The wrestling world is getting closer to its big spring events, and there’s some concern for the future as NJPW is dealing with canceled dates due to coronavirus health worries. And on the lighter end, many WWE fans aren’t too happy with the presumed buildup to WrestleMania. But AEW announced on tonight’s Revolution show that they’re leading to their “Blood and Guts” events in Newark, NJ’s Prudential Center in late March. So they’re definitely aiming to impress and send fans home happy with this show- what’s the landscape of the young company going to look like once the date hits? They had some interesting answers for us here in Chicago, IL’s Wintrust Arena.
SCU (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson)
As of now, we still have no idea who the mysterious Exalted One is. But Evil Uno leads the charge for now, and the match itself is a pretty solid back-and-forth match with Kazarian just getting his ass beat for a good chunk of it. Eventually the numbers game gets to SCU, as new Order recruits Alex Reynolds and John Silver interfere so Uno can shove Frankie into the steps, before killing Scorpio with a brutal lariat to the back of the head for a three-count. The goons beat down SCU until Colt Cabana makes the save to a massive pop from the Chicago crowd. Sadly, he’s eventually overwhelmed by Uno’s gang as well, but then Christopher Daniels helps the good guys finally clear house.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jake Hager
So there was a moment in this match where Hager’s wife Catalina gets into a scuffle with Dustin at ringside, and Dustin responds by planting a kiss on her lips. This is a very, very old wrestling spot people like Roddy Piper and occasionally Dustin himself during his Goldust years would pull out, as an alternative for the male babyface to counter a female heel without striking her. Still, for a variety of reasons this spot really doesn’t hold up well in 2020. I don’t believe it was done with malicious intent on Dustin or the other participants’ part, but I can understand why people would be bothered by it. Outside of that brief hiccup, this is a pretty fun battle that makes Jake look like the deadly henchman he’s cast as. His knees to Rhodes’ gut aren’t as nasty as the knees Hikaru Shida hits opponents with, but they’re brutal in their own right.
Hager’s still got some of his own Jack Swagger spots, including the powerbomb and the pump splash that was countered, and Dustin is part of the Canadian Destroyer Appreciation Club (including Ricky Morton) as that gets two. But even though he sold for Dustin quite a bit, nevertheless Jake picks up the tap out victory with a standing triangle armbar.
Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin
We need more bad guys in wrestling like Sammy Guevara. There’s so many wrestling fans out there who claim heels shouldn’t show off or fly around, that they should be less exciting so you’ll want to see the babyface come back But Sammy is a high flying heel who’s so arrogant (watch his vlog on YouTube, it’s hilarious), you still want to see him get his butt kicked. Example: before the bell rings, he and Darby hit each other with flying attacks on the outside, and Sammy hits a 630* splash onto Allin through a table. So the match officially begins, and Darby’s already woozy.
It’s not just spots for the sake of it, we’ve got a clear hero and a clear villain. Sammy works him over, but Darby gradually fights his way back in. Guevara’s selling is comically over-the-top, especially on the flip stunner Darby gives him before connecting with a Coffin Drop for the win. Darby got the rub, but this was a quick but fun performance that shows why both of these guys are starting to become major stars.
AEW Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page and Kenny Omega © vs. The Young Bucks
The Bucks, Kenny and Page are always willing to give the audience an amazing show, but they’ve also laid out this storyline well enough to where it feels more like a legit fight than a performance. Hangman’s ego has been ballooning as of late with his attitude’s taking a turn for the worse, and it’s showing in his behavior lately in more heelish behavior, his insistence on separate entrances from Kenny, etc. As you’d imagine, both teams unload tons of high impact offense on each other, but in a way that feels in tune with a consistent narrative throughout. Heck, Page even tries his own One-Winged Angel, but his version isn’t strong enough to end the match.
We get some good character acting on the Bucks’ part with Nick and Matt arguing on just how vicious they should be working the arm of their friend Kenny. This proves to be a costly error, because friendship in AEW doesn’t mean you don’t do what it takes to be a champion, as I’m certain Page believes. He nails Matt with his ironically named Buckshot Lariat for him and Omega to retain in a fantastic match. The Bucks try for a handshake afterwards, but even then Hangman still has that chippy attitude.
AEW Women’s Championship: Nyla Rose © vs. Kris Statlander
Nyla’s presence both in the ring (especially that spear through the ring ropes, damn) and on the microphone feels extremely throwback. She’s the kind of wrestler who could have worked in multiple eras, like I could see her teaming with Bull Nakano during WWF’s New Generation just bullying around Alundra Blayze together.
She certainly bullies around Statlander for a bit, but the self-proclaimed extraterrestrial tries to mount a valiant comeback. Her hopes are dashed when a frankensteiner is blocked into a top rope Beast Bomb for the Nyla win. This was a pretty good first title defense for Rose that didn’t quite feel as relentless and bang-bang as her matches with Riho, but save for one awkward spot, Statlander continues to show steady improvement.
