Hall’s AEW Revolution 2023 Review

Revolution 2023
Date: March 5, 2023
Location: Chase Center, San Francisco, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Jim Ross

We’re back with another All Elite Wrestling pay per view with AEW Revolution and that should mean something really good. The television shows haven’t been the strongest in recent weeks but that has never stopped the pay per views from being special. The main event will feature MJF defending the AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match, which should be…uh, long. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour YouTube pre-show: Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Penta)/Mark Briscoe vs. Varsity Athletes/Ari Daivari

Mark Sterling are here with the Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese/Josh Woods) and Daivari. Nese poses at Penta to start but Penta is right back with CERO MIEDO. All six come in to strike it out with Penta and Nese being left alone in the ring. Made In Penta gives Penta a quick two before Daivari has to save Sterling. The villains take over on Penta by whipping him into the corner and Woods adds a nice suplex for two.

The Athletes double suplex Penta as commentary keeps ripping on Schiavone for making a mistake about how much time is left before the show. Rights and lefts in the corner keep Penta in trouble but he kicks away at all three villains, setting up a double DDT. The Sling Blade drops Woods and the diving tag brings Fenix in to pick the pace up even more. Fenix and Woods knock each other down and it’s back to Nese, who puts Fenix on top.

A slightly messed up super hurricanrana (though Fenix got enough of it) brings Nese back down and it’s Briscoe coming in to strike away. Everything breaks down and the Bros hit stereo dives, followed by Briscoe hitting the step up flip dive to the floor. The Froggy Bow is broken up though and it’s a Tower of Doom to leave everyone but Nese laying.

That leaves Nese to add a 450 for two on Briscoe and we get the parade of strikes to the face. Nese hits Briscoe with….something that breaks into a bunch of pieces for two but the Bros are back in with a bunch of superkicks. The spike Fear Factor hits Daivari (with Nese taking a Widow’s Peak at the same time), setting up a Froggy Bow for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what kind of Kickoff match you should have: a bunch of people getting in the ring and having a fast paced match that didn’t get too serious. It was a light match that didn’t overstay its welcome, so well done on hitting all of the points. The Bros and Briscoe getting a Trios Title shot wouldn’t be too far out of the question either.

Post match the winners beat up Mark Sterling.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks

The Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from ringside. Starks, with bad ribs, hammers away in the corner to start but Jericho chops his way out of trouble. They fight to the floor with Starks hitting a suicide dive but getting chopped against the ropes back inside. A forearm to the face sets up the missed Lionsault but Jericho drops the bad ribs across the top.

Jericho drives him hard into the barricade as the fans are all over Jericho here. The butterfly backbreaker stays on the ribs but Jericho stops to slap him in the face, which just wakes Starks up. Jericho is fine enough to send him to the apron for the triangle dropkick, setting up a baseball slide to the ribs, sending Starks outside again. We hit the abdominal stretch back inside (makes sense) but Starks powers his way out.

A tornado DDT gives Starks two but Jericho kicks him out of the air. Jericho’s Death Valley Driver (that’s different) gets two and Starks is in trouble. Jericho sends him chest first into the corner but the Codebreaker is countered into a powerbomb for two. The spear is loaded up but Jericho counters into a Codebreaker for two. Back up and Starks hits the spear for two, meaning it’s time for the slugout.

Starks kicks him in the chest, only to miss a middle rope moonsault. The Walls go on to go straight after the ribs but Starks rolls out. Starks is able to grab his own half crab but here is Sammy Guevara….who is speared down by a surprise Action Andretti. The distraction lets Jericho get in a baseball bat shot to the ribs but the Judas Effect is blocked (by just raising his arm, which is so simple that it’s almost hilarious). Roshambo finishes Jericho at 14:05.

Rating: B-. Good opener, with a result that brings us back to where we were when the feud started. This feud needed to end as soon as it started, but at least Starks did win clean in the end. That’s what matters most, as Starks feels like someone who could be a breakout star in the short or long term. A win like this helps a lot, screwy setup aside.

Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

This is the Final Burial Match, which thankfully means Casket Match instead of Buried Alive (which is still over the top, but not as egregiously so). Though there is still a mound of dirt and a shovel so who knows what they’re doing here. Jungle Boy (in street clothes) goes straight at him with a double leg takedown and right hands before sending Christian face first into the post.

They fight on the floor with Christian bailing into the crowd so Jungle Boy gives chase. Christian is taken back to ringside where he bails up the ramp, right towards the casket. Jungle Boy tries the Snare Trap on the ramp but gets kicked away, meaning it’s back to the ring. Right hands in the corner have Christian in more trouble, at least until he knocks Jungle Boy down and rubs a forearm over Jungle Boy’s face.

Choking on the ropes, including that stand on the back and hold the ropes spot that Christian does, is broken up and Jungle Boy sends him to the floor. There’s the required dive and Jungle Boy sends him into various things. Jungle Boy misses a stomp to the arm though and gets dropped head first onto the steps instead. Christian is busted open as he whips Jungle Boy in the back with a belt.

They go up to the casket with Christian choking even more before opening said casket. A chair is pulled out but Jungle Boy knocks it away, only to get backdropped on the dirt. The Killswitch onto the chair is broken up though and Christian is sent off the stage. Jungle Boy follows with the big flip dive and it’s time for Christian to beg off. That’s just enough to get Jungle Boy to walk into a low blow and Christian sends him face first into the closed casket over and over.

With the casket opened, Christian can’t shut him inside so Jungle Boy goes after the leg, only to have Christian throw dirt in his eyes. The Killswitch onto the dirt but the Killswitch misses, allowing Jungle Boy to come back with some shovel shots. Back up and Christian’s shovel shot misses so Jungle Boy pulls him into the Snare Trap. Christian is down so Jungle Boy is able to hit the Conchairto, but he doesn’t look happy with himself. That’s finally enough for Jungle Boy to put him in the casket (and grave) for the win at 14:30.

Rating: B-. The stipulation is weird as almost everything before the ending doesn’t matter. You can’t win the match in the ring, so the drama doesn’t really crank up until you get up to the casket. They did give Jungle Boy the big win though and made him look very strong in defeat and that is what matters most. Good fight here, but Jungle Boy winning is the big deal.

We recap the Elite vs. the House of Black for the AEW World Trios Championships. The Elite are awesome but the House of Black is violent, so this will be a real test for both of them.

Trios Titles: Elite (Kenny Omega, Young Bucks – Nick Jackson & Matt Jackson) vs. House of Black

The Elite is defending and has its whole entourage here, while the House has Julia Hart. Buddy Matthews and Omega start things off with the staredown with Matthews grinding him down by the arm. With that broken up, they trade headlock takeovers to a standoff, with the fans approving. Malakai Black comes in for the big showdown with Omega, which the fans dub awesome. Omega avoids a kick but can’t grab the One Winged Angel, meaning Black gets to miss Black Mass.

They both sit down and look at each other, with the fans again being rather pleased. Matt comes in and gets to face Brody King (as per his request), but then thinks better of it. Nick isn’t having anything to do with that though, only to come in for a double dropkick. Everything breaks down with the House being sent outside, allowing Matt to dive onto Black and Matthews. Omega hurricanranas King to the floor and then dives onto all three members.

Back in and King wrecks everyone in front of him to take over, including a running crossbody to crush Omega against the barricade. Nick rolls Matthews up for two before it’s right back to King for a running splash in the corner. Omega gets back in and cleans house, including the Kitaro Crusher for two on King. The You Can’t Escape moonsault only hits raised knee strikes though, allowing Matthews to dropkick Omega into the corner.

The House’s triple shot in the corner is broken up though and everything breaks down again. Believe it or not, it’s the Bucks cleaning house with superkicks into a standing Sliced Bread on Matthews. Black gets nailed with Omega’s V Trigger but is right back up for the slugout. Hart grabs the boot for the distraction and it’s King choking Matt on the apron.

