Whether you love or hate AEW, their events are always heavily hyped, but there seems to be a different level of hype surrounding Revolution this year. From top-to-bottom, this is one of the best cards, on paper, that a wrestling pay-per-view has seen in a long, long time. Will it live up to that hype, though? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Enough with the chit-chat.
Are you ready?
I’m ready.
If you’re ready, and if I’m ready, then there’s only one thing left to do. Say it with me…
LESS DEW EET!!!
(0:00) As announced on the pre-show, the main show is starting with Eddie Kingston vs Chris Jericho. Great choice. Two of the most over wrestlers in the company are going to make this crowd rock and roll. The sell-out crowd at the Addition Financial Arena on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida is already loud.
(0:04) Sure enough, the crowd is off the chains already, and these two are going at it as soon as the opening bell rings.
(0:06) As the crowd chants “Eddie” over and over, Jericho flips them the bird. He was just smiling as they sang his entrance music! I guess that’s what happens when there’s only like two actual heels in the entire company. Everyone else gets cheered, pretty much no matter what they say or do.
(0:09) Jericho, who has gotten in tremendous shape over the last few months, looks like a new man in the ring. He’s wrestling like the Jericho of a few years back. Kingston is wrestling with a lot of motivation, too. This has been fun so far.
(0:11) A Suplex from the ring apron to the floor causes Kingston’s body to land with a loud thud. My goodness.
(0:12) Both men have now landed square on their fucking necks and heads after a Suplex.
(0:14) Walls Of Jericho locked in, but Kingston fights his way to the ropes to a big pop.
(0:15) Jericho kicked out of the Backfist! The crowd fully bought in to that being the end. These two are BRINGING IT.
(0:18) Back-to-back Backfists, followed by a Stretch Plum picks up the victory for Eddie Kingston in a super entertaining match. Two motivated veterans who wanted to set the tone for this show. Good, good stuff. I have a feeling I’m going to change this upon a second viewing, but this one gets 3.5 STARS from me.
(0:20) After the match, Kingston goes to shake Jericho’s hand, but Jericho refuses and walks away. Well, that makes you a LIAR, Christopher.
(0:22) In typical AEW fashion, we’re going from one match to another without a whole lot of down time. Next up, the AEW Tag Team Titles are on the line in a Three-Way, with Jurassic Express taking on The Young Bucks and reDRagon. There’s a ton of potential here, too.
(0:25) I love the difference in styles when it comes to the teams in this match. That tends to make for some great in-ring work when you have people who know what they’re doing.
(0:28) The crowd is still hot, but not quite as hot as they were in the opening match. Still plenty early, though.
(0:30) The story being told so far is a simple one. Even though they’re opponents in the match, the Bucks and reDRagon are kinda sorta working together, but there’s clearly tension between them. Certainly stacks the odds against the champions.
(0:35) Say what you want about Luchasaurus being the “weak” link when it comes to in-ring skills here, but when he comes in with a hot tag, crowds go nuts for it and he looks like a world-beater. He plays his role to near perfection.
(0:37) Yet another AEW match where I’m thrilled that I don’t have to do play-by-play coverage. There is so much going on here, and the action has been non-stop from the start.
(0:41) HOLY SHIT!!! Kyle O’Reilly has Luchasaurus locked in a Guillotine Choke, but then Jungle Boy comes flying off the top rope with a Shooting Star Press, squashing an exposed O’Reilly to break up the submission.
(0:43) The first match got a “this is awesome” chant. This match just got a “fight forever” chant. Match isn’t over, but we’re two-for-two when it comes to bangers.
(0:45) The champions retain! There was so much going on in that final stretch, but Jurassic Express keeps the Tag Team Titles in their possession. That was a fucking awesome match. Let’s say 4.5 STARS and keep things moving.
(0:48) The Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match is up next? After those first two matches?!? Keep that momentum going, I guess.
(0:50) On commentary, Excalibur points out that this is Christian Cage’s 22nd career Ladder Match. That’s an insane stat. His poor body.
(0:53) GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS!
(0:54) I predicted Keith Lee to win this, but damn, you could really make a case for everyone involved in the match to get the win.
(0:56) Cassidy climbs a ladder, but does it slowly. Unlike most wrestlers who climb ladders slowly in these types of matches, he had an excuse. It’s hard to run up a ladder when your hands are in your pockets.
(0:58) Cassidy tries a Hurricanrana on Keith Lee, who catches him easily and uses Cassidy’s body as a weapon to take out the other competitors. Nice.
