R-EVOLUTION VI - 3/9/2025

[HarryArchieGus]

2 hours ago, tbarrie said:

The last time Christian cashed in on Copeland, it was a contract that Luchasaurus won. So evidently that one was transferable.

Of course, being able to willingly hand it over doesn't imply you can just grab the contract and cash in.

Either slipped my mind or meant to forget that Christian stole the MITB. I think that story suggested consent was required. I suppose that saves this lame MITB contract from being any worse - eg a 24/7 Hardcore title situation. I'm hoping ppl band together and Will the MITB contract out of AEW forever.  

[Gordi the BJW fan]

8 hours ago, Niners Fan in CT said:

... but what can you do

How about NOT making the same mistakes WWE does?

 

Does anyone else think it is maybe a DELIBERATE tribute to WCW to follow a GREAT undercard with an overbooked drag of an old man Main Event?

 

Hilarious pay-off to the cash-in.

 

That was such a great show until the main that I was afraid I would have to roll back my "this PPV is my last ride with AEW for a while" but that overbooked horseshit saved me 

 

It you switched Hollywood Ending into the main, the exact same match without another second  added, and put lol Mox wins in the midcard, that would have been a legit contender for Greatest Show Ever.

 

What an undercard! What a wet fart of a main event.

 

Anyway: Gordlow out (for now)!

[HumanChessgame]

The preshow was mostly a decent ROH episode, although I don't think Jericho and company beating down the new lucha bros did anyone any favors. I wonder if it was called off for time or something. Didn't pay attention to the celeb trios match

I was expecting something a bit more heated between MJF and Page. The match itself was fine but didn't feel like the heated grudge match that had been built up. Then again I just don't see Page as the guy most people here do.

Aside from last night on Collision I'd never seen Momo before and this was a fine outing on her behalf. Banks held up her end (her strength has always been her selling) and Momo looked like a badass in all of this.

Good stuff between Ricochet and Swerve. The bumps and near bumps with Nana bugged me at first, but I realize they were telling a wider story.

Okada/King wasn't bad even though Okada doesn't have it anymore. This and the following match were better served as Rampage matches, but I relize the need for cooler matches.

I respect The Outrunners for getting themselves over, but they're a comedy team and nothing special in-ring. This match was about what it needed to be.

After Sami/Owens at EC I talked about how repetitive all sports entertainment garbage matches are to me and how they're just watered down versions of the actual thing. I'd expected this match to be more of the same and was happy to be proven wrong. A lot of people opined that May and Storm should have headlined and what we got here was proof that maybe they should have.

Omega/Takeshita was your typical overly long Omega match but maybe he's proving to everyone he can still go after his health issues. I would have been fine with this match in a vaccuum, but on an already over-long card it just seemed never-ending.

The graphic nature of Storm/May made me wonder what we'd see from Osperay and Fletcher. I like both guys as wrestlers but thought they might be out of their element here. It was nice to be proven wrong as this was brutal and also creative.

I won't go on about how shitty I think the Death Riders are and how there's no reason for Edge to be in the world title picture in 2025. This was the least good match on the card and the crowd was pretty spent after all they'd seen so far, so putting this on last was not going to get a huge reaction. I mainly stayed up to watch it to see what kind of angle was going to play out afterwards. Moxley is way past his sell by date as champ, but I didn't want to see Edge or Christian have the belt either. The sooner Swerve takes the belt the better.

Excessive length and mediocre main event nonwithstanding this was a great show.

[Casey]

1 minute ago, HumanChessgame said:

The sooner Swerve takes the belt the better.

I've got some bad news for you, brother.

[Kevin Wilson]

I didn't like the main as I assume no one did but match order doesn't really matter to me. I paid $50 for a show and bottom to almost top I was highly entertained. Mone/Momo, Swerve/Ricochet, Omega/Takeshita, Toni/Mariah, and Ospreay/Fletcher were all great. MJF/Page, Tag title and Okada/Brody were good to acceptable. Yea the main wasn't good but that doesn't take away my overall enjoyment of the show, some really high end stuff. It felt like there were a few "feud enders" tonight so curious to see what direction some of them go next while I try to continue to ignore the death riders.

