AEW returned to Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena for its annual March pay-per-view event, “Revolution.”
From top to bottom, this year’s “Revolution” boasted one of the most highly anticipated PPV cards in AEW history.
So, the simple question is: did the show live up to the hype?
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. MJF
The opening match saw “Hangman” Adam Page settle his score with Maxwell Jacob Friedman. While both men are former AEW world champs, they both entered this match as mere competitors. For MJF, this was an opportunity to once again prove his superiority to AEW’s supposed “protagonist.” For Page, this was a chance at revenge, recuperating the loss he suffered against MJF in 2019.
This was a terrific opening contest.
Page and MJF both excel at establishing discernible pace, using strategic interstices to allow the sequences to breathe. The result was a match with weight, with each move increasingly more devastating than the last.
In the end, it was Page who prevailed — leveling MJF with a Deadeye and an Angel’s Wing, then punctuating the affair with a Buckshot Lariat.
It’s hard to believe that this was the conclusion to their feud, but it was a satisfying match nonetheless.
Rating: ***¾
Mercedes Mone [c] vs. Momo Watanabe
This was an exceptionally hard-hitting affair. Particularly for Mercedes Mone, who was left bruised and battered after this contest.
This was an extraordinary debut in AEW for Momo Watanabe, who gave Mone an absolute shellacking.
Ultimately, Mone was able to endure Watanabe’s relentless assault, turning the tides with an emphatic Mone Maker.
Rating: ****
Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet
This match determined the number one contendership for the AEW World Championship. It was also the culmination of Swerve Strickland’s feud with Ricochet that began in December. Prince Nana’s silken robe is also on the line, which has historically been reserved for the crown jewel of The Embassy.
With all three of those factors at the crux of this match, this felt like a truly climactic conclusion to Strickland and Ricochet’s feud.
In the early portions of this contest, Strickland accidentally attacked Prince Nana, fueling fans’ aspersions that their partnership would end acrimoniously.
However, as the match progressed, Nana eventually returned and helped distract Ricochet long enough to take a decisive advantage in the match.
While Strickland should have clearly been disqualified by virtue of Nana’s interference, it was an incredible contest nonetheless. In the end, Strickland defeated Ricochet with an emphatic Big Pressure and the former champ embraced Prince Nana.
For one night, the house that Kobe Bryant built erupted belonged to Swerve Strickland.
Rating: ****¼
Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Brody King
It seems like every AEW PPV has at least one match that seems superfluous. This happened to be that contest.
Kazuchika Okada defended his AEW Continental Championship against Brody King, representing the “Hounds of Hell.”
This match was as advertised: smashmouth. King in particular is, as we would say in the south, a hoss. Big, burly, and uncompromising. Okada has never shied away from contact, willing to endure as much punishment as he inflicts on his opponent. Both personify stopping-power.
While this match might have been unnecessary, it certainly didn’t disappoint. Okada still has the allure of a world class athlete, despite his unnatural proclivities. He entered this contest apathetic and left bruised and battered, albeit with his title intact.
King’s effort was as valiant as ever. Unfortunately, his effort has yet to yield single’s goal in AEW. Maybe it’s time for King and Matthews to focus on the tag team division.
Rating: ***½
The Hurt Syndicate [c] vs. The Outrunners
The Hurt Syndicate don’t hurt people. They kill them.
The Outrunners entered this match with all of the momentum in the world and the unyielding support of the fans. Unfortunately, the “Youngest Men Alive” didn’t stand a chance.
Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin ran roughshod throughout the majority of this contest, facing little resistance from Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd. What resistance they did meet, failed to accumulate into any meaningful offense.
So, The Hurt Syndicate’s dominant reign as AEW world tag champs continues. Meanwhile, Lio Rush & Action Andretti watched on from ringside. Lambs to the slaughter.
Rating: ***
“Timeless” Toni Storm [c] vs. Mariah May
“Timeless” Toni Storm and Mariah May’s legendary feud came to an end last night, in a match billed as the “Hollywood Ending.” Anything goes, falls count anywhere, for the AEW Women’s World Championship
Storm and May’s story began last January, when the latter made her debut in AEW as Storm’s eager understudy. Their relationship imploded when May won the Owen Hart Cup Tournament, tragically betraying Storm to blaze her own trail.
At “All In,” May defeated Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Storm won the rematch in triumphant fashion, defeating Storm at “Grand Slam Australia.” Now, the trilogy is complete.
This was an absolute bloodbath. Both women employed a myriad of destructive tools, from chairs and tables, to broken champagne bottles and, of course, the shoe.
Both Toni Storm and Mariah May left parts of themselves in the Crypto.com Arena that they’ll never be able to recover. However, it was Storm who prevailed, driving May’s head through a table with a Storm Zero.
I don’t like to exercise hyperbole when I’m assessing matches. I generally err on the side of caution. This was a match of the year candidate. But, even more importantly than that, one of the greatest matches in American women’s wrestling history.
Rating: ****¾
Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Kenny Omega
Konosuke Takeshita has held the AEW International Championship since “WrestleDream,” when he pinned Will Ospreay. Over the last 148 days, Takeshita accepted all-comers, defending the title 10 times across three different promotions.
Last night, his remarkable reign came to an end, at the hands of his former mentor.
Over a decade ago, Kenny Omega took a young, 16-year-old Takeshita under his wing in DDT. In 2021, Omega urged Tony Khan to bring Takeshita to the States, to compete in All Elite Wrestling.
To Omega, Takeshita represented the future of AEW. To Don Callis, Takeshita was the heir apparent to Omega, whom Callis had previously managed.
Takeshita pinned Omega in 2023 at “All In,” during a trios match. Six days later, both men met in single’s competition at “All Out.” Takeshita proved victorious yet again, miraculously pinning Omega twice in only six days.
Omega was never able to recuperate his pair of losses to Takeshita, developing diverticulitis only two months after “All Out” and missing the ensuing year.
For Omega, this was his chance at redemption. Winning the AEW International Championship was merely an added bonus.
This match was reminiscent of a main-event contest in the Tokyo Dome. It was a deeply personal, hard-hitting affair that slowly built towards a climactic ending. Naturally, that sort of affair favors Omega, who is a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
With Omega capturing the International Championship, it seems as though the former world champion is destined to collide with Okada in the distant future — to unify both the International and Continental Championships. Hopefully, that is the case.
Rating: ****½
Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
The penultimate match saw Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher meet in a steel cage.
This feud began last October, when Fletcher betrayed Ospreay at “WrestleDream.”
Ospreay and Fletcher’s first encounter was at “Full Gear” in November, which Fletcher won in dominant fashion. Their second was in December at “Worlds End,” in the semifinals of the “Continental Classic.” In that contest, “Aerial Assassin” got the better of “Protostar,” eliminating Fletcher and advancing to the finals.
This was the rubber match. The perfect ending to a magnificent trilogy.
Before the bell even rang, both men climbed to the top of the cage before entering it. Ospreay and Fletcher stood at opposite ends of the structure, before descending into the cage, in what proved to be the calm before the storm.
Ospreay and Fletcher were more than honor bound to the United Empire. They were brothers. Now, their love has been replaced with contempt. For both men, this match was more than a competition; it was catharsis.
At the center was Mark Davis, Fletcher’s former tag team partner and Ospreay’s former friend. While Davis is contractually obligated to work for Don Callis, he had no reservations about attacking Ospreay; demonstrating that his loyalties still lie with Fletcher.
Despite Davis’ interference, Ospreay still found the wherewithal to overcome the “Protostar.” Before the “Aerial Assassin” could deliver one final, climatic Hidden Blade, Fletcher screamed in defiance — professing his profound hatred for Ospreay.
The five-star rating system is an inexact science, to say the least. At best, they’re rough approximations, to give readers a general idea how I feel. The more removed I am from the match, my opinion may change ever-so-slightly. One thing I am sure of though, is that a five-star rating is an exact measure. It denotes perfection, in my mind’s eye.
This match was utterly perfect.
Rating: *****
Jon Moxley [c] vs. Adam Copeland
The main event saw Jon Moxley defend his AEW World Championship against Adam Copeland.
I love the “Rated R Superstar.” I’ve loved him since I was a child. I’m 28 years old now, though, and Copeland is 51. Even if Moxley and Copeland had the greatest match that they possibly could, it would have seemed pedestrian compared to the performances that preceded it. This was doomed to fail.
Throw in the extraneous elements; Christian Cage, Jay White, and Wheeler Yuta; and you have a ticking time bomb.
Jon Moxley ran roughshod over Adam Copeland for the majority of this match. When Copeland did finally manage to even the odds, Yuta reared his unkept head in the affair — unsurprisingly aiding Moxley. Jay White intervened and managed to make matters worse, accidently striking Copeland with the briefcase that supposedly contains the AEW World Championship.
Copeland still managed to recuperate, long enough to gain a decisive advantage in the match. Before he could pin Moxley though, Christian Cage intervened, using his Casino Gauntlet Contract to make it a triple-threat.
Cage was unable to pin Copeland, giving Moxley enough time to reconvene and take control of the match. In the end, Moxley put Cage to sleep with a Bulldog Chokehold, delivering one of the most anticlimactic finishes in recent memory.
After the match, Prince Nana met Moxley head on — giving Swerve Strickland an opportunity to leap from the railing above and deliver a Swerve Stomp.
Next month, Strickland will face Moxley at “Dynasty,” in hopes of recapturing the AEW World Championship. Will lightning strike twice for Strickland?
Rating: **½
Final Verdict
When you’re assessing pay-per-views, the simple question is: was it worth the price of admission?
Generally speaking, AEW has always excelled at delivering quality PPVs, well worth their $50 price of admission. “Revolution,” however, was a triumph. This wasn’t just one of the greatest PPVs in AEW history, this was one of the greatest PPVs in wrestling history. If it weren’t for the main event, this would have been perfect.
Rating: ****¾
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