AEW Revolution 2-29-20

Dustin Rhodes vs Jake Hager

A good match to kick off the ppv with but a good enough match to place a little bit later on the card. Definitely a WWE style match, the sort of match AEW needs more of, polished, gotta let the match breath. A bit long and a bit too slow but it worked, what did t work was that forced kiss spot with Jake Hager’s wife. Cheap stunts just aren’t necessary and aren’t the sort of thing you want to be doing, it’s so WWE. Hager wins with a choke, good win for him and a good loss for Dustin. Hager has great music and Dustin’s is growing on me.

Young Bucks vs Hangman Page & Kenny Omega [c]

Bucks were sloppy in their storytelling early on, they were wrestling a style of match they weren’t used to; they were using wrestling psychology. A mistake to not wrestle their style in the beginning but they picked it up as expected and it turned into a match of the year candidate. Hangman and Omega still have beef but it isn’t enough to stop them from retaining their titles.

Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara

Sammy is a star in the making he has the most potential of anyone on the roster and I would go big on him if I were AEW. Darby Allin hit a nice Coffin Drop to end one hell of a match, Guevara and Allin are the future of the company and everything about this match showed us why. Allin wins and Hager saves Sammy before the post match beatdown.

Kris Statlander vs Nyla Rose [c]

Weak video package and even weaker match; as terrible as I thought it would be. The first 60 seconds let me know I was in for a long match. The place was quiet but not in a polite way. Statlander has a very silly gimmick to challenge such a serious champion, others may have made it work but both wrestlers are entirely too green. Nyla retains in an abysmal putting representing the entire women’s division.

Cody vs MJF

A long video package detailing and highlighting what got Cody and MJF to this point. I was about excited as I was going to get, MJF comes out dry while Cody gets a live band for his entrance. Not just any band, Downstairs, the band that made his entrance music. Not only were they lousy but they were really off key as well. How is it your song and you sound terrible? Cody had an entire entourage come out with him, actually stacking the odds in his favor but he’s the babyface.Brandi’s involvement was necessary but it all becomes too much when you add in Arn Anderson, MJF only had Wardlow watching his back. It’s an important match for Cody so that means someone has to be busted open, so MJF got the honor and with the help from the “Dynamite Diamond ring” which isn’t a thing but they really keep trying to make it one, won the match. Not a critically acclaimed match whatsoever and for some reason most critics are blaming MJF instead of Cody.

Pac vs Orange Cassidy

Can’t say enough good things about this match. Great to see Pac go all in with Orange Cassidy and his gimmick, it’s not necessarily easy to do. Lucha Bros interfere to get a story going with Best Friends set up. A the Lucha Bros do is attack people from behind, they are used as enhancement talent goons and it’s pretty lame as well as disgusting. Pac gets the win, as he should while Cassidy looked credible against such a dangerous opponent.

Jon Moxley vs Chris Jericho [c]

Moxley wins the title from Jericho and ends the first reign of the first champion in AEW. Moxley was faking his eye injury the entire time, he waited to reveal this fact at the very end, gaining the advantage over Jericho for victory. Mox drops a promo after his win that speaks to his passion for the business as well as his gratitude for the opportunity to express himself; he noted that the fans were the biggest part of it all (further pumping their monster sized egos up). I like that Mox was cursing and he was totally winging it. It’s endearing at the same time I would actually reign that in a tiny bit.

Honorable mentions

1. The Inner Circle Choir really wasn’t that good at all, live music is something AEW should never attempt again. The band they had for Full Gear didn’t even show.

In closing

The set looked cheap and Revolution is still the weakest name ever however, this show felt more important than Full Gear. There was something missing from the PPV but I can’t quite put my finger on it. The conversation we will have on a podcast at a later date is just how important the women’s division is and why it is a stain on brand new company. An entire division was represented by a terrible match, the worst match ever, of course not, it was still such low quality that it was nearly shameful. The match quality was high for the most part, sending a good message to fans and giving them something to brag about. This PPV was better than some others but it still has some major issues (far fewer issues than previous shows).

#JonMoxley #MJF #AEWRevolution #Downstait #Cody #AEW