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WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TONIGHT: THE AEW REVOLUTION TIP SHEET

AEW will broadcast Revolution 2024 tomorrow on PPV from Greensboro, NC.  Here is our take on what should happen on the show!

Sting and Darby Allin (AEW Tag Team Champions) (with Ric Flair) vs. The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson)

Mike:  This has to close and Sting has to get the pin.  I know AEW does a lot of tournaments, but I am totally fine with the Tag belts going vacant or Darby defending on his own or whatever.  This should be about giving Sting what WWE did not, a truly wonderful final moment with the confetti flying and a big lovefest for someone who did a ton for the business and made a lot of fans happy over his run.  Let The Young Bucks pinball all over and let him get the win with the Double Stinger Splashes, Double Scorpion Death Drops and a Double Scorpion Deathlock!

Cory: First off, this has to be the main event. It’s what they have sold the show on, it’s what people bought tickets to see, and having any match after it will be anti-climatic. Sting’s time in AEW has been to give the rub to Darby and let all of us get to see him one last time in the places he as on the card. If anyone deserves the Hero treatment with their retirement, it’s Sting. He had to work with terrible booking for most of his career, and his charisma and talent always won out. AEW has given him an undefeated streak, and there is no reason for that to change here. Sting and Darby retain, and Sting ends his career standing tall, which, in my mind, will make up for WWE crapping all over him at his one Wrestlemania appearance.

Richard:  This is what the whole show is about, the final wrestling match for Sting (focus on MATCH because I will explain that he will return to AEW TV about 10 days later).  There are three ways they can go with this match, and beyond.  First, The Young Bucks win the titles and spoil Sting's last match.  I would put that at 40%.  This might not be popular for a lot of people, but the Bucks have stayed out of the picture for a while so they aren't stale.  If the Bucks win, I hope it isn't a 'we lost, but since we are EVPs, we are going to add a new stupid stipulation to help us win, but we won't win the first time so we have to go more convoluted to finally win' match.  I could also see them winning by having Ric Flair turn on Sting (as is tradition) and Flair is now BFFs with the Bucks (and if Flair does a call back to Wrestlemania 24 by looking at Sting and say "I'm sorry . . . I love you", I will chortle).  The second route is for Sting and Darby to retain and then Sting relinquishes his half of the titles in a ceremony in Boston [if you want to have a huge house that night, is there anything else in AEW that will do that?].  The third option is that Sting and Darby retain and in a special ceremony in Boston, Sting announces that the titles are being vacated.  Sting is going to do something (or a few somethings) crazy in this match.  There will be many super kicks and many moments where you question Darby's (and Sting's) sanity.  Even if the quality of the match is not up to par, the emotion and the experience of this match will stand out.

Orange Cassidy (AEW International Champion) vs. Roderick Strong (with Matt Taven and Mike Bennett)

Mike Johnson: I don't see Strong winning, but I REALLY like that idea to give Cassidy something to fire him up and fight for.  The Undisputed Kingdom REALLY needs something to show the world they are a force.  The title change would be a step in the right direction but Cassidy is such a feel good character for AEW that I don't see it happening.  The match itself should be very good.

Cory Strode: They are doing the exact same story with Cassidy they did the last time he lost the title, where he’s beaten down and injured and he is just unable to defeat the person coming after the title. They are doing the same here, and have spent the two title reigns to tone down the comedy aspect and build him up asa more serious wrestler. His new persona as a workhorse has not lost him the fans he had with the slacker personality. Roderick Strong’s heel turn has been on that gave him a personality, and despite Adam Cole being injured, he done a solid job making the Undisputed Kingdom feel like a threat. For that to continue, he has to beat Cassidy and take the title, and that is what I expect here.

Richard:  The way that Orange Cassidy has been booked, it would appear that he has to be killed so he would be able to stay down for a three count.  Roderick Strong might be the person to do that.  I am a huge Roderick Strong fan, but not for his current character.  I just want him to be no nonsense Roddy and kick ass and win the title.  We don't need interference from the other members of the AAAAAAAAAAAADAM Gang.  

Samoa Joe (AEW World Champion) vs. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)

Mike Johnson: My gut says Swerve takes the title here.

Cory Strode: Once again, Page has thrown a stupid twist into a match he is involved with. His 4 minute injury angle on Dynamite was a waste of time and made me more annoyed that looking forward to this match. I am at the point where Tony Khan needs to pull a George Costanza on Page’s ideas and always do the opposite. This makes me worried that Page will screw up what could be a good match. Both Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland are loved by the fans because they come off as legit tough guys. Swerve has become someone the fans are behind and want to see with gold, and he should have a title before long. However, this is Joe’s first PPV title defense, and AEW tends to let champions have a few Big Wins before moving the title onto someone else. I see Page costing Swerve the title and their feud continuing while Joe retains.

Richard:  I loved when Joe questioned why either of these men are in the match because no one WON the match where the WINNER faces Joe on this show.  Joe deserves to win solely for using logic, but he should also retain because if Page or Swerve win on this show, will anyone care since this is All About STEVE.  I would have Joe beat Page so Swerve can do the time honored wrestling TROPE of 'I didn't lose the match so I deserve another title match' (despite Joe saying that you need to EARN title matches to face him).  Swerve's time is coming, but I think it will be in Vegas.

"Timeless" Toni Storm (AEW Women’s Champion) with Mariah May and Luther) vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Mike Johnson: Who sounds like a bigger match vs. Mercedes Mone?  Toni Storm in my opinion, at this juncture.  So, Storm wins.

Cory Strode: Deonna Purrazzo came in and AEW did the thing that causes people to fail every time. They put her directly in a title feud. Storm is still over with the crowd, and I would imagine they will want her to be the person to work with Mercedes Mone. I just don’t see Storm losing at this point and hope they have something for Purrazzo after this feud, because the one and done curse is real.

