The John Report: AEW Revolution 2025 Review

It’s AEW Revolution featuring Jon Moxley facing Adam Copeland, MJF taking on Adam Page, and several other huge matches.

This is the first AEW PPV of the year and they are smart to pick a big city like Los Angeles (go LA Rams) for it. I think it’s a strong card with a lot of matches that have been built up well. They have a crowd with over 11,000 fans in attendance according to Wrestletix, so it will be their biggest US crowd so far this year.

Here are the results of the pre-show matches.

* Komander & Hologram (with Alex Abrahantes) defeated Lee Johnson & Blake Christian by pinfall. Komander hit a Destroyer on Johnson to take him out. Hologram jumped off the top with a 450 Splash on Christian for the pinfall win.

* Daniel Garcia, Adam Cole, Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly defeated Shane Taylor Promotions – Shane Taylor, Carlie Bravo, Lee Moriarty & Capt. Shawn Dean by submission. Garcia tagged himself in while Cole was legal and applied the Dragon Tamer submission on Moriarty for the win. The TNT Champion Garcia stared at Cole while he won the match to tease another match between them.

* Chris Jericho was supposed to defend the ROH World Title against Gravity, but Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith attacked Gravity with baseball bats. The match never started. Bandido tried to make the save for his brother Gravity. Jericho’s group overpowered Bandido and Gravity. Jericho took Gravity’s mask off and Jericho hit the Judas Effect elbow on Gravity. They never showed Gravity’s face because his hair covered it. The mother and sister of Gravity and Bandido went into the ring to check on Gravity. Jericho taunted the family before leaving.

* “Big Boom!” A.J. and The Conglomeration’s Orange Cassidy & Mark Briscoe) (with Big Justice) defeated Johnny TV and MxM Collection’s Mansoor & Mason Madden by pinfall. I didn’t see any of that one.

As a reminder, I have reviewed every AEW PPV in company history over the last five-plus years. I ordered this show on TrillerTV. Let’s get to it.

===

AEW Revolution
Sunday, March 9, 2025
From the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California

There was a pyro display to start the show. No video package.

The commentary team was Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Taz so it’s the main Dynamite team to start the show.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman taunted the crowd by entering to “Hangman” Adam Page’s old song before it turned into MJF’s song. Hangman was up next in a matchup between two former AEW World Champions.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Hangman” Adam Page

Page was aggressive with punches and stomps. MJF hid behind the referee, eye-gouged Page and threw Page into the other turnbuckle. There were some streaming issues to start and the chat I was looking at here on Triller had people complaining about the same thing, so hopefully this gets fixed. I’ve never had issues with Triller before. MJF choked Page on the mat. Page went for a charging attack, but MJF caught him with a Powerbomb into the knee and Page’s head hit the mat. MJF ran the ropes followed by a hip thrust to the head. That woke up Page who got some offense going with a fallaway slam. Page punched MJF with repeated punches along with a clothesline to the back of the head while MJF was on the apron. Page did a slingshot leap over the top onto MJF on the floor. Back in the ring, MJF rolled to the apron, so Page hit a running boot to knock MJF off the apron to the floor. Page connected with an impressive moonsault off the turnbuckle onto MJF on the floor. MJF sent Page into the turnbuckle, MJF kicked Page and hit a spinning slam. MJF hit a cradle DDT for a two count. They exchanged pin attempts. MJF hit a superkick to the jaw. Page hit a Deadeye slam that makes me feel bad for his knees and it got a two count. Page blocked a Heatseeker DDT and Page hit a Buckshot Lariat for two because MJF was right by the ropes, so MJF had his left foot on the bottom rope. It was so obvious that it would be a two count that even the announcers said it. Page nailed a lariat to knock MJF down. When MJF got back up, he smartly stumbled out of the ring to the floor. Page left the ring where he charged at MJF, but MJF moved and Page hit the steel steps with his shoulder. Page tossed MJF into the ring. Page jumped over the top, but MJF caught him with the Salt of the Earth armbar on the left arm. Page got near the ropes, MJF kicked off the ropes and MJF applied a cross armbreaker on the left arm. Page managed to get his foot on the bottom rope to force a break. MJF put Tony Schiavone’s headset and said your hero is a nobody. MJF said “I’m the f**king man around here” while on the headset. Page tried lifting MJF, but Page was favoring his left arm injury. Page caught MJF on the floor, MJF countered it and MJF gave Page a Tombstone onto a chair that was opened on the floor. I guess you could say that should be a DQ, but we know it’s not going to be called a DQ in an AEW match. They had Dr. Sampson check on Page on the floor. Referee Bryce Remsburg did the slowest ten count ever, so Page got back in the ring at the count of nine and the fans cheered that.

