10 New Directions For AEW After WrestleDream 2023
What's next for Tony Khan's company after Adam Copeland gave AEW some...Edge?
Critics can say what they like (and they have, including this one!), but only All Elite Wrestling would think to debut an ex-WWE heavy hitter like Adam 'Edge' Copeland on a show designed as a tribute to fallen New Japan king Antonio Inoki. That's not criticism, by the way. It's a good thing - this sort of thinking is unique to Tony Khan.
It worked a treat.
WrestleDream looked like a potential wobble on paper. Sure, people tuning in knew they'd see some killer matches, because that's always the case with AEW. However, the pay-per-view seemed to lack some oomph. Boy, did Copeland's arrival during the closing minutes ever solve that problem.
If this is to be the start of a bold new era for Khan's promotion, then he'll welcome Adam's desire to work, work, then work some more. Copeland clearly felt a little under-utilised over on the WWE side, so he'll be keen to wrestle dream matches, nurture younger talent and help AEW grow.
Here's where All Elite's product goes post-WrestleDream. It's not all about the former Edge, you know. There's a lot of other things to juggle...
10. The Young Bucks Stealing More Gold
All four teams in that number one contendership bout challenging FTR would've worked. No, not in some five-way scrap (can you imagine AEW refs trying to tackle that?!), but as individual tag challengers. Hook and Orange Cassidy would've been an interesting change of pace, for example.
The Young Bucks got the nod instead, 'cause of course they did.
Look, the only way this Bucks vs. FTR shindig works out well is if Matt and Nick Jackson resort to dirty tactics and start getting nasty. The bloom is very-much off the rose for them as heroic babyface ringleaders for everything that's right with AEW, and it's time to mix things up a bit.
The Bucks are already ROH Six Man Champs, but now have a guaranteed tilt at the AEW Tag straps too. This writer can see the siblings going full blown rogue on Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood on TV, then possibly even taking the titles from them - their respect story always felt a little bogus anyway, being honest.