From Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega's long-awaited deathmatch to Sting's AEW pay-per-view debut, AEW Revolution 2021 featured many contrasting moments.
As a whole, AEW Revolution gave fans a lot of things to talk about. Unfortunately, the conversation on social media about this event has been negative to some extent. Whether it came to production-related problems or subjective issues, Revolution wasn't the most perfect AEW pay-per-view from start-to-finish. Still, the event included some excellent matches, which is expected from Tony Khan's promotion at this stage.
Let us know your thoughts on this AEW pay-per-view in the comments section below.
Here are the five biggest news stories from AEW Revolution (March 7, 2021).
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
#5 Christian Cage and Ethan Page became All Elite at AEW Revolution
Christian initially returned at the Royal Rumble this year. At the time, people had no idea that he would sign with AEW more than a month later.
AEW had previously teased that there would be two surprising appearances at Revolution. The first reveal occurred during the Face of the Revolution ladder match, where former IMPACT Wrestling star Ethan Page made his AEW debut.
The second reveal was the biggest talking point heading into the pay-per-view. Paul Wight had teased that a "Hall of Fame-worthy" candidate would appear at Revolution, and that is exactly what the fans got in the end.
Christian was revealed as the HOF-worthy personality. The WWE legend reverted to his "Christian Cage" moniker at AEW Revolution. Christian signed a contract in the ring without cutting a promo, which added more weight to his first AEW appearance.
He also wore an "Out. Work. Everyone." T-Shirt, which seems to be his new motto in Tony Khan's promotion. Given the depth of AEW's roster and its amazing athletes, fans are curious to know why exactly Christian chose to highlight the aforementioned slogan on his T-Shirt.
Christian was rumored to be one of the most likely candidates to be revealed as the HOF-worthy talent. But it turned out to be a memorable moment regardless of those rumors.
#4 Scorpio Sky earned a huge opportunity at AEW Revolution
Aside from Ethan Page, other competitors in AEW's Face of the Revolution ladder match were as follows:
- Cody Rhodes
- Lance Archer
- Penta El Zero Miedo
- Max Caster
- Scorpio Sky
Ladder matches are always fun to watch, and the aforementioned contest was no exception. Lance Archer was the powerhouse of the match, while Cody's arc revolved around an "injury" he suffered during the bout. The American Nightmare had to drop out of the match for a while but eventually entered the contest again as a tough babyface.
Max Caster played his role well as the loudmouth in the match. Even Jake Roberts got involved in the action at one point. The legend took a superkick from Pentagon El Zero Miedo.
In the end, it came down to Scorpio Sky and Cody. The former was able to capitalize on Cody's weakness and grabbed the literal brass ring to secure a victory. The inclusion of the physical brass ring was a sarcastic touch to the multi-man contest, even if it had a huge reward.
Scorpio Sky will get an opportunity to face Darby Allin for the AEW TNT Championship on the upcoming episode of Dynamite. Scorpio had been sidelined as a competitor in recent times. However, his important victory at Revolution was a good comeback for the star in 2021.
#3 The Inner Circle announced a "War Council" segment after fighting The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution
Chris Jericho and MJF took on The Young Bucks to kick-off the main show at AEW Revolution. The AEW Tag Team Championships were at stake, and both teams fought hard for those titles.
Matt and Nick Jackson were incensed after Jericho and MJF brutalized their father not too long ago. This drove them to overcome The Inner Circle's contenders at AEW Revolution.
The Bucks were the favorites to win heading into this bout. Aside from a few botches, MJF and Jericho put on entertaining performances. However, the reigning champions were able to defeat The Inner Circle duo. More importantly, it was Jericho who took the pinfall loss here, which was a surprising booking decision.
Later in the night, Jericho announced that his faction would take part in a "War Council" segment on the upcoming edition of AEW Dynamite. The purpose of the segment seems to be that The Inner Circle will make some changes and modify their battle plan moving forward.
These frequent "council" segments with The Inner Circle have become a running joke, in a good way. Either there could be a major bombshell in store for Jericho's group this week, or it may end up being another one of the faction's silly segments.
#2 Sting's return to wrestling matches occurred in a cinematic-style showdown at AEW Revolution
Sting's charismatic persona tag-teamed with Darby Allin in a street fight, where the action took place outside the ring at AEW Revolution.
Brian Cage and Ricky Starks represented Team Taz in this fight. The long-awaited clash between the two sides went down in an abandoned warehouse. Sting and Allin made a stylish entrance into their fight zone, which showcased the cinematic strengths of this match.
There were several memorable spots in this cinematic showdown. Sting's aura was perfectly encapsulated inside the confines of the warehouse. While Cage and Starks stood out on their own, they required some assistance from Powerhouse Hobbs and Taz's son, Hook. Despite the numbers being stacked against the babyfaces, Sting's iconic bat and Darby's daredevil courage allowed them to emerge victorious from this cinematic encounter.
Towards the end, Darby's high-risk elbow drop on Cage became the best highlight of this match.
While the footage itself looked excellent, AEW's decision to have the commentary team and Taz talk over the background music wasn't a good idea. It felt awkward to some extent, even if the commentary became more bearable towards the second half of the match.
Despite the aforementioned issue, what people will remember the most from this street fight is Sting's return to wrestling action and his first pay-per-view appearance for AEW.
#1 Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega's brutal deathmatch led to an explosive botch at AEW Revolution
The Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch between Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega was one of the most-awaited matches at AEW Revolution.
The bout itself lived up to what was promised — explosions, lots of barbed wire, and blood. Moxley and Omega told a creative story in a restricted environment. The live crowd's reactions also added a lot of fuel to this match.
With the help of The Good Brothers, an exploding barbed-wire bat, and the One-Winged Angel, Omega retained his AEW World Championship against Moxley. The latter didn't look weak at all, as he lost the hard-fought battle only when the numbers were stacked against him.
One important aspect of the aforementioned bout at AEW Revolution was that a major explosion was teased to occur after 30 minutes. Although the match ended at the 25-minute mark, Omega and his friends continued to beat down Moxley. They handcuffed Mox and left him helpless before the major explosion was about to go down.
As the heels escaped the ring, Eddie Kingston arrived at the scene and tried to save Moxley. However, with no time remaining, Kingston shielded Mox's face to protect him from the inevitable explosion.
As for the inevitable explosion at AEW Revolution — it was a total dud. There is no other way to describe how a potentially major explosion turned out to be nothing but an elaborate pyro showcase.
The main problem here was that the performers did an amazing job at selling the fact that the 30-minute explosion would result in a deadly outcome. Kingston even sold the after-effects of the underwhelming explosion, which made the situation more confusing.
Moxley and Kingston's bloody reunion should have been an emotional moment, but the production department failed in that regard. In kayfabe, there could have been some scope to justify the underwhelming finish as Omega's mistake. However, Kingston's reaction after the explosion implied that it was all a botch.