Man, what a fun PPV AEW Revolution was. Seven main-show matches in front of a molten crowd that was simply ecstatic to be there, one match a huge Match of the Year contender, four others in or near **** range, only one bout that didn't deliver, and some fantastic storytelling across the board. Plus a monumental title change signaling the start of a new era. This PPV was delightful, in all the ways WWE PPVs aren't these days.
The main show kicked off with kind of an unconventional choice, as Jake Hager and Dustin Rhodes had a 14-minute slugfest. I'd probably have put Allin vs. Guevara first considering how high-energy it was, but this was fine for its slot. It took a little while to get going, but the crowd was into everything. Hager made out with his wife at ringside before the match, which got good heat. The bout was back-and-forth, with Hager using power and amateur wrestling against Dustin's scrappy brawling tactics. It's astounding to me that at age fifty, Dustin looks and wrestles better than he ever did in his 30s. Hager took control midway through and his wife oddly started yelling instructions to him. Dustin knocked Jake down and Mrs. Hager tried to slap him, but he caught her hand and kissed her, smearing facepaint all over her face. This bit was probably not advisable for a babyface in the Me Too era. At the end of the match, with referee Aubrey Edwards distracted, Hager hit a low blow and locked in a standing triangle choke, causing Dustin to pass out. Hager is undefeated thus far in AEW. A solid, if unremarkable match to kick off his AEW in-ring career.
***
Things picked up in a major way with Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara, in a match that technically only went five minutes but was preceded by wild, death-defying action before the bell. Allin dove through the ropes and pounced on Sammy. After a couple minutes of fighting on the outside, Sammy set Allin up on a table and hit a 630 senton through it from the top rope. Just an insane spot. After the match officially started, Allin went for a tope with Sammy draped on the barricade, but came up a little short, which was scary. This was one of a few frightening moments on the show. Sammy hit a gorgeous-looking top-rope Spanish Fly but after exposing a turnbuckle got monkey-flipped into it. Allin hit his over-the-shoulder stunner move followed by the Coffin Drop to get the win. Both guys looked phenomenal here and as I said in my preview piece, they should be vying for a new secondary belt. These kids are future main eventers. About as good a five-minute match as you'll ever see.
***3/4
