rampage and hitting a combination of moves on every other team.
As expected, the four-way match was pretty chaotic as the legal competitors kept changing in the middle of the ring.
The Gunns isolated Hook for parts of the match as the other teams looked for a way in. Penta finally came into the match and took Austin and Colten out with some classic moves, including superkicks and backstabbers!
Hook and Austin Gunn were the legal men in the ring after Penta wiped out several stars near ringside. Cassidy came in out of nowhere for an Orange Punch before Hook looked at his submission move. Jackson made the blind tag and hit the 450 onto Hook and Gunn, but the pinfall was broken up. What followed was a blink-and-you-miss sequence of moves. There was one move that had four people involved in it at one time!
The Young Bucks got the win in the end with the BTE Trigger on Penta.
Result: The Young Bucks def. The Gunns, The Lucha Brothers, and Orange Cassidy & Hook
"Hangman" Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
The apparent 'grudge' match kicked off with both men trying to one-up each other. It was an even showdown as they had an answer for everything until Swerve caught Hangman with a sliding dropkick.
The sinister heel wore Page down, and even danced in cocky fashion! Hangman fought back by reversing a suplex by landing on his feet and hitting a fallaway slam. Page drove Swerve into the barricade with a powerbomb before going to the top, hitting a moonsault onto his opponent at ringside. Back in the ring, Page got a near fall with a Liger Bomb. Adam hit the tope suicida and continued brawling with Swerve around the ring.
Strickland and Page exchanged forearms, followed by Enzuigiris, but Page countered with an epic deadlift German Suplex. Swerve responded with a brainbuster for a two-count. That was indeed awesome!
Page stopped Swerve's top-rope move and targetted his rival's injured arm. He joined him up top and seemed ready for a Spanish Fly attempt. Strickland punched Page and took him down with a nasty stomp! The crowd was on its feet again as Swerve prepared to hit the finishing blow.
They briefly grappled on the apron, but Strickland sent Page crashing into the steel post. Hangman stunned Swerve by hitting him with the deadeye on top of the steel steps. Ouch!
Page looked for a Buckshot Lariat, and he tried to create some space with kicks, but Swerve wasn't going down without a fight. Swerve countered the Buckshot with a drop toehold before trying to snap his opponent's arm. He did, prompting the ringside doctors to check up on Hangman.
Swerve, though, went to the top rope and hit another stomp while the officials checked Page. Back in the ring, Swerve hit the 450 on the injured arm, but Hangman kicked out!
The fans were clearly in Swerve's favor as the stars tussled for superiority on the mat. Strickland missed another stomp and, this time, Page capitalized by landing the Buckshot Lariat.
The pain in his injured arm, though, prevented him from going for the pinfall quickly. Prince Nana interfered by placing Swerve's feet on the bottom rope during the pinfall. The referee spotted it and sent Nana to the back. The distraction worked, however, as Strickland countered the Buckshot Lariat by hitting Page in the face with Nana's crown jewel.
Page miraculously kicked out! An irate Swerve hit the House Call kick twice before delivering the JML Driver for the win. What. A. Match!
Result: Swerve Strickland def. "Hangman" Adam Page
Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
As much as they might have hated it, Starks and Yuta had a tough task following up on Swerve and Hangman's classic match.
Nonetheless, Wheeler and Ricky started the match with a traditional wrestling exchange that looked messy but was chain wrestling at its finest. Jon Moxley was on commentary and seemingly revealed he was fined for the language he used during the Zero Hour Pre-Show. There is only really one Jon Moxley, after all!
Starks was in control as he walked the ropes and kept Wheeler down with some decent offense. Moxley screamed motivating words from the commentary table as Starks showboated in the ring.
Wheeler Yuta came flying back with an elbow strike, a modified slam, and an arm hold. Big Bill walked out to the ring and caught Yuta's attention. Big Bill got involved in the action as he first caught Ricky Starks and seemingly cushioned his fall. He then ended up crashing into the steel ring post. Back in the ring, Ricky Starks got the job done with the Roshambo.
Result: Ricky Starks def. Wheeler Yuta
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson
Who is the best technical wrestler in the world? We were about to find out.
