411’s AEW Revolution 2022 Preview

Hello 411 guys, gals, enbies, and everyone else! Welcome to 411’s AEW Revolution preview! I’m Jeremy Thomas as always, and AEW is ready for another big PPV. And by “big,” I mean, “bigass card.” We have no less than twelve matches between the main PPV and the pre-show, which literally makes this the company’s biggest show to date. We have a ton of titles on the line and some big feuds set to culminate, so without any further wasted words let’s get into it!

The Buy-In Match
Hook vs. QT Marshall

Image Credit: AEW

First up in our preview is perhaps the easiest pick of the lot. AEW knows that they have a star in the making in Hook, who has managed to become quite popular in the past few months. His feud with the Nightmare Factory has given him something to do and something to get the fans further behind him, while Marshall has done a solid job playing the heel opposite him. This match is a chance to get Hook a match on PPV, albeit in a comfortable setting against one of the men who helped trained him. It’s a solid approach as the company continues to build the rookie up, and of course there’s no doubt who’s going to win. Marshall may provide a bit more challenge than his first five opponents, but the end result will be the same: an easy win for Taz’s son.

WINNER: Hook

The Buy-In Match
Penta Obscura, PAC & Erick Redbeard vs. The House of Black

Image Credit: AEW

This last-minute match was added to the Buy-In on Friday night’s episode of Rampage, playing into the rivalry that Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews have developed with Death Triangle. This little story has had a few twists and turns, mostly those involving the debuts of new talent: first King and then Matthews, who joined Black, and then the arrival of Erick Redbeard on Rampage as an ally to Penta and PAC. For all the mystique surrounding the House of Black, Malakai’s run hasn’t led to PPV success. He’s won quite the vast majority of his matches on Dynamite and Rampage, but still needs a big PPV win. Meanwhile, Death Triangle has had the transformation of Penta into Penta Obscura and the arrival of Redbeard, but have been a bit less victorious since Rey Fenix went on the injury list. All that said, this seems like a match that Black, King and Matthews probably need to win to solidify themselves as a trio, whereas the other team is a bit more thrown together due to the lack of Fenix. It should be a fun match with an intriguing mix of styles in play, but I expect the House of Black to be victorious in the end.

WINNER: The House of Black

The Buy-In Match
Kris Statlander vs. Leyla Hirsch

Image Credit: AEW

This match is the trickiest of the Buy-In matches to predict, because both sides could do well with a win but also wouldn’t be drastically hurt by a loss. Statlander and Hisch have been feuding on and off for the last several months, and in the meantime Hirsch has developed a new edge to her character that’s serving her well while Statlander has left behind some of the sillier aspects of her gimmick to become a character who can be taken more seriously. They’re both good competitors who know each other well, so the match should be serviceable at the absolute worst. As for the win, Statlander would position herself as a potential title contender with a victory here, perhaps to Jade Cargill, while Hirsch doesn’t seem quite ready for that yet in terms of stature within the division. My guess, and this is barely more than a coin flip, is that Statlander picks up the win for a rivalry with Cargill just because I think she matches up better with the TBS Champion than Hirsch.

WINNER: Kris Statlander

TBS Championship Match
Jade Cargill vs. Tay Conti

Image Credit: AEW

Speaking of Cargill, the TBS Champion has been running roughshod over and is still as of now undefeated (we’re not counting the Casino Battle Royale in that, because who would?). Cargill has been picking up quite nicely and gets her first one-on-one match on PPV here as she faces one of my personal favorites in the AEW women’s division in Tay Conti. Conti is a competitor who absolutely deserves a title reign at some point, but she can also match up well against Cargill and give her some experience on a bigger level. That’s her role here, as there’s no way this match is going to be the one that results in Cargill’s undefeated streak being broken. I have every expectation for an enjoyable effort here, but the win is clearly going to the current champion.

WINNER: Jade Cargill (STILL TBS Champion)

Tornado Trios Match
A.H.F.O. vs. Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Sting

Image Credit: AEW

Poor Andrade seems unable to find a good groove for himself, and this storyline with the A.H.F.O. hasn’t been the fix he needs. El Idolo has done fine work with what he has to work with here, but right now it should be clear to everyone that this storyline is just building toward March 9th. That’s when Jeff Hardy’s contract comes up, and when he’ll almost certainly be signing with AEW. When that happens, the Hardy Boyz reunion will be a foregone conclusion and the way to facilitate that is to get Matt thrown out of his own organization. With that date coming up quickly, we really need to have Matt lose here in a way to further fracture the A.H.F.O. And that’s fine, because there’s no shame at all in losing to a team with two of AEW’s pillars and Sting. The match will be fun, but it will end with a loss to the heels and perhaps even, considering Jeff’s contract expires on Wednesday, Matt getting turned on at the PPV.

