AEW’s latest pay-per-view event is here, and it goes by the name of WrestleDream. The show is debuting with a dream match on the card, and heavy speculation of a former WWE talent’s impending debut. You think you know this show? Let’s take a look:
AEW WrestleDream date, start time
AEW WrestleDream will air live on Sunday, October 1. It will begin at 8pm ET.
How to watch AEW WrestleDream
AEW WrestleDream will be available to purchase from traditional pay-per-view, the Bleacher Report app in the United States, and FiteTV elsewhere. It will cost $49.99.
AEW WrestleDream card and predictions
The Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. The Lucha Brothers vs. Orange Cassidy and Hook for a future AEW World Tag Team Championship match
Shane: Based solely on the process of elimination, I am picking the Gunns to win here. We saw FTR and The Young Bucks have a program just recently and I don’t see AEW running it again this soon. Fenix is already International Champion, so until that reign ends, I don’t see a need for the Lucha Bros to be in a tag team title program. And honestly, I think Orange Cassidy and Hook are too good to be stuck in a tag team.
Side note: What’s the point of having arguably the best tag team division in wrestling if you keep putting ransom single stars together?! I digress… the Gunns will take it. They are perfect heels and can hold their own with FTR.
Winners: The Gunns
Darius: I mostly agree with Shane in that the Bucks and Lucha Bros are disqualified based on context (the recent Bucks/FTR match and the Fenix’s singles gold). With Orange and Hook, I actually would see them taking the W if the champions were anyone else, as I don’t really see Orange and Hook facing FTR. I don’t think it’s just process of elimination that leads to the Gunns being next up. I think the Gunns are the perfect opponents for FTR right now since they’re already rivals, they never got their run-back after losing the titles, and they’re refreshed right now after joining the Bang Bang Gang. Throw on some 50 Cent entrance music and FTR vs Gunns 3 is going to go bananas.
Winner: The Gunns
Jay: The Gunns have really come into their own since joining up with Bullet Club Gold and is one of AEW’s true homegrown success stories. A feud with FTR is the next logical step for them and it is well earned.
Winner: The Gunns
Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart for the TBS Championship
Shane: So apparently Julia Hart hasn’t been beaten in 17 months and the last loss she’s had was against Kris Statlander. Interesting statistic aside, Julia Hart will once again be looking up at the lights come Sunday. Kris Statlander’s TBS Championship reign is just starting and she has so much more to give.
Winner: Kris Statlander
Darius: You know what? I know Kris’s reign is only just popping off (those matches with Jade and Britt were both sick), but looking back, she’s had the belt since May. If the TBS is really going to be the women’s TNT belt, we gotta start passing that hot potato around. Julia is doing great work, and losing this belt would not be the end of the world for Stat. I could totally see Julia etching her name into the history books this Sunday, and even though Kris is awesome, the TBS title would benefit from more names and the House of Black rub.
Winner: Julia Hart
Jay: Kris Statlander. As with the Gunn Brothers above, Statlander and Hart are two diamonds in the rough that is the AEW women’s division. Statlander is becoming a force and Julia Hart is probably AEW’s most improved wrestler of the past year. She has proved to be a very compelling part of the House of Black, but it just isn’t her time right now. Statlander will continue her reign but this match will be a sleeper.
Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
Shane: This match doesn’t feel like it belongs on a PPV show, but any excuse to give Ricky Starks a PPV win works enough for me.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Darius: It’s high time Pretty Ricky wins something. There’s literally no reason to have Wheeler Yuta take it here.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Jay: Pretty Ricky needs a win here. He’s gotten the short end of the stick for the past couple of weeks despite some unfortunate setbacks that were very much out of his hands. This match will be a great one and I’m excited to see Starks get some momentum.
Winner: Ricky Starks
Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
Shane: There is a 0% chance that Eddie Kingston’s first world championship reign ends this soon. The chase to winning the title was great television, so let’s see if the momentum continues with a long title reign.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Darius: I need this Eddie reign to start featuring matches where it feels like Eddie could lose. I can’t buy into the stakes when Eddie’s New Japan belt is on the line. I can’t buy into a match where the opponent might walk out with three belts across two companies. Claudio and Shibata are both guys I’d think could/would beat Kingston in any other circumstances, making his wins meaningful, but as is, we’re at two matches in a row where Kingston seemingly can’t lose. I can’t wait for Full Gear’s “Eddie Kingston vs Minoru Suzuki, but if Kingston loses, Dynamite is canceled.”
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Jay: Eddie is riding into the event with a lot of momentum and the audience is clamoring for him. It has been a long time coming for Eddie and it is all coming together for him in terms of character, in-ring work, and fan response. Eddie might be one of the top prospects in AEW and will be a face for the brand for years to come so I see his train rolling right on through Shibata.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay
Shane: Conventional thinking would probably suggest that Kenny Omega’s team pick up a victory against Don Callis’ team since Omega has been on the losing end for what seems like an eternity. But, conventional thinking be darned. The Family is hot right now and another big time victory can only help them at the moment.