MJF shouted at Page: “Why not me?” MJF was wondering why the fans don’t love him like they love Page. MJF went for the Heatseeker DDT off the ropes, but Page countered it and hit Deadeye in the middle of the ring. Page hooked the arms leading to the Angel’s Wings that Christopher Daniels used. MJF’s face hit the canvas hard on that move. MJF slowly got back up to his feet, turned around and Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pinfall win at 19:10.

Winner by pinfall: “Hangman” Adam Page

Analysis: ****1/4 It was an awesome match as expected by two of the best wrestlers in AEW. I have said for weeks that this was one of my favorite rivalries in AEW and it’s a match that lived up to the hype. It’s one of those matches that was hard to predict in terms of a winner, so I was really into it thinking that MJF might win, but I am certainly okay with Page winning instead. There were so many big moves in the match including the Tombstone Piledriver in the chair along with moves like the Angel’s Wings and Page hit the Buckshot Lariat twice to win the match. If they are going to have a heel World Champion for a long time then it makes sense for Page to be built up as a babyface that can potentially go after the championship again. MJF hasn’t been pinned that many times in his AEW career, but I think it was the right call for Page to win.

The Mercedes Mone/Momo Watanabe match was up next for the TBS Championship. A short video aired about that. This doesn’t have much of a story going into it.

Nigel McGuinness replaced Taz for this match, so it was Excalibur, Schiavone, and McGuinness on commentary.

TBS Championship: Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe

It was even in the first couple of minutes as they exchanged pin attempts a few times. Momo kicked the left arm and a kick to the head. Momo went for a knee attack, but Mone countered it leading to a Crossface submission until Momo got to the bottom rope. Mone hit a running Meteora double knee attack while Momo was on the apron. They attempted moves on the apron leading to Mone hitting a Powerbomb from the apron to the floor. Mone hit a snapmare followed by the Meteora double knees again for two. Mone and Momo exchanged holds again and Momo did a slam off the back leading to a two count. The fans barely reacted to it. Mone hit two suplexes, Momo countered it and Momo hit two suplexes of her own. Momo suplexed Mone into the turnbuckle so that Mone was upside down, which led to Momo doing some kicks to the chest. Momo hit a running dropkick for two. Momo worked over Mone with kicks, Mone tried to counter and Momo applied a Crossface Chickenwing submission, but Mone countered to a two count. Mone hit a Backstabber because she really likes the double knee moves. Mone hit Meteora double knees off the turnbuckle for two. Mone went for a knee attack again, Momo avoided it and Momo kicked Mone to knock her down. Momo hit her own double knee Meteora attack on the apron for two. Mone applied the Crossface on the right arm, but it wasn’t locked in well. Mone hit a Powerbomb for two. Mone went to the turnbuckle, took way too long and Momo hit a belly to belly slam off the top for two. The fans were into that nearfall. Momo hit an impressive suplex across the ring for a two count. Momo kicked Mone in the upper body three times. Momo hit a roundhouse kick to the head for two. Momo jumped off the top, Mone moved and Mone hit a cross body block off the turnbuckle for two. Mone hit the Moneymaker slam off the back and the Statement Maker crossface, so Momo tapped to give Mone the win. It went 18:30.

Winner by submission: Mercedes Mone

Analysis: ***1/4 A competitive match leading to another win by Mone, which was obvious. This match might have set the record for double knee Meteora attacks. They really like doing that move. It felt too repetitive. I’m surprised it went as long as it did. The crowd wasn’t into it the whole match since the fans barely knew who Momo was, but they got into it by the end. That’s not a shot at Momo. It’s a case of AEW putting somebody in a PPV match who barely had a storyline going into the match, so it’s tough for any wrestler in a spot like that. Mone has been in AEW for about a year at this point and I don’t think she’s had a good storyline yet. It’s match after match and the matches are good, but where are the stories? They need to do more with her other than have her say “money” all the time.

Mercedes Mone celebrated with her four titles. They showed Billie Starkz watching the match from a private box. They showed her during the match too.

The Swerve Strickland/Ricochet match was next, so there was a video package.

AEW World Title #1 Contender’s Match: Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana)

This has been another great rivalry going into this show. The winner gets a shot at the AEW World Title. I missed the introductions. Ricochet had Swerve’s robe on the ring post.