(1:00) I was going to say that last spot was a Terry Funk “whirly-bird” spot, but then Cassidy grabs the ladder and does the ACTUAL Terry Funk “whirly-bird” spot, knocking everyone else down. I love seeing that spot replicated in these matches.
(1:05) Awkward spot there. Wardlow and Hobbs climb to the top of a ladder and get their hands on the ring at the same time. After a face-off for a few seconds, Wardlow lets go of the ring to start a fist fight, but instead of continuing to try and win the match, Hobbs lets go of the ring to join said fist fight. Why? You PLAY… to WIN… the GAME.
(1:09) As Hobbs and Lee are fighting at the announce table, Wardlow charges at them and sends them both flying off the stage and through two tables below. Really cool visual.
(1:10) DANHAUSEN HAS CURSED RICKY STARKS! He pulls Starks from the ladder just as Starks was about to reach the top.
(1:12) After folding Starks in half with a Powerbomb on a ladder, Wardlow climbs up and pulls the ring down to win the match. Another good match. There were several little spots where people looked dumb for not climbing the ladder, or for standing there while someone else climbed the ladder, etc. Wardlow was guilty of that a few times by himself. That hurts the rating a bit, but not by much. 3.25 STARS.
(1:14) Tony Schiavone is out on stage to reveal AEW’s newest signing, but he continues to swing the clipboard back-and-forth, revealing the name “SWERVE” at the bottom of the contract. Sure enough, Swerve Strickland is here, and is the newest member of the AEW roster. This is big, both for AEW and for Swerve.
(1:18) The TBS Title is on the line next, with Jade Cargill defending against Tay Conti. Let’s forget the fact that Tay Conti hasn’t exactly done a ton to really give anyone faith that she’s going to win here. This could be fun.
(1:19) Christ Almighty, Cargill looks like a super hero, a video game character, a billion bucks, and an alternate reality, all rolled into one. AEW has something SPECIAL on their hands with her if she continues getting better in the ring.
(1:21) A face-off to start the match leads to Jade kissing Tay smack dab on the lips. Well, I know what the dorks will be doing later tonight.
(1:24) This… has not been the most fluid of matches so far.
(1:24) Another kiss, this time from Tay to Jade. I don’t know if the dorks can even wait until later tonight.
(1:27) She’s nowhere near as bad as The Bunny is, but Tay Conti is REALLY bad when it comes to overacting with her facial expressions.
(1:27) As expected, the champion retains. Lots of awkward moments. I get wanting to put Cargill on pay-per-view, but this match would’ve been much better suited taking place on television, both because of quality and because of absolutely no story behind it. I’m going to say 2 STARS because I’m in a good mood.
(1:29) Dog Collar Match is up next. Let’s see how long it takes for blood to be shed here.
(1:30) LMAO @ the crowd going nuts to “Cult Of Personality” for a few seconds, only for the song to switch to MJF’s theme. Mind games. Well done.
(1:32) HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT, Punk brought “Miseria Cantare” back for his entrance music! What a fucking call back to Ring Of Honor. No joke, I got goosebumps for that. Punk is even dressed like a throwback to his days in RoH.
(1:35) Justin Roberts announced Punk as the “Second City Saint” to keep the nostalgia going.
(1:40) Honestly, I’m surprised nobody is bleeding yet.
(1:41) Right on cue, Punk is bleeding from the forehead. It appeared that he had a blade in his mouth, and when MJF hit him with the chain, Punk opened himself up. He’s bleeding buckets again, just like he was on Dynamite.
(1:43) Punk is an absolute mess. There is blood everywhere. Ev-er-y-where.
(1:46) MJF is having difficulties doing anything involving his hand after it was knee dropped repeatedly earlier. The little things like that go a long way.
(1:49) Shining Wizard with a chain wrapped around Punk’s knee sends MJF to the outside, and he immediately sticks his head and hands under the ring apron. Sure enough, he comes back bleeding, as well. Without skipping a beat, the crowd drops a “you deserve it” chant.
(1:51) Some fan yelled out “eat shit, pussy” super loud while MJF and Punk were at ringside. Gonna go ahead and assume that was directed at MJF.
(1:52) So far, we’ve learned that Punk is a much better “bleeder” than MJF is. He’s still a mess, while MJF has a fraction of what Punk has.
(1:54) MJF looks to hit Punk with a Tombstone right on the ring apron, but Punk reverses it and lands one of his own.
