Huge Storyline-Driven Clashes
The following matches are rematches. Yet, with clear character arcs, motivations and new storyline progression building on history, the outcomes would define the next months of AEW programming.
Jon Moxley finally loses the AEW Continental Championship, the title that has saved him, which will lead to his downfall. Succumbing to Swerve Strickland, in a battle of brutality and assertion, this grudge match is personal. Swerve wants Moxley’s title and scalp because, having beaten The Elite, Moxley is the last remaining reminder of the past in Swerve’s house.
Subsequently, this sets up All Out. For Moxley to be usurped by the Death Riders. Mirrors the trauma inflicted on Bryan Danielson.
Another paralleling major title match and character arc, AEW International champion Kenny Omega, takes on Hangman Adam Page. Page needs to beat Omega. It’s not directly about the championship. Page needs the win to stabilise himself symbolically. Emotion driven by whether/if Page will turn heel, the loss to Omega drives more conflict in the Cowboy.
Finally, Timeless Toni Storm faces Mercedes Mone, one year on. The winner becomes the number one contender for the AEW Women’s World Championship. However, there’s a character twist. With Ultimo Mone’s reign collapsing like falling dominoes, Mone returns to AEW focused, unable to plaster over her fracturing psyche.
Obsessed with the belt, Mone, like Storm as she became Timeless, faces her own mental breakdown. Only an ultra-modern version of the celebrity breakdown rather than retro, film-star-inspired madness.
Dream Contests
There must be some fresher dream match level contests.
It’s been teased for years. They’ve clashed in triple threats, tag team and multi-man matches, but finally, the singles match happens at All In. Kazuchika Okada takes on Konosuke Takeshita. No titles because the feud is about something deeper. It’s about Okada’s coasting and protecting finally crumbling in a way, The Rainmaker and Don Callis delayed at All In Texas. It’s about the undeniable rise of The Alpha.
Yet what about a match many fans never thought we would see? The AEW World Tag Team Championships: Adam Copeland and Christian Cage vs. The Young Bucks. A clash between generational tag teams and brothers (one real and one kayfabe).
Mixing nostalgia with the savvy and dark arts of Cage and Copeland (hopefully not too Brood-inspired), there’s an intergenerational story to be told. Plus, a potential follow-up at All Out or WrestleDream with AEW’s version of a TLC with FTR!
That leaves one big match… The main event… It’s time.