Omega hits another V Trigger on King and then accidentally takes out an interfering Hart with one of her own. Black Mass hits Omega for two with Nick making the save but the Bucks are sent outside. That leaves Omega down 3-1 but the Bucks make a quick save. A bunch of superkicks drop the House and there’s the BTE Trigger to Black for two with Matthews making the save. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Matthews knees Nick (who would have been three feet short anyway) out of the air. Dante’s Inferno gives the House the titles at 17:53.

Rating: B+. That was the only way they could have gone, as there was no way you could have the House lose again without ever actually picking up a major win. The House needed the win and while I’m sure the Elite will get the titles back eventually, they lost them when they had to. Other than that, you had a high energy match where I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the end. Pretty awesome match here, with the right ending.

Tony Schiavone replaces Jim Ross on commentary. If that’s all he’s going to do, what’s the point anymore?

AEW Women’s World Championship: Saraya vs. Ruby Soho vs. Jamie Hayter

Hayter is defending and Britt Baker and Toni Storm are here too. Saraya bails to the floor to start so Soho dropkicks her off the apron to take the fight outside. All three wind up in the crowd, with Soho getting dropped throat first across the barricade. Saraya knocks Hayter back to ringside and stomps her down in the corner. Hayter fights up and sends Saraya outside, meaning it’s time for Soho to high crossbody Hayter for two.

The chinlock goes on but Saraya breaks it up, only to have have Hayter fight back up. Hayter suplexes both of them at once and gets two each as they’re getting beaten up. Soho suplexes Saraya but walks into the Hatebreaker to leave all three down. They slug it out from their knees until Saraya is knocked outside. Soho’s hurricanrana driver gets two on Hayter but Saraya is back in and hooks Soho in the Scorpion Crosslock.

Hayter breaks that up and decks Storm, only to get caught in what used to be called the Rampaige. Baker makes a save as well so Soho hits Destination Unknown for two on Hayter, with Saraya making the save. Back up and Hayter grabs a rollup on Soho and traps the arm to retain at 9:47.

Rating: C+. This worked well enough with such a three way formula, but the effort was certainly there. Hayter fighting off both challengers at once is a good way to make her feel strong, though there is still a lot more to the story to go. What matters is Hayter retains, but you can almost guarantee that she is going to lose the title in a big showdown in the near future. For now though, I’ll take a PPV worthy title defense.

Post match Storm decks Baker and goes after Hayter, meaning the big brawl is on. Soho watches before sending Saraya and Storm outside, saying “we run this place b****”. Then Soho lays out Hayter and Baker as well. That’s a good surprise, but it might have meant a bit more before she got pinned. Then Storm hands Soho a can of spray paint to brand Baker and Hayter.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match. They have fought multiple times and hate each other, but now it is about being the only one who survives.

Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley

Texas Deathmatch, which in this case means you can only win by knockout or submission (not what the historic version of Texas Deathmatch means but I guess this is the AEW version). Moxley makes his big entrance through the crowd but Adam Page is right there to jump him and start the fight. Page whips him into the barricade and it’s time to bust out the barbed wire (well of course).

The wire cuts Moxley open and Page stomps him down in the corner. Page wraps the wire in his boot (might have made more sense twenty seconds earlier) but gets caught in it, allowing Moxley to take him down and hammer away. A barbed wire right hand knocks Page down again and Moxley pulls him into the triangle choke. With Page trapped, Moxley stabs him in the head with some kind of stick to bust Page open as well.

What looks like a fork to the head makes Page bleed even more and Moxley wedges a chair into the corner. For once that actually works, as Page is sent face first into said wire, leaving him even more rocked. The half crab, with Page’s chest on the barbed wire chair, doesn’t last long as Moxley stomps him in the head instead. Moxley wraps some chairs around two open chairs but takes too long, allowing Page to powerbomb him onto the chairs.

