Wrestling Ratings- AEW WrestleDream (2025)

 

Location- St. Louis, Missouri

Venue- Chaifetz Arena

Commentators- Excalibur, Nigel  McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

Eight Man Tag Team Match- Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta, & Pac) VS Roderick Strong, Kyle O’ Reilly, Orange Cassidy, & Tomohiro Ishii

Winners- Death Riders

Rating-5/10

Eddie Kingston & Hook VS The Frat House (Cole Karter & Griff Garrison)

Winners- Eddie Kingston & Hook

Rating- 5/10

Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale VS Top Gods (Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford)

Winners- Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale

Rating- 6/10

FTR VS JetSpeed

Winners- FTR

Rating- 7/10

Jamie Hayter VS Thekla 

Winner- Jamie Hayter

Rating- 7/10

$500K Tag Team Match- Jurassic Express VS The Young Bucks 

Winners- Jurassic Express

Rating- 7/10

Tornado Trios Match- Winner Becomes Number One Contender For AEW World Trios Championships- The Hurt Syndicate VS The Demand

Winners- The Hurt Syndicate

Rating- 7/10

AEW TNT Championship- Kyle Fletcher (Champion) VS Mark Briscoe

Winner- Kyle Fletcher 

Rating- 7/10

AEW Women’s World Championship- Kris Statlander (Champion) VS Toni Storm

Winner- Kris Statlander

Rating- 7/10

Winner Takes All Open Challenge For The AEW TBS Championship & The Interim ROH Women’s World TV Championship- Mercedes Mone (TBS Champion) VS Mina Shirakawa (Interim ROH Women’s TV Champ)

Winner- Mercedes Mone

Rating- 6/10

AEW World Tag Team Championships- Brodido VS Kazuchika Okada & Konosuke Takeshita 

Winners- Brodido 

Rating- 8/10

AEW World Championship- Hangman Adam Page (Champion) VS Samoa Joe

Winner- Adam Page

Rating- 6/10

I Quit Match- Darby Allin VS Jon Moxley

Winner- Darby Allin

Rating- 8/10

Overall Thoughts- 

Starting off with FTR VS JetSpeed, I wasn’t a big fan of the spot, where Dax was seemingly waiting for Mike Bailey to come off of the top rope, after Dax hit the Shatter Machine with Cash on Kevin Knight, but this was still a good match. Some great fast-paced, hard-hitting action throughout the match, complete with a few good close pinfall counts. 

FTR VS JetSpeed overlapping from the Tailgate Brawl to open the show? Well, I guess you could say it’s an attempt at doing something different for a hot start, and the fans were into it. I guess it’s possible they were going for some WCW nostalgia. I do remember how WCW would set off pyro on the stage during a match that was already in progress, to kick off the transition to the top of the new hour during the show. Anyways, FTR will probably have their hands full with JetSpeed, or other tag teams until Cope decides it’s time to push the revenge button. 

Mercedes winning another title? Mone’s seemingly endless quest to collect every championship she sets her sights on works for easy “how many belts does this woman need?” heel heat. She’s an egomaniac, and Mercedes thinks she’s untouchable.

I’m not entirely sure where all of this going, though. Mone is officially the longest reigning TBS Champion now, and Kris Statlander is next on her hit list. I’m hoping the endgame for Mercedes’ belt collector gimmick concludes with her slowly losing each title. Mercedes’ character needs to be humbled, and it’ll be a logical conclusion to her heel run somewhere down line, when she loses all of her precious titles.

Darby Allin and Jon Moxley’s match deserved the main event spot. As expected, it was a violent and bloody battle between two nutcases, uncomfortable to watch at times, and Sting showing up as the equalizer to even the odds against The Death Riders was a nice surprise. The fish tank spot was kind of silly, but I still enjoyed the match. 

I can’t think of one match that truly blew me away, but overall, WrestleDream was a solid PPV. No truly bad matches on the entire card, with everything ranging from solid to decent, complete with a main event that lived up to the hype. Kyle Fletcher picked up a necessary win over Mark Briscoe after losing to Hangman at All Out. AEW’s strong tag team division was on full display here, and Samoa Joe turned heel! Really looking forward to how things unfold with The Opps as a heel group, and Joe is far more entertaining in the villain role.

