WRESTLEDREAM III - 10/18/2025

[Niners Fan in CT]

Mercedes is going to wrestle three nights in a row in three different countries.  Mexico,  U.S. and then Canada. 

[Casey]

Terrible fucking finish. Even my co-worker, who is the very definition of casual fan, didn’t understand why Mox said I quit and thought it was a bad finish to an otherwise INSANE match.

Edited October 19, 2025 by Casey

[username]

Advertising a match for tv all night, only showing the early feeling out process then going "go pay $40 to see the rest of it" is rather shitty for everyone who isn't buying the ppv FWIW. I'm actually surprised WWE didn't think of it, it feels like an idea they'd come up with.

[hammerva]

I mean it makes sense that Moxley would quit to such a basic move given that he took a bat shot right on the knee cap and well he is a heel so he should quit like a bitch no matter how tough he is.   Probably the main reason why is that you have completely soaked the ring doing that drowning which frankly looked much worse.    Given that they were willing to be just sick as fuck with this that they put a skewer inside Darby finger nail,  I thought they were going to go with water boarding.   

[The Natural]

How was the show? Best matches? Cheers.

[hammerva]

Frankly if you are going to be outraged by a finish tonight,  it probably should be the Mone vs Mina match.  At this point this belt thing is just embarrassing.   And before people complain no I am not saying that Mercedes is pulling Hogan and has to carry 11 belts at once for her ego.  This is all on Tony Khan and the marks booking her at this point.   She doesn't need a ROH title with her TBS title.    I guess when she lost to Toni thinking that we would be back to normal was a pipe dream 

 

[Cobra Commander]

one of these Mone super-specific challenge (wrestler from Florida! current champion!) matches should be halted suddenly after we find that the challenger lied to get into the match and they're not from that state or a current champion

clearly Mone should have wrestled Larry Zbyszko for the Western States Heritage Title

but that whole Mone thing almost feels too epic to end in a satisfying way

[hammerva]

Well the good thing for her and her collection is that there are probably about 5 or 6 of those titles that she will never step foot in the ring again for that promotion.   And the promoters are probably fine with that because of that one big house.

 

[Niners Fan in CT]

23 minutes ago, hammerva said:

Frankly if you are going to be outraged by a finish tonight,  it probably should be the Mone vs Mina match.  At this point this belt thing is just embarrassing.   And before people complain no I am not saying that Mercedes is pulling Hogan and has to carry 11 belts at once for her ego.  This is all on Tony Khan and the marks booking her at this point.   She doesn't need a ROH title with her TBS title.    I guess when she lost to Toni thinking that we would be back to normal was a pipe dream 

 

I think it's perfectly fine if it's not your thing but to call it "embarrassing" makes me think you don't understand why it is happening and why it's a thing. 

[Niners Fan in CT]

Just now, hammerva said:

Well the good thing for her and her collection is that there are probably about 5 or 6 of those titles that she will never step foot in the ring again for that promotion.   And the promoters are probably fine with that because of that one big house.

 

Which promotion is she not going back to?  She's already scheduled to appear at the Italian promotion again.  She's already wrestled in Mexico for CMLL three times. She's already wrestled at RevPro 4-5 times.  It sounds like you aren't paying attention and just wanted to complain about it because you dislike it. 

Anyways, this was a great show!  

There wasn't a bad match on the entire card.  I didn't have an issue with Mox quitting so quickly either. 

[hammerva]

7 minutes ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

I think it's perfectly fine if it's not your thing but to call it "embarrassing" makes me think you don't understand why it is happening and why it's a thing. 

I understand why it is a thing.  It isnt like she invented the concept.  I just dont understand it is going on forever and growing more and more.  I guess it matters to have the longest belt collector reign of all time. 

At least it keeps her busy so she doesn't take Athena and Statlander's titles too

[Niners Fan in CT]

3 minutes ago, hammerva said:

I understand why it is a thing.  It isnt like she invented the concept.  I just dont understand it is going on forever and growing more and more.  I guess it matters to have the longest belt collector reign of all time. 

