AEW did very little wrong at WrestleDream while doing very little to make this pay-per-view anything more than a solid showing in what has been a busy time period for the company.
Clockwork Carnage was good enough for people likely to want to see it again under the right circumstances and set a legend on his path to retirement in 2027 from Additional Financial Arena in Orlando. The rest of this card was filled with the quality of wrestling you would expect from Tony Khan’s company, with some incremental story progressions, a standard debut for Ilja Dragunov and the only surprise coming in the trios championship match
Here are five takeaways from WrestleDream
Foundation laid
Clockwork Carnage was a success in its debut and needs to stick around as one of AEW’s signature matches, but cannot be used again when it’s very clear the champion is going to retain.