AEW WrestleDream 2023 Results

October 1 2023. One year since the passing of the legendary Antonio Inoki, and with it came All Elite Wrestling’s tribute to the iconic New Japan founder with WrestleDream live from Seattle, Washington.

A night punctuated by a long-awaited dream match, and featuring the best of AEW and NJPW, we went into WrestleDream hoping a certain ‘Rated R Superstar’ would show up. But did he? Read on to find out what happened at AEW WrestleDream 2023.

ZERO HOUR

Zero Hour kicked off with Tony Khan, Rocky Romero, Katsuyori Shibata, and two of Antonio Inoki’s grandsons paying tribute to the great man. Christian Cage watched on from backstage, no doubt thinking mean spirited thoughts.

Keith Lee, Satoshi Kojima, Athena, & Billie Starkz def. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Diamanté & Mercedes Martinez - Zero Hour 

Loud ‘WE WANT BREAD’ chant in honour of Kojima as Jim Ross voiced his confusion on comms. Diamante and Martinez worked over Starkz until Athena blind-tagged in to level Diamante with a Croyt’s Wrath. The Pretty Boy Killers once again clashed as Taylor and Lee squared off, with Lee getting first blood. Shane rocked Lee with a few stiff jabs, with Lee Moriarty working over the former AEW Word Tag Team Champion. Soon it was time for Kojima to enter the fray, with Kojima lighting ‘Taiga Style’ up with Machine Gun Chops and a DDT for two. Starkz came in to rock Diamante with a spin kick before Athena took a bullet in the form of a Martinez spear. Lee then showed his immense strength by one armed spinebusting Taylor, before Athena hit an O Face on Moriarty, Lee followed with a Big Bang Catastrophe, and Kojima hit the Cozy Lariat for the win.

Claudio Castagnoli def. Josh Barnett - Zero Hour

An AEW in-ring debut for former UFC Heavyweight Champion and Inoki protege Josh Barnett. Huge cheers as Claudio Castagnoli emerged through the crowd to ‘Wild Thing’, with Jon Moxley at this side - his first appearance since suffering a concussion at Grand Slam III.

Mox on comms alluded to Barnett being a fringe member of the BCC as Claudio and Barnett locked up. A mat grappling affair, Barnett had the advantage in the opening exchanges before Claudio found a foothold, giving as good as he got. Mox screamed for elbows as Claudio took control of the bout, with Castagnoli attempting but failing to swing the ‘War Master’. Claudio connected with several stiff European Uppercuts, but Barnett fired back with an Inoki Octopus Stretch attempt, before the two exchanged standing elbow strikes to the jaw. Several stiff knees and a rolling heel kick by Barnett for two, followed by a high angle belly-to-belly suplex. Claudio regrouped to finally swing the big man, before transitioning into a heel hook. 

Neutraliser into an Octopus by Claudio, who rolled through into an Octopus pin for the three. Barnett took a mic after the match to praise Claudio, telling the ‘Swiss Superman’ that Inoki would be a fan of Claudio’s style. Barnett says he wants another bout with Claudio as a’Bloodsport’ chant broke out. Will Claudio be making his way to GCW?

Luchasaurus def. Nick Wayne - Zero Hour

Seattle native Wayne opened up with a dropkick, but Luchasaurus ate it, and crushed the rookie sensation with a high angle German suplex. Big spinning sit out slam by Luchasaurus as the fans rallied behind Wayne, who flipped out of a chokeslam attempt and rocked the former TNT Champion with several thrust kicks. Luchasaurus shook it off to hit an inside-out apron chokeslam to fold Nick Wayne, before launching Wayne into the barricade in front of his mother. Back in ring Wayne fought back and got a nearfall with a top rope Moonsault press, but a follow-up Wayne’s World attempt was thwarted, as Luchasaurus hit a big lariat to the back of Wayne’s head for the win.

