Welp, AEW Revolution once again set an extremely high bar for every other wrestling PPV to try and clear. Jesus, this was a helluva show. One of the best cage matches of all time, one of the best women's matches of all time, a host of other great bouts, significant story progression, a clear direction for next month's main event, and a mostly very hot crowd. I'd have maybe changed up the match order for reasons I'll get to, but overall this was yet another stellar show from a company that's been building great momentum over the last couple months.
The opener, surprisingly, was MJF vs. Hangman Page. They had an excellent wrestling match where MJF worked Page's arm in between moments of trying to avoid him. Max hit Page with a front pelvis attack, which pissed Page off. Page kept trying to set up the Buckshot Lariat but Max kept rolling out of the way. Page finally hit one but Max was too close to the ropes. They fought outside and Page went for a Tombstone piledriver but his arm gave out. Instead he moonsaulted into position but Max reversed and hit a Tombstone on an open folding chair, which looked brutal. Page barely made it back into the ring in time. Page hit a sick-looking Angel's Wings, in tribute to Christopher Daniels, that planted Max right on his face (I hope he's alright) and then hit another Buckshot for the win. Great opener that left room for a rematch. ****1/2
Next up was Mercedes Moné vs. Momo Watanabe for the TBS Title. As I expected the crowd started out subdued for this, as Momo wasn't well known to some of those in attendance, but the action was really strong and got big reactions by the end. They traded all their big moves and built to an exciting peak. Lots of submission attempts and Meteoras, including one by Mercedes off the second rope for a nearfall. Watanabe hit a series of kicks, one of which caught Mercedes right in the jaw (apparently resulting in a bruised larynx). Watanabe went for a top-rope Meteora but missed, and Mercedes hit the Moné Maker and transitioned into the Statement Maker for the tapout. Damn good match. ****
Another absolute banger was next as Swerve Strickland and Ricochet blew off their feud in a #1 Contender's match. They started out really fast, with Strickland getting the early advantage but Ricochet making a comeback. Ricochet teased Prince Nana with the ceremonial robe, which pissed off Swerve. Swerve stomped him repeatedly on the outside and Nana tried to calm him down and get the action back in he ring, but Swerve shoved Nana to the floor. Nana was shocked, Swerve tried to apologize, but Nana flipped him off and went to the back. Ricochet took advantage and hit some big moves, including an apron poison rana. They fought on the Spanish announce table and Swerve hit a vertebreaker which did not break the table. Back in the ring, Ricochet hit a 630 senton as Nana came back out and took the robe, but Ricochet wiped him out with a dive and put the robe on. Swerve went for a dive but Ric turned it into a DVD on the floor, which looked really dangerous. Ric and Nana jostled over the robe but Swerve hit two House Calls and a JML Driver for the win. Post-match Swerve knelt in front of Nana and presented him with the robe. Another great match. ****1/2
Next was another very good match where they had to work hard to get the crowd back, Kazuchika Okada vs. Brody King. They only got about 12 minutes but made the most of it, with Brody doing the lion's share of the work. Brody chopped the bejesus out of Okada to the point that Okada's chest and biceps were covered with welts. At one point Brody hit a sick-looking crossbody on a seated Okada, against the barricade. He later hit a corner DVD and cannonball. Okada took a lot of punishment in this match. Okada went for a Rainmaker but Brody beat him to the clothesline, but ran into an Okada dropkick and Rainmaker to end the match. Very fine little bout and Brody looked great here. ****
The weakest match of the night, as expected, was The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Outrunners, which got less crowd heat than I thought. I guess no one bought into the idea that The Outrunners had a chance here, and some of their offense was messy. Lashley and Benjamin took most of the match but The Outrunners had a few big spots, like the Double Predator Elbow for a nearfall and Turbo Floyd doing the Hulk-up comeback. But The Hurt Syndicate hit a spinebuster/knee/spear sequence on both guys to win the match. This was a short filler bout. **
The next three matches were all fantastic, starting with Toni Storm vs. Mariah May in an absolute bloodbath. I can't say enough about how great this feud has been, and this was the perfect way to conclude it. They started brawling on the ramp, where some tables and Hollywood-themed props were set up. Mariah hit a piledriver on the stage and then pulled out a taser, which Luther took away, so Mariah dropkicked him through a table. Toni then hit a Sky High powerbomb off the stage onto another table. Insane. Back at ringside May hit a Storm Zero on the steps, which broke Toni's forehead wide open. May hung Toni upside down in the corner and hit a hip attack through a chair. Both women grabbed buckets of broken champagne bottles and taped shards of glass to their hands. Storm hit first, busting Mariah open, then poured glass all over the mat. May scored a hurricanrana and a May Day on the glass for a nearfall. Storm came back with a Storm Zero and grabbed The Shoe. They fought up the ramp to the stage where Toni finally hit Mariah with the shoe and then hit a Storm Zero through a table that said Hollywood Ending. Toni covered her for the pin, and on the screens above the stage, the words The End appeared. An exhausted Toni remained laying across Mariah's unconscious body until the lights faded. This was fucking awesome and my only complaint is that it didn't go five minutes longer. One of the bloodiest matches I've ever seen, and one of the best women's matches as well, to cap off one of AEW's best-ever storylines. I think I gotta go the full monty. *****
