AEW WrestleDream 2025 Discussion

[I Bent My Wookie]

16 minutes ago, FLips said:

Don’t know what was more gross, the main event or the possible age gap between Lou Thesz and his wife.

Had to Google when you mentioned this, 26 and 57 when they met.

Bad but could've been much worse.

[FLips]

5 minutes ago, I Bent My Wookie said:

Had to Google when you mentioned this, 26 and 57 when they met.

Bad but could've been much worse.

Than a 31 year age gap? Could it?

[I Bent My Wookie]

25 minutes ago, FLips said:

Than a 31 year age gap? Could it?

Could've been a 31 year age gap was she was 18?

[CTXRussomark]

That's a weird take.  A 26 year old woman is more than capable of choosing who she dates - you make it sound like he groomed a child. 

Anyway, I've only seen a few clips of the show so can't comment much, but I will say I don't think I'll ever tire of a surprise Sting appearance. His new white hair/beard combo somehow looks just as badass as his classic look and I think actually adds a bit of nuance to his character, as if retirement finally started the aging process after so many years of looking the same (slightly dodgy hair aside)  

[Infinity Land]

 

[I Bent My Wookie]

I love the Old Man Sting look. It just screams for me of when the local hard man gets a little older but people still know he has some tough background and you've started something with his dumb ass son he's now had to come sort out. 

Just the idea of him sitting in a pair of slippers trying to do the crossword on a Wednesday night and seeing Darby getting bust up.

"Honey, where'd I leave my face paint?"

[Chili]

Actually enjoyed the main event for the story it told. Moxley in this form as shown at All In is a coward when cornered and him quitting was completely self preservation, plus he battered Darby and couldn't get the satisfaction of making him quit. Nice simple stuff that wasn't as disgusting as I thought it would be, so I'm not let down. 

Props to Mina/Mone as well. Shittest spot on the card, unannounced match with an outcome people expected because of Mone and they took a TV match and a crowd that had just peaked a bit and dragged it to a really good PPV match. Absolutely no interest in Mone winning the Women's Title next month though. Nope, not the time.

[RedTwoster]

A solid, if unspectacular show that hasn’t exactly set up anything inspiring down the line. 

I think AEW needs to do something big to spark things up - turn Darby heel and have him lead the Death Riders, turn Statlander or Storm, have Hangman lose suddenly to someone unexpected - I don’t know what exactly, but they need to do something.

Anyway, the show…

I liked the opening, it was pretty unique and even though nothing was on the line, it was a great way to kick things off.

Having Thekla lose to Hayter was a mistake. Thekla’s promo on Dynamite was crap, but she was still one of the hottest wrestlers on the roster.

It’s a shame that Okada has lost a step in the ring, as he absolutely pisses charisma. If he stepped it up a bit, he could be a tremendous world champion for AEW.

Fletcher/Briscoe was good, but Briscoe has cooled off significantly since the rubbish feud with MJF. It never felt like he had a chance.

Statlander/Storm was a bit disappointing and it felt like it needed a spark of some sort. Mone/Mina felt more exciting and that really shouldn’t have been the case. 

Hangman/Joe was decent, but I don’t really care for the story being told here. AEW definitely needs more top heels, but I don’t think Joe was the person to turn. It’s hard to buy into the idea of him winning the world title in a rematch and frankly he shouldn’t. 

The main event was better than I expected, and also not the murderfest I feared. The Old Man Sting look is great, and I wish he was still an active wrestler. Weirdly, he feels fresher and more exciting than Samoa Joe does.

They need a bit of a reset on Dynamite, I think. 

[TheScarlettChad]

Another gross main event. Moxley's utter shite. Drowning someone doesn't belong on a wrestling show. At all.

[Chili]

3 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

Another gross main event. Moxley's utter shite. Drowning someone doesn't belong on a wrestling show. At all.

What's wrong with it? It's not brain salad surgery to understand how to do the spot safely is it? 

[TheScarlettChad]

32 minutes ago, Chili said:

What's wrong with it? It's not brain salad surgery to understand how to do the spot safely is it? 

It's not exactly what I think of it when I think of wrestling 

[I Bent My Wookie]

Just now, TheScarlettChad said:

It's not exactly what I think of it when I think of wrestling 

Darby set fire to Mox, by the laws of Pokemon Water beats Fire so he had to drown him.

Completely logical. 

[Chili]

3 minutes ago, TheScarlettChad said:

It's not exactly what I think of it when I think of wrestling 

Yeah but I think the genie has been out of the bottle for a few decades now on that front to be honest. I wasn't surprised and found it far more tame and safer than fire and less grotesque than using glass or a garden strimmer.

[TheScarlettChad]

9 minutes ago, Chili said:

Yeah but I think the genie has been out of the bottle for a few decades now on that front to be honest. I wasn't surprised and found it far more tame and safer than fire and less grotesque than using glass or a garden strimmer.

Fair point. Garbage spots have ruined wrestling. 

[FLips]

Not to be all fantasy booker about it but for a moment I thought they were going to go with a finish where Moxley quits because he realises he’ll have to kill Darby to win, which I would have been fine with. 
The drowning was tame compared to most stuff, even if smashing all the glass and water into the ring was a bit dumb. Sting coming back was fun, but the finish was really weak.

I think this is it for me with AEW again for a while. I stuck around after Hangman beat Swerve but the TV has been forgettable and the last two PPVs I got as a bundle haven’t lived up to their usual standards. It’s not to say AEW has been bad lately, it’s been a damn sight better than WWE and the company has the benefit of not making me sick, but it’s just not good enough for me to pay to watch it.