The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (c) def. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste, & Mikey Nicholls) - AEW World Trios Championships - Zero Hour

Max Caster with tasteful bars about Japanese tentacle… films, and gloryholes (there was no better way of typing that) as the champs put the belts up against TMDK.

Bad Due Tito and Shane Haste took turns with Caster, before Billy Gunn tagged in to a big ovation, telling Haste to ‘suck it’ before outmuscling Haste with a big bodyslam. Bowens entered to hit the Shiver Me Timbers on Mikey Nicholls before a big scissor party erupted in the middle of the ring. TMDK ganged up on Bowens as the ref was distracted, Tito getting a two after an exploder suplex. Haste tagged in to mockingly kick Bowens’ back, but Bowens came close to the hot tag, with Haste and Nicholls thwarting his attempt. 

Gunn finally got the hot tag in, but a FameAsser attempt on Tito missed, with Gunn eating a deadlift German for his troubles. Huge assisted Canonball to Caster from Haste, with Tito coming close with a high angle tornado backsuplex for two. The Acclaimed regrouped, with a Fameasser and a Mic Drop on Tito for the three.

MJF (c) def. The Righteous - ROH World Tag Team Championships 

‘The People’s Scumbag’ came to the ring with both ROH World Tag Team Championships, the Triple B, and a live mic. MJF claimed he had nothing to do with the attack on Jay White at Dynamite, with ‘some schmuck’ stealing MJF’s mask from his bag. MJF continued, noting that Adam Cole was not in the arena as he was hurt, before vowing to bodyslam Dutch, and shove Vincent’s head up Dutch’s arse. 

MJF requested sportsmanship before Fargo strutting and attempting to shove Vincent’s head up Dutch’s arse, but ate a big Dutch clothesline instead. The Righteous quickly took firm control of the bout as MJF went it alone, Friedman looking upset as he went for a tag only to find an empty corner. Bodyslam attempt backfired as Dutch flattened the champ, with Vincent following with a Senton Bomb for two. Bossman Slam by Dutch for two, as the numbers added up against MJF. Vincent grabbed a chair, but MJF grabbed his yambag as the ref was distracted. MJF fired back with some old school corner punches, then finally hit the Hogan Andre bodyslam on Dutch to a huge roar. MJF threw Vincent’s head into Dutch’s arse then hit the deadly Kangaroo Kick. Heatseeker on Dutch - complete with feet on the ropes - and MJF gets the win.

Eddie Kingston (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata - ROH World Championship & NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship 

Hard hitting action, with Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata two men who clearly love a fight. Eddie got the opening exchanges with some slaps, but Shibata came back, crushing Eddie with a stiff soccer kick. Armbar attempt by Shibata, transitioned into a kneebar, but Eddie was not in a position to give up - especially not this early into a match. Shibata stayed on top of Kingston, working over his knee, but Eddie fought back to his feet, hitting a high angle backdrop driver to break Shibata’s dominance.

Machine Gun Chops by Eddie felled Shibata, but they soon engaged in a full-on slugfest, with a big exploder by Kingston launching Shibata across the ring. ‘The Wrestler’ recovered to once again take control, wrapping Kingston in the Cobra Twist, transitioning into the Iron Octopus as Kingston began to fade… but Eddie got the rope. 

Two Urikens from Kingston sent Shibata reeling, with Shibata going down after nailing the ROH World Champion with another stiff kick. Another Uriken only got a one, with a follow-up Northern Lights Bomb unable to seal the deal. A fourth uriken and a big powerbomb saw Kingston get the win, as the two men showed each other respect after the final bell.

Kris Statlander (c) def. Julia Hart - TBS Championship 

Julia Hart - flanked by Brody King - entered the bout on a 28-match win streak, whilst Kris Statlander came in having recently sent Jade Cargill out of AEW with another huge loss. Statlander started out aggressively, taking Hart to the corner and unleashing several big strikes, knocking Hart down with a pair of big shoulder-blocks - despite eating an opportunistic thrust kick from Hart. Big Hurricanrana from Hart sent Stalander reeling, but the champ came back with a deadlift vertical suplex to restore her advantage. 