I don't think this is the thread to have a long conversation about it but it started because RevPro, NJPW and CMLL wanted to put their belts on her.  RevPro and NJPW have both expressed how well she does for their houses and streaming platforms.  Mercedes obviously wanted to do it too because she loves wrestling in all of these places and wrestling different women. Then smaller indies started seeing if they could book her too and she is pretty much mentoring a lot of the women she's facing. Many of them have talked about what she's done for their careers.  Even if Mercedes drops the TBS title soon (which I think she should) I don't see her dropping all of the belts anytime soon. 

[Craig H]

COME ON MOTHERFUCKER

Hangman rules.

I actually thought just about everything on this show was awesome, but the last match was maybe too gruesome. But after the first bit, it was more cinematic than anything.

I figured Sting would come into play at some point and I thought this would end in one of two ways. 1) Moxley says I Quit while in a submission because that dude always taps out in a submission. That’s what I like about Mox that no one ever points out - he’s a guy who always touts how hard he is and how he won’t quit but you get this guy in a submission and he’s quitting so fast every time.

2) And this would have been even more creative and something I don’t think we’ve even seen before, Moxley goes further and further and further using more smoke and mirrors to take out Darby and nothing works. He looks at everything he’s done and looks at Darby and thinks long and hard about it and then says “I Quit.” There’s nothing he can do to make Darby quit and he’s not going to literally kill someone and realizing Darby will sacrifice it all and Mox knowing he doesn’t have the same kind of fight inside himself, he has no choice but to just quit.

I would have preferred that finish. If anything, I thought it would be the Lebell Lock or a modified version of it if he did tap Moxley out.

It is what it is and it’s over. It’s not like it ended in a NC or a DQ. The Death Riders lose, again, and Mox loses, again. They should now be dying out or turning their backs on Moxley.

Also, that tag title match ruled so hard.  BE HARDER.

[Craig H]

NO KINGS EXCEPT BRODY FUCKING KING.

BE HARDER.

[The Green Meanie]

1 hour ago, Craig H said:

That’s what I like about Mox that no one ever points out - he’s a guy who always touts how hard he is and how he won’t quit but you get this guy in a submission and he’s quitting so fast every time.

Allow me to be Jesse Ventura here. To paraphrase The Body, it makes Moxley smarter then other wrestlers. Intentionally quitting early will only prolong your career, what do you gain by suffering through grueling submissions other then pride?

[The Natural]

The Old Man Sting 2025 look is so fucking great.

Edited October 19, 2025 by The Natural

[AxB]

The whole point of the match was that Moxley was mentally breaking as it went on. He was dominating the offense, but he was fighting from a place of weakness, and growing weaker and weaker. He was relying on the Death Riders to get him off the defensive and back on the attack every time, so once they were taken out and he was damaged and trapped in a submission, he had to give up.

[HarryArchieGus]

I liked Darby-Mox and the story they told throughout, but that finish didn't quite deliver on their melodramatic DEATH build.     

[Niners Fan in CT]

I felt the whole point was once the Death Riders were taken out Mox went out like a bitch. He did everything he could possibly do to get Darby to quit,  frustration built and then his safety valve was taken from him. Game over.  It's heel shit.  

[NoFistsJustFlips]

8 hours ago, hammerva said:

I just dont understand it is going on forever and growing more and more.

Phrased differently for wrestling, that's called building.

It's building to something. Giving the benefit of the doubt here, but this seems way more focus and clean then when they did Kenny Omega's belt collector deal. Now that Mone has the most simultaneous belts of all time (or whatever phrasing they used), she will use that as a chip against Stat. Mone's 11 belts vs "the most important" belt. I'd have Stat win. Call the 12 belts together the W-Crown or some shit. That makes Stat. Being the one to finally beat Mone, and be crowned a 12 time champion in one match. I'd say that's a pretty emphatic crowning.

