AEW Revolution 2021

By Steve Ward

All Elite Wrestling returned to pay per view this evening with a star studded show from a sold out (or as sold out as they were permitted) Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. I can safely say that I haven’t watched a pay per view from this company that I haven’t enjoyed and this one was poised to continue this trend. Some of the most anticipated matches headed into this event included the icon Sting’s return to the ring, as well as, one of the most notoriously violent matches in the history of pro wrestling - an exploding barbed wire deathmatch - for the AEW World Title.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. w/ Rebel & Maki Itoh vs. Thunder Rosa & Riho
Winners: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D & Maki Itoh via pinfall

The Buy-In certainly amped up the crowd by featuring some of the most talented women in AEW. This highly entertaining bout came to an abrupt end as Rebel cracked Thunder Rosa over the head with a crutch while referee Paul Turner was distracted allowing Dr. Baker to roll her up for the pinfall.

Main Card

AEW Tag Team Championship

Chris Jericho & MJF w/ Wardlow vs. The Young Bucks (c)
Winners: The Young Bucks via pinfall

The main portion of the card wasted no time getting off the ground as “Le Champion” Chris Jericho teamed with his Inner Circle cohort Maxwell Jacob Friedman to challenge The Young Bucks for the tag team titles. The ageless wonder Chris Jericho, a 30-year ring veteran, put forth a phenomenal effort, however, it wasn’t quite enough as Le Champion succumbed to the Meltzer Driver at the hands of the Young Bucks to secure the pinfall for the defending champs.

Casino Tag Team Battle Royale
Winners: Death Triangle - PAC and Rey Fenix

AEW put a unique spin on their traditional Casino Battle Royale by introducing a tag team incarnation. The rules stated a new team would enter every 90 seconds and a team would only be eliminated when both members were eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. If that weren’t enough, the winners would earn a shot at the AEW tag team titles. The competitors (in their order of entry) included The Natural Nightmares, Dark Order members 5 and 10, Santana and Ortiz, Matt and Mike Sydal, Dark Order’s Evil Uno and Stu Grayson, The Gunn Club, “Pretty” Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi, The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison), Bear Country, Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus), Butcher and the Blade, Private Party, SCU (“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian), Death Triangle’s PAC and Rey Fenix, and Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds. The final four in the ring were John Silver, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, PAC, and Rey Fenix - leaving the Death Triangle members as the only intact team remaining. Jon Silver was the first eliminated by Fenix who walked the ropes and delivered a kick to his jaw as he hung on for dear life from the ring apron. PAC was the next to go as Jungle Boy ducked and pulled down the top rope down allowing the charging PAC’s momentum to propel him from the ring. Finally, in a blazing fury of action, Jungle Boy’s momentum was halted by a stiff kick in the face that allowed Fenix to clothesline him over the top rope to earn the victory.

AEW Women’s Championship
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Ryo Mizunami
Winner: Hikaru Shida via pinfall

This match came to fruition after Ryo Mizunami shocked the pro wrestling world by surviving the Women’s Title Eliminator tournament and overcoming Nyla Rose in the finals this past week on Dynamite. Ryo gave Shida all she could handle and withstood multiple Falcon Arrows before she finally fell victim to a brutal kick to the head that allowed the champ to retain her title. Following the bout, a brief melee ensued as Nyla Rose, Dr. Britt Baker, and Rebel jumped Shida and Mizunami until Thunder Rosa came to the rescue and cleared the ring.

Miro and Kip Sabian w/ Penelope Ford vs. Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy
Winners: Kip Sabian and Miro via submission

Before this match could even begin, Cassidy and Taylor were ambushed by their opponents backstage. After Miro used Taylor’s head and forearm to break a glass window, he dragged him to the ring where the contest began as a handicap match until Cassidy stumbled out to the ring several minutes later to even the odds. The closing moments saw Miro assert himself as an unstoppable force as he finally finished Taylor off with The Game Over for the submission victory.

Big Money Match
Matt Hardy vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
Winner: “Hangman” Adam Page

Following Hardy’s failed attempt to persuade a drunk Page to sign a contract with him that would financially benefit Matt, an interesting stipulation arose for this match as the winner would collect all of his opponent’s income from the first quarter of 2021. In the closing moments of this bout, Hardy’s associates, Private Party, made their way to ringside to serve as a distraction. It appeared their efforts would prove to be the deciding factor as Hardy executed the Side Effect and Twist of Fate, however, it wasn’t enough. The reinforcements for Adam Page then made their way to the ring in the form of The Dark Order. Adam Page shortly thereafter hit the Buckshot Lariat to put Hardy away.

Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match
“Platinum” Max Caster vs. Lance Archer w/ Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Scorpio Sky vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
Winner: Scorpio Sky

This contest had five of the six competitors designated prior to this evening with the final surprise entrant revealed as former two-time Impact Tag Team Champion, as one half of The North, Ethan Page. The winner of this match would be crowned after ascending to the top of the ladder and retrieving the literal brass ring suspended above the ring earning him a shot at Darby Allin for the TNT Championship. The closing moments saw Cody and Sky face-to-face at the top of the ladder trading blows. Cody and his battered left shoulder could only hang on for so long as he was dropped to the canvas allowing Scorpio Sky to retrieve the brass ring setting up a title opportunity this Wednesday.

The next segment revealed the “hall of fame worthy” wrestler who would be signing a long term deal with AEW, as alluded to by Paul Wight this past Wednesday. After a countdown on the screen, he was revealed as none other than Christian Cage! Cage made his way to the ring with a contract in hand where he signed it, left it in the center of the ring, and departed.

Street Fight
Sting and Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks
Winners: Sting and Darby Allin via pinfall

Darby Allin had found himself with a target on his back for the past several months following his rejection of the invitation to join Team Taz until he found some backup in the form of the icon Sting. Their rivalry finally came to a head this evening in the form of a street fight at an undisclosed location. The fact this was a “cinematic match” made perfect sense being positioned just before the main event as it allowed the ring crew to set the stage for the Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. As far as cinematic matches go, this ended up being one of the better efforts I’ve seen. Sting and Allin overcame the numbers game when Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook came to the aid of Cage and Starks as the great equalizers proved to be the signature baseball bat and then a shovel in the hands of Sting. The match reached it’s conclusion as Sting executed the Scorpion Death Drop on Ricky Starks to earn the pinfall.

AEW World Heavyweight Championship Expolding Barbed Wire Death Match
Kenny Omega (c) w/ Don Callis vs. Jon Moxley
Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall

The main event of the evening saw Jon Moxley attempt to regain his title from Kenny Omega in an Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match. In this match the ring ropes were covered with barbed wire rigged with explosives that would be triggered on contact on three sides of the ring and if that weren’t enough, the ring would “explode” if the match reached 30 minutes. Additionally, the referee for the bout was dressed in a flame retardant hazmat suit with a face shield to add to the narrative for the gravity of the situation. This was a bloody, visceral affair that sadly saw its conclusion come with the interference of The Good Brothers who allowed Kenny Omega to gain the upper hand. Omega used this advantage and proceeded to execute a One Winged Angel that broke Moxley’s body over a chair allowing him to secure the pinfall retention of his title. Following the match, Omega, Gallows, and Anderson left Moxley handcuffed in the ring as the timer was displayed in the arena counting down to the detonation of all the remaining explosives. 

As Omega and The Good Brothers exited with Don Callis, Eddie Kingston made his way to the ring to rescue Moxley. In what ended up being a truly comedic moment, that drew an onslaught of boos from the crowd, Kingston covered Moxley (as if to protect him from the imminent explosion) only for sparklers to fire from the ring posts and firecrackers to go off on the ropes - but give credit AEW for putting forth their best effort to sell it as Kingston remained on top of Moxley seemingly rendered unconscious from the “devastating” explosion, the commentary team responded with shock and terror, and the medical team swarmed the ring. Despite this development, it was a solid and entertaining main event to conclude the show minus this blunder.

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!

AEW Revolution

By Steve Ward

After storming onto the scene in 2019, All Elite Wrestling sought to continue their meteoric rise as they made their way to the Windtrust Arena in Chicago for their first pay per view of 2020, Revolution. With arguably their most impressive card to date, the eight match card featured all three AEW titles defended including Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley for the AEW Heavyweight Championship.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

The Dark Order vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)

Winners: The Dark Order via pinfall

Much speculation entered this match as to the identity of “The Exalted One” who is the shot caller behind the Dark Order. For weeks there had been growing suspicion that “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels would reveal himself as their leader and this notion was reinforced by his glaring absence at ringside for the duration of this contest. Following Stu Grayson’s pinfall victory over Kazarian, the entire Dark Order proceeded to lay waste to SCU until Colt Cabana made his way to ringside in an attempt to even the odds to no avail. Just moments later, the Dark Order’s music resonated throughout the arena as a cloaked individual made his way onto the entrance ramp. The individual proceeded to reveal himself as “The Fallen Angel,” however, Daniels proceeded to rush the ring and vault over the ropes knocking Evil Uno to the canvas solidifying his allegiance to SCU in the process. This will surely continue the speculation as to the identity of “The Exalted One” leading many to believe it may indeed be Matt Hardy who’s contract with WWE expires March 1st or perhaps even Luke Harper who’s supposedly on his way to the promotion.

Main Card

Dustin Rhodes vs. Jake Hager

Winner: Jake Hager via submission

The main card of Revolution kicked off with a bang as the ageless Dustin Rhodes (who turns 51 on April 11) squared off with Jake Hager (known for his current Bellator career where he is undefeated and as Jack Swagger in WWE). Hager definitely displayed no signs of ring rust as he made his AEW in-ring debut after serving as Chris Jericho’s enforcer for the duration of his tenure to date. In the closing moments, Hager landed a low blow as the referee’s back was turned and proceeded to cinch in a standing side headlock/sleeper hold fusion for the submission victory.

Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Winner: Darby Allin via pinfall

In what was projected to be a potential show-stealer, these two competitors gave us our first “holy shit” moment just minutes into the match as Guevara incapacitated Allin and laid him out across a table at ringside. Guevara then proceeded to execute a flawless 630 senton which drove Allin through the table. This high-flying encounter ended in phenomenal fashion as Darby Allin executed the Coffin Drop to earn the pinfall victory.

AEW Tag Team Championship

Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. The Young Bucks

Winners: Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page via pinfall

This bout constituted a battle within The Elite as The Young Bucks earned a title shot against their brethren by surviving a battle royal recently on Dynamite. This was a five star match if I’ve ever seen one and quite possibly the best match I’ve seen in years. The closing moments alone were unbelievable. After Matt Jackson kicked out of the Buckshot Lariat and V Trigger combo by Omega and Page, Omega attempted the One Winged Angel but could not finish the move with his injured shoulder. Page proceeded to tag his way back into the match and executed the One Winged Angel himself, however, it still was not enough to put Matt Jackson away. Page would not be denied as he proceeded to nail the Buckshot Lariat on Nick Jackson out on the entrance ramp and turned around to execute it again on Matt Jackson to earn the pinfall.

AEW Women’s Championship

Nyla Rose (c) vs. Kris Statlander

Winner: Nyla Rose via pinfall

After Nyla Rose decimated Riho recently on Dynamite to become the new women’s champion, she made her first title defense this evening against Kris Statlander - who’s billed from…The Andromeda Galaxy. Kris Statlander gave Nyla Rose all she could handle in this contest. It appeared for a moment that Statlander was going to abruptly end Rose’s title reign after landing a suplex/brain buster off the top turnbuckle, however, the champ kicked out of the pinfall attempt. In an effort to put her away, Statlander then attempted a top rope hurricanrana but The Native Beast simply overpowered her and proceeded to break her in half with a Beast Bomb from the top turnbuckle scoring an easy pinfall in the process.

Cody w/ Arn Anderson & Brandi Rhodes vs. MJF w/ Wardlow

Winner: MJF via pinfall

Following weeks of running through Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s gauntlet to earn a match with him this evening, this match became extremely personal for Cody. After Cody was double crossed by MJF in his shot at the heavyweight championship against Chris Jericho late last year, when Friedman threw in the towel from The American Nightmare’s corner. Cody seemingly had this bout in the books after he executed two Cross Rhodes to a bloodied Friedman, however, MJF countered the third with a knee to the head followed by a shot between the eyes with the Dynamite Diamond Ring which allowed him to steal a pinfall.

PAC vs. Orange Cassidy w/ Best Friends

Winner: PAC via submission

“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy made his debut as a singles competitor this evening against “The Bastard” PAC (formerly known as Neville) after he assaulted Cassidy multiple times the past few weeks. Cassidy certainly impressed in this contest especially with the fact he fought a great deal of the bout with his hands in his pockets. Late in the match it appeared Cassidy was going to pull off a monumental upset after he landed a diving DDT off of the top rope, however, PAC rolled out of the ring. Trent proceeded to toss PAC back into the ring but the Lucha Bros decided to intervene in the match drawing the Best Friends away from ringside and distracting Cassidy long enough for PAC to cinch in the Brutalizer from behind for the submission victory.

AEW Heavyweight Championship

Chris Jericho (c) w/ Santana & Ortiz vs. Jon Moxley

Winner: Jon Moxley via pinfall

The main event of the evening came to fruition after Moxley denied Jericho’s offer to join the Inner Circle by responding with a champagne bottle to the face sparking a bitter rivalry for the past several weeks. Moxley solidified his position in this main event after defeating PAC in a number one contender’s match on a recent edition of Dynamite. The odds were certainly stacked against Moxley as he has made it a point to establish himself as a loner in AEW. Moxley overcame outside interference from the entire Inner Circle and a bloodied face to thwart “Le Champion” Chris Jericho in the closing moments with back to back Paradigm Shifts allowing him to cover for the 1-2-3 and become the second heavyweight champion in the company’s short history.

 

Support The Weigh-In: Your Home for Combat Sports by Shopping World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Products!