Show Highlights

-Kenny Omega saves Jurassic Express from The Don Callis Family’s (Lance Archer, Mark Davis, & Josh Alexander) post-match beat down, Young Bucks refuse to help

-Tony Schiavone interviews Charlie Thesz at ringside

-Hangman Adam Page hits three consecutive Buckshot Lariats to defeat Samoa Joe

-Samoa Joe and The Opps turn heel with a post-match beat down on Adam Page

-Mercedes Mone challenges Kris Statlander to a winner takes all match at Full Gear 

-Sting returns to help Darby Allin

-Darby Allin defeats Jon Moxley

Overall Rating- 7/10

Coming Attractions- Silent Night, Deadly Night

 

Release Date- December 12, 2025

A promising trailer. I’ve always been a big fan of the Silent Night, Deadly Night films, and it looks like they’re going with a more serious and darker tone.

A LOT of noticeable differences, if we’re making comparisons to the original film. Billy in the 1984 film was traumatized from witnessing the sleazebag Santa Claus murdering his parents in front of him, and the abuse from Mother Superior just made things worse. Billy snapped, and he went on a brutal killing spree. Rohan Campbell’s Billy is clearly being portrayed as a more cold-blooded and calculating killer, and he has an accomplice! I like the idea of giving Billy a girlfriend, who’s apparently aroused by his bloodthirsty personality, because it adds another twisted layer to the movie.

The slight parallels to Halloween Ends? Rohan Campbell playing a vengeful killer in a small town in another slasher flick is definitely a freaky and eerie coincidence. Of course, Allyson in Halloween Ends didn’t want to believe Corey was a maniac, and this version of Billy doesn’t have Michael Myers as a mentor, but the similarities are impossible to ignore.

TWO callbacks to the original in the trailer! The dear head kill is a nod to what happened to Linnea Quigley’s character in the ‘84 film, and the beheading on the snowmobile in the woods. I’m not a big fan of the 2012 remake. The 2012 film tried to be more serious, but it just didn’t click with me at all. Going by the trailer, the 2025 remake will be more serious, but there’s also a nutty vibe here, with some dark humor mixed in. 

The more cheesy and kind of goofy stuff was a perfect fit for the 80’s. They’d have to do a full on throwback style slasher to pull that off now. Sure, they could’ve played it safe with more fan service, but it’s not necessary. High hopes for Silent Night, Deadly Night 2025, and I’m glad they’re taking a chance on doing something different.

Wrestling Ratings- WWE Crown Jewel: Perth (2025)

 

Location- Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Venue- RAC Arena

Commentators- Michael Cole & Wade Barrett

Australian Street Fight- Roman Reigns VS Bronson Reed/With Paul Heyman

Winner- Bronson Reed

Rating- 6/10

WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship- Stephanie Vaquer (Women’s World Champion) VS Tiffany Stratton (WWE Women’s Champion)

Winner & 2025 Women’s Crown Jewel Champion- Stephanie Vaquer

Rating- 6/10

John Cena VS AJ Styles

Winner- John Cena

Rating- 9/10

Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky VS Asuka & Kairi Sane 

Winners- Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky

Rating- 7/10

WWE Crown Jewel Championship- Seth Rollins (World Heavyweight Champion) VS Cody Rhodes (WWE Undisputed Champion)

Winner & 2025 Men’s Crown Jewel Champion- Seth Rollins

Rating- 9/10

Overall Thoughts- Reed defeats Reigns! Okay, he had a lot of help from Bron Breakker and a spear from Jey Uso, but scoring a pinfall victory over The OTC is still a big deal. Reed needed this. Losing two singles matches to Roman would’ve completely killed his momentum, so Bronson going over was the right call, even if they took the predictable route with interference and shenanigans to help preserve Reigns’ status. The match itself was an enjoyable street fight. Nothing special, but a handful of fun spots, and I did get a good laugh out of Reigns throwing rugby balls at Paul Heyman. 

The ongoing Bloodline drama after the match? Eh, I’m kind of burnt out on The Bloodline stuff. I get it. Reigns is upset, because he wanted to prove he could beat Reed without any help. He wants to put an end to the belief that he needs his cousins to get things done. Reigns telling Jey and Jimmy that he doesn’t want to see them until Christmas tells me they’re clearly taking this storyline into 2026. Jey is also more aggressive this time around, and he’s still bitter about losing the WHC to Gunther. Maybe they’re building towards a triple threat between Roman, Jey, and Jimmy at Wrestlemania?

Stephanie Vaquer winning the Women’s Crown Jewel Championship was a foregone conclusion. WWE is all in on Vaquer, pushing her as the next big superstar in the women’s division. Tiffany, and the fact that she’s the WWE Women’s Champion, was kind of an afterthought at times, but overall, it was still a solid match. 