Winners: Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay
Darius: Guevara turning on Jericho to get his win and then immediately getting it is wild and would be a great bargaining chip for the Don Callis Family. It would make me sad to see the Golden Lovers go 1-2 in AEW matches, but then I remember that, technically, every match so far has been one with too many moving parts. The Golden Elite won. The Golden Elite lost. And now, on Sunday, I figure that Chris Jericho and the Golden Lovers are losing. But in a 2-on-2 traditional tag match? The Golden Lovers themselves can still save face with this losing record. In other words, The Family clearly gains something from winning, and Le Golden Lovers are good despite the loss. It could still go both ways, but I think one choice seems more beneficial than the other.
Winners: Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay
Jay: The Callis Family will take it. Jericho, Omega, and Ibushi are minted by this point and there is no reason why they shouldn’t give the rub to Guevara and Takeshita while allow Ospreay a chance to better acclimate to the AEW audience. As tiresome as factions are in AEW, I think the Callis Family and their misfit toys dynamic has legs.
Winners: Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay
Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Championship (Two Out of Three Falls Match)
Shane: I know Christian Cage technically just won the TNT Championship last weekend, but he still has been the best TNT Champion in the belt’s history. Couple that with the best character work Cage has done in his whole career and I think AEW is striking gold. Keep the belt on Cage for at least a while longer and see where this road leads us.
Winner: Christian Cage
Darius: Despite some faulty arguments to the contrary, Christian Cage has been TNT Champion since June 17. He just unlocked the ability to be called the TNT Champion eight days before WrestleDream. It feels like he’s only just become champion, but based on the 2023 average, this is basically the TNT Title’s Tribal Chief reign. All jokes aside, it’d be very funny to me if Christian Cage officially won the TNT Title last week just to lose it to hometown boy Darby Allin. And not going to lie, the more I’ve chuckled at the idea, the more I believe it.
Winner: Darby Allin
Jay: Darby Allin. Easiest match to call. Christian Cage has made fun of Darby’s dead relatives, he’s been on the winning end of the feud thus far, and Darby has his hometown power boost as is AEW’s way of doing things. Darby is taking this and it should be a great one as I don’t think Christian has ever put on a bad match.
Winner: Darby Allin
MJF (c) vs. The Righteous for the ROH World Tag Team Championship (Handicap Match)
Shane: As lead booker, do you have your AEW World Champion be pinned or forced to submit in a handicap match to take the tag championships off of him and his partner? No offense to the members of The Righteous, but I don’t think you do. I honestly cannot see any reason to have a member of the Righteous get a victory over MJF. Not happening.
Winner: MJF
Darius: The Righteous are not beating the AEW World Champion on pay-per-view.
Winner: Somehow, MJF
Jay: I take it back, this is the easiest match to call on the card.
Winner: MJF
FTR (c) vs. Aussie Open for the AEW World Tag Team Championship
Shane: When I was predicting the winner of the Four-Way Tag Team match, my thought process was who was going to challenge FTR for the Championships. Guess that makes my prediction here pretty cut and dry.
Winners: FTR
Darius: I, too, leaned heavily into an FTR win with my earlier predictions, and that is for sure my pick. That being said, I think Tony Khan is going to do big things with Aussie Open eventually, and this FTR match is going to really raise their stock if their match a year ago at NJPW Royal Quest is any indication. It’s just going to be a while before that killer match leads to tag gold.
Winners: FTR
Jay: Aussie Open seems cool but, eh. FTR will continue rolling.
Winner: FTR
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page
Shane: I want to see Swerve take this one. It feels like momentum is on his side and I can’t help but think 2024 will be a big year for Swerve. Capitalizing with a win over former AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page isn’t a bad way to kick that momentum off.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Darius: It happens once or twice a prediction post, but this is the WrestleDream match where my heart and brain fight each other the hardest. I’m a straight-up simp for Hangman at this point, but I think Swerve getting the biggest win of his career right in the middle of Swerve’s House is something that would make up for all of the insane losses Strickland has been stacking up since he lost the tag titles. I’ll be rooting for Hangman up until the final House Call and/or Swerve Stomp.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Jay: Swerve, like Darby, will have his hometown powers and this feud thus far has been all about how Hangman has lost a step whereas Swerve has been on fire and there is so much room for this feud to grow if Swerve takes it here. This feud is a breath of fresh air for both parties and I think they will make magic together.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Shane: I feel that Danielson has been on a bit of a hot streak here, which is kinda weird because I feel that Danielson is usually pretty giving when it comes to losing matches to put others over. So the question is, does that hot streak continue or does Danielson put over Zack Sabre Jr.? Honestly it could go either way, but I’m feeling a Zack Sabre Jr. victory here. Sometimes you have to go with your gut and this is what my gut is telling me.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr.
Darius: Danielson has been pretty giving so far in AEW, but we are now in the Post-Danielson-Made-Okada-Tap-Era (PDMOTE), so these losses get crazier. G1 logic has taught me that beating a top guy does not make you immune to losing to upper midcard guys, which is where NJPW has placed Mr. Sabre. I could totally see Danielson putting over the only other guy to win the Wrestling Observer’s annual Bryan Danielson Award in the past 17 years, and I think that might have happened at last year’s Forbidden Door. Here in the PDMOTE, though, a Danielson loss has gotten real precious, especially in Washington state. I’m banking on a full Seattle sweep this Sunday, and Danielson’s win caps that off.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Jay: People have been asking for this match for years and I’ve never seen a bad match from either party. Dream matches, typically, see the fan favorite win and considering that Dragon is on a retirement tour and that Dragon, like Swerve and Darby, is in his hometown, Dragon will take it.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
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