PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

LOOKING AT THE AEW REVOLUTION PPV

Overall Thoughts

As always, the entire roster worked very hard, as they always do.  On a show where people are paying $50 in the US, it’s important to give people their money’s worth and AEW and their roster always are up to that challenge.  There is a buzz to AEW PPVs that has been missing from most WWE shows for a while now.  The fans are more invested in this product and it shows in how they react.  They are actually into the wrestlers because they are presented as people and not “characters” or whatever WWE thinks they are presenting their people as.  That matters to at least some of he fans and AEW gets that.  Along those lines, you can tell that the announcers are legitimately excited to call the matches because the matches are legitimately exciting.  What a concept!

Speaking of the price, yes it’s stiff.  Yes, I wish I could get the PPVs as part of a streaming service for a much cheaper rate but until that happens, we will pay the rate.  Given how much Tony Khan has put into the company, and the business overall, I don’t mind supporting him.  They kept talking about the new Bleacher Report on the Buy In and the service has improved.  I didn’t have any problems watching the show and the replay was up by the time I got up this AM.

Blood, personally I hate it and don’t need to ever see someone slice themselves open for my “enjoyment”.  But, Tony Khan clearly feels different and loves to see people do it.    With that said, if they are going to do it, I wish it would be in moderation.  One match on a show should have it, max, at least in my opinion.

The show was long, for sure.  I don’t need a five hour show, ever, but I get why Tony Khan did it.  He is charging $50 and to his credit, he built up a lot of matches that warranted being on the show.  And while it was a long show, it did flow very well.

There’s no need to go into all the moves and such as that has already been done on the site.  Suffice to say that everyone busted their ass and I am betting some of them are feeling it today.  Instead, I will give impressions on what I saw.

One last thing, I know that all of these guys are pros and all but some of the spots that they do are just ridiculously dangerous.  I am always happy to see the wrestlers get up after doing them.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander

I got home late and missed this so I can’t say much.  I am kind of surprised Leyla won, but only because she has been a heel.  With her size, she seems to be more suited to be a babyface to me.  Her power could make for big comebacks as a face.

Hook vs. QT Marshall

I was surprised that they gave QT as much as they did here.  I thought Hook would roll over him.  But in the end Hook got the win.  They definitely have something in him.

House of Black vs. Pac, Penta and Erick Redbeard

This went as I expected, lots of fast paced work.  The House needed to win here and they did.

While the match was going on, I keep thinking of Erick as “Rowan”.  I wasn’t surprised that Excalibur called him that once.  It’s hard to not think of talents but their long time names.

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston.

This was a good match to choose to get the show off and running.

Jericho was lucky to survive that opening suplex.  I was concerned that he got really, really hurt on that one.  The fact that he could continue was a great break.  Jericho is in the best shape that I have seen for him in a while.  Maybe that helped him out in taking that spot.  Whatever the case, it was a scary moment.

This was what it should have been, a war.  The bad blood between them meant it shouldn’t be just a match, and it wasn’t.  They beat the crap out of each other.

Eddie needed the win here and he got it.  The fans love him and if he lost here, well he would be the loser Jericho said he was.  They couldn’t go down that road.

Jericho not living up to his word and blowing off the handshake means that it’s not over between them.

Triple Threat Tag Title Title Match

This was exactly what you would expect from a Bucks match, 100 mile per hour action.  That’s what you get with The Bucks.  The big question is would one of the teams in The Elite win and hold it over the other, or would the champs retain and cause issues between the other four that way.  I would have gone with the latter and Tony Khan agreed.

Face Of The Revolution Match

To me, it came down to whether they would go with Wardlow or Keith Lee, and it wasn’t much of a situation to give a lot of thought to.  The development of Wardlow has been ongoing for a while and this was the chance to take that to the next level.  The whole thing with Wardlow working for MJF has run its course.  If Tony Khan can buy Ring Of Honor, why wouldn’t he have purchased Wardlow’s contract?  Anyway, MJF said on TV this week that Wardlow can keep the Title if he wins it, which you know he would never actually do.  So Wardlow winning made sense in that respect as well.

There were a lot of cool spots, like when Lee, Wardlow and Hobbs faced off.  There was also Danhausen.  I don’t get it, but he gets a pop so that’s all that matters.

I was very happy that Orange Cassidy didn’t come out on top here.  I think the guy has his role, for sure, but the right choice was Wardlow.

