'Switchblade' Jay White and Juice Robinson came out to kick off the show, but the latter did not fully accompany White to the ring for his match with Adam 'Hangman' Page. White drew a solid pop from the crowd while Page was showered with boos — unsurprising considering Tacoma is Swerve Strickland's hometown.

Kazuchika Okada, AEW's Continental Champion, was being interviewed by Renee Paquette when he was approached by Kyle O'Reilly. O'Reilly asked him for a match, which Okada denied and the two brawled. Christopher Daniels had both men ejected from the arena.

Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd, The Outrunners, drew a big pop from the crowd, as did Orange Cassidy and Kyle O'Reilly.

The Premier Athletes, Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari, drew boos from the crowd while Alex Reynolds and John Silver had the most muted reaction of the four entrances.

Nese and Magnum started the action off, engaging in a pose-off rather than wrestling. As Magnum went for his biceps flex, Nese poked him in the eye. The heel team's momentum was snuffed out quickly by a hurricanrana from Magnum.

Reynolds and O'Reilly each tagged in and the two showed off some technical skill — the most we have seen in a match to this point in the night.

Cassidy tagged in and took out Dark Order members Reynolds and Silver with tandem offense. Cassidy kept Reynolds isolated from his corner and tagged in Floyd. After delivering ten turnbuckle blows, Floyd tagged in Magnum who did the same. O'Reilly followed suit and then Cassidy capped it all off with just one punch.

With Reynolds on his half of the ring for he first time, Daivari, Josh Woods and Evil Uno came to the rescue, with the entire heel team beating down Cassidy. The heels kept Cassidy in their corner and rotated tags to keep each other fresh.

Cassidy nearly made a hot tag after taking out the Dark Order, but Daivari intervened. After a desperation tornado DDT to Tony Nese, Cassidy finally tagged in Floyd, who unleashed a series of body slams. The Outrunners then slammed each other onto the Premier Athletes and delivered a double elbow drop, complete with the "Predator"-style handshake.

The heel team would regain control after playing the numbers game and taking out everyone. With just Daivari and Floyd in the ring, Floyd hulked up and delivered a huge clothesline while also tagging in Cassidy for an Orange Punch finisher and near win. Mark Sterling put Daivari's foot on the rope to break the pin.

After Sterling and the rest of the heel team were neutralized, the Outrunners landed a tandem finisher for the pin on Daivari and victory.

The Outrunners and Conglomeration defeat The Dark Order and Premier Athletes in 11:30.

After the first three matches on Zero Hour, AEW had three intermission segments.

NJPW Strong and TBS Champion Mercedes Moné arrived with Kamille, running into Queen Aminata and possibly setting up a future feud between the two.

AEW President Tony Khan addressed the crowd with Naoto and Hirota Inoki, the grandsons of the late Antonio Inoki, who serves as the inspiration for WrestleDream. Khan led the crowd in Inoki's signature chant, "Ichi Ni San Da!"

Adam Copeland and Dax Harwood, both North Carolina natives, made a plea for relief after Hurricane Helene decimated the area.

Mansoor and Mason Madden were first to make their way to the ring, accompanied to the ring by a returning Jack Rico.

The Acclaimed followed with a very NSFW rap from Max Caster and Billy Gunn gave a quick history of his with Rico.

When the bell rang, Mansoor and Anthony Bowens started the action fast, with a series of lightning-quick pinning combinations. Mansoor tagged in Madden, who overpowered Bowens back into his corner and he tagged in his partner, Caster.

Madden continued to look dominant, no-selling shoulder blocks, but was caught off-guard while "striking a pose." Madden tagged in Mansoor, but that didn't shift the momentum away from the Acclaimed who unleashed tandem offense and isolated Mansoor from his corner.

