Thoughts on AEW Revolution

Hey all,

I decided to start a blog, mainly because I wanted a place to post more long-form, written content. I am a very uncreative person, so "JCup's Blog" is the best you're going to get for now. Let's get right to it: 

I gave AEW Revolution a 9/10, and I believe it's one of the best pay-per-views the company has ever done. I have my quibbles, but I was thoroughly entertained throughout the show. My thoughts on the show:

HBO Max shits the bed: 

I hate to start my review for an otherwise excellent AEW PPV with negativity, but my goodness, was HBO Max an utter disaster in my household. I attempted to watch Zero Hour on Max, but the "This content will start soon" slate remained for the entire hour, and that's simply unacceptable. I have a suspicion that their engineers hadn't realized Zero Hour was going to stream on Max, and one of their engineers didn't lift the slate (I'll tell a funny story about a similar incident when recording my next audio). Whatever the issue was, it was unfortunate, as I had to watch it on YouTube, which was at best mid-quality.

The cherry on top? The stream refused to load across an array of devices, and I had to cast it from my iPad to my LG. The quality was surprisingly great, and the feed only stuttered here and there during Moxley/Takeshita, but yeesh. These streaming apps are the fucking pits, man. 

Zero Hour is missing something 

It's difficult to be too critical of a pre-show, but I've felt like Zero Hour has been rather bland for quite a while. I've been on board with The Costco Guys working the pre-shows, but it's starting to feel a bit played out. Doom and Boom vs. The Infantry was a solid enough match, though I thought doing a celebrity spot (with Wayne Brady, no less) with talent who rarely are on AEW television was a curious decision; Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross was solid, and achieved its goal in influencing the upcoming tag title match. I thought Kross looked really good; the 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royal for the National Championship was really entertaining, though it unintentionally highlighted talent I would've liked to see in single or tag matches over Doom and Gloom vs. the Infantry. I did get a kick out of the match essentially starting as a Reverse Battle Royal. A predictable winner, but a solid showing from all nonetheless. 

I wish Zero Hour were filled with showcase matches. I think you've gotten all the mileage you can get from the Costco Guys, and that Battle Royal only highlighted how many great wrestlers this company employs. I would've loved to have seen an exciting Junior Heavyweight-esque match to kick off the pre-show. 

FTR vs. The Young Bucks - AEW Men's World Tag Team Championship 

I unfortunately missed the beginning of this contest due to the HBO Max stream shitting the bed, but watched it in its entirety this morning. This was the best FTR/Bucks match of them all, and it's not even closing. Both teams were working with urgency, like they were on a mission to ensure this match became their crown jewel. I loved the callback with the Celtics/Lakers gear, and the spike piledriver on the apron in front of the Bucks clan (children included!) was phenomenal, as was the springboard moonsault to the outside to a wheelchair'ed Stoke. I've enjoyed every iteration of their matches, but this one is above the rest by a very comfortable margin. It's such a shame how many idiots loathe the Bucks, who are the best tag team of all-time in my view. I can understand not liking their style, but you have to give them their flowers.

One more point: I really wish AEW would book its World Tag Team division similarly to their Men's World Heavyweight Championship division. Tag team wrestling can be fucking phenomenal, arguably better than a great singles match, and I wish those titles were held in a little higher regard. 

Cope and Christian are back

I enjoyed the post-match angle that saw the returns of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Listen, there are AEW fans who have a hard line when it comes to ex-WWE talent, particularly the older ones, but I genuinely think Copeland has been fine (if not really good) and Cage has always entertained. I don't look at them and groan the way I would Chris Jericho, and I think there's a lot of disingenuous sentiment regarding their involvement in the tag title picture. Are you going to get some hookey, WWE-esque stuff from Copeland? Yes, you are. It would be far more interesting if he had a completely different identity from his time in WWE, but that identity is what's made him millions of dollars over the last 2 decades. It's really hard to get someone that successful to totally abandon a successful formula. 

It looks like we're going to get Copeland/Christian vs. FTR vs. The Bucks, perhaps in a TLC match. Can you IMAGINE Bully Ray's reaction if they go ahead with it? I'd pay to watch him watch that match. Copeland looked a little...thicker, by the way. Hopefully that's just muscle. 

Marina Shafir vs. Timeless Toni Storm - Everyone is banned from ringside

This was Shafir's first PPV singles match in AEW, and she exceeded my expectations. She looked strong and confident in her movements, and Toni is the best dancing partner anyone could have. She's legitimately one of the best wrestlers in the world, and she helped Marina look really good. I liked the placement of this match, as well. Good stuff. 

