AEW WrestleDream 2023: Edge Debuting And 5 Smart Booking Decisions
AEW WrestleDream 2023: Edge Debuting And 5 Smart Booking Decisions
Forbes Business SportsMoney AEW WrestleDream 2023: Edge Debuting And 5 Smart Booking Decisions Blake Oestriecher Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Analyzing WWE, AEW and pro wrestling as a whole. Following Oct 1, 2023, 12:45pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks have carried AEW Collision in recent weeks. AEW AEW will present its first-ever WrestleDream pay-per-view this Sunday, a marquee event created to honor wrestling legend Antonio Inoki and one that AEW President Tony Khan has promised will usher in a “new era” for the company. With AEW expected to greatly expand its PPV schedule and perhaps move to Max beginning in 2024, WrestleDream is indeed the beginning of the next stage for AEW. In addition, AEW has a new TV deal on the horizon , and is looking to move on from a CM Punk-led era that left the company in a state of flux for several months. Highlighting the inaugural WrestleDream are Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Championship and Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland. As always, the WrestleDream card, from an in-ring perspective, looks incredible strong, but the booking en route to the show has been suspect at best. Just weeks away from its next marquee event, Full Gear, AEW must deliver a well-booked and newsworthy show at WrestleDream in Seattle—and can do so with these wise booking moves. MORE FROM FORBES Top WWE Stars Reportedly Set To Miss Crown Jewel In Saudia Arabia By Blake Oestriecher Swerve Strickland Topples Adam Page AEW, after dropping the ball with Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee and with Strickland in general throughout 2023, has finally gotten back on track. MORE FOR YOU The Top 10 Richest People In The World (October 2023) Flashing Red Warning 33 Trillion U S Debt Death Spiral Could Suddenly Trigger A Bitcoin Price Vicious Circle Government Shutdown Averted: Senate Approves Last-Minute Stopgap Bill Strickland vs. Adam Page, a battle of two of AEW’s best overall performers, feels exactly like the type of upper midcard non-title feud the company should book more often. Both Page and Strickland deserve a consistent high-level spot on TV, but as a former AEW World Champion, Page doesn’t need a major PPV victory nearly as badly as Strickland does. This feud should be an extended one that carries on to, or beyond, Full Gear, which necessitates a win for the heel Strickland so that he can keep his heat and Page can get his vengeance. Eventually. MJF Gets A Surprise Tag Team Partner—But Still Loses With Adam Cole undergoing ankle surgery , AEW now has MJF slated for a handicap match against ROH newcomers The Righteous. Does this feel like a giant step down for the AEW World Champion? Of course it does. But MJF can turn anything into gold, and that should hold true here. The ideal scenario is for MJF to get a surprise tag team partner—perhaps someone like Roderick Strong—but ultimately still lose to The Righteous. This would further the feud-turned-friendship between MJF and Cole while Cole is unable to wrestle, and it will get the ROH Tag Team Championship off the duo. MJF, after all, certainly doesn’t need to be holding multiple titles, as the ROH titles are more of a hindrance than a help to the face of AEW. Ricky Starks Mops The Floor With Wheeler Yuta WWE star The Miz recently said that he can “lose every match” because, regardless of how often he wins or loses, his character is believable. That may be true for the former two-time WWE Champion, but AEW star Ricky Starks—a relative newcomer to the main event picture—doesn’t have that same luxury. Not only was Starks left completely off the historic All In London card, but he’s lost virtually every major singles match he’s had, including three straight high-profile defeats: Two to Bryan Danielson and another to CM Punk. Starks has evolved into one of the best performers in pro wrestling, both in the ring and on the mic, but he ultimately has to back up his talk with significant victories. As arguably the most important star on AEW Collision, Starks should be easily dismantling stars who are lower on the card, which is precisely why he should walk over Wheeler Yuta at WrestleDream. The Don Callis Family Pulls Off A Huge Upset The Don Callis family is a bona fide heat magnet, with Callis serving as the perfect mouthpiece for the up-and-coming trio of Sammy Guevara, Konosuke Takeshita and Will Ospreay. But as is the case with Starks, the likes of Guevara and Takeshita especially don’t really have enough signature wins to be viewed as a credible main event level threat. When the trio takes on Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho at WrestleDream, they will be looking for the upset over a NJPW legend and two cornerstones of AEW. This is exactly the type of match that can be used as a catapult for stars like Guevara and Takeshita, who are on the precipice of greatness but not quite there yet. With Jericho and Omega’s careers winding down and Ibushi only appearing for AEW sporadically, the best short and long-term call is for those three stars to take the “L” at WrestleDream. Edge Debuts After The Main Event Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage for the TNT title will main event WrestleDream , and that may be a surprising choice for the show-closing bout. But is it really? Well, not when you consider the circumstances. Allin will be performing in his hometown of Seattle, is one of AEW’s top homegrown stars and is facing Cage, the former tag team partner of Edge, who is free of his WWE contract and has long been linked to a potential move to AEW. This all makes too much sense. Cage is set to face Allin at the end of the show, and regardless of the outcome, the placement of the match suggests that Edge—likely under a different name—is going to appear in some capacity. Does he help Cage or assist Allin? That’s the million dollar question and the hook that will get fans to buy a WrestleDream show that has very weak ticket sales and could be on track to have one of the lowest PPV buyrates in AEW history. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Blake Oestriecher Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions
Publish Date : 2023-10-01 16:45:00
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