Mansoor distracted referee Aubrey Edwards, allowing Rico to beat down Caster. Gunn chased off Rico and Mansoor scored a near-fall back in the ring. With momentum on the side of MxM, Mansoor and Madden continued to deliver punishment to Caster. Once again, Mansoor distracted Edwards and Rico intervened again.

Caster was able to counter several moves by Mansoor and get to his corner for a hot tag to Bowens. Bowens took out both members of MxM Collection, punctuated by a massive Fame-Asser to Madden and a Rock, Paper, Scissors signature move to Mansoor.

Bowens went for another Fame-Asser but was caught by Mansoor and he and Madden delivered a tandem finisher and pin which required Caster to break up. MxM continued to build momentum, going for The Acclaimed's signature Scissor Me Timber. The Acclaimed was able to counter the disrespectful showing and land their signature move themselves before action spilled outside.

Bowens took out Madden and Mansoor with a massive cross-body from the top turnbuckle to the floor. Rico attempted to drag Mansoor back into the ring but Gunn took out the MxM's third man. As Mansoor checked on Rico, Bowens took him out, tagged in Caster who landed the Mic Drop elbow for the win.

The Acclaimed defeat MxM Collection in 11:25

Harley Cameron taunted Anna Jay after winning the opening sequence of the match, leading Jay to becoming visibly frustrated. Jay would turn the tides quickly before Cameron bit her hand and delivered a cross-body for a quick one count.

Jay locked in her submission finisher through the ropes, and tapped into a more violent side, hitting a snap suplex on the ring floor and stretching Cameron against the ring post. Jay took her eye off Cameron briefly, allowing her to pull Jay into the ring post herself and continue her offensive on the outside.

As action returned to the ring, Cameron scored three more near-falls while confidently strutting around in between maneuvers. Cameron locked in a straightjacket submission, which Jay reversed with a modified snapmare. Jay began to fight back with a jawbreaker and upped the pace with blows before scoring a near-fall after a flip neckbreaker.

Momentum shifted back Cameron's way after a flurry of kicks and a step-up enzuigiri. The two women exchanged pinning combinations and near falls for the next sequence, drawing cheers from the Tacoma Dome crowd.

The finish came as Cameron climbed to the middle turnbuckle, allowing Jay to counter with a leg kick and land a massive slam to pick up the win.

Anna Jay defeats Harley Cameron in 8:17

Atlantis and Cage observed the Code of Honor by shaking hands at the start of the match.

After a quick superkick, Cage overpowered Atlantis early on in the match. A brief counter by Atlantis was met with a massive spinebuster from Cage. The commentary team sold a neck injury by Atlantis, which Cage also worked early in the match by pressing his knee into Atlantis' neck and whipping him violently into the turnbuckles.

Cage taunted Atlantis by lounging on the top rope before continuing his punishment and scoring a near-fall with a massive side German suplex. After Atlantis kicked out, Cage continued to work the head and neck area. Atlantis mounted a brief offensive driven by evasive counters and highlighted by a pair of hurricanranas, a big cross-body off the top rope and two dives onto Cage outside the ring.

Atlantis continued his momentum with a scoop powerslam and near-fall. The champion set Cage up under the top turnbuckle, but Cage recovered quickly to deliver a kick and superplex for a near-fall of his own. Cage set up his finisher, signaling to the crowd with a throat slash but Atlantis countered, took out Cage's knee with a dropkick and then scored another near-fall with a DDT.

After an impact move from Cage, Atlantis nearly ended the match with a helicopter release powerbomb. Atlantis kept up the attack with a frog splash and went for a hurricanrana off the top rope. Cage was able to counter the hurricanrana into an avalanche powerbomb and eventually land a Drill Claw finisher on his second attempt to score the victory and win the Ring of Honor Television Championship.

Brian Cage defeats Atlantis Jr. in 11:04.

An 8-man tag match between The Conglomeration and Outrunners vs. Dark Order and Premier Athletes was announced during Zero Hour.