With his back busted open, Page wraps barbed wire around himself and moonsaults down onto Moxley (with the wire not really coming close to making contact). Page gets knocked down so Moxley can pull out….a brick and a chain. Moxley crushes Page’s hand between two bricks and then piledrives him onto the chain. Another piledriver onto the barbed wire chair is broken up and Page hits a hard clothesline. Moxley gets fall away slammed into the wire and sent outside but he rakes Page’s back to get a break.

The barbed wire is raked over Page’s back and Moxley sends him down (and mostly over) a barbed wire board bridged over two chairs (he basically Swantoned the board). Back in and they slap it out until Page blasts him with a lariat. The Buckshot Lariat is countered into the Death Rider though and Moxley Stomps him onto the bricks. The fans sing Seth Rollins’ song (they earned that) so Moxley chokes him for nine. Back up and Hangman gets his own choke, followed by the Buckshot Lariat. Moxley gets up again so Page chokes him with the chain for the tap at 25:58.

Rating: D-. Call me stupid, tell me I don’t get it or that I’m old fashioned but I cannot stand this kind of a match. These two are capable of having such a better match (I was there in person for one of them) but instead they had to do their barbed wire fetish match and it turned into “what can we wrap it around next”. Oh or stabbing someone in the head with a fork, because that was a thing here too. This time though they mixed it up with bricks and a chain, because that’s what they needed instead. I’m sure this will have its audience and if you liked it then good, but this was absolutely not my thing in any way.

We recap Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe for the TNT Championship. Joe took the title from him and also cut his hair, which had been a tribute to Wardlow’s father. Now it’s time for Wardlow’s revenge.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending and Wardlow pulls him outside to start the fight. They get inside with Wardlow sending him hard into the corner and hammering away. A Whisper in the Wind drops Joe again but he’s back with a chop block to take over. The Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs (who gets the winner on Dynamite) approves from a sky box.

Joe cranks on the leg but Wardlow is right back with a spinebuster. Some choking ensues to keep Wardlow down but he makes the rope for the break. With that not working, Joe tries his own powerbomb, only to have Wardlow slip out and hit a headbutt. Wardlow grabs his own rear naked choke….and Joe is out to give Wardlow the title at 10:32.

Rating: C+. Ok they got me with that finish as I wouldn’t have bet on Wardlow using a choke to win. That being said, the match was kind of all over the place, as Wardlow continues to sell too much in his matches instead of being the machine that got him over in the first place. At the same time, they have a big Hobbs shaped problem now, as neither of them should be losing anytime soon.

AEW World Tag Team Championship: Acclaimed vs. Orange Cassidy & Danhausen vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal vs. The Gunns (Colten Gunn & Austin Gunn)

The Gunns are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. They start slow with Cassidy’s hands in the pockets driving Jarrett and Lethal nuts as they can’t cut him off. Danhausen comes in for some better received slams before Colten takes over on him with some alternating punches. A roll under a clothesline is enough for the tag back to Cassidy but Austin hands it back to Lethal before the Orange Punch.

The Stundog Millionaire hits Lethal and it’s Max Caster coming in to take over. Sonjay Dutt saves Jarrett from Scissor Me Timbers so Anthony Bowens hits Dutt with it instead. Back in and the Gunns take over on Bowens, including a delayed vertical suplex, with Jarrett and Lethal taking out everyone else. The villains all strut and do their own scissoring but Bowens fights up. Caster comes back in and drops Lethal but has to escape the Stroke. The Gunns go after Jarrett and Lethal so Satnam Singh makes the save.

We get the Danhausen/Singh showdown, with Cassidy Orange Punching Singh so Danhausen can get in the low blow. Billy Gunn adds the Fameasser (I’m pretty sure they’ve done pretty much this same sequence before) to get rid of Singh and the Acclaimed cleans house. Jarrett throws in the guitar but Caster takes it away, only to have the referee take it away from him. The Golden Globe to Caster sets up the Stroke for two, leaving Jarrett panicking. Back in and Danhausen rolls up Austin for two but the 3:10 to Yuma finishes Danhausen to retain the titles at 13:10.