Swerve hit a shoulder tackle, so Ricochet bailed to the floor. Back in the ring, Swerve got a hold of Ricochet and dropped to his knees while Ricochet was on his back. Ricochet slapped Swerve in the face, so Swerve clotheslined Ricochet out of the ring. Swerve was punching Ricochet repeatedly on the floor, Nana got close to Swerve and Swerve shoved Nana down. Swerve apologized for it. Ricochet hit a running kick on the floor. Back in the ring, Ricochet hit a springboard moonsault for two. Nana walked to the back and did a middle finger gesture to the booing fans. Ricochet sent Swerve into the turnbuckle so Swerve went sternum first into the turnbuckle. Swerve hit some chops, but Ricochet bounced off the ropes leading to a Cutter. Actress Leslie Jones was in the second row yelling at Ricochet, so they showed her a few times. Ricochet applied a chinlock, Swerve broke free with a backbreaker and a dropkick. Swerve hit a lariat. Ricochet tried a Cutter, Swerve avoided it and Swerve hit a brainbuster. Leslie Jones was shown sweating in the crowd while supporting Swerve. Ricochet sent Swerve into the turnbuckle followed by a clothesline. They battled by the turnbuckle, Swerve hit a jumping kick to the head and Ricochet hit a springboard dragonrana for two. Swerve hit a Powerbomb followed by Swerve hitting a spinning powerslam for two. Ricochet went for a hook kick, Swerve blocked it and Swerve kicked Ricochet in the face. Ricochet countered Ricochet with the Reverse Rana on the apron and that looked like a rough landing for Swerve on his head. Ricochet put Swerve onto the Spanish commentary table at ringside. Swerve got back up to punch Ricochet, then Ricochet delivered a kick and Swerve picked up Ricochet to deliver a move like a Vertebreaker that was a rough bump on the head/neck.

They were back in the ring where Swerve went up top and Swerve hit a Swerve Stomp to upper body for just a two count. Good nearfall there. The fans were chanting “Swerve’s House” for Swerve. Ricochet collapsed on the mat, so Swerve stopped himself from doing a move. Ricochet tried a low blow, Swerve blocked it, Ricochet did an eye gouge and a Northern Lights Suplex followed by a brainbuster. Ricochet went up top, took way too long and still hit the 630 senton splash for just a two count because Swerve got the left shoulder up. Prince Nana showed up at ringside and got his rob from the ring post. Swerve rolled up Ricochet for a two count. Ricochet hit a suicide dive onto Nana. Ricochet put the robe back on. Swerve jumped out of the ring, Ricochet caught him and Ricochet slammed Swerve on the floor right on Swerve’s head. Ricochet argued with actor Dr. Ken at ringside. Ricochet sent Swerve back into the ring. Ricochet hit his sitout Vertigo slam for two. Ricochet was still wearing the robe, so Nana was grabbing the robe while Ricochet was in the ring. Swerve rolled up Ricochet for two. Ricochet rolled up Swerve, who bumped into Nana and Nana bumped to the floor. Ricochet got a two count. Swerve hit a House Call kick. Swerve hit a second House Call kick to the head for two. Swerve hit his Big Pressure sitout slam for the pinfall win at 18:10.

Winner by pinfall: Swerve Strickland

Analysis: **** It was another excellent match by these two. There might have been some people thinking that Nana would turn on Swerve to side with Ricochet, but that didn’t happen. I liked the nearfalls in the last few minutes. Ricochet won their last match, so I expected Swerve to get the win in this match. The right guy picked up the win here.

The win means that Swerve Strickland has earned a shot at the AEW World Title. Swerve grabbed the robe and presented it to his friend Prince Nana. The fans cheered that. Nana hugged Swerve. The fans cheered that.

Analysis: I like Swerve Strickland in the AEW World Title picture again. Swerve is great.

The Kazuchika Okada/Brody King match was next so there was a video package about it.

AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. Brody King

There was a body slam from King, so Okada bailed to the floor. King chopped Okada on the floor. Back in the ring, Okada charged, King sent him to the apron and King hit an elbow strike to knock Okada down to the floor. King sent Okada into the barricade followed by another chop to the chest. King sent Okada into the barricade at ringside. King charged at Okada, who avoided it and King hit the barricade. Okada gave King a DDT on the floor. The referee was out on the floor with the wrestlers instead of counting them out. Okada’s chest was red from all the chops. They were back in the ring where King hit some more chops. Okada avoided a charging King followed by Okada hitting a body slam. Okada went up top, so King hit a double chop to the chest. King gave Okada a superplex off the top rope. King delivered two more chops along with two lariats. King gave Okada a back body drop. King hit a suicide dive elbow smash that sent Okada into the barricade. They were battling on the floor again where King hit a chop to the chest. The inept referee Rick Knox was on the floor again instead of counting them out. King hit a cross body block on Okada into the barricade. King was in control in the ring with a senton splash for two. Okada and King exchanged strikes. King avoided a dropkick and King hit a running lariat. Okada hit a neckbreaker onto the knee. Okada hit the top rope elbow drop followed by a middle finger salute. King gave Okada a Death Valley Driver into the turnbuckle. King hit a cannonball against the turnbuckle for two. They battled on the apron where Okada hit a back body drop on the apron. Okada hit a running dropkick to send King into the barricade. Okada grabbed a chair, the referee took it away and Okada hit King with the Continental Title for a two count. The referee didn’t see the belt shot. King countered Okada by hitting a lefty lariat. King delivered a headbutt along with a running splash against the turnbuckle. King charged right into a dropkick by Okada. Okada hit the Rainmaker clothesline that got the pinfall win at 10:55.

