The Motor City Machine Guns took a 1-0 lead over FTR after the main event of AEW Tailgate Brawl continued well into the WrestleDream pay-per-view.
The one-hour pre-show aired on TNT and HBO Max immediately before Saturday’s event at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin began their first match in a best-of-five series against Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler shortly before the scheduled 8 pm ET conclusion of Tailgate Brawl.
Rather than stop at the top of the hour, the match continued as WrestleDream went live on pay-per-view. The PPV opened with its usual introduction and pyro before returning directly to the match, which ultimately occupied approximately the first 17 minutes of the main broadcast.
FTR controlled Shelley for an extended period before he eventually reached Sabin. Stokely Hathaway attempted to interfere but accidentally struck Harwood, leading to a series of near falls for the Machine Guns.
FTR later hit Sabin with a spike piledriver, but he kicked out. The Guns also came close with Skull and Bones, with Wheeler placing Harwood’s foot on the bottom rope to stop the count.
Shelley & Sabin eventually countered an attempted Shatter Machine and hit Wheeler with a double pumphandle slam for the victory, giving them the first win in the five-match series.
AEW announced the series earlier this week.
Another notable development saw Jay White make an unexpectedly early return to the ring.
White teamed with Austin & Colten Gunn and The Conglomeration against the Death Riders & The Dogs. AEW had announced on October 3 that White was expected to miss one to two months with an undisclosed injury sustained around All Out.
Instead, he returned after two weeks and received a strong reaction before entering the match. The Death Riders & The Dogs ultimately won when Claudio Castagnoli launched Wheeler Yuta from the top rope onto Colten Gunn for the pin. The two sides continued brawling after the bell.
Divine Dominion opened the broadcast by defeating Sisters of Sin. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross isolated Skye Blue for much of the match before finishing Julia Hart with their From Heaven to Hell double chokeslam.
Josh Alexander, Jake Doyle & Wardlow then made short work of Alex Breeze, Papi D & Rhys Maddox. Wardlow delivered multiple powerbombs before the Don Callis Family recorded the victory.
AEW Tailgate Brawl results
- Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) def. Sisters of Sin (Julia Hart & Skye Blue)
- Josh Alexander, Jake Doyle & Wardlow def. Alex Breeze, Papi D & Rhys Maddox
- Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Daniel Garcia, Gabe Kidd & Wheeler Yuta) & The Dogs (David Finlay & Clark Connors) def. Bang Bang Gang (Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) & The Conglomeration (Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly & Roderick Strong)
- Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) def. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) — MCMG lead best-of-five series 1-0