Rating: C+. The match was fast paced but dang they had a lot of stuff going on in there. The Gunns retaining isn’t overly surprising as putting the titles back on the Acclaimed wouldn’t have felt right and the other two teams were just there to fill in spots. Danhausen taking the fall was the right way to go as there was no reason for anyone else to get pinned. Hopefully they have something good planned for the Gunns, because they have a long climb starting in loose rocks.

Post match the Gunns brag about their wins but FTR returns and lays out the champs. How Dax Harwood’s got busted open while beating up the Gunns isn’t clear (must have taken a shot in the punch out) but I’ll take the return. I mean, it should have been a year ago but I’ll take it.

We recap MJF defending the World Title against Bryan Danielson in an 60-minute Iron Man match. Danielson wants to prove he is the best in the world and MJF wants the moniker for himself. MJF made him jump through hoops to get the title shot and since Danielson did, here we go. For some reason MJF talked about how horrible his personal life has been lately, but the match was already set.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending in a sixty minute Iron Man match and gets a masked orchestra to play him (in a mask as well) to the ring. We get the Big Match Intros and MJF (who is in great shape here) bails to the floor to start burning off some clock. Back in and Danielson (with a taped up shoulder) easily takes him down to tie the legs up and bridging onto his neck to crank up the pressure. MJF grabs the rope and we’re at a standoff as they have a long way to go. A hiptoss takes Danielson down but he kicks MJF off and they both miss elbows.

Headlock takeovers don’t work either so they trade armdrags into another standoff. Hold on though as MJF goes outside again and throws a drink on a fan before stopping to pose some more. MJF: “Is this going to cost me a star Dave?” Back in and Danielson does some jumping jacks before slipping out of a full nelson. Danielson starts going after the legs so MJF hides behind the referee. With that not working, Danielson backdrops him (with MJF screaming) and then does it again for a bonus.

MJF sends him into the corner though and stops for some water as we’re ten minutes in. In a clever move, MJF tells the fans to clear out and then throws Danielson the other way. Back in and Danielson manages some quick dives for a breather. MJF catches him with a lifting DDT for two though and we hit the armbar to keep Danielson down.

We’re fifteen minutes in as MJF takes him up top, only to get sunset bombed down in a huge crash. MJF avoids a charge into the corner though and goes right back after the bad arm to take over again. A powerbomb onto the knee gives MJF two and he breaks up a skin of the cat with a low superkick (into the Shawn Michaels pose).

Back in and MJF can’t quite get Salt of the Earth, so he hits something like Made In Penta for two. Danielson gets in a knockdown of his own but bangs up the shoulder again to leave them both down. They trade headlock takeovers and counters for a bunch of near falls…and then keep going even longer, with both of them looking a bit tired by the end (fair enough). They’re both up and Danielson hits the running knee for the first fall at 25:25.

Danielson – 1
MJF – 0

MJF is frustrated and hits Danielson low for the DQ at 26:32.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 0

Then MJF pins Danielson at 26:38.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 1

Then MJF pins Danielson again at 26:43.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 2

Well that was smart. MJF grabs some water but Danielson is back up to go after the knee. Danielson’s charge is cut off by a clothesline but MJF’s is as well. Danielson fires off the kicks against the barricade as we hit the halfway point. A running dropkick against the barricade rocks MJF again and Danielson starts in on the leg back inside. The Figure Four goes on and MJF screams a lot as they slap it out (what a time for a Power Slap promotion).

MJF finally turns it over for the break and they fight to the apron, where neither can hit a piledriver. Instead Danielson gets shoved off for a nasty crash and seems to have hurt his arm again. With nothing else working, MJF puts him on a table and drops a top rope elbow for the huge crash. Danielson barely beats the count back in so MJF takes him back outside….for a running Tombstone through the unbroken piece of the table. MJF’s knee is in a lot of trouble and Danielson is busted open. That’s fine with MJF, who squeezes the cut as we have 20:00 left. Back in and the Heatseeker gives MJF the pin at 40:29.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 2

MJF takes a second to favor his knee before hammering away at Danielson’s head. With Danielson down, MJF shouts that Danielson isn’t the best in the world and that he f****** sucks. We hear the names of Danielson’s kids and MJF shouts at the camera to them. Some stomps keeps Danielson in trouble before MJF tells him to give him his best shot.