Cena VS Styles was amazing. Two legends, slugging it out in a big match, easily lived up to the hype, a wildly entertaining and fun spectacle. Cena breaking out numerous finishers from his opponents over the years works for a handful of surprising moments, while he simultaneously pays tribute to his former rivals, or almost everyone he’s ever been in the ring with. Cena using Sister Abigail to pay homage to Bray Wyatt? The crowd coming together with the fireflies, while singing He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands was just fantastic. One of the big highlights during the match, and Cena was a little bit choked up, when he sat up and looked at the sea of lights 

This is what it’s all about. Cena and Styles threw everything they had at each other, while Cena completely emptied his bag, while borrowing key maneuvers from other wrestler’s bags, because he knows this is it. No reason to hold back now on his final run, so he might as well throw all of his cards on the table. 

AJ Styles’ throwback TNA gear added some nostalgia to the match, and Alicia Taylor’s special introduction for AJ (prepared by Cena) was a cool moment. I wouldn’t have known this, if AJ didn’t post it on X/Twitter, but his gear in this match is the same gear he wore in a WWE VS TNA cover on an old issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, an issue where he shared the cover with Cena. Phenomenal stuff!

They gave Rhea, Iyo, and The Kabuki Warriors a lot of time. It’s not a surprise, because Rhea is the big hometown hero, so it was well deserved. The setup for milking the hot tag from Iyo to Rhea really worked. Rhea got the big pop, and kudos to Asuka and Kairi for using well-placed sneaky heel work and tactics. 

As a fan, I want to see Rhea back in the world title picture, but I’m guessing they’re saving Rhea VS Stephanie Vaquer for Wrestlemania, because that’s a big match. But until that happens, Ripley and Iyo need something meaningful to do, because they’re two big stars.

Rollins and Cody delivered a stellar main event. Two top guys struggling to get the best of each other in a match that featured a lot of good back and forth action. In the end, Rollins, desperate to prove he could finally beat Cody without any help, used the Rolex gifted to him by Rhodes to help him win the match. Great storytelling, with the Rolex working as a personal weapon with sentimental value attached to it, the same Rolex Cody gave Seth as a thank you for helping him defeat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania. Seth did something far worse than backstabbing with the Rolex, he basically looked Cody in the eyes before plunging the knife deep into his heart. 

Seth Rollins is one of my favorite heel characters in pro wrestling. I believe everything he says, because when Rollins isn’t dancing or cackling, he’s deadly serious. You can believe he genuinely hates CM Punk and Roman Reigns, that he would do anything to ruin their plans and aspirations. 

Seth has all the tools and the accolades to be considered a top guy, but his character is still a deeply insecure man. He’s constantly bitter about having to be the number two guy behind the likes of Punk, Reigns, and Rhodes, because Rollins is the ultimate company man. It’s believable that Seth is not only willing to bleed for WWE, but he’ll die waving the company flag, if that’s what it comes down to just to prove his loyalty. 

Crown Jewel: Perth was a big upgrade over Wrestlepalooza. The big matches delivered, and Seth exorcised some of his demons with a win over Cody. It’s a bummer Rollins apparently hurt his shoulder on the Coast To Coast headbutt, but it’ll be interesting to see where things go with Seth, when he returns. A lot of different routes for Rollins’ future, including feuds with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed. Hopefully, Rollins returns as a heel. Reed, Breakker, and Heyman turning on Seth perfectly sets the stage for a triumphant return as a babyface, but Rollins is just too damn good at a playing a bad guy.

Show Highlights- 

-Bronson Reed defeats Roman Reigns, Bloodline family drama continues

-Stephanie Vaquer wins 2025 Women’s Crown Jewel Championship 

-John Cena defeats AJ Styles

-Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky pick up the victory over The Kabuki Warriors

-Seth Rollins wins 2025 Men’s Crown Jewel Championship

Overall Show Rating- 8/10

Character Spotlight- Brad- Night Of The Creeps

 

**This post contains spoilers**

He’s young, he’s confident, his hair is perfect, and he’s the leader of a fraternity! So what’s wrong with Brad (Allan Kayser)? Well, he’s not a nice guy. To be more blunt, Brad is a jerk. Brad’s personality is a detestable mix of an asshole jock and a cocky surfer dude, who believes he’s untouchable. He’s exactly the kind of guy you’d expect to have a big ego, as the head honcho of a fraternity, the ultimate narcissist, who thinks the world should bow at his feet.