Winner by pinfall: Kazuchika Okada

Analysis: ***1/4 It was a good match that went shorter than I expected. They had the kind of match where King was on offense for most of it and Okada found a way to come back to get the win. I like King a lot, but he really wasn’t a threat to win the title. I thought it would take more to beat King, but it was only a dropkick and Rainmaker to get the easy win.

A video package aired about The Hurt Business defending the AEW Tag Team Titles against The Outrunners.

AEW Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin (w/MVP) vs. The Outrunners – Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd

The fans sing along with the “We Hurt People” part of The Hurt Syndicate’s song. The Outrunners have the gimmick where they are stuck in the 1980s and the fans like their nostalgia.

Truth hit a body slam, Benjamin popped up and hit a body slam of his own. Floyd tagged in, Benjamin hit a knee to the ribs and Truth was back in with a dropkick. The challengers hit a double clothesline to send Shelton out of the ring. Lashley was knocked off the apron to the floor. Lashley went into the ring to hit a flatliner. Shelton hit a boot to knock Truth down. Lashley tagged in to hit a shoulder tackle and a swinging neckbreaker. Lashley clotheslined Truth out of the ring. Shelton sent Truth into the apron and barricade a few times. Shelton hit a release German Suplex across the ring. Shelton hit another German Suplex on Truth. Lashley was back in with a running powerslam for two. I missed a few minutes of action. Truth was in the ring with Shelton. Truth did a slam off the top, but Shelton was back up with a kick. Lashley hit a Spinebuster on Magnum. Benjamin hit a running knee and Lashley hit a Spear. Benjamin hit a running on Floyd. Lashley hit a Spear and Benjamin covered for the pinfall win. It went 8:40. The announcers wondered if anybody could stop Lashley and Benjamin.

Winners by pinfall: The Hurt Syndicate – Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin

Analysis: **3/4 Easy win for The Hurt Syndicate. I had a phone call during the match so I had to take it and wasn’t paying attention to some of the match. It was what it needed to be with the champions looking dominant. The fans like The Outrunners and I can see them getting a push later in the year, but there was no need

There was a commercial for AEW All In Texas on Saturday, July 12th. Tickets are on sale now.

The “Hollywood Ending” for the AEW Women’s Title match was next with Tony Storm facing Mariah May.

AEW Women’s World Championship Hollywood Ending Match: “Timeless” Toni Storm (w/Luther) vs. Mariah May

It was announced that it is Anything Goes and Falls Count Anywhere since it’s a “Hollywood Ending” match. The great Jim Ross joined commentary for this match.

As Storm was making her entrance, May ran up the ramp and attacked Storm there. Luther got involved, so May dropkicked him to knock him down. Storm picked up May and gave her a sitout spinebuster off the stage and through a table at ringside. That got a two count on the floor. They went down to the ringside area, May tried to escape and Storm tripped her up on the barricade. Storm gave May a DDT from the barricade to the floor. Storm went for a running hip attack, May avoided it and Storm hit the barricade. May gave Storm a Storm Zero piledriver on the top of the steel steps. Storm was bleeding heavily from the forehead. May set up Storm against the turnbuckle and May hit a running hip attack into a steel chair that crashed into Storm. May hit a German suplex. Each woman had buckets with broken glass. They also taped their wrists. The two women put their hands into the buckets so the knuckles had glass on the tape. May swung for a punch, Storm avoided it and Storm punched May in the head. Storm dumped the two buckets of broken glass into the ring. May was bleeding from the forehead so I guess Storm hit her in the head or at least that’s the idea with the blade job. Storm jabbed May with glass to the head. May used a champagne bottle to hit Storm in the groin or something like that. May bit Storm’s head and May hit a headscissors off the turnbuckle into the broken glass. May hit the May Day slam onto the broken glass for a two count. Storm was a bloody mess and May was bleeding heavily as well. The fans were chanting “AEW” for them. Storm hit a Storm Zero quick piledriver. Storm left the ring, grabbed the dreaded shoe and May went up the ramp. Storm stomped May’s head into the Women’s Title. Storm hit May with the Women’s Title to the back a few times. The fans were chanting “shoe” and Storm teased hitting May with it, but May countered with May Day on the stage for a two count. May was bleeding heavily from the forehead. Storm hit May repeatedly with the shoe to the head and the announcers had to act like it was a deadly weapon. Storm hit a Storm Zero Piledriver onto a table that was on the ramp and Storm covered May on the ramp for the pinfall win. It went 12:55.

