It's time yet again for another AEW PPV! It's a pretty stacked card, and like usual, I'm here to share my thoughts on each match. Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston These two have been in a heated feud as of late ever since Jericho felt the need to interfere on Kingston's behalf when the latter was assaulted (at least, that's as far back as I can remember). Things have only gotten more personal since then, and it all culminates in this match. This was quite the hard-hitting affair for the opening match, with both wrestlers busting out crisp strikes and explosive suplexes throughout the back-and-forth contest. Neither man was afraid to get dirty, either, with both of them dishing out their fair share of eye pokes and/or biting. It's Kingston who takes the victory in convincing fashion after surviving Jericho's onslaught, and he does so by making the legend tap out. Really great to see Kingston actually win a feud for once. After the match, Kingston offers his hand in respect, but Jericho refuses to shake it. Guess we're definitely back with a more heelish Jericho. Jurassic Express (c) vs. ReDragon vs. Young Bucks (Triple Threat Tag Team Match for the AEW Tag Team Championships) Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus captured the AEW Tag titles a couple of months back from the Lucha Bros, and have been defending it occasionally since. Their latest challenge comes in the form of the Young Bucks (former champions themselves) and ReDragon, who have aligned with Adam Cole since Kyle O'Reilly's AEW debut. What's interesting here is that despite the connecting thread of Cole, these two teams aren't exactly in the best of terms (ReDragon in particular cost Young Bucks an early shot at the titles), so it'll be interesting to see whether they work together or not in this match. This was such a fun match with lots of exciting action, which should be expected given the teams involved. The dynamic between ReDragon and the Bucks made the match extra interesting, since they worked together at the start, but the agreement quickly broke down when time came to pick up the win. Jurassic Express played the underdogs well, with the odds squarely against their favor, but they fought from underneath quite convincingly. The champs end up retaining their titles this time around, but what interests me more is how Adam Cole's tenuous alliances will hold up after this little fiasco. Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Christian Cage vs. Wardlow (Face of the Revolution Ladder Match) Once again, we've got a multi-man ladder match where the participants fight over what is clearly one of the rings from Sonic the Hedgehog. Jokes aside, the winner of this match is getting a shot at the TNT Championship, and we've got quite the talent in this match here. Most notable of all is former NXT Champion Keith Lee, who made his AEW debut in a qualifier for this ladder match. This was a pretty solid ladder match for me, with a good helping of ladder-based action, a couple of entertaining spots, and a surprising amount of big man hoss fights with three of the participants. Highlights for me were Orange Cassidy's antics, the three big men clashing (which included a ladder breaking in half), that one dive Ricky Starks did through a ladder, and a surprise interference by the goofy Danhausen. At the end, it's Wardlow who wins a shot at the TNT title, but he'll have to wait for the result of Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky before he can get his chance. As for Keith Lee, this was a solid PPV debut for him, but it'll be interesting to see where he goes from here since he didn't win. Shane Strickland is All Elite Tony Schiavone announces that Shane "Swerve" Strickland, former NXT North American Champion and former Killshot of Lucha Underground, is officially part of AEW. This guy is an awesome wrestler and never really got a chance to shine in WWE (outside of NXT). Wonder where he'll fit into AEW's already stacked roster. Swerve cuts a short promo after signing the contract, and the crowd quickly figure out what he was going for. This is Swerve's house indeed. Jade Cargill (c) vs. Tay Conti (TBS Championship match) Jade Cargill has been perhaps the strongest booked woman in the AEW roster, as her undefeated streak has yet to be toppled, and she became the inaugural TBS Champion in the process. Her latest challenger is none other than Tay Conti, who had a killer showing when she tried to topple AEW Women's Champion Britt Baker in the last PPV. I found this match a tad too short, but both wrestlers put on a good showing. Jade Cargill continues to improve in the ring every match (still quite impressive given how new she is), and Tay Conti remains one of my favorites in the AEW Women's division with her great performances. Cargill's streak lives on as she retains the title, and it doesn't seem like that streak will end anytime soon. Also, bonus points for Cargill wearing gear inspired by Jade from Mortal Kombat. Big fan of that. CM Punk vs. MJF (Dog Collar Match) The latest person MJF has pissed off is none other than the legendary CM Punk, and while he's already stolen a win over him once before, the feud is far from over, with Punk choosing the stipulation for this grudge match. As expected from these two, the promos got spicy and personal, with the most notable going into this feud being the closest thing to a babyface MJF has ever done in his career in AEW, cutting a heartfelt promo that left Punk conflicted. However, MJF is a goddamn snake who can't be trusted, and he left Punk a bloody mess in the go-home show to this PPV. Before the bell rung, MJF continued his shit-stirring ways by entering to Cult of Personality, which naturally got him a healthy dose of boos. Not to be outdone, however, CM Punk came out to his original entrance music back when he was in ROH, and even donned similar gear to what he used to wear back in those days. This was every bit the dramatic and brutal grudge match I expected. Things got bloody very quickly, the chain was used as a weapon in many