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COMPLETE AEW WRESTLEDREAM BLOG

Bryan Danielson vs Zack Sabre Jr.

The crowd comes back alive for this match and they start6 with a feeling out process until Zack gets the abdominal stretch, at which point they start working with mat wrestling. It moves to hold/counter hold. They break apart and then Zach gets the surfboard, and Bryan does the same thing. 

They then move to striking, and Zack taunts Bryan into using his injured right arm and then starts working that arm. Zack is deliberate to work on the arm, and when he goes after Bryan’s fingers, the crowd groans in empathy. Bryan is able to grab a single leg crab, but he can’t hold on due to the weakened arm. Bryan then goes after one of Zack's legs. Bryan works Zack over, first with Zack upside down in the corner and then on the top. Zack is able to reverse it and they brawl on the top.

Bryan is able to get the single leg crab, but when the move is broken, Bryan sells the arm and moves to kicks. Bryan stomps Zack’s head in and themisses the psycho knee and they trade near falls. They go counter for counter and make me believe when they go for near falls. They then move to kicks and Bryan moves to hitting uppercuts on Bryan’s injured arm. 

After a battle for backslides, Zack gets a modified rings of Saturn. Bryan finally makes it to the ropes for the break. Zack gets in a series of kicks and goes into the kicking the arm, which fires Bryan up. Bryan tries to stomp in Zack's head, and Zack turns it into an arm arm. Bryan escapes and hits the psycho knee for two. Bryan hits it again and this time gets the pin and the win.

Winner: Bryan Danielso

It lived up to the hype. 

Chris Jericho and The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay w/Don Callis

Don Callis’s Big Screen being a painting of him in the Last Supper is wonderfully heelish. 

We start with Omega and Ospreay. They trade arm bars, then take downs. Sammy tags in and they run the ropes with Sammy making sure Jericho knows he is number one by flipping him the bird when they pause. Jericho is tagged in and Sammy tags out to Ospreay. They get a few moves in, and Omega tags back in and takes over. 

The tag team siren goes off and all six men fight in the ring. Jericho’s team pitch Callis’s team to the outside and hit dives on each of them. We go back to Ospreay and Omega and they run the ropes with Ospreay hitting an incredible kick. Takeshita tags in and he works over Omega with big moves. We also get Ibushi coming in, breaks up a hold Takeshita has on Omega and then calmly goes back to his corner.

Ospreay tags in and is able to take over. Ospreay gets an abdominal stretch, and Osreay gets extra leverage from Callis’s entire team. Omega is able to break free and goes for the tag to Ibushi, but Sammy pulls him off the apron. Callus’s team goes back to work on Omega. Omega is able to break free from Sammy and tags in Jericho.

Jericho  runs wild on Sammy and gets his own abdominal stretch with leverage help from his team. Ibushi finally tags in and after taking out Sammy, he and Jericho hit the Sex Gods pose. Omega tags in and they take down Sammy and tag in Jericho. Omega and Ibushi hit dives onto Takeshita and Ospreay, and Jericho goes after Sammy. We then get all three of Jericho's team working over Sammy, but it quickly becomes Callis’s team taking out all members of Jericho's team.

Jericho's left standing and Callis’s team work him over until Jericho dodges an attack from Osptreay and Takeshite, and they run into each other. Omega is able to send Ospreay out of the ring, and hits the Terminator dive on Callis’s team. Sammy is back in the ring and hits a Spanish Fly on Jericho for two and then dives onto Omega on the floor. 

Omega and Ospreay face off in the middle of the ring and I have no idea who the legal men are. Callus’s team takes over and takes everyone out. Jericho is able to fire up and then beat him down quickly. Ibushi slowly rises to his feet. 

He drops Ospreay with a right. Sammy gets a series of blows in before Ibushi drops him with a palm strike. Ibushi and Takeshita fight and each takes the other down with a clothesline. Everyone gets up and takes someone else out. We come down to Sammy and Jericho. Ospreay gets in the way of the Judas effect and as Jericho takes out Sammy, the ref is distracted by helping Ospreay. When the ref breaks away, Jericho only gets a two count. Jericho locks in the Walls, and Callis hits Jericho with his bat, as the ref is fighting with Ospreay over the belt. Sammy is able to grab the pin and the win as Jericho is recovering from the bat shot.

Winners:  Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay w/Don Callis

Old fashioned sports entertainment with endless shenanigans.  I liked it, but it was all about the story in thai one, where the matches with Ospreay in the past have been about the wrestling. 

FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) AEW Tag Team Champions vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)

After pure shenanigans of the last match, Fletcher and Dax just give us meat and potatoes wrestling. Lots of hold/counter hold and running the ropes. Cash tags in and the match stays the same. Cash moves it to brawling and when Dax tags in, Davis is tagged in and it becomes more brawling. 

When Davis tags out, Dax is able to take over on Fletcher, and I like they didn’t move to Dax being trapped, and instead highlighting the difference in styles between Fletcher and Davis. Even when Cash was the babyface in peril, Cash was able to get in a lot of offense. The matchy is slower than the last match, which works for contrast, and is more or a traditional match which also works for contrast. 

Aussie Open is working well in that they are in charge, but still allow FTR to look good. This is the kind of stuff I like and this match would not have been out of place in 1980’s WCW. 

They set up for FTR hitting the suplex/splash with Fletcher diving into Dax to drop into the pin to break it up. That was impressive. Aussie Open set up for the coriolis, and Dax breaks it up. Aussie Open then hit the shatter machine, and then hit the coriolis and Dax breaks it up again. We then go to the big moves, which they have held off on doing until the end of the match. FTR hit the super shatter machine for the pin and the win.

Winners and still AEW Tag Team Champions: FTR

I have enjoyed this show. A mix of serious wrestling, shenanigans and crazy high spots. We are getting a little of everything, which is what I want from AEW. 

 

It’s time for the main event

Christian Cage (TNT Champion) vs Darby Allin two out of three falls

Cage sends Luchasaurus to the back. 

I haven’t seen anything yet that points to a “New Era”, and with this match as the main event, I expect this is where the Big Thing happens. 

They lock and when Darby shoves him to the corner, he gets ready to strike, and Cage flinches and covers up. For two guys who hate each other so much, they move into wrist locks and running the ropes, with the commentary team saying that Darby is controlling his anger so as not to take the bait from Cage. When Cage gets the upper hand, he takes time to flip off the crowd.

Darby was able to pull the turtleneck over Cage’s head and gets the jackknife rollup for the first pin.

Winner: First Fall: Darby Allin

We see Nick Wayne's mom at ringside and Cage walks over near her. Cage goes at Darby in the corner and refuses to break when the ref counts. The ref gets between them and Cage uses that to slap Darby. Cage takes over, and slowly works over Darby. When Cage misses a diving headbutt, Darby hits a quick series of moves for two counts. Cage is able to knock Darby out of the ring to slow the pace back down. 

Cage works over Darby on the floor, slowly and deliberately. As Darby is recovering, Cage goes over to Watne’s mom, and she acts as if she’s into it, but then tosses a full drink in his face, allowling Darby to take over. Darby tosses Cage into the ring and goes for a coffin drop, but Cage gets the knees up. Cage is able to knock Darby into the announce table. 

Cage takes his time and sets up the steel steps at ringside. Cage carries him over, but Darby escapes before being tossed into the steps. They fight on the apron and when Darby tries a charge, Cage pokes him in the eye and they tease Darby being slammed into the steps, but instead slams Darby to the floor. Cage gets out of the ring and slams Darby into the steps twice, first from the floor and then from the apron. 

The ref starts the count and Darby is unable to answer the count. 

Winner, Second Fall:  Christian Cage

The medical staff is checking Darby and Cage starts to take down the ropes that hold that mat on the ring frame. The medical staff call for a stretcher. Cage pulls up the padding and the ring covering. 

Cage then goes up to the top and hits a frog splash onto Darby on the stretcher. 

Cage drags Darby into the ring and hits a Killswitch on the exposed board for two. Darby is able to dodge a spear and Cage gets the scorpion death lock. Darby is able to grab the rope for the break. Both men are breathing hard and the crowd is popping huge for Darby. Darby attacks and goes for Cage;s eyes, and hits the Scorpion Death Drop. Darby goes to the top for a coffin drop for two.

Darby goes up again and Cage is able to knock his leg out from under him. Cage looks to suplex Darby into the steps again, and Darby works free. Cage hits a sunset flip power bomb and goes for a spear, but misses Darby and nails the ref. Cage then hits Darby with a low blow. Cage leaves the ring and grabs his belt. He waits for Darby to get up and Nick Wayne grabs the belt and sees he is outnumbered as Darby gets up. 

Nick says it’s for his mom and his dad and then nails Darby with the belt. Nick’s mom is furious  with him and Cage grabs the ref who counts three.

Winner of the third fall and still AEW TNT Champion: Christian Cage

Remember the ONE time Nick said he was upset with Darby over forgiving AR Fox?  Yeah, they should have done more with that before this instead of just trying to shock us. 

Nick Wayne stomps down Darby. Sting comes to the ring without music. Sting beats them down and Luchasurus comes to the ring. Thai allows Nick, Cage and Luchasaurus to take control. Cage brings in a pair of chairs. Cage sets up for the Con Chair To. 

And the lights go out.

We then get a video of someone driving through the streets in a black convertible and the lights come back on.

YOU THINK YOU KNOW HIM. 

Adam Copeland with his old WWE music hits the ring. He and Cage stare at each other with Cage holding a chair. Adam holds out a hand and takes the chair. Wayne sets Sting up for the Con Chair To and Adam waffles Wayne with it, hits a spear on Luchasaurus and then Wayne. Cage bails from the ring and takes off up the ramp, clutching his TNT belt.

Adam then shakes Darby's hand, followed by Sting

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