Winner by pinfall: “Timeless” Toni Storm

Analysis: ****1/2 That was an outstanding match. A bloodbath match to put an end to this feud. It was one of the best women’s matches in AEW history. There might be some people that go even higher than I did in the rating for this match and that’s fine, but I don’t think it was long enough to get to that level. With that said, I enjoyed it as a fight that had a lot of weapons and they didn’t hold back. Storm and May work together well, they had a completely different kind of match compared to their last two matches and it felt like a fight with all the blood by both women. Storm winning made sense as the babyface who recently won back the title.

Toni Storm was lying on top of Mariah May and it said “The End” on the screens in the arena. That was the final match in this long rivalry.

Analysis: This was the best women’s storyline in AEW history. Good job by everybody involved.

There was a commercial for AEW’s next PPV called Dynasty in Philadelphia on Sunday, April 6th.

The Konosuke Takeshita/Kenny Omega match was next so there was a video package for it.

AEW International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. Kenny Omega

This is Omega’s first PPV match in well over a year. Taz was back on commentary while Nigel McGuinness and Jim Ross were out so it was Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone for this match. Don Callis joined commentary as well.

The crowd was hot for this match because they love Omega. I missed a few minutes at the start due to a bathroom break. Takeshita was in control for a few minutes. Takeshita hit an overhead suplex across the ring. Omega was selling his ribs/stomach due to having his intestine removed. Takeshita pulled out a table from under the ring. The table was by the apron, so Takeshita tried a move and Omega held onto the ropes to block that. Omega spiked Takeshita’s head into the apron. Omega hit a rolling senton on the floor. Omega jumped off the barricade for a move, but Takeshita shoved Omega off the barricade into another barricade so Omega’s ribs hit the barricade. The referee wasn’t counting them out of the ring. Omega was selling the left side of the ribs. Back in the ring, Takeshita hit an elbow strike for two. Takeshita hit a brainbuster for two. Omega hit a springboard cross body block. Omega hit a rolling senton in the ring followed by a moonsault off the turnbuckle for two. Omega sent Takeshita out of the ring and Omega ran the ropes, but Don Callis was there to grab Omega’s legs to stop a dive attempt. The referee didn’t see it. Okada clotheslined Omega over the top to the floor. Takeshita hit a German Suplex and Omega did a flip bump on the floor for a hard landing. They fought by the table that was set up on the floor. Omega flipped the table over, which drew boos from the crowd. Takeshita gave Omega a front suplex onto the metal railing of the table. It didn’t spike Omega in the ribs. Takeshita put the table on its side and Takeshita suplexed Omega ribs-first onto the edge of the table. Ouch. Callis was celebrating.

They went back into the ring where Takeshita hit a senton splash to the ribs. Takeshita hit another senton splash. Takeshita went for another splash, but Omega got his knees up to block. Takeshita hit a body slam. Takeshita went up top and went for a senton splash off the top, but Omega rolled inward to avoid the splash. They did the “stand and throw forearm” spot. Takeshita hit an elbow strike to the jaw. Omega caught Takeshita leading to a Snapdragon Suplex. Takeshita punched Omega in the ribs. Omega came back with a running knee. Omega hit a Powerbomb and V-Trigger knee for two. Takeshita avoided a move and Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count as usual for that move. Takeshita charged with a running Helluva Kick as the Sami Zayn tribute moves continued. Omega went to the top turnbuckle, so Takeshita clotheslined Omega from the apron to the ground. Takeshita was on the top trying to bring Omega back into the ring and Omega was able to hit a Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the turnbuckle for two. That was very impressive. Omega hit a V-Trigger knee while Takeshita was by the ropes. Omega tried a lift, but then Omega collapsed to sell the rib injury. Takeshita went for his own lift, Omega got out of that and Takeshita countered Omega leading to a Tombstone piledriver. Takeshita hit his spinning Tombstone-style slam for two. Takeshita hit a running knee to the head and Omega got his left arm up. Takeshita hit a running knee to the head again, so Omega kicked out at one! The fans erupted in cheers and “Kenny” chants. Takeshita punched Omega in the ribs. Takeshita punched Omega in the jaw. Omega hit a ripcord knee followed by a piledriver while pulling on the tights and that got a two count. Takeshita blocked a knee attempt, Takeshita hit a forearm and Omega hit a knee to the jaw. Omega hit a Reverse Rana to spike Takeshita on his head. Omega hit a running V-Trigger knee. Callis was at ringside to grab Takeshita’s arm to prevent Omega from doing more. They each went for finishers, they countered eachother and Omega got a crucifix pin for two. Omega kept on going for another crucifix pin for the one…two…and three! It went 28:30.

