AEW Revolution took place in San Francisco, home of the Chase Center! This PPV wiped the slate clean on several feuds and the highlights of the evening were a classic Iron Man Match between MJF and Danielson and a win for the House of Black who are your new Trios Champions! Let’s analyze a very solid card:
Starks defeated Jericho via Pinfall
Grade: C
Ricky Starks gets the win and hopefully, this ‘rivalry’ is now over. The feud did nothing for either wrestler, and it’s time to move on. The match itself was decent, but nothing memorable to save for the archives. Luckily the crowd was hot, giving the bout more energy than it merited.
Jungle Boy Buries Christian Cage
Grade: B+
Jack Perry needed a big win at this point in his career, and ‘The Final Burial’ was his best match in AEW. Christian Cage flipped-flopped between the scared heel and the dirty, cagey veteran, playing the perfect foil.
‘Coffin matches’ always run the risk of being cheesy, but this one delivered. It had great intensity and was a hard-fought contest. The feud looks to be done and Jungle Boy can move on to chase a singles title.
The House of Black Win the AEW Trios Championships
Grade: A-
Another correct booking decision, putting the belts onto the HOB. It really looked like The Elite was going to retain after kicking out of Black Mass and kicking out of multiple finishers. The crowd was surprisingly ecstatic to see the titles change hands.
This sets up fresh new feuds in the Trios Division and allows The Young Bucks to get back into the Tag Team mix. More importantly, Kenny Omega can get back into the World Title picture. We’ll see if that’s what actually happens as Tony Khan did try to navigate questions at the post-PPV media scrum about Omega’s contract status.
Hayter Retains Against Saraya and Ruby Soho
Grade: C+
Jamie Hayter pulled out the victory in a fast-paced triple threat, but the true payoff here was Ruby Soho aligning with Toni Storm and Saraya after the match. It looks like we’re getting a ‘us vs. them’ angle in the women’s division. Battle lines will be drawn, I guess.
Why do non-WWE companies always fall back on this angle? WWE alumni aren’t always coming in to take over. Not to mention, drawing any attention to the fact these are former WWE stars only draws more attention to the competition. This is not a situation where fans are confused about who they work for.
Texas Death Match: Page Chokes Out Moxley
Grade: B-
Violent? Yes. Bloody? Of course. Too long? Absolutely. Page gets the win and another feud looks to have an ending. When you have so many big spots in the match, they tend to cancel each other out. Sometimes more is less. Many of those spots could and should have been the end.
Maybe Moxley can now take some time off for that vacation.
Wardlow Defeats Samoa Joe via Chokeout
Grade: D
This was where the PPV started to lose steam…the crowd seemed tired after the last few matches and Wardlow isn’t drawing the reaction he once did.
The fact that Wardlow won was not a surprise…. his next feud vs. Powerhouse Hobbs was a natural extension of this storyline. The manner in which he won though, shocked the crowd at the Chase Center. No one thought the sleeper hold would actually put Samoa Joe out.
Wardlow couldn’t afford a loss here as it would have been career-damaging. However, this win still felt awkward. The victory missed a big pop, a big payoff. Wardlow still has a lot of work to do to get back to being that monster with momentum.
The Gunns Retain The Tag Team Titles
Grade: JJ-
Yes, this gets a new low grade….Clunky pacing. Unnecessary inference. And yes, way too much Jeff Jarrett. ** Author’s opinion: Please minus Double J from all wrestling television, for the good of humanity.
Nobody looked good in this match. Danhausen was in the ring much more than Orange Cassidy, and that’s not a recipe for success. The Acclaimed felt less important than Lethal and Jarrett. This match could’ve been done on Dynamite or Rampage.
However, the tag team division just got a HUGE boost with the return of FTR after The Gunn’s victory. The time has ended featuring all the B-level talent in the tag team ranks. The division deserves to get back to where it was a long time ago.
MJF Retains World Title vs Danielson
Grade: A-
Ironman matches usually carry unrealistic expectations. Fortunately, this one delivered. MJF and Bryan Danielson did everything they needed to and brought home a classic that helps build the champ’s credibility.
Yes, there were a couple of dead spots, but that will happen in a one-hour match. It’s unrealistic to expect consistent action across the entirety of the bout. Each man found ways to be creative with engaging the crowd, whether was Bryan posing or MJF taking water breaks, or even throwing water at kids (to the dismay of Tony Khan). The overtime tease really brought a sense of the belt changing hands, but the use of the oxygen tank by MJF sealed his dirtiness as a heel.
The question now is what awaits both men: Where does Danielson go after another big main event loss? This was his fourth attempt to win the World Title. Who is MJFs next opponent: Adam Cole? Adam Page? A controversial return of CM Punk?
AEW Revolution Overall Grade: B+
This PPV wiped the slate clean on several feuds. The upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite looks to be an exciting two hours as new matchups and storylines take shape. Revolution was their best show in a long time and gives the promotion some momentum back after a lackluster few months.