The bout spilled to the ringside area, with Hart throwing the champ repeatedly into the barricade. In ring Hart locked in an octopus - a theme for the night - but Statlander fought out. Huge running knee and a blue thunder bomb got a two for the champ, but she was reeling. A missed discuss lariat sent Stat into the ropes, with a waiting Brody King trashtalking the champ. Stiff right hand and a driver got a two for Stat - thwarting a mist attempt - but a 450 attempt gave Julia time to meet her up top to hit a form of belly-to-belly suplex. Pitch perfect Moonsault by Hart for 2.99 as Statlander got the rope break. 

Centre of the ring and Hart locked in the Heartless, but Statlander rolled through and hit a Tombstone, into a Sunday Night Fever for the win. 

The Young Bucks def. The Gunns, The Lucha Brothers, & Orange Cassidy & HOOK - Winners receive an AEW World Tag Team Title shot at any time 

Nick Jackson and Rey Fenix kicked off, with the two old rivals locked in a stalemate, having wrestled so many times before, with OC quickly blind tagging in to slug it out with the current International Champion. Fenix collapsed with his injured shoulder coming into play, with The Gunns swarming the Lucha Bros like hyenas and launching them all over the ringside area. The Gunns took everyone out and found themselves as the two legal men - going for a cheeky cover to try for the quick win, but referee Paul Turner was having none of it.

The Young Bucks made their way into the bout and ran wild until it was down to Matt Jackson and a keen HOOK. HOOK unloaded on Jackson, before the two exchanged Northern Lights suplexes - two apiece - before separating and hitting respective Northern Lights on Nick Jackson and Cassidy. Double Suplex by Orange HOOK, before Cassidy took out the Bucks with a tope suicida. The Gunns once again found themselves on top after taking out Penta, HOOK, and everyone else in sight. Road Dogg jabs by Austin got a two on HOOK, with Colten continuing the beatdown of the former FTW Champion. HOOK eventually tagged in Penta who ran wild on The Gunns, coming close with a Made in Japan on Colten for two.

Nick Jackson with some vintage offence to a big reaction, before being crushed with a top con giro by Penta as HOOK got the blind tag. HOOK went for Red Rum on Austin Gunn, locking in after an Orange Punch assist. Austin managed to tag Nick Jackson whilst locked in who came close with a 450 on Gunn and HOOK. Lots of quick and blind tags, leading to Nick Jackson assisting Penta with a Lucha Driver combo on Orange HOOK, before The Young Bucks cleared house, and got the win on Penta with a BTE Trigger.

The Jacksons will be getting another shot at the AEW World Tag team Championships soon. Both FTR and Aussie Open will have been keeping an eye on this result for sure.

Swerve Strickland def. Hangman Page

Homefield advantage for Swerve, with loud fan support greeting the face of the Mogul Embassy, replaced with boos when Hangman eventually got into the bout with a big boot. Hangman was unsettled by ‘Hangman Sucks’ chants and boos as he and Strickland fought in the corner, with the former AEW World Champion goading the fans by asking whose house it was. Swerve was focused, hitting a tejaras headscissor and a measured kick to Page’s face. Hangman came back into it with a fallaway slam before folding Swerve with a powerbomb into the ring skirt, then into the barricade. Big moonsault to the outside by Page, and a follow-up pop-up powerbomb in ring got a two for Hangman. 

Page was bothered after taking a stiff shot to the nose early in the bout, but it didn’t stop him continuing his assault on Swerve at ringside. Back in-ring and Hangman levelled Swerve with a diving clothesline, before the two engaged in standing strikes, Swerve getting a two after a Flatliner into a rollthrough brainbuster for two. Strickland went up top, but Hangman attacked his injured hand to get back into the bout. It was not enough, as Swerve hit a diving stomp to take Page down from the turnbuckle, before a follow-up House Call got a two. A double stomp attempt on the apron missed, but a Hangman deadeye was also thwarted, but the ROH Trios Champ dead sink the Deadeye on top of the steel steps. 