[Niners Fan in CT]

I guess....    Look,  I thought the main event sucked too but I'm not going to let that ruin what was an excellent show.   Pretty much every match delivered all the way through and most of them delivered in a huge way.   I think The Hollywood Ending should have definitely been the main event.  

My only other gripe is I believe the cage match should have trimmed off about ten minutes or so.  They went way too long.  

If Swerve beats Mox next month then it's a huge step in the right direction for the main event scene.  But if they are truly waiting for Darby to come back then it's ridiculous.  Look at the crowd tonight.  The match with the least reaction by far was Mox vs. Cope. The title reign has to end and go to someone like Swerve. 

[Sex Machine Gun]

Christian is an IDIOT.

[Casey]

At this point, I don't think they're waiting for Darby - I think they're waiting for their largest attended US show, at All In Texas.

As much as I want Swerve to beat Mox, at Dynasty (where he won his first World title), and move on (back?) to Hangman and do an exploding barbwire deathmatch... I don't think it's gonna happen. I'd love it, but I can see the theory behind Mox dropping the title finally in front of 30k or whatever fans.

But Swerve is that fuckin' guy, and TK needs to jump back on that bandwagon and just ride it.

[Niners Fan in CT]

You can't manufacture "moments" like it's WWE.  Most of the time that style of booking flops.  The only times those are truly paid off is if all the story beats are hit on throughout the entire build up.  

In the case of the Death Riders,  the story is already a fail so that's why it's important to know when to pivot. 

[Cobra Commander]

well, that sounds like one way to get out of Christian having a MITB-ish gimmick without doing the same thing you did with Christian and Copeland a year ago

[EVA]

Really loved this show. Nearly everything delivered to over-delivered on expectations, with the exception of the tag title match (which really should’ve been a 5 minute squash, and I regret to say that nothing the Outrunners showed tonight suggested otherwise) and the main event, which I already had low expectations for and somehow they still came up short.

Mox/Cope was basically a Bloodline main event—brutally boring for 20 minutes and nobody cares until the ref bumps and it’s time for the run ins. And Mercedes/Momo and Kenny/Soup both showed that you can draw a tepid crowd in if you bring the goods, so you can’t even really blame it on the crowd being burnt. Mox and Cope just had zero interesting ideas between them.

Kenny/Soup was my MOTN, and probably new MOTY. Kenny should be world champion right now, but maybe we can all just act like the international belt is the top title moving forward. I hope Soup doesn’t get lost in the shuffle without the belt. Kenny went out of his way to make him look like a beast and protect him in defeat.

I liked a lot of Ospreay/Fletcher but agree that it was about 10 minutes too long. Really, they could’ve cut out everything with the bag of gimmicks that Davis brought in. The Spanish Fly off the cage was insane. The AEW cage is so high, I don’t think anyone has gone off the top without one or more people there to land on before, and Fletcher went full-on flat back.

They should’ve taken a cue from Toni and Mariah and just hit the good bits and got the hell outta there.

Edited March 10 by EVA

[Curt McGirt]

(THIS COUNTRY NEEDS A) REVOLUTION 2025

Spoiler

- Starting out with Hangman/MJF was probably the right move. Hanger's hair screams "my girl had me do this for her birthday". Or perhaps, "I've never met her parents, we were going there for the holidays and they're really Christian". I don't remember much else, Max made a bigtime boo-boo face, and there was an Angel's Wings where he landed right on his fucking face that should have ended the match, but they had to do the flippy clothesline instead of giving Max the ten count or Hanger a pin. Go figure. Fine match. Crystal Ball says: Maxwell will show up in a neckbrace on Wednesday.

