Hello? Special delivery! From AEW.
Ha. I’m funny. AEW delivered on their promise for an action-packed and storytelling ride at Revolution. Months of built up feuds, very strong character development, and weekly builds led to an exciting showdown.
Side note, and I promise this is not a dig at WWE. This is what you get when you don’t force-feed wrestlers into spots, you give time for feuds and character development to breathe. This is what you get when you don’t have monthly PPVs to cram storylines into.
You get a show with the proper hype, build and fans appreciate the payoff.
Our Buy-In match sees the Dark Order gain a win off former AEW Tag Team Champions, SCU. Granted, Scorpio and Kazarian looked mighty strong, it was due to the interference they were handed a loss. Dark Order gaining a win gains more heat, as SCU I feel doesn’t get too damaged. In fact, the post-match delivered a strong message, courtesy of a surprise appearance by COLT CABANA which sent the live crowd into a frenzy, but what followed was great booking. The “Exalted One ” arrived… but it was Christopher Daniels under the hood! Surprise! The Dark Order is sent packing.
We’ve answered the question of Daniels’ loyalty, but the mystery of the true leader continues…
The main show opens with a crazy hate-fueled rage match, where Jake Hager defeated Dustin Rhodes. I would have preferred Dustin earning the retribution victory, however the method in which the story was told in the ring convinced me this was fitting. The slight involvement of Hager’s wife was interesting, as was Dustin’s scary face-paint. They went from brawling to wrestling and back and again. Dustin was bloodthirsty for revenge and Hager was out to show off his powerhouse prowess. Both succeeded in doing so, and the unclean finish may pave the way for another showdown in the future.
Our third match of the night features two of who I feel will be the future main eventers of AEW, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara. This match got insane before the bell rang, the fight began with some sick dives and brawling, which culminated in the Spanish God plowing Allin through a table at ringside via 630 senton which sent the fans into a ridiculous frenzy. Well, I jumped off my couch too. These guys were so well-matched and once again, both have facial expressions and body language which draw viewers into the in-ring tale. They hate each other’s guts and will put their own bodies on the line to win. It was hard to believe this match was less than 10 minutes, officially, but this saw Darby Allin nail the Coffin Drop for the victory. The crowd went nuts. So did I.
Up next was the AEW World Tag Team Championship Title Bout between Elite Members, and one trying to not be so Elite anymore. This one had been brewing for some time, prior to the current champions even winning the titles, but would see Adam “Hangman” Page resent his affiliation and begin to pursue his own identity. Which, involves a lot of swearing, horse dung, and a ton of drinking. Tonight, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega retained the belts against The Young Bucks. Before I get into some match highlights, I want to note how good all four are. They rolled with the crowd reactions and gradually you could see how this went from competition, to raw fire, to anger, to rage, and at one point I thought they were all just going to rip each other to shreds. It was great.
The first highlight saw Page just spit in Matt Jackson’s face. Sure, this was heel-move bait, the live crowd loved it. Oh yea, they love some Hangover Page. The menu of moves was on full display, from Kitaro Crushers to 450s, V-Triggers, and Page hitting the One Winged Angel which blew the roof off the arena.
Matt would constantly blast his opponents with superkicks, and he is great at losing his cool. Nick played the neutralizer, trying to reign his brother in, mostly to no-avail. During the match, Omega struck Nick with a Trigger into the corner, then bringing Nick upstairs for what could have been a second rope OWA, however Nick countered into a CRUSHING Reverse Frankensteiner which I thought murdered Omega on live television. Later one, a failed Meltzer Driver allowed for Omega and Page to rally back, hitting a V-Trigger/Buckshot combo, but it would be after another Buckshot Lariat to both Nick and Matt, where Page would pin to retain the titles.
My write-up does not do justice. Find this match and watch it. Again, what makes AEW so great are the wrestlers truly using their talent with body language, facial expressions, and the near fall kick outs which added so much drama to an already intense situation. The Bucks were booed pretty heavily, but they rolled on with it.
Of course, one little tease at the end, was Page going to turn on Omega? Nope. Not tonight.