WINNER: Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Sting

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
Jurassic Express vs. reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks

Image Credit: AEW

Normally I am not a fan of champions being the third wheel in a three-way match, but in this case the bout should be so fun that I’m not going to quibble. For whatever faults you may find in them, Jurassic Express, reDRagon, and the Young Bucks are able to deliver really enjoyable matches and when you put the three of them together, I expect some high-octane action. Like I said, I’m not thrilled about the fact that this looks to be done just to further the feud between the Bucks and the team of Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, because I think it diminishes the champions’ importance. But it’s at least been a solid story. reDRagon and the Bucks’ tension slowly building with Adam Cole caught in the middle has been fun, and in this case I think it’s going to work out okay because it seems like a situation where their issues cause them to both lose. That gives Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus a title retention, which lets them come out of the match strong even if they’re not part of the main story and gives them the chance to move onto other interesting contenders while the Super Elite implode.

WINNER: Jurassic Express (STILL AEW World Tag Team Champions)

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson

Image Credit: AEW

Well, this should be a blast. It should almost go without saying that Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson have every opportunity to deliver a match of the year contender, and they have a pretty solid story behind it as well. Danielson has been doing his usual great job as a heel, and his suggestion with Moxley of a team that takes young talent under their wing has opened up some delightful storyline opportunities between them. Moxley and Danielson are both explosive personalities, and they’ve been playing off each other quite well in the build up to this match as Danielson has sought to recruit Moxley and Moxley has been warily considering it, which led to this bout. It’s going to result in a chest-aching match that has sky-high expectations from most as it should, but there’s no reason to think they won’t deliver. Honestly, the result of this match seems almost superfluous as AEW can go in similar storyline directions no matter who wins, but my guess is that Danielson picks up the win and we get their alliance for a certain amount of time before they split and go at it once more.

WINNER: Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston

Image Credit: AEW

While there’s been no small amount of criticism directed at Chris Jericho from some corners, one thing you have to appreciate is his willingness to get talent up to that next level in terms of card positioning. The Inner Circle leader has done good work with MJF and Orange Cassidy in particular during their feuds, and while he beat MJF it’s hard to deny that their feud elevated MJF’s stock from a positioning perspective. Now he has the opportunity to do that with Eddie Kingston and I would expect nothing less. Kingston is a can’t-boo babyface who has yet to win that big match that finally puts him over the top. That’s what this rivalry with Jericho has been building to, and while AEW loves drawing out feuds (especially Jericho’s) this doesn’t seem like a time that should necessarily happen. Or if it does, Kingston still needs to go over here while Jericho loses very little with a loss. The Inner Circle issues will probably lead to shenanigans of some sort, but hopefully those are kept to a minimum because an upset win by Kingston would make him the made man he deserves to be.

WINNER: Eddie Kingston

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match
Keith Lee vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks vs. Wardlow vs. Christian Cage

Image Credit: AEW

As common as multi-man ladder matches are in pro wrestling, I’m still always a sucker for them. Last year’s Face of the Revolution Ladder Match was a lot of fun and this year may have an entirely different makeup in terms of style, but it has just as much potential. You have quite the mix in here, though if we’re being honest this probably quickly winnows down to a couple of people in terms of potential winners. Orange Cassidy is always entertaining but winning a match like this doesn’t seem to be in the cards for him at all, while Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs probably need a little more time before they’re ready for something like this. And Christian Cage, much as I enjoy him, is a bit veteran-y to be the “Face of the Revolution.”

That brings us down to the remaining two contenders in Wardlow and Keith Lee, both of whom have very valid reasons why they could take home the win. Lee is a guy that AEW clearly wants to put some importance on, and a win here would do that. He’s also a guy who could match up very well against someone like Sammy Guevara when they meet for the TNT Championship. Meanwhile, Wardlow seems like someone who is right there to step out on his own in the quest for singles gold — depending on how his storyline with MJF goes in on Sunday. Honestly, I would be happy with either of them winning here, but I feel like Wardlow will pick up the win and that will somehow play into his story with MJF — and that’s fine, because Lee can get a big spot and isn’t hurt by losing a multi-man ladder match where he won’t take a pin.