It’s almost impossible to believe Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow) is his girlfriend, but the clock is ticking on her relationship with Brad. Brad goes too far with his bullying. His plans to toy with and humiliate Chris Romero (Jason Lively), and his friend, J.C. Hooper (Steve Marshall) backfired. Brad thought he got the last laugh, kicking one of J.C.’s crutches, which caused him to fall flat on his face. But Cynthia wasn’t amused. Cynthia dumped Brad in front of a crowd, slowly raising her middle finger to throw more salt in the wound. The Bradster’s fragile ego was shattered in front of other people, so you know he was pissed, no matter how hard he tried to hide genuine feelings of embarrassment. 

Brad loses Cynthia to Chris, and his own fraternity bros are quick to poke fun at him? Ouch, that’s gotta hurt! But things only get worse for Brad, as the story unfolds. Drunk and miserable, Brad gets caught off guard outside of Cynthia’s sorority house, when one of the alien slugs jumps into his mouth. So Brad goes from being the popular big man on campus fraternity leader, to a mindless zombie infected by alien slugs? Wow. That’s a big downgrade for sure, and a hard fall from grace.

You have to tip your hat to Allan Kayser for his performance. He IS the reason why you’d want to punch Brad in the face. Kayser speaks in a weirdly pretentious cadence, adding another noticeably annoying character trait to Brad. Whether he’s simply talking, or going on one of his pompous rants, you’ll quickly notice Brad always believes he’s the most important voice in the room (or outside). No one else’s opinions should matter, because he’s the almighty Brad, and you’re not supposed to question him.

Brad’s story ended on the steps of Cynthia’s sorority house, when he wasn’t his normal self. Infested with alien slugs, Brad’s head was blown wide open by Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins), causing a group of slugs to spill out of his skull. To make matters worse, Chris used the flamethrower to torch Brad’s decaying corpse. Brad lost everything, and he got exactly what he deserved, a prime example of a character receiving their comeuppance in the worst possible ways imaginable. 

Chris twisted the knife after he killed Brad (with Ray’s help). Chris took one final look at Brad, staring a hole through his flaming dead body, and he calmly said, “Sorry, Brad. Don’t take it personal.” Brad would’ve loved to dish out one more snarky insult, but Chris got the last laugh, AND he saved Cynthia from Brad’s attack. The douchey ex-boyfriend was literally destroyed by a nerd, someone, who Brad believed was beneath him in the ranks of the social hierarchy on a college campus. A strange and unconventional rivalry, because Chris beat Brad, truly a full circle story, complete with an insanely brutal and gory ending.

Character Spotlight- Chris, J.C., & Cynthia- Night Of The Creeps

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The alien invasion has begun! Send the military, send tanks, send all of the fire power that’s available, because the world desperately needs heroes to fight back! What about Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and his best friend, J.C. Hooper (Steve Marshall)? But Chris and J.C. don’t have big muscles. They’re not skilled in hand to hand combat, and while you could say Chris knows the basics about using weapons, J.C. and Chris really don’t check off any of the boxes for a duo that’s capable of stopping crafty alien slugs. 

Chris and J.C. are nerds. Chris is still carrying a heavy heart and moping around after losing his high school sweetheart. He’s socially awkward, and he’s scared to talk to women. J.C.? He’s a comedian with a quick and snappy sense of humor, a jokester, who doesn’t mind poking fun at himself and his disabilities. For a kid who’s forced to get around on crutches, J.C. still manages to have a positive outlook on life. 

J.C. is the true definition of a good and loyal friend. When Chris spots Cynthia Cronenberg (Jill Whitlow), J.C. does everything he can do to help Chris. Pulling off a prank to join a fraternity, lead by a despicable tool named Brad (Allan Kayser)? Done. When Chris starts whining about J.C.’s habit to make a joke out of everything, J.C. gets annoyed and irritated, but he doesn’t abandon Chris. Chris and J.C. stick together, no matter what, even if they’re staring at an old frozen corpse! 

During her first appearance, Cynthia Cronenberg gets the spotlight, complete with fitting background music for someone, who’s presented as the perfect dream girl. She’s sweet, innocent, and Cynthia has a majestic aura about herself. Okay, she’s dating Brad, but when Cynthia learns the truth about the slug infested walking corpse, who showed up at her window, she dumps Brad. Tricking two good guys into doing a prank that involves a dead body, when you had no intentions of accepting them into your fraternity, is probably a line you shouldn’t cross. And Brad kicking away one of J.C.’s crutches didn’t help things. Everyone has a breaking point. 

