Joel Kananen
Live from Saint Louis in the Chaifetz Arena (the location I was lucky enough to witness Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay in the greatest match I have ever seen in person) All Elite Wrestling ran their jam-packed AEW WrestleDream show. There was fierce rivalries and fantastic action from top to bottom of this memorable show. AEW continues its hot streak of successful PPV events and will look to close out a strong 2025 with Full Gear and Worlds End. But first, let’s get into some talking points from AEW WrestleDream!
Young (Broke) Bucks vs. Jurassic Express Battle for Money and Vengeance
Armed with a measly $32.17 in their joint bank account and a dream in their heart, the Young Bucks looked to recover some much-needed funds in a $500k tag team match against the recently reunited Jurassic Express. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus have a long history with the Bucks, and both teams are former AEW World Tag Team Champions, but Jurassic Express have never defeated the former EVPs.
The powerhouse Luchasaurus was dominant in the early stage of the match, and the dinosaur received roaring support from the crowd.
The audience was extremely into this AEW WrestleDream contest, as both teams impressed with their combination maneuvers in rapid succession. After trouble dealing with Luchasuarus’ power, the Bucks targeted their former Elite teammate Perry—a crescendo of action ended with Nick Jackson hitting a Rancho Cucamonga Destroyer to Perry on the apron. Despite withstanding a tremendous amount of damage, Jungle Boy withstood. Perry got his revenge on Nick with a Destroyer of his own, and Jurassic Express took control in the late stages of the match. Perry was able to kick out of a BTE Trigger, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Moments later, Jurassic Express was able to get a big win with their Countdown to Extinction finisher.
This was a terrific match. Jack Perry and Luchasaurus performed exceptionally well, and the Young Bucks bolstered their case as the best tag team of the year. After the bell, the Don Callis Family attacked Jurassic Express as the Young Bucks walked away. Luckily, another former Elite member answered the call as Kenny Omega entered the fray, and furthered his shaky and newfound alliance with Perry and Luchasaurus.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe Rivals Fight for the TNT Championship & Settle Their Tie
For the fifth time, Mark Briscoe and Kyle Fletcher went at it inside the squared circle. This time, the match was for Fletcher’s TNT Championship, raising the stakes even higher for the rivals.
Briscoe as usual was more than game, nearly capturing the gold with a Jake Driller. Fletcher was just able to survive by placing one finger on the rope, and was able to follow it up with a devastating Brainbuster off the top turnbuckle to Briscoe, earning Fletcher yet another spectacular PPV performance, and a TNT Championship retention. Bring on round six at any time, these two showcase special chemistry every time they wrestle.
Kris Statlander vs. Toni Storm Have a Nasty Lover’s Quarrel for the AEW Championship
Two of the stalwarts of the AEW women’s division finally met in a WrestleDream match for the AEW Championship. Storm and Statlander seemed to understand the magnitude of this first-time encounter, and the two put on an award-winning performance.
The champion Statlander was sharp in the beginning stages of the title bout, as the two tested one another’s abilities. Statlander used her upper-level power game to slam Storm all over the ring, sending a dominant message to her adversary.
Ever the resilient actor, Timeless Toni weathered the storm and mounted her big comeback. Even a Statlander 450 Splash wasn’t enough to roll credits on Storm, who was nearly regain her belt with a Storm Zero after a previous attempt was excellently countered by Stat. There was lots of hard-hitting action in this match, but a Statlander submission hold was a huge difference maker. Statlander wore Storm down to the point where she nearly passed out, opening the door for Statlander to hit Staturday Night Fever and pick up a title solidifying win.
After the match brought further intrigue, as the TBS Champion Mercedes Moné entered the ring with the clear intention to upstage Statlander, Moné would go on to defeat Mina Shirakawa to become the interim ROH Television Champion, which gave Moné possession of a record-breaking 11th title belt. Later in the show, Mone laid out a challenge for Statlander at the next AEW PPV, Full Gear.
Brodido vs. Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita Fight for Dominance and the AEW Tag Team Championship
For my money, Bandido and Konosuke Takeshita are firmly at the top of the best wrestler in the world power rankings, quite possibly numbers one and two. Their match for the ROH Championship was one of the best of the year, and it was a treat every single second that they matched up in this bout.
The new IWGP Champion Takeshita was in his normal tip-top form, sending out face-crushing knee strikes to the champions. Bandido was his regular breathtaking self, flying all around the ring, delivering big blows to both Okada and Takeshita. The lucha star has been a sensation both in singles matches and in his pairing with fellow fan-favorite Brody King.
Bandido’s performance was so impressive, he finally got Brody King to finally do the Macarena. This dance intermission was nearly extremely costly, as it allowed Okada to get his team some momentum. The ever-confident Rainmaker even got into the fun, hitting his own Macarena, but with much less sincerity than Bandido’s version.
While in control of the match, Okada and Takeshita were, for the most part, calm cool, and collected. There were small moments of conflict between the two, which were compounded when the unwilling partners were confronted with the issue called Brody King. Despite being the only participant without a singles championship, Big Bad Brody looked like a superstar throughout the contest.
AEW WrestleDream Ratings
JetSpeed vs. FTR ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jamie Hayter vs. Thekla 🕷️🕷️🕷️ 1/2
Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express 🦖🦖🦖🦖 1/2
The Demand vs. The Hurt Syndicate ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/4
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Mercedes Moné vs. Mina Shirakawa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brodido vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Kazuchika Okada ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/4
Kris Statlander vs. Toni Storm ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hangman Adam Page vs. Samoa Joe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/4
Did you enjoy AEW WrestleDream? Heavily disagree with my star rankings? Drop me a comment @NoAverageJoel on X and BlueSky!
