Tonight, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) will present the 2022 edition of their Revolution pay-per-view.
I started this site as a way to talk about my interests. While it’s been exclusively about my lyrics and ramblings so far, I thought I’d use this opportunity to expand my horizons a bit. I’m hoping to comment on more pop culture related stuff here moving forward, so stay tuned for that.
As far as tonight’s PPV though, I haven’t been this pumped for a wrestling event in quite awhile. WWE stopped being entertaining for me about five-years-ago at least, butAEW has captured my attention with their presentation. While they also have their faults from time to time, the promotion doesn’t treat its fans like idiots and I respect that a lot. They also pay much more attention to detail with most storylines, planning them out well in advance. It isn’t to say that things aren’t fluid either (with injuries and other variables, wrestling has to be by nature.)
Still, the CEO and main booker/writer Tony Khan makes lemonade out of lemons more times than not. I think it’s a skill that’s often overlooked and under-appreciated. Is there a 100% success rate? Of course not, but he also recognizes when things aren’t working and has no problem pivoting to something else.
With those thoughts out of the way, below is the line-up for tonight’s card and my predictions.
Marc’s REVOLUTIONary Picks
Tonight’s show will have a whopping 12 matches, according to Wikipedia (opens in new tab.) Two will be on the one hour Buy In kickoff show while the other ten will be a part of the main PPV. Although these are the announced matches, there will also be a segment featuring MMA fighter Paige Vanzant signing an AEW contract. Other surprises are possible as well since many have occurred on past events like this.
Anyway, let’s go!
Buy In Pre-Show
Hook vs. QT Marshall
For those unfamiliar, Hook is the son of former wrestler Taz (or Tazz if you’re only familiar with his work in WWE… the extra “z” is for zany!) ( Although he’s just started his wrestling career, Hook has received a steady push and is majorly popular with AEW fans. Marshall plays the role of enhancement on TV despite wearing many hats behind the scenes. Being a trainer as well, QT has continuously egged Hook on and been embarrassed each time. His “students” have all been beat by Hook in the weeks leading up to this show and unless something crazy happens, this shouldn’t be any different.
Prediction: Hook
“Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander
One of AEW’s weaknesses is their women’s division. While some stars like Ruby Soho, Britt Baker, Jade Cargill, Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb have stood out, many talents don’t get the opportunity to be featured in an extended storyline on television. Despite great workrate when they’re in the ring, matches are also hamstrung by getting placed between a hot segment and the main event during most shows (a spot that is commonly used to cool the crowd down before the big finish.)
With that being said, I expect this to be a great match. Being early in the night, the crowd should get into it and both women are talented at what they do. Despite being the heel coming in, Hirsch has actually gained sympathy from the crowd after Statlander used the fact she was adopted against her in a promo. Instead of apologizing, she then doubled down on it during a video segment on the last Friday night show (AEW Rampage) before the PPV. Yikes!
Prediction: “Legit” Leyla Hirsch
Main Card
Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews vs. Pac, Penta Oscuro and Erick Redbeard
After joining AEW to much fan fare and a feud with Cody Rhodes, Black has since cooled off a bit for me. His transition into fighting Pac really worked but feels like it’s lost some steam. I understand that wrestlers can’t main event all the time, but putting Malakai into a tag team with Brody King has made him less special as his feud with the death triangle (Pac, Penta and Rey Fenix) has sputtered along. As it continued, Fenix got injured and Buddy Matthews (formerly Murphy in WWE) joined Black’s stable, The House Of Black.
Finally, Erick Redbeard (formerly Rowan in WWE) joined Pac and Penta on the most recent Rampage to even the odds and create this last minute match. Yippy?
Prediction: Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews
Jade Cargill vs. Tai Conti (TBS Championship match)
Cargill started her career in AEW. Her first match? She teamed with Shaq to beat Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet. Since then, she’s gone on a 23 match winning streak, becoming the first ever TBS champion in the process. Still undefeated, she will be taking on Conti, who recently challenged Britt Baker for the AEW women’s world championship. Although I like both women, I honestly can’t see a title change happening here… okay, I can’t see anything but you know what I mean.