creative ways, Punk showed that he was not afraid to get violent, and MJF showed that for all his chickenshit ways, he can get brutal if he has to. The action wasn't high-octane or explosive; the pace was more deliberate, but that didn't make things any less exciting when it came to near-falls and big spots (including one involving thumbtacks). The ending is where the story gets super exciting, as MJF once again calls for Wardlow for an assist. This time, though, Wardlow leaves MJF high and dry, allowing CM Punk to claim victory. This face turn for Wardlow has been brewing in the background for a very long time, and if the cheers of the crowd were any indication, the payoff was absolutely cathartic. I cannot wait to see how the MJF vs. Wardlow feud kicks off, especially since the latter has a TNT title shot on the horizon. As for Punk, I wonder where he goes from here. Perhaps he moves onto the title scene? Dr. Britt Baker, DMD (c) vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW Women's Championship match) The DMD is still on the run of her career as the Women's Champion, but now she faces her biggest challenge yet: Thunder Rosa. The two have faced one another before in their career-making Lights Out match that, among other things, produced that one iconic bloody image of Britt Baker. Now, the two will face each other again and write a new chapter in their rivalry, this time with the title on the line. Interesting note: they nonchalantly debut the new AEW Women's title belt here. Looks excellent, and I like that it's much larger than the old one. While I thought this was a decent match with some good back-and-forth from both competitors, it had the unfortunate luck of being the match that followed Punk vs. MJF, so the crowd didn't feel as loud as one would want. I also kept thinking of the original Lights Out match (which is really good and memorable) as this one played out, which probably didn't help with how I perceived it. Lastly, the ending felt a bit deflating, as Britt Baker retained her title after multiple interferences that led to Thunder Rosa's downfall. Not only did I want Thunder Rosa to win, I also felt like the whole "Rebel and Jamie Hayter interfere to help Britt Baker retain" shtick has run its course. If it's any consolation, Thunder Rosa at least got a three-count and made Baker tap out while the ref wasn't looking, so maybe that'll be cause to set up another title match (perhaps with a stipulation). That said, I hope this loss doesn't take the wind out of her sails in terms of momentum and popularity, because it felt that way to me a little bit. Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson Now, this is an interesting one. Bryan Danielson wants to team up with Jon Moxley, but Moxley doesn't team with people he hasn't "bled with". Straightforward, yet curious premise for this match, and I do want to see if they end up teaming up after all. I expected this to be yet another hard-hitting affair, and boy it sure was. There were strikes galore all throughout, from chops, elbow strikes, slaps, kicks, and stomps from both competitors. There were also a good amount of submission holds, which is to be expected from a Bryan Danielson match. By the latter half of the match, both men were bleeding, which helped sell how hard they were walloping each other. This was quite enjoyable to watch, and things only got interesting by the end. After Jon Moxley steals the win by a crafty pinning predicament, the two continue brawling. A bunch of refs and security staff run to the ring to try and pull them apart, but it was no good. Then holy fucking shit, William Regal shows up, gets in the ring, slaps both guys in the face, then makes the two shake hands like he's a dad trying to discipline two quarreling siblings. A Moxley-Danielson tag team with Regal as the manager? Sign me the fuck up. Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy, & Isiah Kassidy vs. Sting, Darby Allin, & TNT Champion Sammy Guevara (Tornado Trios Tag Team Match) Andrade has made a bunch of enemies since taking over as co-owner of Matt Hardy's stable HFO, and now a couple of them are here for some payback. Standard stuff, I'd say. This match was short, sweet, and chaotic, which is par for the course for a tornado tag match. The entirety of AHFO got involved in the kerfuffle, multiple foreign objects were used as weapons, and there were some wild table spots (including a 60+ year-old Sting jumping off one of the audience areas into three tables). The match ends with Darby Allin pinning Matt Hardy for the win. It went a little too quickly for me and most of the people involved in the match simply up and disappeared after their big spots, but I still had fun with the bigger moments. Hangman Adam Page (c) vs. Adam Cole (AEW Championship match) The build for this match has been a little short compared to some of the others, but nonetheless, the next obstacle in Adam Page's title reign (which has featured some excellent defenses thus far against the likes of Bryan Danielson and Lance Archer) is former Bullet Club/Elite comrade Adam Cole, who has the support of ReDragon. I really enjoyed this main event. It's got a lot of big moves, exciting back-and-forth sequences, awesome counters/reversals, and exciting near-falls. Both wrestlers were at their A-game here for sure. Of course, only one Adam can win, and it's the champ who retains his title in convincing fashion, managing to weather Cole's onslaught and the brief interference of ReDragon. It'll be interesting to see who challenges Hangman for his title next, and I'm intrigued to see how the Adam Cole/ReDragon/Young Bucks storyline progresses. Overall, Revolution felt like a solid PPV, with a nice variety of matches, a number of storyline developments I look forward to seeing play out, and a couple of big debuts. It's gonna be a while until the next big event, but I definitely have reason to keep tabs on Dynamite and Rampage in the meantime.
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June 2024
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