Given the unenviable task of following that spectacle, Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita started their match off slow and full of selling to give the crowd a breather, and Takeshita zoned in on Kenny's gut for a lot of it. There was some back and forth but Takeshita went for the abdomen, ramming Kenny into the railing and the announce table. He set up a folding table and front suplexed Kenny onto it, then turned it sideways and did it again, dropping Kenny gut-first across it. Back in the ring he hit a bunch of sentons but Kenny eventually got his knees up. They hit their signature offense, Kenny with a snapdragon and V-Triggers, Takeshita with a Blue Thunder Bomb and repeated Power Driver knees. After a few of those Kenny kicked out at one and fired up, which popped the crowd huge. They traded knees and strikes and Kenny went for a flash pin, which Takeshita countered, but Kenny got it again and held him down for the three. This was a great understated match that left a lot on the table for a rematch. It almost felt like the first in a series, even though they've wrestled before. ****1/2
The semi-main event slot went to one of the goddamndest matches I've ever seen. Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher were tasked with one-upping their two previous stellar PPV outings while creating a steel cage match for the ages, and they didn't disappoint. This match was pure insanity. To start things out, each guy stood on top of the cage and faced off from opposite corners. Once in the ring they laid into each other and it wasn't long before Fletcher lawn darted Ospreay into the cage, causing a gusher. Kyle licked the blood off Ospreay's head. Fletcher removed a turnbuckle but was ultimately sent into it, and then Ospreay catapulted him into the cage, busting him open. They took turns hitting Kawada kicks, each wiping the other's blood off their boot and licking it. Mark Davis appeared, and cut the lock off the cage with bolt cutters so he could throw a bad of weapons in. Ospreay smashed him with the door and used the barbwire bat Davis had provided. Davis entered the cage and Aussie Open tried their tandem finisher but Ospreay evaded it and punched a chair into Davis's face to get him out of the ring. Ospreay hit a cutter off the side of the cage. Fletcher climbed the cage to retrieve the screwdriver, with which he stabbed Ospreay in the head. Fletcher gave him a brainbuster onto an open chair for a nearfall. Fletcher dumped thumbtacks on the mat but Ospreay delivered a Styles Clash onto them, leaving tacks sticking out of Fletcher's torso. Fletcher tried to climb out to escape but Ospreay chased him up, hit him with the screwdriver and landed a Spanish fucking Fly off the top of the cage. Fletcher got to his knees and said "I fucking hate you" before Ospreay decked him with a Hidden Blade, followed by a Tiger Driver 91 for the win. This was unreal, and has to be in the conversation for greatest cage match of all time. ******
Alright, so I know Jon Moxley vs. Adam Copeland is your World Title match, and they worked hard to make this main event memorable, but I would've changed the match order so they weren't tasked with following the Ospreay match. I'd have probably made Toni vs. Mariah the main event instead, as it's the company's biggest women's feud of all time and absolutely would've earned its spot as the final match. That said, Mox and Cope did what they could to get an exhausted crowd back into it. Mox dominated a lot of this match, I'm guessing to make people think Cope was going to eventually win it. Mox targeted Cope's neck and did a lot of ramming him into various ringside surfaces and weardown holds. Cope at one point speared Mox through the ropes. Mox locked in the Bulldog Choke but Cope made the ropes. Mox didn't break the hold in time and referee Bryce Remsburg yelled at him. Mox shoved Cope into Remsburg which took Bryce out, then hit a Paradigm Shift. Mox tried to do a Con-chair-to but Cope kicked the chair into Mox's face, and they hit a double clothesline. Wheeler Yuta came down and made like he was going to charge at Mox, but he hit Cope with a busaiku knee. Jay White ran down for the save and tried to hit Mox with the briefcase but Mox ducked and White knocked Cope out instead. Mox got a two-count, Cope speared him three times and went for the cover but Christian Cage showed up out of nowhere and pulled Bryce out, announcing he was adding himself to the match via his open contract. Cage waffled Cope with the clipboard, hit a spear on Cope for a two-count and then hit a Killswitch, but Mox jumped in and snared Cage in a Bulldog Choke. As Cage faded he put a hand on Cope for a pin attempt, but Mox pulled him away and sank into the choke, causing Cage to pass out. Mox retained. Kind of a slow-paced main event for this show but the finish was very clever (although one wonders why Mox wasn't disqualified when Cage pulled Bryce out of the ring and whacked Cope with his contract). Mox celebrated in the aisle but Prince Nana appeared and faced him down. Suddenly Swerve Strickland leapt out of the stands with a double stomp, and stood tall to close the show. Good match, great ending. ***3/4
For the fourth straight year AEW knocked it out of the park with their Revolution PPV. Two *****+ matches and five ****+ matches. It's another embarrassment of riches. This was one of their best shows to date.
Best Match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
Worst Match: The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Outrunners
What I'd Change: Put Toni and Mariah last, it's high time a women's match main evented an AEW PPV and this was the one to do it.
Most Disappointing Match: The main event was tamer than I expected
Most Pleasant Surprise: That Christian Cage failed in his cash-in attempt. That was a corner they should never have painted themselves into.
Overall Rating: 10/10 - No one can touch AEW when it comes to PPVs.
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