Prediction: Jade Cargill
Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy vs. Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and Sting (six-man tornado tag team match)
Another one that feels thrown together when the triple threat match for the TNT championship (held by Guevara) on Rampage would’ve been more suitable for this show. Still, after Andrade, Darby and Sammy had an incredible showing just two days ago, I suppose you still need a reason for someone like Sting to be included on PPV… too bad the opposing team feel like stand-ins except for Andrade. While not untalented, Matt Hardy has seemingly been spinning his wheels while teasing a character change and Isiah Kassidy has felt stale by association. Rumours are that Jeff Hardy is coming to AEW as soon as Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite so this just feels like killing time until then. As a result, I think this is the right place for a feel good victory.
Prediction: Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and Sting (I mean… Stiiiiiiiiing!)
Jurassic Express vs. RedDragon vs. The Young Bucks (three-way tag team match for AEW world tag team championship)
There’s not much to this one. Both RedDragon and The Young Bucks got into the match by winning separate tag team battle royals over the past two weeks. This means that neither team has had the chance to build much of a storyline with current champs Jungle Boy Jack Perry and Luchasaurus. The less experienced champs have held the titles for only two months while The Young Bucks have already had a year-long title reign in AEW. RedDragon have also won the straps in multiple promotions.
With the challengers all being in the Elite with Adam Cole, the bigger story here is the tension between both teams. While the defacto leader has kept them from coming to blows, it’s obvious the tag teams don’t like each other. With Jurassic Express having won their titles so recently, I’m guessing the challengers will cost each other the match, boiling over into a feud between them that doesn’t include the titles. This has the added benefit of continuing to give Jurassic Express credibility as champions.
Prediction: Jurassic Express
Jon Moxley vs. Brian Danielson
The build to this one has been simple in execution but surprising too. After scouting some of Moxley’s matches, Danielson came out with a proposition for him. While many expected he had been watching him for a match, he instead offered to form a team together so the two could mentor others and become dominant in AEW. Moxley instead countered that, while the idea was appealing, he wouldn’t team with anyone he hasn’t bled with first. With that, the challenge was issued and a match was made.
Along with many other contests, this one has the potential to steal the show. Making a prediction is hard too because it’s obviously just the start of this storyline. Both results would lead to interesting paths, but I think Danielson losing and going berserk afterwards might be too predictable. Because of that, I’ll say that he takes this one.
Prediction: Brian Danielson
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston
I’ve been writing this post for a long time, so my apologies if these previews get shorter. Essentially, Santana and Ortiz are a tag team who are also members of Chris Jericho’s faction, the Inner Circle. They are also friends with Kingston so when he and Jericho had intersecting feuds with another tag team, things got a bit messy.
Long story short, Jericho and Kingston don’t like each other. The latter made Santana and Ortiz doubt that Jericho had their best interests in mind and it got heated for several weeks while Eddie was injured. In the meantime, Jericho adopted a new ring persona of The Influencer and began showing more heelish tendencies. Leaning into his history as a “sports entertainer,” he portrayed someone who is full of himself and his own success working at the top.
The hook for this match is that Kingston is afraid of his own success and can’t win the big one. If he does beat Jericho however, Mr. influencer has promised to shake Eddie’s hand and say he was wrong. My guess? He does exactly that… then beats the piss out of him. That’s until Santana and Ortiz come out to save their real friend, solidifying Jericho’s heel turn in the process.