- The look on Mercedes' face in her photo is way too happy and makes it look like she was sharing some of the white girl that PAC had gotten into during his own photo shoot. The ref for some reason was calling Momo "Mu Mu" which... jeez. Momo kicked the living shit out of her to where she could have broken some ribs and then kick wham stunner, Mercedes wins again. Jesus Christ now I really cannot stand her. Kick her ass back to WWE. Hell, kick her ass anywhere else that'll take her, she's already got belts from other promotions.

- Swerve's remix was the shits, thankfully at the end they play the right song. From the jump I wanted to Nana to just GRAB THE ROBE AND RUN AWAY but it was clear they had other plans, that actually ended up good in the end, because I half expected Nana to go to the dark side and Swerve lose. Which would have suuuuuucked. Thankfully he only flips off Swerve and takes a breather, we have our expected Swerve/Ricochet match with all the longwinded goofiness that would ensue, he returns for some narrative tension and Swerve wins. The end was actually kinda touching and I really liked that. (PS next time tell whatever celebrities you got in the crowd to sit down and STFU during the matches, Leslie Jones was really irritating during this)

- Okada/Brody was kind of plodding? But that felt kind of necessary. Slow and brutal is Brody's thing and it was nice seeing Okada get beat on, and beat on he did. Unfortunately his puny Rainmaker is nothing compared to the violence of a Brody Lee Deathcore Lariato. Wrestling logic don't work that way though. 

- Ah, the Outrunners, "20 long rookie years" in the waiting for a tag title opportunity. They have a fun little match with the Hurt Syndicate. It's clear that as a team they use the old delineation of one being the worker and the other being the gimmick, with Shelton taking about 75% of the match and Bobby coming in as the destroyer. The one Outrunner does a humorous rope-walk armdrag that will get a big pop from now on, but they get crushed anyway. A line-of-the-night from the always talented MVP: "THEY SHAMING ON YOU!"

- What is there to even say about Toni vs. Mariah? MILLION BILLION STARS~!!! Besides all the sweet sweeeet blood, both ladies were taking rude bumps, like Mariah seeming to hurt her back dropkicking Dr. Looser over the table, then just getting right up to eat a Rydeen Bomb off the entrance which seemed to jack up Toni's bum (which is, thankfully for her/us, as ample as it is). When they get to the ring they both lose their marbles. Toni seems visibly pissed about how deep she cut her hairline, and then we see why. Mariah tries to catch up to the bloodloss. Justin Roberts is shooed off in mortal terror for his chair! We get a re-do of the frickin' TAIPEI DEATH MATCH!!! I mean there is only so much you can write about this, it is a perfect match, just end the card now. 

Right? 

 

[username]

Really they should just run Swerve/Mox on Dynamite and switch the belt then, screw build and everything it's time to admit it ain't working and move on to the next thing ASAP.

[Kevin Wilson]

While wrestling is obviously very subjective, for all the anti-Momo people out there, as always I watched the show with my 'not on the Internet' brother, who watches just AEW and WWE PLEs. Had never seen or heard of Momo before the last few weeks. Before the cage match we did our usual 'which match so far as been the best' and he thought up to that point, Momo/Mone was (it then got surpassed by the cage match) with Toni/Mariah being a very close second. He thought it was a really hard hitting match that felt like it went the right amount of time and he enjoyed Momo kicking the shit out of her haha so while no, it wasn't a big defense that will be remembered in the history of AEW, it fit in fine on the PPV and was a bit of a breather between the more blood-feud matches that bookended it.

[Curt McGirt]

(THIS COUNTRY REALLY REALLY REALLY NEEDS A) REVOLUTION PART II: THE REVENGE OF JON MOXLEY

Spoiler

- Well shit, we got three more matches. Luckily for all of us the next one is Omega/Takeshita which keeps the heat turned on. Lots of good, mean stomach-work aimed at the diverticulitis from Takeshita. They cut a good pace and of course work super stiff including a Stan Hansen-to-Kenta Kobashi lariat off the top to the outside to Omega that Excaliber compares identically (he also calls a Helluva Kick right before it. Do not underestimate the wrestling nerdiness of the Man in the Mask). We have an appropriate rollup to save their big moves for another clash. (There was talk in the Discord of surgery that shall stay there and it is noted that both men have boxing anime references on their gear.)

