AEW is all set for another big night of wrestling action with WrestleDream, which will have no less than 7 Titles up for grabs between the Zero Hour preshow and the main pay-per-view. The card is stacked across the board with several major standouts, though one of the most anticipated matches coming into the event was the AEW International Championship match, which tasked Will Ospreay with defending his Championship against Konosuke Takeshita and AEW’s newest free agent signing Ricochet. Ricochet and Ospreay deliver a fun start to their in-ring rivalry on Dynamite’s five-year anniversary, but tonight is when fans really got to see the two stars hit another gear.
Ospreay has been rolling since becoming International Champion, and while Ricochet is still early on in his AEW tenure, he’s already accrued some wins too. Meanwhile, Takeshita has been circling several Championships, including Okada’s Intercontinental Championship, but he’s now been brought into the International Title fold as well thanks to Ospreay’s tenuous relationship with Don Callis. Tonight the three stars delivered a thrill ride from beginning to end with a host of near falls, but standing tall at the end of it was Takeshita.
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After a hard-hitting match that seemed like it would be never-ending, Ospreay’s long-time best friend Kyle Fletcher turned up in a hoodie with a screwdriver in hand to ensure he wouldn’t walk out of this match victorious. Him turning on his pal helped his Don Callis Family stablemate pick up the win. To add even more insult to injury, he used the Tiger Driver, a move that Ospreay banned from his skillset after his match against Bryan Danielson for being “too dangerous.”
The result of this match isn’t completely surprising. Recent reports seemed to indicate AEW is high on “The Alpha,” and Fletcher stepping out of the shadow of his fellow United Kingdom member Ospreay is the next obvious step. This is Takeshita’s first title win in AEW. He signed to the promotion in November of 2022 where he saw pretty moderate success but after impressing AEW personnel, particularly with his run in the G1 Climax this year, the push was coming sooner than later.
Takeshita is the latest face of the Don Callis Family after Callis betrayed both Kenny Omega and Ospreay. “The Aerial Assassin” was champion for just short of 50 days in his second reign, however it looks like he will now be moving into the world title scene after a dominating combined run of 101 days as AEW International Champion.
A Long-Awaited Reunion
The fact that this match is happening at all is a dream scenario, as previously it wasn’t possible. Ricochet has been signed with WWE since 2018, and that took any follow-ups to his previous matches against Ospreay off the table unless something changed. In 2023 Ospreay signed with AEW, though he had to finish a few previous commitments before joining All Elite Wrestling full-time. That changed in 2024, and that’s when rumors started hitting that Ricochet’s contract was coming up soon in WWE.
Ricochet was still busy though, even winning the Speed Championship after it was first introduced, but then more and more signs pointed to him leaving the company. He was written off TV after an attack from Bron Breakker, and while it was rumored he was heading to AEW, it was made official at AEW All In.
WrestleDream Card
- Zero Hour – ROH World TV Championship: Brian Cage (C) vs Atlantis Jr.
- Zero Hour – MxM Collection vs The Acclaimed
- Zero Hour – Harley Cameron vs Anna Jay
- AEW World Championship: Bryan Danielson (C) vs Jon Moxley
- AEW International Championship: Will Ospreay (C) vs Ricochet vs Konosuke Takeshita
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May (C) vs Willow Nightingale
- TNT Championship: Jack Perry (C) vs Katsuyori Shibata
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks (C) vs Private Party
- ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe (C) vs Chris Jericho
- 2 Out of 3 Falls: Hologram vs The Beast Mortos
- Darby Allin vs Brody King
- Hangman Adam Page vs Jay White
What have you thought of WrestleDream so far? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!