Jade Cargill vs. Tay Conti

Jade keeps learning and getting better.  If it were me, I would have had it end when she hit the Frog Splash.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I was, however, expecting Jade to retain so I wasn’t emotionally invested here since I gave Tay no chance.

Along those lines, I think they had a few too many near falls in this match.  I get that AEW wants to make everything super competitive but sometimes less is more.

There was a spot where Tay took out Smart Mark so Jade took out Anna Jay.  The announcers wondered why she did it.  Because Tay just took out Mark!

Along those lines, I don’t know that Jade needs a manager anymore.  She has a ton of charisma and could be fine on her own.  And sometimes she seems like a face, so she doesn’t need the manager.

MJF vs. CM Punk

This is what I tweeted after watching the match: “I hate the blood. Hate it. Totally hate it. That made it hard to watch two guys I love. But they were totally into it and it elevated Wardlow in a big way. I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the work. I hated the blood.”  That about sums it up.  They went to war.  They took serious abuse and told a great story.  The blood just adds nothing to me but, with that said, I get why they did it.  It was a war and super personal, so it made sense.  I wish they hadn’t just done it on Dynamite but they painted themselves into a corner when they had MJF do the babyface promo.

The entrances were awesome.  Punk going back to his ROH theme after MJF stole Cult was an amazing moment.  It’s one of those moments that make wrestling awesome.

Wardlow’s involvement was perfect.  It wasn’t the reason Punk won.  He had the match so all Wardlow did was cement his face turn.  And then Punk got to use the ring against Max.  Great stuff and I really want to see where the story between Max and Wardlow goes.

MJF defiantly spitting at Punk, while disgusting, was fitting in the moment given the animosity between the characters.

Britt Baker vs. Thunder Rosa

Going in, I thought that Rosa should have gone over here.  Britt has been a great champion and is the face of the division but Rosa is right there with her and to me, the story moves along with a Title change and seeing what Britt’s character would do when that happens.  Obviously, she retained but with a TON of help.  Rosa had her beaten a few times.

I have to think that Rosa beats Leyla on Dynamite and then goes on to fight Britt in San Antonio, TX.  I hope that ends with Rosa winning the Title.

Moxley vs. Danielson

Once Mox said that they had to bleed together, I knew that they would.  And boy did they.  It was great wrestling and a war but as I am sure you have figured out, the blood takes away enjoyment for me.  If it doesn’t for you, that’s cool.

When they started fighting after the bell, I was thinking “they just did that with Jericho and Eddie”.  Then, out came William Regal.  That was a tremendous moment, totally tremendous.  I loved seeing Regal come out and now want to see not only what he will do in AEW, but where Bryan and Mox go as well.  They went to war, they bled and now…….to be determined.

Six Man Tornado Match

This was a crazy, all over the place brawl. Given the two teams involved, I didn’t see any way that Sting’s team would lose.  I don’t think anyone else did either, so this was all about the insane things that they would do, and they did plenty.

Sting is a crazy man, and I mean that in the best possible way.  A balcony dive through tables from a 62 year old?  As Tony Schiavone said, “He’s out of his freakin’ mind and I love it”.  Yep!

Darby got the pin on Matt.  I kind of figured that is how it would go.  Honestly, as I said with Eps, Matt’s current character is flat.  I hope that if (come on, when) Jeff comes in that they pair up and Matt leaves “big money” behind.

Darby’s entrance was really cool.  They have done a good job of keeping him over while he is out of the Title picture.

Battle Of The Adams

This is one of those matches where the loser came out better off than he was going in.  After the Orange Cassidy debacle, Cole was meandering around.  Last night, we got to see the NXT/ROH version of him and that is how he should be booked going forward.  It was certainly not the time for him to win the belt.  But, his match with Page was a step forward and that’s a good thing.

I HATE hearing them tell me Adam Cole is undefeated.  Yes, I know he lost to Orange Cassidy in an “unsanctioned” match but my eyes still saw him lose, and he lost to one of the weakest moves you will ever see.

Speaking of which, when I saw Cole smartly grab the rope after the Buckshot Lariat, I asked myself, “Where was that guy when Orange Cassidy was doing the fake hug of death?”  Consistency matters.  The Cole we saw last night is the guy we should have seen from the start in AEW.

I love that when reDRagon came out, JR made the point that another ref should follow them out and toss them.  Yes, either a second ref or the actual ref should do that, but it’s just one of those “isms” of wrestling that will probably never change.

Page observing the Code Of Honor after the match was cool.  People will keep speculating what will become of ROH.  I have a feeling Tony Khan will do all that he can with it, and that’s fine by me.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet