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!

ALL ELITE WRESTLING: ALL OUT RECAP

By Steve Ward

This evening marked another landmark event for the upstart All Elite Wrestling. They made their return to Chicago again with ALL OUT just one year after the highly successful ALL IN that came to fruition on a bet with writer Dave Meltzer. The rumors and hype swirling around this event have been at a fever pitch for weeks, if not months. Questions such as would we witness the debut of CM Punk in his hometown or some other shocker? Would Chris Jericho or Hangman Page be crowned the first ever AEW champion? Aside from these factors, the card was also supposed to feature Jon Moxley (formerly known as Dean Ambrose) squaring off with Kenny Omega, however, a staph infection sidelined Moxley. AEW did find a more than suitable replacement with PAC (better known as Neville from his WWE days) to maintain a more than formidable card that was headlined by Jericho vs. Page to decide the first ever AEW World Champion.

The Buy-In Pre-Show

Casino Battle Royale

(Winner receives AEW Women’s Championship opportunity on TNT debut)

Winner: Nyla Rose

Private Party vs. Jack Evans & Angelico

Winners: Private Party

Main Card

SoCal Uncensored - Scorpio Sky, Frankie Kazarian, & Christopher Daniels vs. Jurassic Express - Luchasaurus,Marko Stunt, & Jungle Boy

Winners: SoCal Uncensored via pinfall

This was an absolutely phenomenal bout to open the show. The high-flying, frenetic action finally came to a close as Kazarian hoisted up BOTH Stunt and Perry into a piledriver starting position as “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels executed the Best Moonsault Ever to complete the tandem piledriver for the pinfall.

PAC vs. Kenny Omega

Winner: PAC via submission

After Jon Moxley had to back out of this contest with a staph infection, PAC stepped up to answer the challenge. This match was an instant classic. These men put on a well balanced display of strong-style and high flying maneuvers as they went toe to toe with reckless abandon. This bout came to a close as Omega attempted to execute the One Winged Angel, however, PAC adjusted himself so that he was up in a fireman’s carry position and proceeded to cinch in The Brutalizer for the shocking submission victory.

Cracker Barrell Challenge Match

Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela

Winner: Jimmy Havoc

Essentially this match was a hardcore match with several cracker barrels at ringside (can you say sponsorship?). Just moments into the action it became apparent that this was not any hardcore match, but pure unadulterated violence. There were tacks, staple guns, tables, chairs, and of course cracker barrels - all used with utter disregard for anyone‘s well being. This match finally concluded as Jimmy Havoc put the pride of Asbury Park, Joey Janela, through a barrel with the The Acid Rainmaker.

The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Barreta) vs. The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Grayson)

Winners: The Dark Order via pinfall

This match pit two teams that could not have been any more different in demeanor against each other with a first round bye in the upcoming tag team title tournament at stake. The Dark Order definitely would not pass for PG television as the roughly 250 lb Evil Uno donning a leather mask came to the ring with 8 more leather masked man appropriately donned The Creepers. This tandem took on The Best Friends who, well, their gimmick is that they are best friends. This match reached it’s conclusion as The Dark Order landed The Fatality on Trent Barreta for the pinfall. After the match, The Creepers were carrying Barreta away as the arena went dark and when they illuminated the arena again, Orange Cassidy stood in the center of the ring, hands in his pockets. Without ever removing his hands from his pockets, Cassidy vaulted over the top rope and took out all of The Creepers saving Barreta from whatever The Dark Order had planned for him.

Hikaru Shida vs. Riho

Winner: Riho via pinfall

This match carried great weight with it as it was sanctioned to determine who will face Nyla Rose, the winner of the Casino Battle Royale, to be crowned the first AEW Women’s Champion. This was probably the only match of the evening where the crowd was semi-uninspired and it wasn’t for a lack of action but rather because nobody knew who they were. Riho finally secured the pinfall in this one after a backslide into a rollup pinfall.

Cody w/ MJF vs. Shawn Spears w/ Tully Blanchard

Winner: Cody via pinfall

This match pitted “The American Nightmare” Cody and Shawn Spears (formerly The Perfect 10 Tye Dillinger) against each other in a personal affair. Spears was backed by Dusty Rhodes longtime rival Tully Blanchard while Cody had MJF in his corner. After repeated interference by Blanchard, he proceeded to lay waste to MJF after Spears aided him in getting the upper hand. This didn’t last long, however, as Arn Anderson made his way to the ring and dropped Spears with a vicious spine buster. This allowed Cody the window of opportunity he needed as he landed Cross Rhodes on Spears to secure the victory.

Escalera De La Muerte - AAA Tag Team Championship

The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) (c) vs. The Young Bucks

Winners: The Lucha Bros

Words would not do justice to the carnage that ensued in this contest. Saying these teams put their bodies on the line would be an understatement. When the dust settled, the Lucha Bros stood atop the ladder and retrieved the tag team titles. After the match, two masked men rushed the ring and laid waste to both teams. With both teams dismantled, they removed their masks to the shock of the crowd as it was Santana and Oritz - better known as the latest incarnation of LAX in Impact Wrestling.

AEW World Championship

Chris Jericho vs. Hangman Adam Page

Winner: Chris Jericho via pinfall

Several compelling storylines surrounded this match. This match was set to crown the first AEW World Champion, it pitted 27 year old Hangman Page against the grizzled veteran Chris Jericho who started wrestling two years before Page was born, and it featured the first ever female referee for the main event of a pro wrestling pay per view between two men. Jericho couldn’t put Page away with the Codebreaker or the Walls of Jericho but Page couldn’t stop him either with the Buckshot Lariat or The Deadeye. In the closing moments, a bloodied Jericho seemed like he was moments from suffering a devastating defeat when he countered another Buckshot Lariat attempt by Page with the Judas Effect for the 1-2-3.

In closing, I will say that this may have been the most exciting pay per view from start to finish that I’ve seen in quite a while and WWE should be on notice come October 2^nd when AEW debuts their weekly show on TNT.

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