(1:55) Referee Paul Turner had to change into a new pair of gloves. These days, you always see the Referees put on the black gloves when a wrestler bleeds, but to mess your gloves up so much that you need a new pair in the same match? Sheesh.
(1:57) You know what this match needed? More violence. MJF grabs a bag of thumbtacks from under the ring and empties the bag in the ring.
(1:59) Both men tease sending the other into the tacks, but their attempts are unsuccessful.
(2:00) MJF sends Punk into the tacks, ass first, with a Superplex from the top. During his count, Paul Turner ends up with tacks sticking in his hand. He’s going to need a third set of gloves.
(2:01) MJF calls Wardlow to the ring to give him the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Wardlow can’t find it. This allows Punk to hit MJF with Go To Sleep, and MJF collapses onto the tacks. Then, miraculously, Wardlow finds the ring and leaves it on the ring apron as he looks Punk dead in the eyes. As Wardlow walks away, Punk grabs the ring and puts it on.
(2:03) MJF, defiant until the end, spits in Punk’s face, but then eats a shot to the face with the ring. Punk gets the win, putting an end to a bloody, violent battle. Another good match. It had the usual difficulties that Dog Collar Matches tend to have, almost handicapping the competitors a bit, but it was fun. 3.5 STARS.
(2:07) The AEW Women’s Title is up next. Britt Baker defends the title against Thunder Rosa in a tough spot, having to follow that.
(2:10) The new title belt is beautiful. It looks huge, too.
(2:11) Dueling “Thunder Rosa” and “DMD” chants to start. Looks like the live crowd hasn’t quite turned on Britt Baker like a large portion of the social media crowd has.
(2:13) Another loud dueling chant battle.
(2:15) Every time Jamie Hayter moves, she has to readjust and pull her tights up. Do with that information whatever you want.
(2:17) I don’t know what it is, but this match hasn’t been what I was expecting so far. It’s like both women have yet to get out of first gear. After those two dueling chants to start things off, it seems like the crowd is with me on that. They’ve been relatively quiet ever since.
(2:25) Thunder Rosa kicks out of an Avalanche Air Raid Crash from the middle rope, and she does it to very little crowd reaction. Ouch.
(2:28) Rosa hits Rebel with a Big E-style Spear through the middle rope, and they go crashing to the outside. That could’ve been ugly.
(2:29) The champion retains once Rosa got back into the ring. That… was a disappointment. Like I said, it just seemed like neither woman got out of first gear, and the crowd seemed to be “down” on things, as well, after a handful of rapid-fire matches with hot reactions. It wasn’t bad… it was just a match that looked like your run-of-the-mill television match. Let’s say 2.5 STARS and move on.
(2:31) Oh, boy. Time for Jon Moxley vs Bryan Danielson. This should get the crowd right back on track.
(2:34) At the sound of the opening bell, there’s a “we want violence” chant. Don’t worry, folks… you’re going to get plenty of it here.
(2:36) Bryan Danielson is one of the most beloved performers in the history of wrestling. That makes it even more incredible to see just how good he is at being a fucking prick.
(2:39) I don’t know if people were expecting this match to feature blood right away, but it hasn’t been that yet. They’re both working stiff, that’s for sure, but no blood yet.
(2:45) It’s like I have summoned it again. Headbutts and elbows to the head have both men bleeding. Moxley’s face is a mess, and Danielson is bleeding from the forehead and the mouth. I guess this means Moxley is going to agree to team with Danielson moving forward.
(2:48) The physicality here is crazy. They’re beating the hell out of each other, and I love it.
(2:53) Poor Renee Paquette, sitting there with eight-month-old Nora, having to watch her husband bleed. Again.
(2:54) In an ending that literally wasn’t seen by anybody, Moxley picks up the win by a sneak pin after Danielson didn’t let go of his submission attempt. There wasn’t any reaction to it right away, because nobody knew what happened. It was well done. Yet another really good match. I’m going 4 STARS, but I think a lot of people will go even higher.
(2:55) As both men brawl after the match, WILLIAM FUCKING REGAL walks to the ring to a huge pop. He helps break the brawl up and gets in the faces of both men. Like an angry father breaking up a fight between his two sons, he makes both men shake hands to another big-time pop. You have no idea how much I want to see the trio of Danielson, Moxley, and Regal together on AEW television. Yes, please.
(3:00) Time for the next match. Sting, Darby Allin, and Sammy Guevara taking on Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy, and Isiah Kassidy in a Tornado Tag Match. Even without the Tornado rules, these matches are insanely hectic in AEW. Adding the Tornado stipulation only guarantees that there will be more action taking place than anybody can keep track of.