- Ospreay, they claim, has never had a cage match, which of course is BS. I dunno about Fletcher. It don't matter because they'll probably never want to have another one after this. In an attempt to outdo the ladies we get so much ga-ga and total insanity it's really hard to not just want to list things, so that's what I'll do, a la Joe Bob Briggs. 

Cage fu. Bolt cutter fu. Chair head-drop fu. Screwdriver fu. Triple juice. Cage licking. Screwdriver cunnilingus. Thumbtacks bashed into a crotch. Gratuitous cursing. Gratuitous interference. Gratuitous Don Callis. Self-inflicted attempted hip destruction-slash-murder from a high place. And, enormous violent blowoff to a personal feud. 6 1/2 stars, Dave Meltzer Joe Bob says check it out. 

- Then... get ready for it... THE WET FART! Your Main Event Title Match is such a heatless affair the polite clapping probably had its detractors. You think Yuter's gonna turn but no no no. You think Christian might win (by pinfall with A SINGLE HAND) but no no no. Moxley wins again. Thankfully (I guess, because I'd already left to, ironically, go take a shit) Swerve appears to do a balcony dive onto Mox and a bunch of other people. Fantasy book away; with that, we'll call it a pay-per-view. 

This was a lotta fun. A lot.

Edited March 10 by Curt McGirt

[Curt McGirt]

36 minutes ago, EVA said:

The AEW cage is so high, I don’t think anyone has gone off the top without one or more people there to land on before, and Fletcher went full-on flat back.

Screw that, it looked even more dangerous upon replay that Ospreay landed DIRECTLY ON HIS HIP. When a flat-back bump from that height looks safer than you know it was a crazy idea. 

I forgot to even mention the barbed wire baseball bat in my list of the shit in that match above. Jeeeezus.

[Kevin Wilson]

Side note, I couldn't stop laughing every time an announcer asked Tazz about something related to the cage as "he had been in so many cage matches". I watched WWE when he was there and ECW, never remembered Tazz in a single cage match ever. So I checked cagematch and it says he was in a "rage in the cage" match in 1993. So if that was in an actual cage, Tazz has had exactly one cage match and it was 30 years ago. Expert my ass.

[Curt McGirt]

Well in that case they were ribbing him. It's elementary, Dr. Wilson. 

You know, Don is really good on commentary at play-by-play while at the same time being an in-character jerk and overall sneak thief cheating bastard. He'll just pipe up with some solid and unbiased notes in the middle of all the haggling over things. It's an underrated talent.

Edited March 10 by Curt McGirt

[The Natural]

On 3/9/2025 at 9:55 AM, The Natural said:

Timeless Toni Storm vs. Mariah May deserve to main event this PPV, it'll be the first time women have headlined a PPV and they've earned it as one of the best feuds in AEW history. I'd argue it's #1. There's a chance you don't get a hot women's match to again. You also get the AEW Women's World Championship joining the AEW World Championship, AEW TNT Championship and AEW International Championship going on last. I'm setting myself for disappointment already that Jon Moxley vs. Cope main events.

 

17 hours ago, The Natural said:

Doubt I'll be watching live, taken diazepam and painkillers as in great pain.

Timeless Toni Storm vs. Mariah May definitely should have gone on last. What a fucking spectacle that was. Pissed at Tony Khan for not making it the main event. Best women's match in AEW history and one of the best matches in AEW history as well. *****.

Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita was a great match but I felt it needed five minutes lobbed off.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher needed ten minutes shaved off. Hate interference in a steel cage match. You know how I feel about both particularly Ospreay.

One of the best opening matches on an AEW show in Hangman Adam Page vs. MJF.

One of the worst AEW matches ever in Jon Moxley vs. Cope vs. Christian Cage made worse as it was the main event, the last thing you see and Storm/May was the MOTN. The Death Riders fucking suck.

Edited March 10 by The Natural

[The Natural]

On 3/9/2025 at 10:03 AM, The Natural said:

Most looking forward to Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega, Timeless Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, MJF vs. Hangman Adam Page and Kazuchika Okada vs. Brody King. IDGAF about Jon Moxley vs. Edge and Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher.

Predictions in bold:

The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum) for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Brody King for the AEW Continental Championship.

Mercedes Moné vs. Momo Watanabe for the AEW TBS Championship.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher.

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet to determine the #1 contender to the AEW World Championship.

Timeless Toni Storm vs. Mariah May in The Hollywood Ending" Falls Count Anywhere match for the AEW Women's World Championship.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega for the AEW International Championship.

MJF vs. Hangman Adam Page.

Jon Moxley vs. Cope for the AEW World Championship.

This is going to be a long show.

Yay me.

[just drew]

I’ll have my full thoughts on the show later, but for all the talk here about how the Death Riders have failed or whatever… I don’t see that discourse anywhere else online. I think some tweaks should be made, but it’s nowhere near as dire as some of y’all make it out to be. Also, Mox hasn’t gotten nearly as insufferable or as joy-crushing as that “Elite cosplaying as the nwo” nonsense we got 3-4 years ago…

[For Great Justice]

Storm/May was one of the 20 or so best matches I’ve ever seen in my life, the MOTY and the best feud ender since…shit, I don’t even know. Most wrestlers spend their entire careers dreaming of telling a story and having a match like that. My biggest congratulations to everyone involved in that masterpiece (in the very literal definition of the word).

Elsewhere, Swerve has been so non-adjacent to the Death Riders thing for so long that I think this IS the start is the pivot. 

[hammerva]

Whether the PPV was good or not (I thought it was until the main event mess),   unfortunately the thing that "the internet" will talk about non stop is the actresses on Queen of the Ring saying that quiet part out loud and saying that wrestling is pre-determined.   It will be funny seeing people (more specifically wrestlers) who have been exposing the business for decades come to our protection

[Matt D]

I'm three matches in so far. (I really enjoyed the 8 man tag, especially the post-match staring, and I think I got STP to do the Choshu's army clubber so that's a check in my favor; also thought the BOOM trios was great fun with some very smart crowdpleasing spots; and the Hologram/Komander match had some moments, like Christian and Lee stepping on then, and things were clean but it was slight; haven't seen the fourth pre-show match yet).

• I'm high on MJF vs Page. MJF having an answer for most of Page's stuff early was a lot of fun. He successfully goaded him through the punches after the groin attack, etc., but then I loved the face and the flailing legs on the fallaway slam. It got a little over the top and theatrical and melodramatic down the stretch but it fit the match and the characters. I would have maybe had it end on the deadeye or at least the killer angel wings, but ah well.
• Mercedes vs Momo.. Mercedes does everything right, like dancing backwards in high heels but it feels like dancing. It feels so choreographed and planned out. Meticulously but I never feel anything organic out of her matches anymore. Very smart. Very well put together. The right reactions at the right times. But overall empty. This felt like it went on forever for me too. And it was fine, but I wasn't feeling it.
• Swerve vs Ricochet: There were moments I loved here: Swerve pushing Nana leading to the Ricochet House Call. The robe-wearing stuff including the Death Valley Driver. Ricochet's face as Swerve got him up for the Vertebreaker. It just went on way too long. The match should have ended with the Swerve Stomp after the Vertebreaker on the no give table but it just went on and on after that. I thought the post match stuff was touching though.

[The Natural]

Storm/May not main eventing is one of the only times I'm pissed at Tony Khan. Death Riders is another.