AEW WrestleDream 2024 Preview

We’re back on pay per view and that could make for a good show, as AEW has a pretty good record on these things. At the same time though, this show hasn’t exactly looked the strongest on paper and that isn’t instilling me with hope. It would be nice to see this show exceed expectations, but there are only a few matches on the top that are feeling important. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor TV Title: Atlantis Jr.(c) vs. Brian Cage

This was announced a few weeks ago on ROH’s weekly show and it has been barely been mentioned since, with Cage throwing in a quick promo this week and that’s about it. In this case we have Atlantis Jr. having been champion for a few months now and not exactly feeling important. That still puts him ahead of Cage, who hasn’t done anything significant in the better part of ever.

I’ll go with Atlantis Jr. retaining here, as there is just no reason to believe that Cage is going to win anything on his own. I’m not sure why Atlantis Jr. is still holding the title, but for some reason he’s coming up on four months as champion without doing anything important. This should be a fine enough way to warm things up, even if it is the least hyped title match I’ve seen since last week’s Ring Of Honor.

Zero Hour: MxM Collection vs. The Acclaimed

Here we at least have something from the regular AEW TV shows and in that case we could be seeing something interesting as the Collection has said they are going to have someone in their corner. That could go in a variety of ways as they are going to be counteracting Billy Gunn, which is no easy task. Or it could be a complete disappointment, ala the whole Max Caster jacket reveal.

I’ll go with the Collection winning thanks to the person they have in their corner, as they need a win far more than the Acclaimed, who have nothing going on at the moment. This is pretty much entirely built around who might be in the Collection’s corner, as there is just nothing else going on that would make this match work. It would be nice to keep it short and to the point, which is where the Zero Hour show detail gives me some hope.

Zero Hour: Anna Jay vs. Harley Cameron

So Jay is back after her sojourn in Japan and is supposed to be all extra skilled and deadly now. While she has done a few different things, she hasn’t shown herself to be anything that much better than her previous time in the company. She needs to be consistently pushed if AEW wants to turn her into something serious, and facing Cameron is not going to help that in any way.

Of course I’ll take Jay here, as Cameron is just there for the sake of making her look good. That should work well, but it’s not likely to be the match that takes Jay up to the next level. It’s nice to see her getting a win on a bigger show, but Jay is firmly in a place where she needs to be pushed harder or it is going to wind up being in the exact same problem she has had for years.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe(c) vs. Chris Jericho

Yes Jericho is still getting another title shot and no you should not be surprised by that in the slightest. This is what happens with Jericho over and over and he is doing it again here, with a title he already won a few years ago. Jericho has invoked the name of Mark’s brother Jay to really make this serious and thankfully Mark has been able to carry things a bit further from here.

While Briscoe has done absolutely nothing in his six months as champion, there is no reason to put the title on Jericho. If nothing else, AEW needs to get away from Jericho, who has been around and near titles so frequently that it is little more than a running joke. That being said, yeah I think he’ll win it here, because it’s just kind of what Jericho does. Even if he doesn’t win, it’s hard to believe he’ll take a step back, so just go with Jericho winning here as it cuts out all of the middle nonsense.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

This is the third match in a feud that has been going on for over a year and while it is kind of good, it feels like a major step down for Allin. After he was stupid enough to put his completely earned World Title match on the line, he then loses to Jon Moxley and is left facing one third of a trio rather than in some kind of a big match. Sure he’ll get a big reaction because he’s Allin and he’s near his hometown, but there is still something missing.

I’ll take Allin to win here, as there is absolutely no reason for King to win. This should be Allin throwing himself around like a pinball against the monster King and that should work out rather well. After this though, Allin needs to do something significant, as otherwise he is running the risk of dropping way too far down the ladder. Beating King won’t fix things, but it will at least give him a win.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

We’ll get this one out of the way as it might be the most obvious result on the entire show. AEW has made it clear that they are going to do whatever they need to do to make Perry into the most amazing, toughest star in wrestling today and beating Shibata is the next way to go. Shibata feels like someone who is thrown out there to make Perry look better and that is what we’re looking at here.

Naturally I’ll take Perry to win here, as he is clearly the next big project for AEW and he is going to get another win here over someone of Shibata’s status. Perry can win here and move on to his next victim before we hopefully get to someone to take the title off of him. That isn’t going to be Shibata, who is only there to make Perry look like a star, because that is what AEW wants to do.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Private Party

Ok so when I said the TNT Title match might be the most obvious result, I had completely forgotten about this one. This is a match that is being built around the memory of Private Party beating the Bucks in a total fluke FIVE YEARS AGO. The fact that Private Party has done absolutely nothing important since then should tell you everything that you need to know about this match.

Of course it’s going to be the Bucks winning here, giving the fans the most obvious result imaginable. There has never been a reason to believe Private Party was going to win here and while they’ll likely put in a hard fight, the Bucks aren’t going to lose their big, epic reign here. I’m not sure who is going to the titles from the Bucks, but it isn’t going to be a team who has been as nothing as Private Party for so long.

International Title: Will Ospreay(c) vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita

NOW we’re getting somewhere as this could go in all three different directions. Ospreay has issues with both challengers, Ricochet is brand new and could use the win and Takeshita is LONG overdue to win something. When you factor in that Ospreay has lost more than a few times, there is a real chance that he loses here again. That makes things a lot more intriguing and I’m not sure who to pick.

I guess I’ll take Ospreay to win, but my goodness I could go for Takeshita getting the title here. The best thing here is that any of the three are viable options to win the whole thing and that is not something you often see. There is a very good chance that this match steals the show and I’m rather looking forward to what is going to happen. That isn’t something that is going to happen very often on this show and I like what’s going on with this one.

Women’s Title: Mariah May(c) vs. Willow Nightingale

So here we have the latest attempt to have Nightingale win a title (and keep it for any significant time). Nightingale is one of the most lovable stars in all of wrestling and there is almost nothing to dislike about her. At the same time though, it is hard to imagine May losing to anyone not named Toni Storm, or at least not losing until Storm is back. Nightingale is a star, but I’m not sure she’s ready for this spot.

As much as I’d love to see Nightingale pull this off, it is hard to fathom that she gets the title here, which is why I’ll take May. That isn’t the worst idea, but dang Nightingale getting so close and having her one title reign be used to make Mercedes Mone a champion was rough. May wins here and gets to keep her title reign going while hope continues to spring eternal for Nightingale.

Hangman Page vs. Jay White

So White made his return recently and wanted revenge on Page, but that might not be enough here. Page is coming off winning a pay per view main event match over a former World Champion. While White is a former World Champion in his own right, he’s not feeling anywhere near Page’s level at the moment. That should make for a pretty clear result and that is what I think we’ll be seeing.

I’ll go with Page here, as while I like White, there is no reason to believe he has any kind of a chance against Page. Ultimately, Page very well could be the next big thing in the main event scene, though facing White after last month’s war against Swerve Strickland does feel like a downgrade. For now though, Page will be getting another win over a name and that should tide him over until Full Gear.

Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos

This is 2/3 falls, in theory so that Hologram can get credit for two wins or some other such nonsense. Hologram is yet another project for AEW and while he has won a bunch of matches, he hasn’t really done anything significant, it does make sense to put him on pay per view. It doesn’t make sense to have him face someone like Mortos, who was put into a bigger story on Dynamite with Jake Roberts coming on board.

Roberts or no Roberts though, there is no way that Hologram is going to lose his first match in this spot. I’m not even sure I can imagine him losing a fall, at least by pin or submission. This should go to Hologram, but after this, can we please move him on to something a bit more interesting? He has enough wins under his feet to move on but he has to beat Mortos first, which he will here.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson(c) vs. Jon Moxley

Believe it or not, Moxley is back in the World Title scene and is talking about how awesome and tough and violent he really is. It’s something we’ve seen time after time and there is nothing that makes this one stand out, to the point where he already has a lot of the same backup this time around. Apparently he has a secret leader this time though, and it wouldn’t shock me to see the big reveal here.

As annoying as it is, I’ll go with Moxley to win here, as it feels like the biggest story in AEW at the moment. Give us the big reveal, let Moxley have his title reign (again) and do whatever he’s talking about this time. Danielson will likely come back later on in some way, but for now, Moxley seems to be the big focal point and we’ll get to hear him talk about how tough and intense he is for months to come.

Overall Thoughts

There are matches on this show that have me interested, but it would be so much better as a seven or eight match card rather than almost twice that long. There is stuff on here which just does not belong on pay per view and matches like that are going to make for a very long show when this thing is pushing four hours. I’m interested in some matches on this show, but it isn’t the strongest pay per view card, which is something I’m saying more and more regularly on the things.

 

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