AEW Revolution emanated from the jam-packed Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles last night. Per AEW tradition, we had bangers. We had many bangers. From the masterpiece that was the Hollywood Ending with Mariah May and Toni Storm to the breathtaking Ospreay/Fletcher steel cage match, no paying fan last night should have left unsatisfied.
But that main event though…
Yes, the show should have closed with Storm vs. May. Yes, having Moxley and Cope go for as long as they did in a WWE-lite match after three AEW-style classics, was not a good idea. No, I am not defending it.
However…
We must look at the bigger picture and quickly dissect exactly why the main event had to happen as it did, as ultimately bad as it was. And this is no disrespect to Mox or Cope; both living legends in my eyes. But it was just the wrong match at the wrong time, yet it actually had to happen.
Let me explain.
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The Death Riders Story Must End, But…
There’s no reason to continue driving this point home. We all know it, and we all agree with it. However, how to end this story shouldn’t have been a simple band-aid rip. Even when concluding bad stories, you have to do so with some level of care.
Tony Khan knows this. As reports have concluded, TK has been “in the weeds” lately with storylines. This is telling given the increase in show quality in 2025. Almost every other story in AEW right now is hitting, except for the Death Riders story.
But regardless of how we got there, TK was faced with a less than subpar situation by Revolution.
-An unpopular heel champion in a stale faction
-A 51-Year-old challenger
-A 51-year-old instant #1 contender (cash-in contract)
How do you carefully book your way out of this? Well…
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Two Birds With One Stone
Many of us thought that perhaps Cope would defeat Mox, then Cage cashes in, and they have some kind of feud. But then you have someone like Copeland as world champion, who doesn’t need to be. Cage certainly doesn’t, either. Let’s focus on the future of this company, right?
The finish to last night’s main event took Cage out of the title picture indefinitely, while costing Copeland the world title, all while Copeland himself didn’t even get pinned. It sets up Cope vs. Cage once again by Dynasty or Double or Nothing.
Earlier in the match, we see Samoa Joe, HOOK, and Shibata looking on, as probable contenders to the Trios Championship, likely defeating Yuta/Claudio/PAC at Dynasty. And the cherry on top? Swerve Strickland, arguably the most consistently over act in AEW aside from Ospreay and Page, reminding Moxley at the end of the show that he is the new #1 contender.
And don’t worry about Ricochet. He doesn’t need to have that #1 contenders spot, as he’s doing fantastic work right now and am excited for his next program.
So what does this mean for Dynasty?
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Swerve Strickland Will Defeat Jon Moxley at Dynasty
According to Cagematch, Swerve Strickland has never beaten Jon Moxley. What better way for Swerve to “save” AEW from the Death Riders by not only defeating Jon Moxley for the first time, but doing so at the exact same PPV where he defeated Samoa Joe to win the AEW Men’s World Championship at Dynasty 2024?
And what’s around the corner a few months after Dynasty? All In: Texas. Could we see “Hangman” Adam Page challenge Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship? I know I would pay top dollar to see that…
See where I’m going with this?
And Swerve might need help at Dynasty, which is where I see Darby Allin finally returning, setting up a match with Moxley at either Double or Nothing or All In. But either way, the end result is the same:
-Death Riders out of the title picture
-Cope/Cage out of the title picture
-AEW “originals” back on top
-World title picture is reset
I am more than happy to wait for a bad story to be corrected with a better payoff a month from now than to quickly move the world title off of Moxley just for the sake of doing it.
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Waiting for the Payoff
And maybe it’s not Page. Perhaps it’s Will Ospreay who challenges Swerve for the championship at All In. Perhaps it’s MJF vs. Swerve. Fantasy book to your heart’s content here.
Either way, Swerve has (again) earned a main event spot at AEW’s biggest show, and last night set that in motion. His opponent is TBD, but welcomed, whoever it is. Though it likely won’t be Omega. I think we all know we’re getting Okada vs. Omega to unify the International and Continental Championships, and I’m 100% here for that.
Last night’s main event wasn’t good. But it was necessary to setup a bigger payoff down the road. The easy route would have been to just slap the title on Cope and figure the rest out, but that’s not exactly great planning is it? Poor planning is how we got here in the first place. And while no booker is perfect, and mistakes will always be made in all promotions, I’d prefer a carefully crafted correction over a kneejerk booking just to appease a usually fickle fan base. We all know something bigger is coming. We musn’t be so spoiled that we think every card has to be perfect from top to bottom.
Last night’s show was really good. We had four matches that could have been main events on any other night. Unfortunately, the lasting memory was of the main event that we all had to sludge through to get to next month’s payoff.
But patience, people. AEW is still cooking. TK just has to remake the main course after it was burnt in the oven.
-JPT
mocwrestling@yahoo.com