I really felt bad for the participants in the next match, where Nyla Rose defeated Kris Statlander to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship. It was a rocky start, they seemed to have some slight trouble getting momentum, and I imagine the live crowd was so exhausted from the prior match. However, once Rose and Statlander got momentum going, it was a solid match. Rose played the powerhouse well, with Statlander proving her status as an ongoing top star who could potentially hold the AEW Women’s Championship one day. This was a good match, however it might have been better positioned earlier in the show to have been better appreciated by the live crowd.
This went about ten minutes, which may have not been enough time for the live crowd to prepare for yet another in a series of grudge matches, this one the most emotionally charged of them all, Cody vs. My Jewish Friend, Maxwell Jacob Friedman. One day. One day. Cody has members of his family with him, including Arrow star Stephen Amell. Nice. Crowd took their time getting into it, but as the match progressed, the intensity level continued to spike. This one felt long, not a bad thing, but this one was swaying either way with no sense of one-sided dominance. Weird moment with MJF removing Cody’s boot, covering a fractured toe, and then biting it. Ew. Cody later Disaster Kicked him in the face with it. Some spots involving Brandi and Wardlow, not really needed but added to the drama. Cody got a measure of revenge, whipping MJF with his weight belt. MJF feigned apology, but then spat in Cody’s face. Bad move? Cody started drilling him with Crossroads… Until MJF countered one with his Diamond Ring for the stolen victory. Ouch. That stings. Great emotional portrayal by both. Kudos to Cody for putting over MJF.
After a few matches of drama, we get to kick back with the comedy portion of the evening, as The Bastard PAC, defeated Orange Cassidy. Yes, I said comedy and PAC in the same intro. PAC should get a bonus for how much he sold for Cassidy and his lethargic, slothlike, laziness. It was beautiful. With his Best Friends at ringside, Cassidy pulled off some great offense, a spiral DDT and a Stundog Millionaire for some huge pops, but PAC’s no-nonsense would slow the match back down. As it seemed Cassidy was on the verge of a win, The Lucha Brothers ambushed and brawled with the Best Friends, which allowed PAC to lock in the Brutalizer for the submission win. I was amazed this went over ten minutes. Great match.
The Main Event: This is the match with “the moment.” Jon Moxley in a match with odds against him, and Le Champion, Chris Jericho with everything he wants. A glorious entrance, his entourage, his glory, all while Jon Moxley sports an eye patch and is foaming for his time. Tonight was it. From bell to bell, Jericho and Mox put on the match of the century. Jericho would strike, Mox would counter. Jericho would attempt move after move, submission after submission, and Mox would somehow kick out or counter. The crowd as hot as I’ve ever heard. Each time Mox kept life, the crowd would jump. Jericho owning Moxley most of the match, thanks to constant interference by all members of the Inner Circle, until one-too-many caused referee Aubrey Edwards to have enough, ejecting them all from ring side, but not before Sammy G. could quickly dash in, clobber Mox with the title, and dash out. Mox would not give in. He would not submit, and he would not be pinned, despite Jericho dropping him over and over. Then, came “the moment.” Jericho brutalizing Moxley, taunting us all, and nearing victory charged with the Judas Effect…
… WHICH MISSED! Moxley turns, locks arms, PARADIGM SHIFT!! How? He did he SEE it? He pulls off the eyepatch, haha Jericho, Mox all healed up, drops Jericho once more with a second Paradigm Shift and with the live crowd counting along… 1… 2… 3! 3! Aubrey hits three! We’ve got a new AEW World Champion! The live Chicago town loses their minds, we all lose our minds, there is a NEW champion!
This is how you build a pivotal moment.
After the dust cleared, Moxley cuts a promo on his last year of struggling and thankful to AEW for giving him the chance he has been waiting for. True respect coming from our new champion, respect for wrestling, respect for the fans.
AEW Revolution delivered on its promise of being the event it was built for. The best part, we now get a few months to build towards the next PPV.
But first, and this gave me goosebumps, on March 25th, it will be a special supercard on Dynamite… it’s not called War Games, but it will be a two-ring, giant steel cage, called Blood and Guts. Why do I have goosebumps? Because this will be the show taking place in Newark, New Jersey folks, and I’ve got tickets damn it!! AEW, I love you.
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