Ronda Rousey

Let's start with the obvious: the crowd was not thrilled to see her, as she received a mixed reaction. I think the AEW fanbase views her as an unlikable person whose pro wrestling run went over like a fart in church. As SRS pointed out on Twitter last night, it took over a decade for Rousey to apologize for spreading Sandyhook misinformation/a conspiracy, yet Trey Miguel was let go by Warner? It's absolutely a double standard. Still, I understand the reasons for her involvement: she's about to fight Gina Carano, and that fight seemingly has a ton of interest and intrigue around it. It's smart for AEW to try to capitalize on a hot sporting event. Secondly, they teased a match between her and Storm, and I think that would generate a ton of interest. It could be a pretty big special attraction match, even. I don't want to see Rousey on a full-time basis - hell, I don't want to see her as an occasional part timer - but I don't have issues teasing a big match. 

Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita - No Time Limit for AEW Continental Championship

A predictably phenomenal match between AEW's ace and its budding superstar. I thought it was interesting to see Moxley being the first one to kick out of the Raging Fire, and I thought it was a phenomenal kickout spot. Incredible work by both men, and I don't have much else to say, other than it's worth going out of your way to watch. 

Ospreay! Ospreay! Ospreay!

He's back! It was great seeing him in person, and it's totally logical for him to come after Moxley and the Deathriders, considering they were the ones who took him out at Forbidden Door. Ospreay is a future AEW World Champion and an extremely important piece to their puzzle. AEW regains one of the best wrestlers in the world, just in time for their spring and summer stretches. Ospreay looked a little leaner, too. 

The Babes of Wrath vs. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross - AEW Women's World Tag Team Championship

​A dominating showing from Bayne and Kross, and it's great to see Bayne decorated with gold. She's been a great workhorse since her AEW debut, and now the world tag titles can be chased by another babyface team. 

Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King

This was an excellent grudge match. It was two dudes who fucking hate one another, and were going to do whatever they could not just to win the bout, but to injure their counterpart. "I hate this dude so much I'm going to give him a Vertebreaker on the floor," or "I'm going to break his fingers using the post." They did a phenomenal job of resisting the temptation to make it a hardcore spectacle, and instead focused on hurting each other with moves on the floor + whatever they could utilize from the ring itself. Phenomenal. 

Kenny Omea returns

Omega runs off Swerve and Nana, and another gigantic piece is back in the fold for AEW. Exciting times. It's always great seeing Kenny.

Thekla vs. Kris Statlander - 2 Out of 3 Falls for AEW Women's World Championship

Thekla looks and acts like a fucking star. She has been gold since joining AEW, and I can't help but compare her career trajectory to Blake Monroe's. Anyway, I've come to dislike 2 out of 3 Falls matches because it's far too formulaic: someone gets a fluke pin to "steal" the first fall, the opponent ties it, and then we get the third fall. I wished they'd have Thekla beat Statander 2-0. Maybe next time? I thought it was a solid match, and you can probably get more mileage out of a rematch. We'll see. 

The Don Callis Family vs. Jetspeed & Mistico - AEW World Trios Championships

Another predictably incredible match with a very memorable finish. I fucking loved that Speedball and Knight actually wrestled in Mistico masks throughout the start of the match. Every single person involved in this match is special, and probably the best example of the embarrassment of riches assembled by Tony Khan. This is the match I'd show a younger kid, or someone who's not into blood and guts or slower-paced wrestling. 

Mistico is All Elite

What a great surprise. Khan has confirmed it's a dual contract, and that's great news for CMLL. There's a laundry list of singles matches I'd like to see involving Mistico, so hopefully they come to fruition. 

Bandido vs. Andrade El Ídolo

​Bandido's Super Dragon gear was sick, and it's refreshing to see an homage to one of the more important figures in independent wrestling history as opposed to yet another superhero cosplay look. This was the match I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. It's so great seeing Andrade at his fullest potential, and Bandido is simply special. I howled at the botched pants spot, and both men reminded me of my 18th month old daughter. Go out of your way to watch this one. It's 20:00 minutes of two incredible luchadores going at it. Give me more, Tony.

Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy, & Darby Allin vs. The Dogs

​Fine match that did not need to be included on this card. It did not bring the show down, nor is it the sole reason for holding out on giving Revolution a 10/10, but it was not necessary. This was essentially a bathroom break match. 

MJF vs. Hangman Page - Texas Death Match for the AEW Men's World Heavyweight Championship

An incredibly violent spectacle that went on far too long. It simply did not have to be 45+ minutes, especially on a Sunday evening. Still, an incredible match with a very controversial stipulation. Do I think Hangman will never challenge for the title again? No, I don't. I think he'll break the stip, and I'm not against it. AEW rarely breaks stipulations, so they need to make this really momentous. I loved the violence, and was a fan of the finish, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the story continues. 

Looking ahead

Is this the first time that AEW has telegraphed matches for their upcoming PPVs? We're likely going to see Copeland & Cage vs. FTR vs. The Bucks, Toni Storm vs. Ronda Rousey, or Toni Storm and Mina vs. Marina & Rousey, Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega vs. Swerve Strickland, and another Thekla/Statlander seems to be in the cards. I think that's pretty awesome, and it's proof of how locked in Tony is at the moment. 

One of the best PPVs in AEW history. 

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