Hangman readied for the Buckshot, but Swerve engaged in a slap fight instead. Hangman bit Swerve’s sore hand and went for the lariat, but Swerve caught Page and hyperextended his shoulder with a nasty looking stamp. Swerve hit the Swervestomp on the apron as medical staff attended to Page, then followed up with a 450 splash to Page’s sore arm for two. Centre of the ring, Swerve locked in the cross armbreaker, but Hangman fought to the ropes. JML Driver attempt rolled through by Page, who crushed Swerve with a lariat, but another Deadeye attempt was rolled through into another armbreaker. Page escaped after attacking Swerve’s hand again, but a lariat attempt saw Hangman eat a rebound German Suplex, although he recovered to avoid the Swerve Stomp. Buckshot lariat sent Swerve flying, but Page was nursing his bad arm, as Prince Nana put Strickland’s foot on the bottom rope to avoid the loss. Ref Paul Turner sent Nana to the back, but in the confusion Swerve managed to clock Page with nana’s crown… but only got a two for his troubles. An incensed Swerve hit another two house calls, then landed the JML Driver for the win.

Ricky Starks def. Wheeler Yuta

Moxley returned to commentary to watch BCC team-mate Wheeler Yuta face off against Ricky Starks - Yuta’s first singles match at an AEW PPV according to Moxley. Yuta wasn’t phased by Starks’ bravado, taking the bout down to the mat as the two fought hold and counter-hold looking for the advantage. Things quickly descended into a fistfight, but Yuta remained on the front foot. Starks soon caught up, rocking the former ROH PURE Champ and rubbing it in his face with his exuberant posturing. ‘Absolute’ followed up with his rope walk and a big back suplex as Mox barked instructions at Yuta. 

Yuta fired back with some high octane offence, with a wrist clutch back suplex getting him a two count, with Big Bill making his way ringside to distract Yuta long enough for Starks to get a roll-up for two. Follow-up tornado DDT got a two for Ricky, but Yuta scouted the Rochambeau attempt. Powerbomb for two for Starks, before he sent a message to the BCC with the hammer and anvil elbows. This only fired Yuta up, but Starks cut down his momentum with a big clothesline. 

On the floor Yuta sent Bill into the ringpost after avoiding a chokeslam, then rolled into the ring to pummel Starks with hammer and anvil elbows of his own. Starks fired back, crushing Yuta with a spear and the Rochambeau for the win, as he stared right at Moxley on commentary. 

Bryan Danielson def. Zack Sabre Jr. 

Dream match time, with more awe inspiring moves than your drunken uncle on the dance floor at a family party. 

Lots of circling to start off, with Danielson getting the first point with a trip up of ZSJ. Point two as Danielson fought out of a wristlock with a suplex, holding up two fingers to ZSJ to let him know. The match went to the mat as ZSJ and Danielson exchanged holds - the action fast and intricate as both men looked for that one hold that would get them the win. Zack took one from Danielson’s playbook with the Romero Special, Danielson fighting out and locking in one of his own. ZSJ annoyed ‘Dragn’ with a European uppercut, as the match brought strikes into the equation. Danielson favoured his left arm as he fired back, using his weaker right arm after being goaded by ZSJ.

Sabre stamped on Danielson’s mended right arm to a concerned reaction from the crowd. Sabre had Danielson reeling as he continued his attacks on the recently injured right arm, utilising some good old British joint manipulation. Even with one arm Danielson is still more than a match for any opponent, hitting a series of short kicks and a nasty looking dragon screw to snap ZSJ’s knee. With Zack ties up in the Tree of Woe, Danielson unleashed his famous kicks into his ribs, before sinking the hammer and anvil elbows on the top rope. ZSJ fought out with an arm snap, the two jockeying for position up top. Avalanche butterfly suplex by Danielson rolled into a LeBell Lock attempt, but ZSJ was quick to roll through. Yes kicks to the chest and a headshot took Sabre down, as Danielson vowed to ‘kick his f****** head in’, hitting the wristlocked stomps. Busaiku Knee was countered into a series of pin attempts at a frenetic pace, ZSJ coming close to a win with a European clutch for two. 

Danielson hit the corner dropkicks, and followed up with a Cattle Mutilation attempt as ZSJ would not give up. ZSJ managed to roll through, once again torquing Danielson’s bad arm, before ‘Dragon twisted Sabre’s knee once more. Both men fought back to their feet, with ZSJ hitting a free kick with Danielson’s arm before hitting a Michinoku Driver and tying Danielson up like a pretzel, Danielson eventually managing to reach the ropes. Sabre hit a series of kicks, but Danielson regrouped with two roundhouse kicks to level the NJPW World TV Champ. ZSJ fought on and caught Danielson’s bad arm in a series of locks before Danielson hit the Regalplex and the Busaiku Knee… for two. A second Busaiku knee, and Bryan Danielson got the win in a technical masterclass.

Konosuke Takeshita, Will Ospreay, & Sammy Guevara def. Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, & Kota Ibushi

The Seattle crowd were not happy to see Don Callis, but all eyes were on the ring as omega and Ospreay kicked things off… until Guevara tagged himself in to a chorus of boos. Omega weathered Sammy’s offence before tagging in Chris Jericho… with Guevara tagging Ospreay in rather than face his former mentor. 

Guevara joined comms via Taz to put himself over, as the faces utilised quick tags to work over Ospreay. Soon all six men were in the ring as a hockey fight broke out, with Jericho, Omega, and Ibushi hitting body presses to the outside. Back in ring and Ospreay nailed Omega with a handspring somersault kick, before Takeshita made his way into the ring to crush Omega with a series of strikes and a flying clothesline. Ibushi came in to get in Takeshita’s face as he teed off on Kenny, a big reaction greeting the ‘Golden Star’. The heels - and Don - combined to put extra pressure on an Ospreay abdominal stretch on Omega, Kenny valiantly trying to get a tag. Big Blue Thunder Bomb for two for Takeshita, followed by a beautiful high angle senton bomb by Guevara. Omega fired up and got the tag to Jericho who ran wild on Guevara, with Ibushi and Omega helping Jericho put extra pressure on the abdominal stretch. 

Ibushi finally tagged in to hit the ‘sex gods’ pose with Jericho, before getting a two with the standing moonsault on Sammy. Golden Lovers synchronised inside out moonsaults to the floor as Jericho hit a Lionsault on Sammy for two. Powerbomb into a German Suplex on Guevara by the Golden Lovers, but as Jericho went for a Lionsault Takeshita was waiting with a German Suplex. High angle back suplex on Kenny by Takeshita, and a hing angle Chaos Theory on Ibushi. Takeshita just hates necks it seems. The heels were in control, but a malfunction at the junction saw Takeshita and Ospreay collide, allowing Kenny the chance to hit the Terminator dive. Spanish Fly on Jericho for a two by Sammy, before ‘The Spanish God’ hit a top rope Shooting Star Press to Omega on the floor.

Parade of finishers as Omega hit a Snapdragon on Ospreay, before eating a nasty looking Cody Cutter from Guevara. Ospreay hit Ibushi with a powerbomb, before Takeshita hit a knee to Omega’s neck. Codebreaker by Sammy on Jericho got a one as Le Champion fired up… but the might of The Family was too much to overcome for Jericho. Enter ‘murder’ Ibushi who just started handing out naps, rocking Ospreay and Guevara with straight shots before going to war with Takeshita. Pair of huge lariats from Takeshita and Ibushi, but Ospreay recovered to stop Ibushi’s momentum. Guevara crushed the Golden Lovers as things descended into utter chaos. One Winged Angel was reversed into a Frankensteiner and a Skytwister Press to the floor by Ospreay, as Jericho and Guevara slugged it out in the ring. Ospreay pushed Sammy out of the way to eat a Judas Effect, Ospreay complaining to the ref long enough for Sammy to kick out of a Jericho avalanche Frankensteiner. GTH attempt transitioned into a Walls of Jericho, allowing Callis to nail Jericho with Floyd the bat as the ref was distracted. Ospreay and Takeshita kept the Golden lovers at bay as Guevara got the 123.