Richard:  When wondering how much of the match will be in black and white and how much will be in anime or stop action Claymation, is the match really that important?  Toni retains and we see some tension between Mariah and Toni to possibly tease a match between the two.  None of this really matters if what everyone thinks will happen in Boston happens in Boston.

Eddie Kingston (Triple Crown Champion) vs. Bryan Danielson

Mike Johnson: I am looking forward to this one.  Kingston is great and Danielson has been very motivated lately.  I think this is going to be the moment where Kingston gets the big win but then Danielson refuses to do the handshake and attacks Kingston to kick this feud into the next gear.

Cory Strode: Bryan is moving to the final act of his time as a regular performer, and he has not held a title in AEW yet. Eddie is also a much better babyface when he is climbing the ladder rather than being at the top of the ladder. I think Bryan is going to be the second triple crown champion in a match that look to be the best match on this show.

Richard:  This should be a solid match and the big question is does Danielson want to work New Japan and ROH in addition to what he does on Collision and Dynamite.  There will be a lot of hard strikes in the match and people being dropped on their heads.  I think Kingston retains.

Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Mike Johnson: No way Ospreay loses here.  My guess is this will be about them going all out athletically inside the ring.

Cory Strode: Ospreay is not losing his first match as a member of the AEW roster. And they could not have foreshadowed his babyface turn any more hamfistedly. AEW crowds want to cheer him, so he beats Takeshita, goes after the Don Callis family and the crowd loves him for it.

Richard:  This should be a fun match to watch. It will be enjoyable to watch Takeshita do what he can since he has been held back by his association with Callis.  Ospreay has his first match as an official member of the roster.  I would love to see Takeshita get the win, but Ospreay has main event written all over him and you don't shoot out the tires on takeoff.

Christian Cage (TNT Champion) (with Killswitch, Mother Wayne, and "The Prodigy" Nick Wayne) vs. Daniel Garcia

Mike Johnson: No way they ae changing the TNT title at this point.  I think it will be more a case of Garcia getting over by fighting the good fight before he is screwed by Cage and friends.

Cory Strode: I will preface this by saying that I like Daniel Garcia. Pairing him almost exclusively with Matt Menard, who has mostly moved to commentary has done more for him that the entire Jericho Appreciation Society did. He’s finding his way in promos, is able to work a solid match that tells a story every time, and got his stupid dance over with the crowd. That being said, Christian Cage is on the run of a lifetime here, and is the best heel in AEW and in the top three of all heels working today. When it comes time for him to lost the title, it will either have to be Adam Copeland or something they are strapping a rocket to. There is WAY too much juice left in Cage’s title run, so I see him retaining.

Richard:  When Daniel Garcia is 'wrestler' Daniel Garcia and not 'Interpretive Dance' Daniel Garcia, I am a huge fan.  For some reason, this feels like another 'losing the match means more than winning in the long term' match for Garcia, but how many of them can you have before you stop caring.  I expect his former JAS friends trying to help him get the win, but it will not work.  Christian retains and moves on to his next opponent.

FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli)

Mike Johnson: They have had some good matches of late and FTR is in "Crockett Country" tomorrow, so my gut is they pin Claudio.

Cory Strode: FTR has been taking the losses on TV, which usually means they will get the win at the PPV. I have said repeatedly on audio, they have magic in this feud and I want to see it continue after this match as we get different permutations of the BCC facing FTR and their allies. I am seeing FTR get the win, but the BCC needing to exact revenge since they ALWAYS go after people who beat them, so this is just a part of the ongoing story.

Richard:  It is time for FTR to return to the tag title picture and a win over the BCC is a good way to return to that level.  This will be a solid wrestling match and there will be a lot of good tag team work.  Will Moxley bleed?  I think FTR get the pin over Claudio and they can get ready for a title feud with maybe the Bucks.

Chris Jericho vs. Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Hook vs. Brian Cage vs. Magnus vs. Dante Martin

Mike Johnson: It's either Hook, Hobbs or Wardlow here.  This looks to be a lot of fun.

Cory Strode: Wardlow has to win this match. He’s the only one who has really cut promos about it, his entire character is now fighting against the fact that he was pushed down the card after his title match, and if he does NOT win this match, they have cut him off at the knees. In my mind, it’s a shame they put Hook, Dante and Jericho in the match because every time they have Big Men have a hoss fight, the crowd goes crazy for it. I know the typical AEW fan likes the cruiserweights, wrestling needs great big guys doing great big guy things. This match needed Keith Lee, the Iron Savages, or other Big Men, even if they had to cancel the “meat Match” idea.

Richard:  I am more disappointed that I won't be able to complain about this match not having a sponsorship with Arby's (or Rax).  Since this is for a title match, put all of your money on Magnus.  With everything he has done in AEW, how has he already not had a title match?  This should be won by Wardlow, but my second option would be Hook to set up the rematch and if they push it off long enough, we can see Hook learning from his mistakes in the first match.  They will probably do the match next week in Boston, so that won't happen.  If Jericho wins this match, I will probably be laughing for at least 48 hours.

Cory:  Only one women’s match? They’ve got to start doing better than that. The women’s roster feels nearly ignored, and with Mone coming in, let’s hope we get more women’s storylines that the two titles and who is dating who.  I hope we are now done with the whole “When someone loses a title, they vanish” as it is killing all momentum for people on the roster. MJF has been gone for a couple of months, and he’s just the latest of the “lose a title match and drop off the face of the Earth.” Even with AEW’s “fast forward”: style of storytelling, look how long it is taking to make Wardlow matter again. ANYONE who loses the title match on Sunday should have their next feud locked and loaded.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t have anything newsworthy happen in the press conference after the show.

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