Winner by pinfall AND NEW International Champion: Kenny Omega

Analysis: ****3/4 That was an amazing match. It’s right below a five-star match in my eyes. The pace picked up as the match went on and the second half of the match was absolutely incredible. These guys match up so well together, there were a lot of great counters throughout the match and I liked the finish. The reason I liked the finish is because neither guy hit their finishing move in a match that nearly went 30 minutes, but Omega was able to win with a crucifix pin right after Takeshita kicked out of the same move. That kind of finish shows how close of a match it was because they couldn’t put eachother away, so Omega had to do something else to figure out how to win the match. That spot where Omega kicked out at one was brilliant also because it fired up the crowd and they got into it at that point. Omega did a fantastic job of selling the rib/stomach injury throughout the match and that helped the story of the match.

Kenny Omega celebrated with the AEW International Championship. Omega was emotional about the win while staring at the title while Excalibur talked about what Omega had gone through physically over the last year.

Analysis: I expected a title change in that match. I think we’ll see Omega against Okada at AEW All In and they will combine their two titles.

The announcers talked about AEW Double or Nothing in Phoenix on Sunday, May 25th.

The Will Ospreay-Kyle Fletcher Steel Cage Match was next. A video package aired to set it up. There are two matches left.

Steel Cage Match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher (w/Don Callis)

The only way to win a Steel Cage Match in AEW is by pinfall or submission. No escape the cage rule in AEW.

Kyle Fletcher climbed to the top of the cage and stood on the top of the cage as Will Ospreay made his entrance. Will climbed to the other side of the cage, so they were standing on different corners at the top of the 15-foot high cage. When the two men got down, the referee called for the bell to start the match. The bigger man Kyle knocked down Will with a shoulder tackle. Will hit a hurricanrana. Kyle hit a kick to the head. Will managed to grind Kyle’s head against the cage. Will tried a handspring move off the ropes, but Will’s foot hit the cage, so Kyle hit a lariat. Kyle kicked Will to knock him down. Will chopped Kyle a few times followed by a Stundog Millionaire. Will sent for a springboard move, Kyle caught him and Kyle sent Will face first into the cage. Will did a blade job there because the camera was on Kyle as he celebrated the move. Kyle rammed Will’s face into the cage a few times. Kyle was licking the cage, which is gross. Kyle punched Will in the face repeatedly. Kyle sent Will hard into the turnbuckle. Will came back with a springboard forearm. Will sent Kyle into the cage three times and a back body drop followed. Will hit a twisting splash onto Kyle for two. Will sent Kyle into the cage a few times. Will had busted open Kyle, who was bleeding from the chest. Will went up top, but Kyle was there to block it briefly. Will slammed Kyle into the cage three times in a row. Will jumped off the top with a Cancun Tornado for the two count. Kyle was also bleeding on the head. Kyle crotched Will on the top rope and kicked Will into the cage. Kyle hit a Last Side sitout Powerbomb for a two count. Kyle held Will’s head leading to repeated kicks to the head. Will no sold the kicks and nailed Kyle with an elbow strike to the jaw. Will kicked Kyle a few times. Will and Kill exchanged repeated kicks to the head. Will hit two forearms to the jaw. Kyle was back up with a kick, Kyle went for a Powerbomb and Will spiked him with a DDT. Kyle escaped a move by Will leading to a brainbuster for two.

Mark Davis went to ringside with bolt cutters, so he cut the giant lock and opened the cage. Davis brought a chair into the ring and Davis had a black bag with him. Will kicked the cage match into Mark’s head. Will grabbed a barbed wire baseball bat that was in the bag. Will hit Kyle with barbed wire bad shots to the ribs and back. Will jammed the barbed wire bat into Kyle’s head. Kyle had the United Empire armband to show that they were together again, but the fans booed that thought while Will did a middle finger salute. Will lunched, so Kyle hit him with a low blow uppercut. Fletcher wiped the blood off his head and jammed the armband into Will’s mouth. Will avoided a baseball bat attack and Will hit Hidden Blade. Will hit the Stormbreaker for two because Mark Davis broke up the pin attempt. Davis was bleeding from the cage door being slammed into his face. Dave applied a sleeper hold to choke out Will. Daivs helped Kyle back to his feet. Kyle shouted at Will saying Will wanted this, not Kyle. Fletcher and Davis lifted Will, but Will hit a Reverse Rana on Kyle. Will hit a Hidden Blade on a chair to knock Davis out of the cage. Will jumped the side of the cage and hit an Oscutter for two. Great spot. Will put barbed wire onto his right wrist area. Kyle climbed the cage and Kyle found a screwdriver, so Kyle jammed it into the top of the head. Kyle jabbed the screwdriver into the ribs and the upper back. Kyle hit a brainbuster. Kyle hit a brainbuster on a chair that was opened up in the ring and it only got a two count. Kyle poured out a bag full of thumbtacks onto the mat. Will countered a move a Reverse Rana. Will gave Kyle a Styles Clash onto the pile of thumbtacks for just two. Kyle screamed in pain. Will tried a move, Kyle avoided it and Kyle climbed to the top of the cage. Will went after Kyle with the screwdriver. Will hit Kyle in the skull with the screwdriver. They were on the top of the cage, Will held Kyle in his arm and Will gave Kyle a Spanish Fly slam off the top of the cage. That led to “holy shit” chants. Will was fired up, Kyle said he hated him, and Will hit Hidden Blade. Will hit the Tiger Driver 91 move for the pinfall win at 28:58.