A headbutt drops Danielson against the ropes but he gets fired up and hammers away. MJF gets knocked to the floor and taken out with a big dive. Back in and MJF catches him on top, only to get headbutted down for the Swan Dive. MJF is busted open as Danielson gets two and we hit the Regal Stretch to make MJF tap immediately at 49:48.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 3

Danielson tries the hold again but gets reversed into the Salt Of The Earth. That’s reversed into the LeBell Lock and MJF is in trouble. The reversal lets MJF grab the Salt Of The Earth again but Danielson won’t tap. Instead MJF ties up the arms with both lets and pulls back Danielson’s leg, sending Danielson’s free leg to the rope for the break (that was a crazy looking hold). They pull themselves up to their knees for the slugout as there is blood everywhere.

With five minutes left, they get up and slug it out hard, with Danielson smiling. A running forearm drops MJF but he’s back up with a Heatseeker for two more. Hold on though as MJF goes to get more water, prompting an H2O chant. Danielson catches him up top again with the hammer and anvil elbows, only to get reversed into a super Tombstone. The landing bangs up MJF’s knee though and the long delay lets Danielson get the single leg crab with a minute left. MJF has to bite his hand to avoid tapping and the clock runs out at 60:00, with MJF tapping at 60:01.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 3

We’re at a stalemate. The announcer clarifies that is a draw and MJF retains the title. Hang on though as Tony Schiavone gets a message, saying that Tony Khan is insisting on sudden death rules. The medical team leaves (as MJF was getting oxygen during the break) and MJF immediately shoves the referee, allowing Danielson to grab a rollup for two. MJF kicks Danielson low for two (with trunks) so it’s time for the belt.

The referee takes it away but MJF pulls out the Dynamite Diamond ring. The big shot misses and Danielson hits a poisonrana into the running knee for a VERY close two. Danielson gets the half crab again and the referee takes the ring away from MJF at the same time. The rope is grabbed but MJF taps just after, making Danielson think he won. MJF rolls outside and grabs the oxygen tank to knock Danielson silly. A LeBell Lock on the unconscious Danielson….who stops his arm at two drops to keep it going. Then Danielson taps at 1:07:30. MJF remains champion.

MJF – 4
Danielson – 3

Rating: A-. Oh that ending is going to get a lot of people talking, as there was a rather simple solution of having Danielson pass out in the hold. Having Danielson tap is going to get people annoyed as the hero falls, but MJF can get a lot of bragging out of that one. Now that being said, this match started slowly but got WAY better by the end, with a great mixture of playing up the limb injuries and mixing in the violence. They were playing some interesting games with each other before the finish and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Great match, with an ending that might not go over so well.

 

Results
Mark Briscoe/Lucha Brothers b. Varsity Athletes/Ari Daivari – Froggy Bow to Daivari
Ricky Starks b. Chris Jericho – Roshambo
Jungle Boy Jack Perry b. Christian Cage – Jungle Boy put Cage in the casket
House of Black b. Elite – Dante’s Inferno to Nick
Jamie Hayter b. Ruby Soho and Saraya – Rollup to Soho
Hangman Page b. Jon Moxley – Choke with a chain
Wardlow b. Samoa Joe – Rear naked choke
The Gunns b. Danhausen/Orange Cassidy, The Acclaimed and Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett – 3:10 to Yuma to Danhausen
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bryan Danielson 4-3

 

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8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This was another rather good AEW show, with the last hour plus being the best match of the night. Save for one match (which is going to get all kinds of differing takes), there wasn’t anything bad on the show and it was full of the hard work you would expect around here. With this out of the way, AEW can hopefully reset things a bit and find their groove again, but for now, they are starting with a heck of a pay per view as they add to their collection of awesome special events.