The Zero Hour pre-show is advertising 13 matches for tonight's show, but all of the promotional material has 12 total matches and former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland returning. It would be Swerve's first appearance on AEW television since his brutal steel cage match against Adam 'Hangman' Page at All Out. It's possible we see Swerve wrestle against an unannounced opponent.

Earlier this week Uncrowned published a feature story on Bryan Danielson, who is defending his AEW World Championship tonight. Check it out here.

AEW World Championship — Bryan Danielson (c.) vs. Jon Moxley – A lot of work has been done to make Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and PAC look vicious heels since they turned on Danielson an All Out last month. A Danielson loss would send him into retirement and end a relatively short championship reign. The wild card here is Wheeler Yuta, who could generate significant heat by also turning his back on Danielson. Ultimately, I think Mox walks out of WrestleDream as the new AEW World Champion and we see Danielson give an emotional farewell in his home state. Prediction: Jon Moxley wins the AEW World Championship.

AEW Women's Championship — Mariah May (c.) vs. Willow Nightingale – Unlike Danielson’s title reign, which we’re predicting to end tonight, I don’t believe May should drop the belt to Nightingale here, as she’s the more compelling character right now and the challenger seemingly has unfinished business with Mercedes Moné. Nightingale is great, certainly always deserving of being in the title picture in AEW – I just think the Women’s Championship isn’t the one right now. Prediction: Mariah May retains the AEW Women’s Championship.

AEW International Championship — Will Ospreay (c.) vs. Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW teased a slight, tenuous alliance between Ospreay and Ricochet on Title Tuesday earlier this week, so look for that to completely unravel in the finish here. Takeshita should take the pin here from Ricochet who somewhat underhandedly wins it without Ospreay being directly involved in the finish. Based on where things are going we could get Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher and Ricochet-Takeshita singles matches. The other possible outcome is Fletcher helps Takeshita win and then we get a Ricochet-Ospreay tag team against Don Callis’ crew. Either way, Ospreay won’t be champion after Saturday. Prediction: Ricochet wins the AEW International Championship.

TNT Championship — Jack Perry (c.) vs. Katsuyori Shibata – Perry and the Elite are the predominant heel faction in AEW currently and I have to imagine that at least one of their title reigns will end at WrestleDream. I think Perry’s stock is going to continue to climb and a major title defense against Shibata — especially after his loss to Danielson at All Out — makes sense here. Prediction: Jack Perry retains the TNT Championship.

AEW World Tag Team Championships — The Young Bucks (c.) vs. Private Party – As mentioned above, I think it’s time for one of the title reigns of The Elite to end. The tag-team division needs a breath of fresh air and Isiah Kassidy and Quen can provide that. This should be an absolute spot-fest and as entertaining as any match on the show. Prediction: Private Party wins the AEW Tag Team Championships.

ROH World Championship — Mark Briscoe (c.) vs. Chris Jericho – The Ring of Honor championship gets a rare premium spot on a pay-per-view and it should be a solid, surprisingly personal match between Briscoe and Jericho. I believe Briscoe keeping the belt is best for both him and the prestige of the title in general. Expect some heavy interference from The Learning Tree and The Conglomeration. Prediction: Mark Briscoe retains the ROH World Championship.

Adam 'Hangman' Page vs. Jay White – Violent, heel Adam Page is gaining serious momentum and a loss here would halt it. I don’t see it happening to one of the more popular stars in AEW who could continue a march into an elevated championship picture. Prediction: Adam ‘Hangman’ Page wins.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King – Allin has to win here, plain and simple. He’s one of the most daring and talented stars on the roster, but somehow has failed to meet his full potential outside of his prolonged run with Sting. Hopefully, that all begins to change in his home state of Washington. Prediction: Darby Allin wins.

The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram (two out of three falls) – Hologram hasn’t lost since his AEW debut. Mortos can look strong with a pinfall in this contest and Hologram’s perfect record can still be protected. Prediction: Hologram wins 2-1