AEW Revolution Review - March 7, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Buy-In: Britt Baker and Maki Itoh def. Thunder Rosa and Riho

Itoh filled into for Reba/Rebel, who was feigning a knee injury. She got over as a huge fan favorite during the AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament despite getting bumped in the first round. Her showing up here was a nice surprise and the crowd was clearly happy to see her. This was a quality contest that showcased four of the division's better workers and bigger stars. Baker pinning Rosa for the victory keeps their feud alive.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks def. Inner Circle (Chris Jericho and MJF)

This was a hot opener and the perfect choice to open the show. It was never going to come close to the match the Bucks had with Kenny Omega and Adam Page at last year's installment, but it was still one of the better bouts of the night. If you aren't a fan of the Bucks' style, however, this probably wasn't for you. I don't love the spot-fests, either, but this had a different feel to it and was paced very well. MJF and Jericho weren't the right team to take the titles from the Bucks and instead Inner Circle is one step closer to going their separate ways (hopefully, anyway). The faction has long overstayed is welcome, and the longer they drag this out, the less I care. That said, this was an excellent outing.

Rey Fenix Won the AEW World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Casino Tag Team Royale

With so many teams involved, this was exactly what I expected it would be, and that's say it was an absolute mess. It followed Royal Rumble rules with teams coming out every 90 seconds and both members of the team had to be eliminated. There was too much to follow and it was hard to keep track of who was in and who was out. It was all over the place and I was honestly bored for most of it. That said, the final few minutes with Fenix, Pac and Jungle Boy were fantastic. Those guys killed it. Pac and Fenix, representing Death Triangle, taking on the Bucks for the tag titles should be a hell of a match.

AEW World Women's Champion Hikaru Shida def. Ryo Mizunami

I mentioned in my reviews of the AEW World Women's Championship Eliminator Tournament that I was impressed with what Mizunami could do and she had some good matches, but this match wasn't for me. It felt like they got too ambitious and tried to make it feel like it was instant classic by having both women pull everything out of their arsenals and do constant kick-outs. There was also the issue of Shida selling those terrible chops in the corner at multiple points. I've seen Mizunami do that before, but it was especially awful here. Let's not forget that this match was made days earlier and Mizunami most likely isn't sticking around long-term. It shouldn't have gone nearly as long as it did. I'm all for the women getting more time, but it has to make sense. It was a well-wrestled affair, but this simply wasn't for me. The post-match angle with Rosa saving Shida and Mizunami from Baker, Itoh and Nyla Rose set up a six-woman tag team matchup for Wednesday's Dynamite.

Miro and Kip Sabian def. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy)

This stupid storyline should have ended with the wedding last month. This felt like it should have happened on Dynamite or at the very least on The Buy-In. I had zero interest in it, but I appreciated that they attempted to switch it up by having the heels attack the babyfaces beforehand. They went on to have a perfectly serviceable match, but nothing about it really stood out as special. I liked Miro's fiery comeback and the fact he had no remorse over knocking Penelope Ford off the ring apron tells me he'll be splitting away from her and Sabian soon enough. He should have never been paired with them to begin with, but at least it's finally happening.

"Hangman" Adam Page def. "Big Money" Matt Hardy in a Big Money Match

I've said before that the stipulation was logical from a storyline standpoint given Hardy's current character (that I've been enjoying), but it was hard for fans to care because there was nothing tangible on the line. If nothing else, it might make for some funny segments in the coming weeks. The match itself was solid and one of Hardy's best since coming to AEW. Similar to the women's match, I don't think it needed to be nearly 15 minutes, especially when the outcome was never in doubt, but they worked hard. The payoff to the Page-Dark Order stuff was well done and I like how Page doesn't have to be a full-fledged member of the group to be aligned with them. Page needed this win having not won on pay-per-view since Double or Nothing last May.