Winner by pinfall: Will Ospreay

Analysis: ****1/2 That was a crazy match. We saw another crazy match on this show and this one went a lot longer. It felt a bit long and that’s partly why I didn’t think it was a five-star level match, but it was certainly close to that match. That Spanish Fly spot off the top of the cage was incredible. It was another bloodbath match on this show since both guys bladed and their blood covered the ring. Fletcher won their previous PPV match, so I thought Omega winning the match was a lock and I wasn’t surprised by it. These guys have a lot of chemistry together and they showed it once again. This was awesome to watch. I can understand some people giving five stars for it because it’s Ospreay. That’s fine. I don’t think it reached that level, but it was still an incredible match. I’m not a fan of guys putting blood on objects and then putting it in the other guy’s mouth. I understand that they do it to get a reaction, but I also think it’s not necessary.

A bloody Will Ospreay celebrated the win

The Director of “Queen of the Ring” film Ash Avildsen was at ringside. Ash said it was great to be there and plugged the movie. They had two women actresses from the film at ringside and they said that this movie was for the fans. One of the women said the great thing about wrestling is you know who is going to win. Oops. The director wanted to say something else, but Tony Schiavone didn’t let him. This was awkward lol.

It’s 3.5 hours into the show as the main event video package aired for the Jon Moxley-Adam Copeland match.

The “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland aka Cope made his entrance to a big ovation as usual. When the song stopped playing, a lot of fans sang the song. It wasn’t as loud as the Australian fans doing it, but it was still cool that they did. The AEW World Champion Jon Moxley made his entrance carrying the title in a briefcase.

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Adam Copeland aka Cope

The story is that Cope took out Moxley’s four allies, so Moxley was all alone for this match. Jim Ross joined commentary for this match. Will he say Edge by accident? Maybe. That’s okay.

It started out with both men exchanging punches and forearms. Cope and Moxley exchanged strikes while on their knees. They continued to throw forearm strikes. Cope hit Moxley with a clothesline out of the ring. Cope hit a sliding dropkick to keep Mox down. Cope jumped off the top with a flying body attack to knock Mox down. Moxley grabbed a chinlock. Cope hit a back body drop over the top to the floor. Cope jumped off the apron and hit a clothesline on the floor. Moxley went Cope into the ring post. Moxley pulled on Cope’s arms to send Cope face first into the ring post. Moxley rammed Cope’s head into the barricade at ringside a few times. Moxley worked over Cope with an elbow smash to the throat. Moxley gave Cope a neckbreaker on the apron for a two count. Moxley was choking Cope across the middle turnbuckle along with some forearm smashes. Moxley hit some knee drops to the head along with more choking. Moxley charged, Cope sent him into the turnbuckle and Cope got a rollup for two. Moxley hit a Cutter for two. Cope came back with an Impaler DDT. Cope was back up with a clothesline. Cope hit a couple of lariats along with a sitout neckbreaker for two. Cope set up Moxley on the top rope leading to a top rope superplex for two. I should point out here that it was 10 minutes into the match and the fans were quiet for the match. Cope applied a Crossface, so Mox got to the ropes to break the hold. Cope hit a Spear through the ropes so they both bumped to the floor. They were out on the floor where Moxley set Cope into the steel steps. Moxley pulled up the mat at ringside and Moxley hit The Stomp on Cope on the floor.

