In honor of the great New Japan Pro Wrestling founder and in-ring legend Antonio Inoki, Tony Khan’s wrestling federation is set to go to Seattle, Washington’s Climate Pledge Arena to celebrate his legacy via the first-ever WrestleDream (2023).
Wrestling fans can expect to witness modern-day GOATs compete in the squared circle to stake their claim as the absolute best to have ever competed. Bryan Danielson, Zack Sabre Jr., “Hangman” Adam Page, Swerve Strickland, and many more of AEW’s top stars will fight to provide memorable performances come October 1st.
Date: October 1, 2023
Arena: Climate Pledge Arena | Location: Seattle, Washington
Handicap match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship:
MJF (c) vs. The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch)
MJF started well, but overconfidence and strength in numbers turned the fight in favor of The Righteous.
However, MJF managed to turn things around, having fulfilled his promise to apply a Body Slam to the powerful Dutch. After that he achieved triumph after a Heat Seeker on Dutch.
Winners : MJF
Rating : 6.5/10
ROH World Championship and Strong Openweight Championship :
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Fight between the technical Shibata and the more powerful Eddie Kingston, with each trying to take the fight to the dimension that most favors them.
After trying to secure the victory after a Northern Lights Bomb , Eddie Kingston achieved victory following a Powerbomb .
Winner : Eddie Kingston
Rating : 7.5/10
AEW TBS Championship:
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart
Intense fight between the stronger Kris Statlander and the more agile Julia Hart, who was close to victory after a Moonsault , but in the ensuing settlement Statlander managed to put one foot on the top rope.
Soon after, Julia Hart trapped Statlander in a submission hold, but the champion, with her strength, managed to turn things around and apply two consecutive Tombstone Piledrivers .
Winner : Kris Statlander
Rating : 6/10
Winners receive a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship :
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs.
The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) vs.
The Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo) vs.
Orange Cassidy and Hook
Chaotic fight, in which all teams had the chance to shine. And, as we already know, it is almost impossible for a fight in which the Young Bucks are involved not to completely disregard the rules, with frequent double teams when only one fighter from each team is allowed in the ring. It’s not that I dislike it, but it seems like there is more openness to allowing this to the Young Bucks than to any other team.
And it was the Young Bucks who achieved victory, after a BTE Trigger on one of the Lucha Brothers.
Winners : The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
Rating : 7.5/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland
At a time when Adam Page was injured in his right arm, Swerve Strickland applied a Swerve Stomp and a 450 Splash , but did not achieve victory. Minutes before, he had suffered a Dead Eye on the steps.
Adam Page came close to victory after a Buckshot Lariat , but Prince Nana put Strickland’s leg over the bottom rope. Soon after, at a time when Prince Nana was distracting the referee, Page was preparing for another Buckshot Lariat , but was intercepted by Strickland, who hit him with an object.
Adam Page still kicked out in the settlement that followed, but after a sequence of blows, including the final JML Driver , Strickland actually achieved victory.
Winner : Swerve Strickland
Rating : 8.5/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
Technically well accomplished fight, but in terms of fan reactions it was weak, a sign of the lack of charisma of these two. Ricky Starks, already with Big Bill at the edge of the ring, achieved victory after a Roshambo .
Winner: Ricky Starks
Rating : 6/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Saber Jr.
Duel between two chain wrestling monsters . After almost ten minutes, they forgot the technique for a moment and switched to strikes, then alternating between the two registers, always with great quality of execution. Bryan Danielson went into the fight with an injured right wrist and Zack Saber Jr. tried to take advantage of that, but in the middle of the fight Danielson injured Zack Saber Jr.’s left knee and also tried to capitalize. The “ American Dragon ” ended up achieving victory after the second Busaiko Knee after a revesal on the first attempt. Excellent.
Winner : Bryan Danielson
Rating : 9/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; Chris Jericho and The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara and Will Ospreay)
An entertaining fight that became increasingly chaotic, with great disregard for the rule of only the legal element of each team being in the ring – after all, it’s not just the Young Bucks. And, at a time when Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara were the legal men and Jericho was preparing to apply the Walls Of Jericho , Don Callis hit Jericho in the head with a bat and Guevara took advantage to advance to the victorious settlement.
Winners : The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara and Will Ospreay)
Rating : 9/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; AEW World Tag Team Championship :
FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) (c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)
Another high quality fight, with exciting near falls . After trying to achieve victory with a Shatter Machine , FTR had to resort to a Super Shatter Machine , with Dax Harwood projecting Kyle Fletcher from the top rope, to secure the victory.
Winners : FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood)
Rating : 8.5/10
WrestleDream 2023 ; Two out of three falls match for the AEW TNT Championship:
Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin
We were still in the first five minutes of the fight when Christian Cage tried the Killswitch, but Darby Allin not only used the collar of his opponent’s shirt to cover his face but also advanced to the settlement that earned him victory in the first fall .
After a Coffin Drop outside the ring, Darby Allin tried to settle the matter with a Coffin Drop inside the ring, but it was intercepted by Christian ‘s knees , which then caused the opponent to crash into the commentators’ table. Minutes later, Christian threw Darby Allin against the steps twice, ending up winning the second fall via countout .
After the second fall, Darby Allin was placed on a stretcher by AEW staff, but while this was happening Christian Cage removed the mat from the ring, exposing the wood, and applied a Frog Splash to Allin, who was lying on the stretcher. Then Christian put Darby Allin back in the ring and applied a Killswitch to him on top of the wood, but Allin kicked out in the ensuing settlement.
In response, Darby Allin applied a Scorpion Death Drop and a Coffin Drop to Christian on the exposed wood, but Christian also kicked out .
However, Christian applied an involuntary Spear to the referee and then a low blow to Allin. And when Christian went to get the belt, probably to hit Allin, Nick Wayne appeared on the scene and stole the belt from him. When it was expected that Allin had just gained an ally while the referee was down, Wayne betrayed Allin, hitting him with the belt, and shortly thereafter Christian made the victorious laydown on Allin.
Winner : Christian Cage
Rating : 8/10