Close Menu
We need all your money! Please help support The Outerhaven

The Best Matches From AEW WrestleDream 2025

By and
The Best Matches From AEW WrestleDream

Another day, another All Elite Wrestling PPV in the books. As we’ve talked about before, AEW is the king of the wrestling Pay-Per-View. They know how to bring the best out of their wrestlers every time and put on a show that fans watching live or at home will be proud of. The latest event was yesterday’s WrestleDream, a PPV made in honor of Antonio Inoki. The card was stacked and had plenty of fun watches to enjoy, but what were the “Best Matches From AEW WrestleDream?” We’re here to give you our thoughts on that question!

Todd’s Picks

Sticking The Landing:

When Jurassic Express returned and Jack Perry/Luchasaurus went face again, everyone was happy. It was “the world is healing” moment, if you will. However, that feeling would only last if they proved they still “had it” as a tag team and could win the crowd over. So, going up against the Young Bucks would be the ultimate test.

Thankfully, not only did they pass the test, but the match was easily my favorite match of the night, which I’m sure the Broke Bucks would approve of. Oh yeah, how broke are they, again…?

…ah, that broke. Nice. Also, credit to the St. Louis crowd (of which I was a part!) for all the creative ways for chanting how broke the Bucks were.

The Match itself:

Going to the match itself, both teams came to play and brought it in the best way. The Young Bucks are still throwing out new moves this late into their careers, including doing a reference to the former tag team…the Lucha Bros.

As for Jurassic Express, both Jack Perry and Luchasaurus were OVER, especially Luchasaurus, and they played into that the whole night. I loved the back and forth, the false finishes, and making you wonder who truly would win this fight.

Fun fact: this match not only had multiple “This Is Awesome” chants, but was the only match of the night to get the lauded “Fight Forever!” chant. To be fair, there was an attempt to get one started during another match…but Don Callis ruined it. Dang you, Don!!!!

Regardless, the match was incredible, and the post-match stuff with Kenny was just as great. Are they teasing a Bucks face turn…? Also, can we PLEASE get Kenny on the Full Gear card next month?

The Last Match Added:

I’m sure some of you might be surprised by this, especially since Mercedes literally wrestled at Arena Mexico on Friday, then flew to St. Louis to challenge “any women’s champ” for their belt in exchange for also challenging for the TBS title. Trust me when I say there was a LOT of speculation about who it might be, and Mone interrupting Statlander after her victory (in another great women’s match) only added to the mystery. So…who would answer the call…?

That’s right, “WE WANT MINA!!!!!” Admittedly, this may not have been perceived as the “best choice” for this challenge, especially with Mina only technically being an “interim” challenge, but here’s why it worked…

The Match Itself:

…because the match was great! Yes, Mone and Mina had faced before, but that just meant they had already built up chemistry, and it showed.

The longer the match went, and the more that Mina hit big moves, you started to wonder…could Mina really pull this off? Could we get a huge upset RIGHT after Mone broke the record for longest TBS title reign? The crowd was into it, and I was loving it, and when this moment happened…

…we all lit up. She could win! We all really thought Mina might win. And there was a moment not long after where Mina did a counter in the corner with Mone that I legit thought she would. It was a hard-fought bout, and when Mone won via cheating… again, you couldn’t help but feel for Mina.

Plus, as Mercedes would note later in the night after a second clash with Statlander, she’s going after the women’s belt once again at Full Gear!

Oh, and as for Toni and Mina…

…that is art.

Jen’s Picks

Kazuchika Okada Konosuke Takeshita Brodido

My first pick was The Brodido vs Konosuke Takeshita and Kazuchika Okada.

The anticipation:

It’s no secret that Konosuke and Okada do not like each other. They have been building this slow-burning tension for months. And after Takeshita had won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a few days ago, it just made matters worse. What would happen if they won the AEW World Tag Team Championship together?

Beginning of the match:

The match started out slow and methodical. It seemed like they were both trying their best to work as a unit. The quick tags helped them gain momentum, and they both picked Bandido’s poor shoulder apart. Brody landed some offense as well, such as the 3-man German suplex, but overall, it was an uphill battle.

During the match:

There were a few sequences that were quite entertaining. Brody had finally given in to doing the Macarena dance, but Okada broke it up. Damn you, Okada! There was a point where Okada attempted the Rainmaker pose with his patented “middle finger”, but Takeshita took it as an insult to himself. Miscues plagued their teamwork, and Okada mistakenly landed a Rainmaker on Takeshita with glee. Oopsie!

The finale:

There were a few points where Bandido’s bum shoulder was in such bad shape that he wanted to quit. But being the best teammate one could ever have, Brody cheered him on to finish the match. That one-armed 21-plex finisher was something else. After the match, Brodido finally performed the long-anticipated Macarena together. Don looked disappointed, and Takeshita gave Okada the death stare. Well done!

WrestleDream had plenty of epic tag team matches, but I’m glad that the tag title match not only went the longest, but was arguably the most epic of the lot. Long live Brodido!!!

My second pick was the “I quit” match between Jon Moxley vs Darby Allin.

Jon Moxley Darby Allin

The anticipation:

Darby had a lot to prove in this match. He had faced Moxley five times in the past and had never won. Coupled with that dark promo cut on Dynamite, it made me worried what kind of sadistic torture both were willing to attempt. Both guys were stubborn to the point where they would push each other’s limits. I was losing sleep over this match!

(Todd Note: If you couldn’t tell what the live crowd was chanting at the beginning of the match, it was, “We Are Nervous!” Clearly, Jen’s thoughts translated to other fans!)

The high risks:

Darby absorbed all kinds of pain throughout the entire match. He knew he was coming in at a disadvantage, so he brought a backpack chock full of goodies. Mox drew first blood by getting Darby’s teeth knocked into the ropes. As if I thought that was bad, I couldn’t even watch the next spot. It felt as though I was watching a horror movie. Mox used a BBQ skewer to rip off Darby’s nail from his nailbed! Gross. That one Death Rider that Mox executed on Darby onto the chair probably rang his bell. He looked out of it for a bit. There were belt whips, tasers, cauliflower ears, being tossed to tables, lighter fluid, and even drowning in a fish tank.

“This is Murder!” – St. Louis Crowd

The equalizer:

Just when Darby was down in the dumps, the lights went out. It’s Sting!!!!!! Darby’s one true friend was always available when he needed him the most. He took out the Deathriders and gave him his bat. Darby bludgeoned Mox with it and got him to say, “I quit”. Wow, what a match! I was hoping it would be Sting’s son to the rescue, but I’ll take the original Sting any day of the week and twice on Sundays…er…Saturday!

Seeing Darby hold up the AEW flag as the crowd cheered for him was almost life-affirming. Do recall that last year’s WrestleDream ended in one of the darkest moments in wrestling history. But this time? Justice had been truly restored.

And there you have it! Our picks for the “Best Matches from AEW WrestleDream” 2025! What did YOU think about WrestleDream? What were your favorite matches that were in it? Do you have predictions for what will happen with AEW Full Gear next month? Let us know below!

Avatar photo

A self-proclaimed Nintendo fanboy, born, bred, and Mushroom fed! He’s owned every Nintendo handheld and every console since the SNES. He's got a degree in video game development, is a published comic book writer and an author of several novels!

Avatar photo

Jen has fully immersed herself into discussing pro wrestling since 2017. She loves geeking out to AEW and is not afraid to admit it.

Check out these posts