They were back in the ring where Moxley got a two count. Moxley applied a Bulldog Choke submission and after about a minute, Cope broke it by getting to the bottom rope. Moxley brought a steel chair into the ring, referee Bryce Remsburg got their chair and took it away. Cope covered Moxley, who kicked Cope from the ropes to the floor. Moxley hit a DDT. Moxley crawled over to Cope so they could talk about what to do next. Moxley brought two more chairs to the ring. Moxley put Cope’s head under a chair, Moxley teased a Conchairto, took way too long and Cope hit an up kick to counter what Mox was doing. Cope and Moxley each ran the ropes leading to a double clothesline. Wheeler Yuta made his way down to the ring while both guys were down. Yuta hit a Busaiko Knee on Cope. There was still no referee in sight. Yuta brought the World Title in a briefcase into the ring. Jay White went to ringside and clotheslined Nakamura. White got the briefcase from Moxley, then White swung the briefcase, Moxley moved and White hit Cope with the briefcase to the head. Yuta went fighting with White to the backstage area. Moxley sat on top of Cope, the referee was back in the ring and Cope got his right shoulder up. Moxley argued with the referee, so Copeland charged with a running Spear for two. Cope hit a second Spear. Cope hit a third Spear in a row and as Cope tried a cover, somebody pulled referee Bryce Remsburg out of the ring. It was Christian Cage. Cage had a hoodie on. Cage hit Cope with the steel contract that he had in his hand.

Christian Cage signed the contract and cashed it in to make this a triple threat match.

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage hit a Spear on Cope for a two count. Cage hit Killswitch on Cope for two because Moxley broke up the pin. Moxley applied the Bulldog Choke on Cage, who put his hand on Cope’s chest for a two count. Moxley kept on applying the Bulldog Choke on Cage, who passed out in the hold. Moxley won by submission on Cage. This whole thing went 26:37. The match with Cage joining it was less than 2 minutes.

Winner by submission: Jon Moxley

Analysis: **3/4 It was a disappointing match. This was a hard match to rate because I admired the work of the two veterans but the fans didn’t care that much and I think that hurt the match. It’s a main event and it’s supposed to mean something. It didn’t feel like that big of a deal. That’s nothing against Moxley or Copeland, but I think people felt like it was a weak story and that hurt the match. Christian getting involved to lose in two minutes is how you book a guy to look like an idiot. It also gives Cope an out since he lost the match without getting pinned or submitting, so Cope can say he Anyway, I’m not that surprised by Mox winning.

Jon Moxley left with the briefcase that had the AEW World Title in it. Moxley left in the back part of the arena where he walked by the fans and made his way backstage. When Moxley was about to leave, Prince Nana showed up wearing his robe. Security guys were there to stop Moxley from attacking Prince Nana. The camera pulled back to reveal Swerve was on a barricade in the crowd. Swerve jumped onto Moxley with a double foot stomp. Swerve said he was going to be the next AEW World Champion and Swerve said this is Swerve’s house. They played Swerve’s song to end the show.

Analysis: That sets up Jon Moxley against Swerve at AEW Dynasty next month. I don’t expect a title change there, but I guess it’s a possibility and I know there’s a lot of frustration with the Death Riders story, so maybe Swerve will win. My feeling is that long term it should be Hangman Page, Darby Allin, Will Ospreay or Kenny Omega who beats Moxley for the title since Swerve won the title last year. Page and Omega had it several years ago while Allin and Ospreay have never had it.

AEW Revolution had a runtime of 4:05:54 on pay-per-view.

===

Five Stars of the Show

1. Kenny Omega
2. Toni Storm-Mariah May
3. Will Ospreay
4. “Hangman” Adam Page
5. Swerve Strickland

===

Final Thoughts

It gets an 8.75 out of 10 from me.

I think it was a great show with a lot of awesome matches, but then the main event happened, and that one was disappointing. I think in terms of excellent matches, it’s hard to rank them and I don’t even know what my favorite would be. The Omega-Takeshita match was incredible to me although I enjoyed the bloodbath matches with Storm-May and Ospreay-Fletcher too. I also enjoyed MJF-Hangman and Swerve-Ricochet a lot as well. The last three matches were all around 30 minutes and then a few other matches were about 20 minutes. I think sometimes you can go a bit shorter with matches.

The show was match after match with clean finishes the whole way through and no angles after matches except the main event. There was an angle during the main event with Christian Cage getting involved. I think sometimes they need to be more creative on these PPVs and do something other than matches. It wouldn’t hurt to have a 3-minute interview at some point and I don’t mean the Queen of the Ring people doing awkward comments. Then again, the hardcore AEW fans like this kind of product full of action. I’m not saying that because it was a bad show. Just saying that they could make it a bit different.

There was a lot to like here. I enjoyed it. Was I tired after writing for over four hours straight? Yeah. But I think what they did was deliver a show that was what hardcore AEW fans like. I’d call it a big success…other than the main event. Just saying.

===

Thanks for reading this review. My contact info is below.

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport