AEW WrestleDream: Matches and Predictions

Since its introduction, All Elite Wrestling has been known for producing a few PPV offerings - those happen to be Revolution, Double or Nothing, Forbidden Door, and All Out. 2023 has marked a significant change in the way AEW's PPV schedule rolls on thanks to the addition of All In and this brand-new October special event. 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. 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. Join me as I use my crystal ball to call out the winners in my first-ever AEW WrestleDream predictions piece!

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Preview & Predictions: I'M READY FOR SOME DAMN TAG GRAPS! And thankfully, we're getting plenty of that on this newly introduced AEW PPV. First up is this four-way affair where the winners will earn a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship. With The Young Bucks included in this matchup, I'm sure everyone's brains are going straight to picking them as the winners so they can set up that fourth matchup between them and FTR at Full Gear. But for my first batch of AEW WrestleDream predictions, I'm going to go the other way and pick The Gunns for the shock win here! And why, you ask? The last time we saw The Gunns, they were standing strong over FTR as the victors during their match at the last AEW PPV before this one. It makes all the sense in the world for Bullet Club Gold's central tandem to get another shot at the tag champs while Collision's main stable is ruling the roost on Saturday nights.

Preview & Predictions: Ricky Starks has been using every opportunity given to him on Collision lately and making the absolute best of them! He's looked great against the likes of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, plus he never disappoints when it's his time to hop on the mic and speak his mind. I'm glad he's getting slotted onto this great PPV card and getting to work with one of AEW's most underrated roster members in Wheeler Yuta. Now truth be told - I've gotten used to Yuta playing the role of the fall guy for the Blackpool Combat Club lately and I think he's going to play that exact position here against Ricky. I'm prepared to witness an "Absolute" victory for Ricky that'll come after a hot back-and-forth encounter between two noteworthy AEW talents.

Preview & Predictions: I have to take a moment here and give both Kris Statlander and Julia Hart their flowers. In Kris' case, she's been putting on bangers with everyone pitted against her and truly solidified herself as one of AEW's top women's wrestlers when she defeated Jade Cargill for a second time. As for Julia, she's steadily improved into a solid worker and has improved by a ton in the character department now that she's running around as The House of Black's creepy queen. Even though a Julia title win would be great and push her to an even higher level on the AEW roster, I just can't see Kris dropping her TBS Championship anytime soon. This will be another good showcase for Jula, no doubt. But Kris will clear Julia and go on to continue having impressive performances with the title still around her waist.

Preview & Predictions: We have two stiff strikers here who know a thing or two about "Strong Style." Eddie Kingston, who's the newly crowned ROH World Champion and current NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, is enjoying the best run of his career to date now that he's finally overcome one of his mortal enemies. Katsuyori Shibata made his way back from a debilitating injury and has been rejuvenated now that he's made his home in AEW/ROH as the undisputed ROH Pure Champion. This matchup will definitely make everyone watching it wince and scream "OOOHH!" every time both men lay into each other with nasty chops, kicks, and suplexes. Eddie just captured the title belts he's currently running around with and I just know he's being prepped for long title reigns with the both of them. Shibata will put up a hell of a fight, but it will be all for naught as Eddie ultimately pulls away with the win.

Preview & Predictions: Don Callis (who always gets the most heated crowd reactions every time he picks up a mic!) has built himself a nice collection of top-level talent to replace his former protege Kenny Omega and his "Elite" ensemble. "The Alpha" Konosuke Takeshita, Will Ospreay, and the latest Callis protege Sammy Guevara are now aligned and ready to rid AEW of The Elite once and for all. Opposing them are two Canadian greats who have decided to put their difference aside to confront their mortal foes and a former New Japan mainstay - Omega, Chris Jericho, and Kota Ibushi.

I'm glad I've finally reached this part of my AEW WrestleDream predictions because I'm confident that we have yet another banger on our hands here! The Golden Lovers and Jericho have taken some major L's lately at the hands of the Don Callis Family. Now is the time for them to finally gain the upper hand on their latest adversaries! I'm predicting a win for the babyface trio here that'll see Omega gain a measure of revenge against Takeshita by finally pinning him with a One-Winged Angel for the win.

Preview & Predictions: GET WELL SOON, ADAM COLE! One-half of Better Than You Bay Bay is down and out with an ankle injury that requires surgery and will surely keep him out of the ring for months to come, sadly. Adam was ready to vacate the ROH World Tag Team Championships he and MJF secured at All Out earlier this year, but MJF stopped him from doing so and opted to keep the belts they both hold so dear. While an admirable act, it's not exactly a smart one since MJF now has to face one of the hottest rising tag teams in AEW - Vincent and Dutch, better known as The Righteous.

I'm sure MJF will fight his ass off and do everything in his power to overcome the combined threat of his creepy adversaries. But I think MJF just won't have it in him to leave this match with the titles still in his possession, especially because my gut is telling me one of Jay White's Bullet Club Gold lackeys will come in and screw "The Devil" himself. My AEW WrestleDream predictions are pointing toward MJF falling in defeat due to outside interference, which will further the story going on between him and Jay in regard to the AEW World Championship.

Preview & Predictions: FTR's Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood have been on the run of a lifetime during their second reign as the AEW World Tag Team Champions! They've had bangers with Jay White & Juice Robinson and The Young Bucks, plus they've prevailed in open challenges against teams that deserved the bigger spotlight they so sorely deserved beforehand. As for Aussie Open's Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher, they may have lost the ROH World Tag Team Championships to Better Than You Bay Bay (Adam Cole and MJF). But the former champs have been putting on great matches and continuing to rack up wins to repair their placing among the rest of AEW's tag team division.

So it makes all the sense in the world for these two teams to finally square off on the AEW stage (check out their NJPW Royal Quest II matchup to see what they're capable of with each other!). I would love to see Aussie Open go from dropping the ROH tag straps to claiming the AEW tag titles, no doubt. But I get the feeling that FTR will overcome their latest PPV foes here and continue ruling the tag team division for the next couple of months to come. I feel like The Gunns are due for a rematch after this show since Austin Gunn got the winning pin on Cash Wheeler during their eight-man tag team match at AEW All Out. I did predict Austin and Colten winning their match on this PPV after all!

Preview & Predictions: "Hangman" Adam Page is back on PPV in a singles match, hell yeah! Pretty crazy how a former AEW World Champion has been so MIA the past couple of months, but I'm glad that he got a nice resurgence win back at AEW All Out via his Over Budget Charity Battle Royale victory. Swerve Strickland has taken issue with Page as he deems him as too comfortable and a bit lazy considering the major opportunities he still receives from the powers that be. So Swerve is clearly trying to make a point that he deserves everything Page gets and more, which is why he's attempting to knock him off his high horse (see what I did there?) in this high-profile match between the two.

Now here's the thing - Swerve loses way too many of his major singles matchups, which breaks my heart every time it happens. So he's clearly due for a marquee win that'll push him up to a higher level, especially since Page can afford to take a loss here since he'll always be in a good spot on the AEW roster. I'm just not that confident in choosing Swerve as the victor here, sadly - I get the feeling that Page will emerge victorious here as it makes sense for him to convince Swerve and everyone else that he's far from washed. So yeah, the "Millennial Cowboy" is going to knock Swerve's head off with a Buckshot Lariat for the win!

Preview & Predictions: The first official matchup announced for this brand-new AEW PPV convinced me not to miss it by any means. And for my AEW WrestleDream predictions, it's so hard to choose who will come out on top in this clash of the two best technical wrestlers in today's wrestling landscape. Bryan Danielson has made it quite clear this will be his final year as an active competitor, so he's calling his shots and getting himself involved in dream matches so he can go out on an extremely high note. And what a hell of a way to get that retirement run underway by locking horns with NJPW's technical wrestling wizard, Zack Sabre Jr.!

I was disappointed when this planned matchup was taken off the first Forbidden Door card, but now we're finally getting them to wrestle their hearts out live on PPV. Since Danielson is wrapping up his legendary in-ring career this year, I get the feeling that he'll come out on top here and go on to compete in even more dream-match opponents in the coming months. I'm so ready to see Danielson run it back with Kazuchika Okada, have a rematch with Kenny Omega, take on Will Ospreay, and hash it out with Samoa Joe once again!

Preview & Predictions: Next up on my list of AEW WrestleDream predictions is another championship matchup that I'm sure will get plenty of praise once it finally reaches its epic conclusion. I've loved everything about the drama surrounding Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, Darby Allin, and Nick Wayne lately. Christian (THE FATHER OF THE YEAR!) has been playing mind games with Allin and his young protege for a good while now. With his mental grasp over Luchasaurus taking hold, Christian managed to win his bodyguard's TNT Championship and finally claim legit ownership over the title he'd been holding around his waist even while Luchasaurus was the champ. In a matchup that looks like it'll bring Christian and Darby's amazing feud to a close, the TNT Championship will be on the line in a Two Out of Three Falls Match.

Here's how I envision this match unfolding - Christian will find a way to cheat like he always does to gain the first winning pinfall. Then Darby will have the comeback of the century and earn a W for himself via the second pinfall. For the third and final pinfall, Christian will once again revert to his heelish ways to conquer Darby once and for all. I'm calling a ref bump, Darby coming off the top rope with a Coffin Drop, Christian countering it by laying the TNT Championship on the mat for Darby to slam his back into, and Christian finishing Darby off with an Unprettier to retain the title!