Night Of The Creeps shows us college life can be fun. Chris has a fresh tuxedo, Brad is out of the picture, and he’s finally ready to go on his first date with Cynthia! Things are looking up for Chris…..but the invading alien slugs have other plans. J.C. is dead, after coming out on the losing end of an attack from the slugs in the bathroom. So who else is available to help Chris fight against the aliens? Detective Ray Cameron (Tom Atkins)! Yes, Ray is still haunted by the memories of finding the dismembered corpse of his high school sweetheart. But Ray is a tough wisecracking ball of fire, who won’t quit.

Still, Chris needs one more person to join his team. Outnumbered with their backs against the wall, Cynthia steps up to help Chris and Ray. One of my absolute favorite shots from Night Of The Creeps shows Chris and Cynthia together, armed with a flamethrower and Ray’s trusty twelve gauge shotgun, slowly walking towards the basement in Cynthia’s sorority house. Chris is serious, while he’s urging Cynthia’s sorority sisters to get out of the house, knowing they’re all risking their lives, if they stay inside. A cool handful of moments, and, well it’s kind of a bad ass shot, in a comical way of course. 

Ray Cameron jokingly used the nicknames Spanky (Chris) and Alfalfa (J.C.) for Chris and J.C. Fitting nicknames for the duo, because you could say Chris and J.C. are two Little Rascals in their own ways. Chris starts out as a bumbling and nervous geek, but he finds his courage, as the story develops. Chris found the motivation to fight back, after he listened to J.C.’s emotional farewell message on a tape recorder. He couldn’t sit back and hide, or wait it out. No, Chris had to avenge his best friend’s death.

Did Chris, J.C., Cynthia, and Ray stop the alien invasion? Well, no. If you’ve seen the theatrical cut and the director’s cut for Night Of The Creeps, you’ll know both versions ended with cliffhangers. But Chris fought back. Chris, with Cynthia by his side, marched right into the fire to take on the alien slugs. It’s an unlikely and ironic story for an alien invasion, because Chris, J.C., and Cynthia are not exactly the cast of characters you’d expect to try and save the world. 

As far as Chris goes, he survived. Filled with a strong sense of pride, while standing tall with his new girlfriend, Cynthia, Chris finally had a reason to be happy again after Ray’s sacrifice. J.C. is gone, but Chris finally pulled himself out of a miserable stupor, AND he fought through hell to transform himself into a gutsy hero? Not a bad ending for a guy, who started out as someone, who was genuinely terrified at the thought of simply talking to Cynthia.

Coming Attractions- Predator: Badlands

 

Release Date- November 7, 2025

Predator’s quiet resurgence on Hulu over the past couple of years is doing wonders for the franchise. Prey was phenomenal, easily the second best film in the series next to the ‘87 original. Predator: Killer Of Killers merged three separate stories with a good amount of emotional depth for one hell of a finale, complete with some cool mid-credits shots with main characters from the past. 

Prey and Killer Of Killers throughly showed and explored Predator’s rich lore and detailed history throughout different time periods. Sure, they showed hints of brutal centuries-old reigns of terror in Predator 2 and Predators (2010), but with Prey and Killer Of Killers, you actually get to see everything unfold in real time.

Badlands is loaded with potential. Going by the trailer, it’s going to be a bigger and more epic Predator film compared to the previous live action installments. Elle Fanning’s Thia injects some Alien DNA into the movie, and there’s some promise revolving around a storyline featuring a Weyland-Yutani android teaming up with a young Predator, who’s out to prove himself. Hopefully, Badlands knocks it out of the park, because there’s a feeling of positivity for The Predator series FINALLY going in the right direction after so many misfires.

Coming Attractions- We Bury The Dead

 

Release Date- January 2, 2026

There’s no denying the post-apocalyptic landscape for We Bury The Dead looks great in the trailer. Usually, I prefer zombie films with a more serious tone. Daisy Ridley’s Ava searching for her husband? It’s a simple and effective storyline. Of course, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m already hoping she’ll find him alive and well, knowing Ava will have to fight through a mess of vicious attacks from zombies and other dangerous obstacles. 

The story will obviously go one of two ways: Ava finds her husband, alert (or alert enough) and normal, and the movie concludes with a triumphant and teary reunion. The second possible route? Ava’s husband is infected, and she’ll be the one, who’s forced to murder him, saving herself, while also delivering a gut-wrenching mercy killing. Either way, I’m looking forward to We Bury The Dead, and there’s a chance it could be one of the early sleeper hits for horror movies next year.