“The American Nightmare” Cody vs. MJF
Most of the conversation around MJF is related to his promo skills. And watching him casually slap a hat off a fan’s head, who could blame people? He’s proven to be one of the most effective heel performers in the industry (both from a serious perspective, and a more humorous side as the leader of The Dynasty on MLW Fusion), especially during the buildup of this feud with Cody that featured him screwing Rhodes out of the AEW World Title. But his fundamentally good in-ring work is overlooked because of that. He’s not as offensively relentless as Omega, but at a young age he’s already showing tremendous storytelling ability. It’s notable in how he constantly works over his opponent’s arm throughout the match to set up the armbar (and also biting Cody’s sock, just to be an extra dick) He pulls out a cool gutwrench powerbomb at one point, so perhaps he was watching the Hager match earlier.
That’s not to say Cody (who is played by a live Downstait to the ring) doesn’t spend a good portion of this match getting revenge and just beating Maxwell’s ass. He works in his trademark Cody Cutter, a running lariat down the ramp, the Disaster Kick, Alabama Slam and inverted superplex, the Duthty Rhodes, if you weeell jabs to the face, and bloodies MJF’s face up. But when Brandi Rhodes tries a crossbody on MJF’s manservant Wardlow, she’s caught. Cody tries to rescue her with a running boot, but Wardlow dodges and Arn Anderson is taken out. In WWE, that would have led to the finish, but here, they just keep going. Cody’s Din’s fire gets two and he hits CrossRhodes, but MJF’s able to sneak in a ring shot to Cody’s jaw for a three count, thus continuing the feud.
Between the stipulation he placed on himself not challenging for the AEW World title and allowing MJF to whip him mercilessly with a belt in order to have the match booked, I’m a bit concerned by how much dirt Cody is willing to swallow as a babyface. There’s something to be said for “sympathy booking”, which I know is the obvious goal here, but there is a line that a booker probably doesn’t want to cross in making them lose too often. I know fans will point to Daniel Bryan’s success as an underdog face, but it’s something that a promotion has to follow through with very carefully and with a clear goal at the end.
So what’s the end goal with Cody as a top babyface? Hard to tell, but for now he at least has crowds behind him firmly. Keeping MJF strong though is still wise, and even underhanded wins are still big boosts for rising heels.
PAC vs. Orange Cassidy
Over the past year or so Cassidy has become both a very popular and also somewhat polarizing star. Here’s a study in contrasts- one side is PAC, the self-proclaimed bastard who’s nonstop intensity, and Orange who possesses a ton of skill but is too cool to show off, or care enough to try hard. The buildup revolves around fans chanting “He Wil Try”, and at first it doesn’t look that way as he apathetically waves his foot at PAC. Narratively, it’s psychological warfare- but PAC’s not amused, and quickly goes to work taking the freshly squeezed star apart.
Finally, Cassidy realizes where he is and who he’s facing, and comes to life with some high flying attacks, then a beautiful forearm shot and a stunner, followed by some nasty DDTS. The Lucha Bros and the Best Friends get into a brawl on the outside, giving PAC an opening to lock in the Brutalizer for the submission. The thing with Cassidy is that he knows how strong he is but isn’t into posturing the way other wrestlers do, and that makes him stand out. It’s a character who can obviously do comedy matches, but there’s a degree of believability in the act that gives him range beyond that.
AEW World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho © vs. Jon Moxley
It seems like a no-brainer to point out how different the Jon Moxley character feels from Dean Ambrose, but this match highlighted how clear the distinctions were. The start to this match felt like Austin/Hart at Wrestlemania 13 with the opening slugfest and crowd brawl. That’s not a comparison I make lightly, because this kind of stuff shows how the AEW performers are being allowed more leeway than the strict directions other companies, WWE most notably, would give them.
Once it gets back in the ring both guys do a nice job keeping up the intensity, even before the Inner Circle starts running interference. I’m surprised by referee Aubrey Edwards’ level of patience, but once Hager nails Moxley with a vicious punch that’s enough for her to finally eject Jericho’s buddies. Ortiz’s comical sell off the ring apron as Edwards does the “you’re outta here” motion is a thing of beauty. Guevara’s enough of a little shit to nail Mox with the belt before they go, blooding up his eye again. He can see well enough to see the Judas Effect coming though, and he hits two Paradigm Shifts on Le Champion to win the AEW Championship and make Jericho Lacien Champion.
This result surprised me- I was leaning towards the odds of Jericho carrying the title into August, perhaps the next All Out event. But they’ve built up Moxley very well and he’s getting great reactions, so them pulling the trigger here is a very understandable choice. To be honest, it kills me how after being a huge anti-hero and surly lone wolf for months and months, he proceeds to take the microphone and cut the most old-school, fighting babyface “I love the fans, you make this company great” promo ever. If you removed the quick F-bomb and the line about Mox knocking back some whiskey, it could have been something John Cena or Hiroshi Tanahashi would say to close out a show.
Overall thoughts: Many wrestling old-heads always say “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon”, which rings true for AEW’s steady but consistent success. They’re already making money as TNT’s provided them with a sweet TV deal and contract extension, very happy with the great numbers among the key 18-49 demographics for the Dynamite show. And shows like this first Revolution will certainly help them more, as this show was a fast-paced, exciting but still very easy watch. All of the booking results generally made sense, the character development was entertaining and believable, and it feels like things are constantly in motion.
The company already is the third biggest in the world outside of WWE and New Japan respectively. AEW Revolution 2020 shows why they’ve hit that milestone, and also why they have the means to grow even bigger barring any major mistakes. If you’ve had a chance to see it, hop by @Official_FAN on Twitter and share your opinion on it!