Prediction: Eddie Kingston
Keith Lee vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks vs. Wardlow vs. Christian Cage (Face of the Revolution ladder match)
Each participant in this match won a qualifying match to enter. Whoever can climb a ladder and grab the literal brass ring gets a TNT championship match. Because of the build, there’s not much story here: Keith Lee is a recent addition to AEW from the WWE (although his best work was in NXT and the independents.) Hobbs and Starks are both members of Team Taz, Wardlow is MJF’s contracted lackey (think The Million Dollar Man’s Virgil) and Christian Cage has tons of ladder match experience from WWE and beyond. Orange Cassidy is a comedy character who doesn’t care about anything, so he’s just kind of there too.
As far as a winner here, my money is either on Keith Lee or Wardlow. The latter has been teasing a break from MJF for months and this event could finally be when he does it. His level of annoyance and anger towards him have escalated in the past month especially and it could be a stepping stone to branching off on his own. Still, there’s no rush and that storyline could justifiably continue past tonight. If that’s what the plans are, I’d say that Keith Lee makes the most sense. Why make him lose in his first big PPV showcase?
Prediction: Keith Lee
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. vs. Thunder Rosa (AEW world championship match)
A year ago, Baker and Rosa had a brutal Lights Out match on Dynamite. These are essentially unsanctioned contests that don’t count on wrestlers’ win-loss records because they aren’t recognized by AEW. Including their own, only three of these have been done (Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley andAdam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy were the others.) Overcoming many of AEW’s flaws with the women’s’ division, the match was extremely violent, bloody and main evented Dynamite that night. It gained attention from fans and wrestlers alike, propelling both Baker and Rosa to the next level.
Fast forward a year later: While the latter won this match, it didn’t count. Since then, Britt Baker has become the women’s champion and enjoyed a nearly one-year title reign. Thunder Rosa has been involved in random feuds here and there, but now she’s the number one contender looking for revenge. I’ll be honest and say this doesn’t feel as heated as I thought it would though. The recent build-up has had some hiccups and I’m not sure if it was executed to its fullest potential.
Either way, the match itself should be electric and I expect the audience to be fully invested.. I know everyone expects Rosa to win, but I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say DMD retains.
Prediction: Dr. Britt Baker
CM Punk vs. MJF (dog collar match)
Hoo boy! This feud began in November and has been a roller coaster that I’m not even sure I can do justice to. Imagine the best talker from a decade ago squaring off against the current best on the mic week after week. The two have built up their hatred for each other this way and it resulted in MJF beating CM Punk in his hometown of Chicago. Not only that, he did it by cheating after the match was restarted due to his cheating!
Building up again from there, MJF then threw a curve ball, using his real life story of being bullied and idolizing CM Punk… until he left wrestling. Enraged, he eventually set out to be the best and that’s what made him the prick he is now. When Punk then tried reasoning with him, MJF used the opportunity to bring out his buddies for a five-on-one beatdown, solidifying him as the asshole we’ve all come to know and hate.
Whew! And did I mention that they added a dog collar stipulation too? This one will be violent and bloody. As the blow-off to the feud, I’m torn: MJF keeps claiming that he beat Punk twice in Chicago so you could have him lose here. On the flip side, if you want to build MJF as a future challenger for the world title, he kind of needs the win. Also, does Wardlow factor into this one? If so, does he help MJF win like in Chicago or is this the big turn? Either way, my gut tells me that CM Punk walks away with the victory here.
Prediction: CM Punk
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Adam Cole (AEW world championship match)
Adam Cole lost his Lights Out match with Orange Cassidy recently but since it didn’t count, he’s still undefeated and the number one contender. Page has recently had a couple of great matches with Brian Danielson (one ended in a draw before the second was a clean win) and a Texas death match with Lance Archer. While I don’t doubt that this match will be great and the build has been okay, there’s not really any suspense in it for me. I can’t picture Adam Cole winning the championship already since he doesn’t really need it. Hangman has only had the belt since November too, so I feel like he’ll hold onto it longer before losing to someone who could benefit more from the victory. I assume this one will still have enough extra curriculars to make it interesting though.
Prediction: “Hangman” Adam Page
Well there it is! Check back soon to see how I did. 😉