Opening things up, Christian defends the AEW TNT Championship against Daniel Garcia. I'm a Daniel Garcia fan, but an even bigger Christian fan, so I was looking forward to this match and not quite sure which way it would end up. Would Adam Copeland cost Christian the title? Would Garcia finally get that big W? They had a surprisingly even match with both guys working their ass off for nearly 20 minutes. The final third of this match was much more exciting than the initial two-thirds as we got Nick Wayne, Killswitch (Luchasaurus), and Matt Menard all getting involved and then some excellent near-falls. Still, whether its the fact that Garcia is just a better heel than face, or the fact that this bout just went a few minutes too long, this was not the show-stealing match that I thought this could've been and almost felt like it was missing some of the big drama that we got in the build. No Copeland. No "Con-Chair-To." A little underwhelming. (3/5)
Next up - Bryan Danielson challenging Eddie Kingston for the AEW Continental Championship. This ended up being a somewhat controversial match. Danielson beat the living hell out of Kingston over the course of 20 minutes, leveling him with ridiculously stiff kicks, torturing his right arm and hand, and even dropping him with his finisher at one point...but Eddie wouldn't stay down and would rally at just the right moment to connect with his own stiff chops and strikes and power moves. This sort of match is not for everyone, especially if you're not a fan of Kingston, a polarizing figure based on his sloppy appearance as much as his sometimes sloppy wrestling. Then again, the live crowd was with them for the entire thing and the story they told perfectly matched what their rivalry has been all about: Danielson refusing to respect Kingston for who he is. Personally, I'm a big enough fan of both guys to have enjoyed this quite a bit, but I did feel the finish came a bit out of nowhere and lacked the right amount of "oomph" to really make it work. Plus, as others have pointed out, the story being told here - of Kingston refusing to die so he can earn the respect of his opponent - seems a bit like well-trodden territory by now, even if Danielson is the best possible foil for him in that context. A good match, but not one I'd necessarily recommend or even want to watch again. (3/5)
The 8-Man Scramble match followed featuring Chris Jericho, Dante Martin, Magnus of CMLL, Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Powerhouse Hobbs, Wardlow, and HOOK. The live crowd seemed to enjoy this one more than I did watching from home, chanting "Meat!" at various points in the early going when the heaviest hitters were in the ring. I hate to say it because I'm a fan of his work, but Dante Martin had some noticeable gaffes in moments that were clearly designed to spotlight him. Call it ring rust or nerves or just a bad day at the office, but Martin did not come out of this looking like the next big thing. Similarly, Magnus and Archer felt like they were just kinda "there" as filler participants. I liked the teasing of an uneasy alliance-potential rivalry between HOOK and Jericho. Jericho has a tendency to latch onto rising stars, but in this case, I'm not opposed to it just because HOOK hasn't had a ton of direction - aside from the lukewarm feud with Brian Cage - since his showdown with Samoa Joe several weeks ago. Wardlow eventually got the win, which is the right booking move, though I'm personally much higher on Hobbs. Still, if Tony Khan has any hopes of Wardlow being a standout potential main eventer, he had to win here. Not a terrible Scramble match, but nothing really special. (2.5/5)
The AEW International Championship was on the line next as Roderick Strong challenged Orange Cassidy. I'm a fan of both guys, but am ice cold on the Undisputed Kingdom storyline and stable. Still, you knew you were going to get a good-to-great match here because both guys are fantastic and exceptionally smooth in-ring workers. I was curious what role the rest of the "UK" would play and if we'd get a heel turn from Cassidy's "best friend" Trent Barretta, but this was fought as a straight-up one-on-one contest built around an awesome spot that saw Roderick Strong gutwrench powerbomb Cassidy onto the top turnbuckle. From there, the Messiah of the Backbreaker continued to target Cassidy's back and narrowly avoided getting pinned after Cassidy struck him with an Orange Punch and a Beach Break near the ropes. Strong connected with his End of Heartache finisher after Cassidy missed another Orange Punch attempt to win the match 100% clean. A very good match but, because OC had such a tremendous 2023, I wouldn't consider this among his best defenses. After Strong's buddies came out to congratulate, Kyle O'Reilly made his return, shaking Roddy's hand but not putting on an Undisputed Kingdom shirt. (3/5)
A tag team grudge match followed as FTR took on Moxley and Claudio Castignoli of the Blackpool Combat Club. They had a phenomenal match on Collision (I think it was?) several weeks back that went to a time limit draw, necessitating this match. I'm not sure this match was quite as good as that first encounter - and it definitely wasn't as good as the FTR match against Jay White and Juice Robinson last summer - but it was still a very physical, very good match that got better as it went on. Dax ended up sporting a crimson mask, which added to the intensity of the match and eventually led to a finish that saw the referee award the contest to Mox when Dax seemingly passed out in a Rear Naked Choke. I really liked the variety of double-team maneuvers that both teams displayed and the crowd's engagement, but I wouldn't put this quite at "must see" level. (3.5/5)
The AEW Women's Championship match followed as "Timeless" Toni Storm defended the title against relative AEW newcomer Deonna Purrazzo. The crowd seemed deflated for the first 2/3rds of this match, but Storm and Purrazzo didn't necessarily show the same level of chemistry and energy as the participants in the matches before them either. Storm and Purrazzo were always going to have a rough night on a stacked card like this where every match had the potential to steal the show and their storyline feels a little tossed together. Purrazzo isn't super over with anyone but the biggest wrestling fans who have followed her career elsewhere, while Toni Storm's gimmick - as fun as it is - has also cast something of a shadow over the division as she's become, by a very wide margin, the biggest and arguably only major star in the division now that Britt Baker has fallen off the face of the Earth and Thunder Rosa has come back only to be immediately lost in the shuffle. The first match of the night that was sub-average. (2/5)
Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita was next. This wasn't Ospreay's AEW debut, but this was his first as bona fide, signed AEW talent. I'm not someone who is super familiar with Ospreay aside from his appearances on AEW TV and his uncanny highlight reel so seeing him work a full match was a treat. Takeshita was incredible in this too, almost to the point of overshadowing Ospreay, which would seem impossible. As Tony noted on commentary, Ospreay's speed and force is remarkable to watch even when doing the "simple" stuff like running the ropes. There were 2-3 sequences in this match that defied logic, which usually isn't my cup of tea, but seeing it performed so flawlessly is undeniably captivating and did elicit an audible "pop" from me as I watched. What can I say? I may like a more traditional style in general, but when you've been watching pro-wrestling for 30+ years and two guys show you something you've never seen before, that is still a special feeling. The brainbuster that Takeshita delivered onto Ospreay in the corner was a legit WTF, holy shit moment and one that I'm sure had TK nervously wondering if one of his biggest investments in years was now heading to the DL. Not to be outdone, though, Ospreay hit Takeshita with a Tiger Driver 91', maybe the most cringe-inducing move in wrestling history. (Knowing that Ospreay/Danielson is likely coming down the pike, I pray that Danielson has the temerity and reasonableness to not take such an unnecessary risk.) Don Callis promised a "match of the decade"-quality match and, if you're a fan of this style - as Dave Meltzer must be - I think this would rank highly for you. To me, the missing factor was the story as this was, on paper, a heel/heel match between two members of the loathsome Don Callis family. When it was all said and done, we didn't get a big turn or any sort of storyline progression. This was "great wrestling for great wrestling's sake" albeit at the highest level possible. A "should watch/must watch"-level match in terms of execution and athleticism, for sure, but not a masterpiece of pro-wrestling drama. (4/5)
Next up - Samoa Joe defending his AEW World Championship against Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page in a triple threat match. This was my match of the night. Samoa Joe was amazing in the early minutes, controlling the action because Strickland and Page were too focused on each other and not the reigning champion. Also, just a note - in a night filled with guys doing the whole "hold your guys head down and lightly knee him in the head," Samoa Joe was the only dude who did it with any sort of force or impact and it looked much better than everyone else's version. This was paced really well as they knew the audience would be a little burnt out after the previous match and opted to wait till the final third before they really went "all in" with nearfalls and finishers and Page going overboard by attacking two referees. By that point, the crowd was fully, fully into things and booing the hell out of Page for all his heel stuff. I'll also give credit to TK here as they could've easily had Page disqualified and ended things with a non-finish but, instead, allowed the match to continue despite all the "schmozzing," ending with a somewhat "straight" finish as Page submitted in the Coquina Clutch, either because he really was losing consciousness or because he simply refused to allow Swerve any more chances to win the title (and knew that, by giving Joe the victory, he'd be effectively preventing Swerve from winning the match too). An action-packed 20 minutes with the sort of psychology and storytelling that the previous match didn't feature. (4/5)
Main event times - it's STIIIIIING's final match as he pairs up with Darby Allin to take on The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Before the match began, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair were welcomed to ringside. I was expecting to see Lex Luger, personally, but he wasn't allowed to be shown on-screen due to a WWE Legends Contract. A pre-match video showed a bunch of Sting's career highlights, including a few still photos from his WCW days that I'm guessing were the property of Bill Apter (and, thus, were allowed to be shown?). For all the talk about the WWE possibly not allowing AEW to show any footage that they owned, I haven't heard many folks talk about the dearth of TNA footage. Considering AEW and TNA briefly worked together, it surprised me that there was little to no mention of his very successful and memorable run there...ANYWAY, Sting's sons came out in his nWo Wolfpack and original "Surfer" Sting attire as part of Sting's entrance and they, along with Darby, spent the first few minutes of the match taking out the Young Bucks with a series of big Stinger Splashes in the corner. The crowd was obviously red hot for all of this as the EVPs got their deserved comeuppance. Some ridiculous spots in this match, including Darby Allin diving from a ladder inside the ring through a sheet of glass on the floor. We also saw Sting eat a ton of superkicks and go through multiple tables (and a pane of glass too). At one point, Ric Flair tried to prevent the Young Bucks from inflicting any more punishment on Sting but he ate a double superkick too. Every time they went for the cover, though, Sting would kick out and, at one point, flat-out "no sell" some of their offense. Personally, I didn't love that booking as - even in his retirement match, especially in his retirement match - a 64 year old shouldn't be shrugging off the finishing moves of a team hailed as the best on the planet. Instead, I would've liked to the Bucks hit all those gratuitous moves but then either get "greedy" and waste time or get their pin attempts cut off by Flair and Steamboat and eventually Darby too, giving Sting the time to get a second wind. But, hey, this match wasn't really about logic and the Bucks have always been an "acquired taste" in terms of pushing the boundaries of credibility in order to give the audience a whole bunch of ridiculous "moments" and memorable spots. Meltzer almost gave this a full 5 stars, which is absurd to me just because this was so much more of a "spectacle" than a great match. (3.5/5)
With a very strong 3.17-out-of-5 rating - which is actually on the low end compared to some of the reviews of this show that I saw online - AEW Revolution 2024 was the type of show that has made me more likely to shell out the big bucks for their next offering, which should be the goal of any wrestling promotion putting on a major pay-per-view show. Then again, I had some good luck watching this not-so-legally on a website where you can watch pro wrestling. Not that I would co-sign that method. Anyway...with at least two matches that I'd consider must-see and a main event that closed the book on what of pro-wrestling's most inspiring and important careers (especially in the world of non-WWE American wrestling), this was a very strong showing for AEW.
FINAL RATING - Watch It
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