(3:07) Yeah, the match is TOO hectic. You’ll see two guys fighting, but then hear the crowd reacting to something else, and then the camera cuts to two other guys fighting, completely missing what the crowd reacted to, and then the crowd will react to something else that is missed by the cameras.
(3:08) The crowd is a lot more animated for this than I thought they would be, based on how long the show has been and how much they’ve had to react to so far. You’re looking at this match as a “cool down” spot, of sorts, but the crowd stays hot. Hopefully, they still have plenty of energy for the main event.
(3:11) It’s still incredible that Sting will celebrate his 139th birthday in a couple weeks, but he still moves a lot better than Matt Hardy does.
(3:13) Sammy Guevara with a Spanish Fly to Isiah Kassidy, going from the top of a stage piece and crashing down through two tables below. Jesus Herbert Christ.
(3:16) WHAT IN THEE ENTIRE FUCK… the 154-year-old Sting just did a motherfucking balcony dive, splashing Andrade and crashing through three stacked tables! This match is bonkers.
(3:18) Darby drives Matt through a chair with a Scorpion Death Drop, and then hits him with a Coffin Drop for the win. My goodness gracious, that was a wild ride. Sting is a fucking madman, pulling shit like that two weeks before his 163rd birthday. Let’s say 3.5 STARS. It’s hard to go higher than that, simply because we missed a lot in the opening few minutes.
(3:20) Main event time. “Hangman” Adam Page defends the AEW World Title against Adam Cole (bay-bay). Will the champion bleed yet again?
(3:22) Cole makes his entrance wearing Spartan Armor from Halo. I’m taking Excalibur’s word on that, because I don’t play Halo. He could’ve called it anything, and I would’ve had no choice but to believe him. I guess it’s Halo vs Red Dead Redemption here. WHICH GAME IS BETTER?!?
(3:25) During Justin Roberts’ pre-match introduction, you could hear some noticeable boos for the champion. Interesting. Very, very interesting.
(3:25) lol @ the “let’s go, Adam” chant at the opening bell.
(3:28) This show has been exhausting, and I mean that in a good way. There has been so much going on, with very little time to breathe in between.
(3:33) During a shot, one of the ringside camera guys was shown with a hat pulled down and a huge face covering. Not just a mask. A full on balaclava. Time for the shenaniganery. Maybe not. But maybe.
(3:36) Jim Ross just asked Excalibur what the difference was between a Powerbomb and a Liger Bomb, and Excalibur responded with a detailed explanation. You know, Jim… you’re supposed to know this. You’ve been around for Jushin Liger matches. We’re not dealing with some brand new wrestler you’ve never heard of.
(3:39) Furthering my call for shenaniganery, another cameraman was just shown and he had no hat, no mask, no face covering, etc. Ooooh.
(3:42) I wouldn’t say this match is slower than I thought it would be, but it’s an interesting gamble to have a “slower” match taking place as the main event of a five-hour (counting the pre-show) event. AEW is taking a chance, depending on how popular these two are and how rowdy their fans are.
(3:44) reDRagon come out and distract Page, allowing for Cole to hit the champion with a Panama Sunrise at ringside. THUD.
(3:47) Page has been hit with approximately 29 Superkicks since reDRagon came to the ring, getting nailed in the front, back, and sides of his skull.
(3:48) Deadeye from the ring apron and through a table! Well… Page landed knees-first on that, but it was still a cool visual.
(3:49) The Dark Order comes out and brawls with reDRagon, chasing them to the back.
(3:49) Buckshot Lariat gets a 2.99999 as Cole reaches the bottom rope with his fingernails to break up the count.
(3:50) Cole is tied to the top rope with Page’s belt, and once again, there is noticeable boos as the champion hits the challenger with multiple Superkicks.
(3:51) A second Buckshot Lariat picks up the win for Adam Page. Most importantly, Page didn’t bleed! That’s amazing! This is going to sound like a broken record, but it was another really good match. Not quite a Match Of The Year classic like some of Page’s matches have been recently, but very good nonetheless. I’ll say 4 STARS.
(3:53) We go off the air with the champion celebrating in the ring.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I think that show lived up to the hype. Without having any real CLASSICS, there was lots of really fun stuff to check out if you haven’t already done so, setting up some interesting happenings moving forward. I’m tired, and I haven’t eaten dinner yet, so I’ve gotta get out of here. I’ll see you folks again in my usual Wednesday spot.