Scorpio Sky def. Cody Rhodes, Lance Archer, Penta El Zero Miedo, Max Caster and "All Ego" Ethan Page in an AEW TNT Championship No. 1 Contender's Face of the Revolution Ladder Match

I've seen enough Ladder matches in WWE and AEW over the last two years to last a lifetime, but I still enjoyed the hell out of this one. First of all, Ethan Page was a nice surprise. He wasn't heavily hyped in advance, so there was no reason for fans to be underwhelmed. I fear he'll be lost in the shuffle in AEW, but he had a solid showing in this match, much like everyone else. They kept things exciting throughout, brutalized each other with some of the spots, and almost any one of these guys could have won. Penta was my pick, but Sky made sense because of how he teased a heel turn last week on Dynamite. Him against Darby Allin for the AEW TNT Championship should be great.

Christian Cage Signed His AEW Contract

I'm probably one of the biggest Christian fans you'll find, and even I was disappointed that he was the "huge, Hall of Fame-worthy" signing Paul Wight and Tony Khan have been teasing in the last few days. Is he Hall of Fame-worthy? Yes, but he's not the huge name they were making him out to be. I think only CM Punk or Brock Lesnar would have been worthy of that billing, so they shouldn't have played it up as much as they did. He would have been better off showing up as a surprise. I don't think as many people would have been let down. It's sad we'll likely never get a formal Edge and Christian in the ring because of this, but if he gets used properly, more power to him. I'm just happy he's wrestling at all because that was a pipe dream a year ago.

Sting and AEW TNT Champion Darby Allin def. Team Taz (Ricky Starks and FTW Champion Brian Cage) in a Street Fight

AEW probably should have made it clear ahead of time that this was going to be a cinematic match so the live crowd wouldn't be disappointed they weren't getting this in the ring. Other than that, this was a blast. Sting has gone on the record in saying that he felt he could do cinematic matches in WWE, but they said no. I'm glad we're getting it now because this proved he works well in this type of environment. If this really was the brainchild of Allin as has been rumored, then that's awesome because it was excellently executed. The glass spot seemed reckless, but everything else was cool and Allin's selling and offense was the highlight. Team Taz losing again doesn't excite me, but this is was an entertaining enough match where I don't think they're too hurt by the loss. Hopefully they can bounce back soon. As for Sting, I'm curious to see what he does next and how his next cinematic match will top this one.

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega def. Jon Moxley in an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch

I'm sorry but Bryce Remsburg looked ridiculous with the hazmat suit. He was nowhere near the barbed wire or the explosives, so it was silly and distracting. At any rate, this exceeded my expectations. This type of stuff isn't my cup of tea personally and I wasn't sure what to think of it going in, but it turned into a spectacle and there were enough memorable spots to make it worthwhile. Omega retaining was never in doubt, but The Good Brothers helping Omega win and no one coming to Moxley's aid is getting played out. Yes, Eddie Kingston came out afterward to save Moxley from getting blown up from the explosives in the ring, but that crap was weaker than Gillberg's pyro. Seriously, what the hell was that? I laughed for a solid two minutes because it was so pathetic. Regardless of whether it was a botch or if that was always the plan, Excalibur shouldn't have sold it like it killed Kingston on commentary, and Kingston rolling over like he was gravely injured was so dumb. It's a shame because the main event itself wasn't as over-the-top as I figured it might be, but that atrocious ending will be what people remember from this.

Overall Show

Revolution 2020 was probably my favorite pay-per-view that AEW has done to date. Unfortunately, this year's installment couldn't measure up. It was an entertaining event on the whole and a handful of the matches delivered, but the ending to the night and the disappointment surrounding the "huge" signing will be what define this show. It was definitely a mixed bag of an event and one of their weaker ones yet, even though it featured more good than bad. On the bright side, the cinematic Street Fight was terrific, the Ladder match was a ton of fun, the opener was above-average and even the main event had its moments, but I was slightly underwhelmed by the rest of Revolution. Fingers crossed they can knock it out of the park with the fallout on Wednesday night and get back on track. By the way, can AEW start their pay-per-views an hour earlier so they don't end at almost midnight over on the east coast? That might makes these shows easier to sit through, specifically for those in attendance considering this took place on the east coast in Florida.