The quality of the sequences early on proved the fans were indeed in for a special contest. The abdominal stretch was out again, in homage to Antonio Inoki, as Sabre tried to catch Danielson in a submission move. They continued their intricate matwork, and at the end, a loud 'this is wrestling' change echoed around the arena.
The first five minutes of the match were pure chained mat wrestling at its best. It doesn't get any better than this! Danielson and Sabre decided to test their standup game as they both traded punches. The NJPW star focused on Bryan's injured right wrist and even painfully torqued his middle finger back.
Bryan got back into the match with his trademark kicks. He pulled off what Mox felt was the most violent dragonscrew he'd ever seen from Danielson. Sabre's knee was certainly hurt in the storyline, and things got all the more interesting in the match.
Danielson trapped Sabre in the Tree of Woe and punished him with kicks before sending him to the top. He rained down elbows, but Sabre countered by trying to attack Bryan's injured hand again. The sequence ended with Bryan hitting the Avalanche Butterfly Suplex.
The Bryan kicks were out again, and he knocked Sabre's lights out with one right to his temple. Fans clapped as the competitors went on a furious pinfall reversal routine, leading to Moxley standing up in appreciation.
Danielson spat in Sabre's face and got a bunch of slaps in return. The back-and-forth continued as they threw everything at each other: elbows, forearms, kicks, punches! If Sabre landed a back fist, Bryan came back with a similar move, but harder! It was competition at the highest level. On a side note, Nigel McGuinness' disdain for Danielson on commentary made the match much better.
Bryan hit the Busaiku Knee once, but Sabre kicked out the first time. Two Busaiku Knees would be too much for anyone, and it was enough for Danielson to get the pinfall win. And just like that, a dream match in the making for years finally happened, and it lived up to all the hype.
Result: Bryan Danielson def. Zack Sabre Jr.
Zack Sabre Jr. refused Bryan Danielson's handshake after the match, hinting at a potential rematch down the line.
Chris Jericho and The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay)
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, who are pretty familiar with each other, began the match. The newest member of the Don Callis Family, Sammy Guevara, came in and taunted Omega as fans chanted for Chris Jericho.
Jericho finally got the tag and his hands upon Guevara, but after eating just a few chops, the heel tagged himself out like a coward!
The Don Callis Family worked well together to get control of the match as Takeshita beat up Kenny Omega. Kota Ibushi wasn't happy as he rushed into the ring and had a brief staredown with Takeshita.
The heels tried their best to take Omega down as Takeshit even hit a massive Blue Thunder Powerbomb for a two-count. The Family successfully prevented Kenny from making the hot tag on multiple occasions. Omega finally tagged Jericho into the match, and the veteran pumped the crowd on as he executed some of his best moves.
Ibushi got a taste of the action and was also involved in an epic moment with Chris Jericho before continuing to pummel Sammy Guevara. The Golden Lovers worked in tandem, and the fans absolutely loved it!
Takeshita proved to be a game-changer as he delivered German Suplexes on all three of his opponents. A moment of madness, however, led to Takeshita crashing into Ospreay, and the babyfaces took advantage.
Omega took multiple men out with the tope as Guevara hit the Spanish Fly on Jericho in the ring. Sammy wasn't done as he executed a Shooting Star Press to the outside.
The last few minutes were frantic as fans just witnessed power move after power move! One of the most shocking moments was Jericho kicking out at one just when everyone thought the match was done! The Demo God tried to fight the three opponents all by himself. Kota Ibushi, though, had that "mad look" in his eyes as he crept up on the heels. Ibushi no-sold every shot and got into a slugfest with Takeshita.
Don Callis interfered in the match, and while Aubrey Edwards was distracted, he hit Jericho in the head with a bat and influenced the outcome.
Result: The Don Callis Family def. Chris Jericho and The Golden Elite
FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) (AEW World Tag Team Championship)
Dax Harwood and Kyle Fletcher kicked off the penultimate match of the night. The tag team titles match followed the regular pattern as the challengers surprised the champions with their early offense.
Dax and Mark Davis' brawl got a good reaction at the start as Aussie Open enjoyed the momentum for a while. Harwood finally got his act together and, with Cash Wheeler's help, methodically shut down their opponents.
Aussie Open had the champions on the ropes as they hit a powerbomb combo on Wheeler for a near fall. Cash was looking to make the hot tag now, and Aussie Open would have fancied their chances of pulling off an upset win.
Dax Harwood got the tag and took both Davis and Flertcher to town with some hard-hitting attacks. Harwood was doing all the heavy lifting as he delivered four German Suplexes.
The Aussie Open, however, got a near fall with a tandem move on Dax. Fletcher showed resilience as well by being kicked out after a brutal Liger Bomb by Harwood. Cash finally reappeared on the apron and took the tag, only to be taken out by the Aussie Open with an outrageously risky double-team move.
Harwood made an important save at the end as Aussie Open thought they'd won the match after hitting the Coriolis on Wheeler. The match finally concluded when FTR hit the Super Shatter Machine on Kyle Fletcher.
Result: FTR def. Aussie Open to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship
Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin (Two out of three falls match for the AEW TNT Championship)
And then it was main event time! Christian Cage was caught off guard by Darby Allin's intensity early on as the challenger was on top of his game.
Cage landed a nasty-looking elbow that dropped Darby and seemingly gave the veteran some time to rethink his strategy. Darby Allin got the first pinfall early in the bout by using Cage's turtleneck against him and rolling him up into an awkward position. That was genius!
Darby Allin 1 - Christian Cage - 0
Christian Cage knew he couldn't make any more mistakes and took his time wearing Allin down. Cage missed a diving headbutt, and Allin almost got the second pin with a perfect Code Red.
Darby continued scoring near falls, while his kicking out of many was clearly having its effect on Cage, who dumped his opponent out of the ring to buy some time. Nick Wayne's mother, who was in the crowd, threw a drink in Cage's face, and it got one of the biggest pops of the night.
Darby kept up the pressure by laying out Cage outside with a Coffin Drop. The TNT Champion, though, once again shut Allin down and started placing the steel steps with an evil plan in mind. Christian Cage slammed him onto the steps. The referee counted to 10 as Cage leveled the score in the match.
Darby Allin 1 - Christian Cage - 1
The medical team was out to help Allin with a stretcher coming out at one point. Everyone believed Darby was in no condition to continue the match. In the meantime, Christian began dismantling the ring by removing the padding.
Cage wasn't done! He went to the top rope and delivered a Frog Splash onto Allin while the latter was on the stretcher.
Back in the ring, Christian executed the Killswitch on the exposed ring, but Darby kicked out, proving that he might actually be a zombie. Darby sidestepped a spear next but fell for a Scorpion Death Lock, Sting's signature move.
Darby showed heart and fortitude to pull himself towards the ropes. A "let's go, Darby" chant kicked off as the challenger hopped on Christian and gouged at his eyes. The Scorpion Death Drop came next, followed by the Coffin Drop. It was Christian Cage's turn to kick out this time!
Cage went for another spear, but accidentally took the referee out as Darby moved out of the way. Cage delivered a low blow and reached out for his TNT title as the ref was still unconscious.
Nick Wayne appeared and snatched the belt out of Cage's hands. Wayne lured Christian back into the ring, where he and Allin had a staredown. What happened next shocked the world! Wayne hit Allin with the belt and completed one of the most unexpected heels turns ever.
Cage covered Allin and got the win. Wow!
Result: Christian Cage def. Darby Allin to retain the TNT title
Cage and Wayne hugged after the match, with Christian kissing the young star on his forehead. Nick and Christian attacked Darby, leading to Sting coming out to make the save.
Luchasaurus got involved, and it seemed like a setup for the inevitable! Christian Cage got two chairs in the ring for a Con-Chair-To and just then the lights went off! "You think you know me"! - Edge's music hit, and the Rated-R Superstar marched to the ring after getting a monstrous ovation!
"Holy sh**" chants broke out as Edge asked Christian to return the chair. While it initially felt like Edge was the bad guy here, he refused to attack Sting and went after the heels.
The show closed with Edge staring Christian Cage down as the latter retreated. The WWE Hall of Famer shook Allin and Sting's hands as the crowd went wild once again. What a night! Edge is All Elite!