FTR (c) def. Aussie Open - AEW World Tag Team Championships 

The long awaited rematch from NJPW Royal Quest II, with Aussie Open looking for gold after dropping the ROH World Tag Team Championships at All In. Kyle Fletcher started strongly with Dax Harwood, but his smile was soon wiped off his face by Cash Wheeler. Mark Davis fared better, chopping the hell out of Harwood as the champs were sent reeling. 

FTR regrouped to nail the challengers with strikes and old-skool corner punches, but Aussie Open soon regained their footing, nailing FTR on the floor with back-to-back ram attacks. Aussie Open were firmly in control, but FTR were not going down without a fight, Wheeler slugging his way out of trouble, but the hot tag was just out of reach. Combination powerbomb by Aussie Open got a nearfall, with Davis and Fletcher cutting the ring off to prevent Wheeler getting the tag to Dax. Cash managed to hit an avalanche back suplex on Fletcher, but he did a fair amount of damage to himself with Aussie Open having effectively targeted his back throughout the bout. Sheerdrop brainbuster by Fletcher got a two count as duelling chants broke out.

Dax finally tagged in and ran wild with some jabs, some clotheslines, and a lot of frowning. Dax was on a roll as he tangled with both Fletcher and Davis, but Davis managed to absorb Dax’s heavy attacks until a third lariat took the big lad down. Trio of German suplexes folded Fletcher, but a desperation top rope dive allowed Aussie Open back in, getting a nearfall off an Aussie Arrow assisted cutter. Slingshot Ligerbomb by Dax got a two, but Aussie Open came back with a mean looking crescent kick Doomsday Device on Wheeler for two. Powerplex on Davis broken up by a diving Fletcher, and the challengers regrouped to sandwich Wheeler with clotheslines, but the Coriolis attempt was thwarted by Dax. Shatter Machine by Aussie Open led to a Coriolis for two, Harwood making the save at the last moment. Davis was guarding his wrist, seemingly hurting it during the Powerplex. Things got worse for Davis as he ate a spike piledriver on the apron, unlucky. Super Shatter Machine on Fletcher in the ring got the win for the champs, who will now have to mentally prepare themselves for another go round with The Young Bucks.

Christian Cage (c) def. Darby Allin - TNT Championship Two out of Three Falls Match 

Christian Cage sent Luchasaurus to the back, seemingly insisting he could beat Darby on his own. Darby came out with Nick Wayne, but Wayne left his mentor to it, himself taped up after his zero hour pre-show loss to Luchasaurus.

After some time spent feeling each other out, Darby set off on the front foot, hungry to beat Cage up and regain the TNT Championship for a third run. Cage tried getting into Darby’s head by spitting in his face, but Darby locked in a side headlock, seemingly vowing to not lower himself to Cage’s level. Cage soon found an opening, but an early Killswitch Attempt was thwarted as Darby tied Cage up in his turtleneck and rolled him up with a jackknife pin for the first fall.