WINNER: Wardlow

AEW World Women’s Championship Match
Dr. Britt Baker, DMD vs. Thunder Rosa

Image Credit: AEW

Like I said earlier, AEW loves their slow-burn feuds. That’s been the case with Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa, who have been at odds for over a year now. AEW has been good about keeping them apart, though now that they’ve come together I will confess that I feel like the feud since it escalated has been the slightest bit underwhelming. Not bad, but it hasn’t quite had the heat these two are capable of bringing in the right situations. That said, it’s not like they aren’t going to deliver in the rematch of their infamous Lights Out match that took place just barely under a year ago. They certainly don’t need to top that match to give us a great match — and considering how bloody that turned out, they probably shouldn’t.

Baker has been AEW Women’s Champion for just over nine months at this point and during that time, she’s been a dominant champion. Rosa is the one person who Baker’s been able to keep away from, and that seems to be a pretty good sign that we’re getting a title change here which I’m all for. It will freshen things up at the top (not that Baker’s been losing too much steam) and they can get at least a little more mileage out of an eventual rematch. And after all, if not Rosa at this point, then who?

WINNER: Thunder Rosa (NWA AEW World Women’s Champions)

Dog Collar Match
MJF vs. CM Punk

Image Credit: AEW

An MJF vs. CM Punk feud has been written in the stars since the day Punk appeared on AEW television. You have two of the absolute best talkers and two of the most over men in professional wrestling in one company and on different sides of the babyface vs. heel line; how could you not pit these two against each other? And it’s been, predictably, a compelling feud. MJF has done some fantastic work in AEW, but he’s hit a new level in terms of his performance by playing opposite Punk. And Punk got a feud that he’s really been able to sink his teeth into that, as enjoyable as his work with Eddie Kingston and Darby Allin were, he didn’t get to with them.

MJF has particularly had Punk’s number up until now, screwing him out of a win in his hometown of Chicago and then got set up and brutalized in that incredible promo MJF did last week. That, if nothing else, makes it pretty clear that MJF comes up short here. MJF’s issues with Wardlow have been close to simmering over for a while now, even with Wardlow helping MJF defeat Punk in Chicago. This match seems tailor-made to have these two beat the hell out of each other and, when MJF calls for his Diamond Ring, Wardlow to have a reason to say no. That would give Punk the moment he needs to put MJF away, give the latter man an excuse for the loss, and really kickstart the MJF vs. Wardlow feud into high gear — all while leaving Punk and MJF at a win apiece against each other for when this feud continues or gets revisited. There’s no downsides to Punk getting the win.

WINNER: CM Punk

AEW World Championship Match
Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole

Image Credit: AEW

Adam Cole has been doing great work since his arrival in AEW, and he’s been rightly positioned as a top name as well as a future world champion. There’s no question of that in my mind. And the prospect of seeing Cole and Hangman Page deliver a barn burnder of a match has me very excited for this World Championship match. Cole and Page match up well against each other and both have the capacity to really go; I expect nothing less from these two. That said, if this were taking place three months from now I might have a little doubt about who’s going to win. It’s not, and I don’t. AEW has shown they like lengthy World Title reigns and Page is only on his second title feud (third if you count Lance Archer, but that wasn’t really a feud per se). Additionally, Cole is embroiled in the tension surrounding the Super Elite which looks ready to explode and that’s not something that AEW should be bringing the World Championship into. All this is to say that this is a predictable result, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a great match. At the end of the day Hangman will still be holding the title, and I’m a-okay with that.

WINNER: Hangman Page (STILL AEW World Champion)

And that’s all we have for AEW Revolution. I say “all” as if we don’t have a huge number of matches here and while many of them are a bit easy to predict (can’t wait for that statement o blow up when I somehow have predicted wrong), it should still be another hell of a PPV effort by AEW. Thanks once again for reading, and remember that we will have live coverage of the show courtesy our own Steve Cook right here on 411mania.com. Now, I have to go; Tony Khan’s getting a crazy look in his eyes, and I better stop before he starts tweeting…

Image Credit: AEW