5 bold predictions for AEW WrestleDream: Is this Bryan Danielson's Final Countdown?

10/12/2024 08:31 AM

After weeks and weeks of anticipation, WrestleDream has officially arrived, with AEW fans the world over ready to watch their favorite wrestlers take the ring at the Tacoma Dome in Washington to duke it for pride, glory, and sweet, sweet championship gold.

Swerve Strickland will be returning in front of his hometown crowd, titles will be on the line, and the full-time career of one Bryan Danielson may just be decided, even if some fans aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to the “American Dragon” just yet.

And the best part? With nine matches on the main card and 12 on the event overall, there should be a little something for every fan, from comedy spots to Match of the Year candidates.

1. Mustafa Ali is MxM Collection’s third

Though far from the most hyped up match on the WrestleDream Card, so much so that it isn’t even on the main card, one of the more intriguing questions coming to fans from the TacomaDome in Washington regards who will serve as MxM Collection’s third versus The Acclaimed.

Taking part in a feud that revolves around a very professional wrestling reason, Max Caster’s jacket, Mansoor and Mason Madden promised to have a third man in their corner in Tacoma, Washington, and all things considered, that should be Mustafa Ali.

A fellow WWE castoff with a history with Madden from their time together in Retribution, Ali has a 39-3-3 record as a singles star since officially becoming a free agent, with his lone singles losses coming to “Speedball” Mike Bailey to lose the X-Division Title, against Nic Nemeth for the TNA Championship, and in a NJPW Capital Collision showdown against Hiromu Takahashi.

Now free to work wherever he pleases, Ali has felt like an ideal addition to the AEW roster for years now and could add an air of legitimacy to a group that, as of now, tops out just incredibly entertaining.

Honorable mention: Sidney Akeem, aka WWE’s Reggie. If Ali isn’t down to clown around with MxM, Akeem certainly should be.

2. Brody King proves he doesn’t need the House of Black

Since officially making the jump from Ring of Honor to AEW, Brody King has almost exclusively been linked to Malakai Black, his Kings of the Black Throne tag team partner from Pro Wrestling Gorilla and beyond.

On paper, the pairing makes sense, as King is a classic heavy and can put in work alongside Black and Buddy Matthews as an imposing trio, but so far in TK’s company, the most compelling the former leader of Violence Unlimited has looked has been in his singles program with Darby Allin when it looked like the faction was going to break up for good. They were brawling in the ring, King was showing up at Allin’s public appearances to powerbomb him through tables at local Zumiez, and fans were given a hint at the compelling storylines King could tell freed up from his posse.

At WrestleDream, King makes good on that potential in a major way, delivering a fantastic effort in a showcase match for Allin that puts over “Big Bad” Brody, too. While it won’t be enough to split him off from the House of Black just yet, it should give fans a hint at what is to come when that day eventually arrives.

3. Ricochet earns his first AEW five-star match

Since arriving in AEW, it’s felt like Ricochet has been on the verge of something great.

He’s turned in great singles efforts against Will Ospreay, The Beast Mortos, and Sammy Guevara, took place in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In, and even gave fans a glimpse of a dream match against El Hijo del Vikingo in Gleat, but the one thing that has eluded him is a five-star match, with all five AEW efforts coming in better four and 4.5 stars.

At WrestleDream, that all changes, as it’s hard to imagine the trio of Ricochet, Will Ospreay, and Konosuke Takeshita turning in anything other than a five-star classic, with the potential to build storylines around the effort for months to come.

Imagine, if you will, Takeshita securing the rin in the match, the outcome that should happen, but with Ricochet taking the pin due to interference from the Don Callis Family. That could set up even more matches between Ospreay and Ricochet but also a chance for the duo to come together as a team against Takeshita, Lance Archer, and the rest of the Don Callis Family.

And who says AEW doesn’t do storylines?

4. Hologram versus The Beast Mortos have the Match of the Night

While some have suggested that their match at WrestleDream is tacked on, or worse, doesn’t have enough of a storyline to justify a spot on the card, that doesn’t mean a Best Two out of Three Falls match between Hologram and The Beast Mortos doesn’t have sky-high potential, so much so that it might actually steal the show and go down as Match of the Night.

On paper, pushing the duo makes all the sense in the world, as Mortos is having a moment, Hologram is undefeated, and the duo has been doing big lucha things in AEW since the promotion’s residency in Arlington, Texas, ahead of All In. Throw it all together, and this has the potential to go down as an all-time mid-card match at WrestleDream.

5. Jon Moxley doesn’t retire Bryan Danielson

And last but not least, fans have been tabbing WrestleDream as the “final countdown” of Bryan Danielson’s professional wrestling career since he announced his full-time career was going to wind down in 2024. Danielson is from Washington, has been working with Moxley for years, and has clear chemistry in the ring with the “Lunatic Fringe,” as highlighted by their effort at Grand Slam 2022.

But should Moxley be Danielson’s final full-time match in AEW? I would venture to say no, as Moxley doesn’t need that Danielson rub, and with the first-ever Wrestle Dynasty coming up in January of 2025 at the Tokyo Dome, that feels like the perfect chance to close things out for Danielson once and for all.

Assuming he gets through the match healthy, which is anything but a guarantee, Khan should keep Danielson’s run going for at least a few more months, with one final match closing things out at Wrestle Dynasty, maybe in the ultimate rematch against the “Billy Goat” himself, Will Ospreay.

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