Darby 1 - Christian 0

Cage peppered Darby with strikes and launched him into the turnbuckle as he sought to stop the rot and get the next fall. Duelling chants as Cage toyed with Darby, but Allin fired back, getting a series of two counts with pinning attempts as he realised an easy win could be on the cards. Cage took the fight to the floor, launching the former champ into the guardrails before making his way over to Nick Wayne’s mother on the front row. Mama Wayne swilled Cage, allowing Darby to hit his cannonball tope, then a Coffin Drop to Christian on the floor. A second Coffin Drop in-ring met nothing but knees before Cage launched Darby from the apron into the announce table. Cage attempted to suplex Darby from the apron into the ring steps but missed, instead hitting Darby with a nasty suplex from the floor into the steel, then a sickening crumpling diving bodyslam from the apron into the steps as the champ demanded the ref count Darby out. Doc Sampson checked on Allin, as the ref counted to ten.

Darby 1 - Christian 1

A gurney was brought out for Darby as Cage set about disassembling the ring, peeling back the ring mat and canvas as medics tended to Allin. With Darby on the stretcher, Cage took the opportunity to hit a frogsplash from the top rope. Both men made it back into the ring, Cage nailing a thudding Killswitch into the exposed ring-boards… but Darby kicked out at two. Cage then locked in a Scorpion Deathlock as a further eff you to Darby, but Allin made it to the ropes. A fired-up Darby dug his fingers into Cage’s eyes then hit the Scorpion Death Drop and a Coffin Drop… but Cage kicked out at two. A second Coffin Drop attempt was thwarted with Cage hitting a top rope sunset flip powerbomb onto the wood.

Spear by Cage, but Darby moved, with Cage nailing referee Bryce Remsburg. With the ref down Cage hit a low blow then grabbed his TNT Championship, but nick Wayne ran out to snatch the title and prevent Cage from using it as a weapon. Wayne then goaded Cage into the ring where he was outnumbered, but Wayne swerved Darby and laid him out with the title belt as Cage covered Darby and got the win.

Darby 1 - Christian 2

Cage posed in-ring with his belt as Wayne joined him in celebration, the two hugging in the middle of the ring. Cage held Darby up for another shot from Wayne, Nick beating down his former mentor without mercy. As the two laid kicks in on a defenceless Darby Sting made his way down to the ring, with ‘The Icon’ levelling Cage and Wayne with chops. Luchasaurus arrived on the scene to help his pals, with the three men beating Sting down to the pine. Cage grabbed a pair of steel chairs for a Conchairto on Sting… when the lights went out…

The screen showed an ad for ‘our feature presentation’, with a vid showing a car driving into the arena. “You think you know him” as Alter Bridge’s Metalingus blasted over the arena speakers, the crowd going berserk as Adam Copeland made his way to the ring. Copeland and Christian came face-to-face, Christian handing his old partner a chair, only for Copeland to nail Wayne and crush both him and Luchasaurus with spears as Taz proclaimed that ‘The Rated R Superstar’ is here. Darby extended his hand to Copeland, receiving a handshake from the multi-time world champion, with Sting following suit.

Full results, AEW WrestleDream 2023:

• Christian Cage (c) def. Darby Allin - TNT Championship Two out of Three Falls Match 
• FTR (c) def. Aussie Open - AEW World Tag Team Championships 
• Konosuke Takeshita, Will Ospreay, & Sammy Guevara def. Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, & Kota Ibushi
• Bryan Danielson def. Zack Sabre Jr. 
• Ricky Starks def. Wheeler Yuta
• Swerve Strickland def. Hangman Page
• The Young Bucks def. The Gunns, The Lucha Brothers, & Orange Cassidy & HOOK - Winners receive an AEW World Tag Team Title shot at any time 
• Kris Statlander (c) def. Julia Hart - TBS Championship 
• Eddie Kingston (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata - ROH World Championship & NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship 
• MJF (c) def. The Righteous - ROH World Tag Team Championships 
• The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn (c) def. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Shane Haste, & Mikey Nicholls) - AEW World Trios Championships - Zero Hour
• Luchasaurus def. Nick Wayne - Zero Hour
• Claudio Castagnoli def. Josh Barnett - Zero Hour
• Keith Lee, Satoshi Kojima, Athena, & Billie Starkz def. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, Diamanté & Mercedes Martinez - Zero Hour