I'm not 100% sure that's where it's going. But I am 100% sure it's going... somewhere. There's a plan for this. Indy companies, CMLL, Rev-Pro, etc. This raises all of their stock. As a random promoter I'd be thrilled to give AEW control of the title and have it mentioned weekly on TV. As long as I still get access to my champion occasionally for a show or two of my own, this is a high tide raising all ships scenario.

Edited October 19, 2025 by NoFistsJustFlips

[Octopus]

Dang, got dates mixed up. How was Hangman vs Joe?

[NoFistsJustFlips]

-I miss the 3pm start time. Some fucking out of this world matches (Buck vs JE, Brodito vs DCF, FTR vs Jet Speed, Fletcher vs Briscoe). But of the last 5 matches, only the Brodito match delivered for me. Thought Stat v Toni, Mercedes v Mina, Hangman v  Joe, & the main under delivered. But I think some of that is down to a me thing being so tired that late in the night. The earlier start time is so much better if we're going to do these long epics. But also, maybe don't make everything a long epic. I'm a huge Thekla fan, but that match went way too long and exposed her a bit.

-Main had a good story, so I can't complain. But what I will complain about is using so much fire in the build up to the match only to make the attempted kill shot be water and not fire is real strange to me. Their match last month was fucking amazing. This one just didn't do it for me. Great selling by Darby. Great mannerisms / selling of the frustration by Mox. There was a lot to like. But it just didn't compare to last month.

-Man I feel bad for Hangman. His run got off to a solid start with the MJF stuff. But despite Fletcher & Joe being great workers, there's not enough story or threat of him losing the title. Feels a little bit like his first reign. The did a poor job of having credible heels lined up for him. Sorry but outside of MJF & the immediate Mox TV rematch, this run has been void of credible threats. Moriarty, Fletcher, & Joe have a combined 0% chance of taking the title.

[AxB]

If the Mox vs Darby match seemed less bloody and violent than you were anticipating, you have to consider it happened in Missouri.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/missouri/20-CSR-2040-5-030

Quote

(12) Disallowed Activities.

(A) The following actions are disallowed:

1. Inhibiting breathing by covering the nose and mouth at the same time; and

2. Unsportsmanlike or physically dangerous conduct.

(B) A wrestler continuing to engage in prohibited activities after sufficient warning may be disqualified by the referee.

(C) No wrestling contestant may use a foreign object(s) or prop(s) with the deliberate intent to lacerate himself or herself, or one's opponent. No animal blood or human blood, other than that of the wrestling contestants that is incidentally introduced during a match, may be used as a prop or special effect in any wrestling match. Vials, capsules, or any vessel containing a gel substance appearing to be or simulating blood may be used as a prop or special effect during a wrestling contest so long as the container cannot cause lacerations upon breakage. The intent to use a foreign object(s) or prop(s) during a wrestling match must be disclosed to the office prior to any wrestling contest and be subject to the approval of the inspector present at the event. This shall include any vial, capsule, or container holding a gel substance that is meant to simulate blood.

 

[Niners Fan in CT]

You have to applaud AEW.  Even if you didn't LOVE the PPV I don't think anyone could say it was bad.  Pretty much every match was at minimum good. This is not really one of AEW's bigger events and they still delivered.  I've only ever been disappointed by a handful of PPVs in their entire history.  It's an insane run.  

[NoFistsJustFlips]

I mean its not like they woke up un a random city and just had to do the ppv there. If the commission is so strict, maybe dont run an I Quit match on this one? Or like maybe don't use a lot of props in the build up that you have no chance of using during the payoff?

Seems like common sense right? Hey we cant bleed in city XYV, okay let's not do that first blood match there then.

So thank you AxB thats a good explination for why it was the way it was. I just dont give them a pass for it. Self inflicted mistake. Still loved the show tho. Overall give it probably an 8 out of 10. Just ended weaker than I was hoping for.