Pantoja’s AEW Revolution 2025 Review

AEW Revolution
March 9^th, 2025 | Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California

I haven’t been fully invested in AEW TV recently but this card is strong and I’m pumped.

Yeah, I don’t have the time/energy to cover the pre-show, which is 4 matches (bringing the total to 13) and features Chris Jericho, Blake Christian, and the Undisputed Kingdom. I’m good.

Hangman Page vs. MJF

The pivot from MJF/Jarrett to this was brilliant. Especially since MJF has been FREEZING cold since losing the world title. Max teased the fans as Hangman’s old theme played only to transition to MJF’s theme. They went right at each other at the bell and MJF took the first advantage but made the mistake of being too arrogant and Hangman fired up. The idea here was that Max kept finding ways to escape or survive. He’d roll outside for a breather, back away from the Buckshot Lariat, and then when he got hit by it, get his foot on the bottom rope to break a pin. Hangman was better and more aggressive but MJF so MJF was looking to beat him by outsmarting him. He’d strike whenever he had an opening whether it was a quick cradle DDT or slapping on his armbar. MJF took it to the next level when he hit a running Tombstone on an open chair outside. When Hangman beat the count back in, MJF cried and shouted “WHY NOT ME? WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOU?” I love that everything Max does comes back to him being insecure. That opened the door for Hangman to bust out Daniels’ Angel’s Wings and then the Buckshot Lariat to win in 19:03. That Angel’s Wings looked vicious. A hell of a match that told a simple story. Two of the best around too, especially since MJF looks motivated again. [****½]

AEW TBS Championship: Mercedes Moné [c] vs. Momo Watanabe

I’m sure this will be good but it’s hard to buy into any kind of drama here. Mercedes took her lightly early, stopping to taunt and paying for it as Momo quickly let her know this wans’t going to be easy. Crazy that Momo is only 24. You could tell that these two don’t know each other too well as some spots came off rather clunky. Billie Starks, most known for NOT beating Athena in back to back years for the ROH Women’s Title, was watching from a spot in the crowd. The match wasn’t really going anywhere until Momo cut off Three Amigos with her own suplexes and hung up Mercedes in the corner for some vicious kicks. Those kicks marked a turning point as things picked up from there, with the ladies just beating the hell out of each other. Momo always lays her shit in so that makes sense. Momo ROCKED her with one kick to the jaw and Mercedes looked like she was shaken up by it. Mercedes rallied and hit the Moné Maker before winning with the Bank Statement (I can’t remember if she has a new name for it) in 18:16. That ended up being better than expected. It still lacked drama but it was hard hitting and ended very well. [****]

AEW World Title #1 Contender’s Match: Ricochet vs. Swerve Strickland

Ricochet has worked as a heel because they’ve kept him as a dweeb rather than tried to make him a tough guy. That’s why Jack Perry didn’t click as a heel. Trevor tarnished Jimmy Rave’s robe so Swerve kind of has to end him tonight. Swerve had a special entrance with a drummer though the drummer was NOT on beat with the song. I liked that these two found ways to include their athleticism in a heated match and do so in a way that made sense. Like Swerve flipping away from a Ricochet flip was done to get away from him rather than just because it’s the kind of thing they typically do in matches. They made it make sense here. Swerve was aggressive to the point where he even shoved Nana to the ground. The idea was that Nana wants Swerve to focus on winning more than the personal rivalry. Nana walked out because of it. Leslie Jones was shown often in the crowd, passionately cheering for Swerve. The action picked up when Swerve started his comeback, hitting a dope deadlift powerslam that you have to see to really understand why it was so good. The big spot came soon after as Swerve hit a Vertebreaker on the announce table, which didn’t break. He followed it with the Swerve Stomp for two which was insane. That combo should NOT be a near fall. Nana returned to grab the robe and put it on, only for Ricochet to lay him out with a dive and put it back on. Swerve nearly broke his neck when Ricochet did a DVD outside. That said, he was able to survive what Ricochet threw at him and win with the House Call in 18:08. That was pretty great though I really did not like that big kick out for the sake of it. [****¼]

Post-match, it was really cool to see Swerve give the robe back to Nana.

AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada [c] vs. Brody King

This is in the same boat as Mercedes vs. Momo. You know it’ll be good but it doesn’t have any drama. I’ve liked that PPV Okada has avoided the formula I grew to dislike in New Japan. For example, instead of the usual BS we’d get from the first 10 or so minutes, they were bringing the big stuff early with a superplex and with Okada’s chest being red from Brody lighting him up. Like, Okada was bleeding from his chest at points and Brody squashed him with an avalanche outside. Brody leveled him with a lariat that made it really hard to take the Rainmaker seriously. Running into trouble, Okada resorted to bringing a chair in and letting the referee take it out so he could use the title as a weapon for two. Brody had another burst in him but he ran into the Rainmaker, ending this in 11:44. Brody looked great here and Okada took a beating. Again, it lacked drama and the finish was kind of flat though. [***½]

AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Hurt Syndicate [c] vs. The Outrunners

Some folks were not happy about the Outrunners getting the shot which I get because they haven’t exactly been a team to take seriously. The challengers surprised the champs to the point where they had to regroup with MVP outside. That turned the tide as Shelton and Bobby started kicking ass, throwing the Outrunners around with relative ease. Shelton is a beast and I really like the pairing with Lashley. The Outrunners made another rally that included their signature double elbow drop and some Hulking Up. That was their last hope though as Shelton hit a superkick that started a barrage capped by a Lashley Spear to end this in 8:37. That was just what it needed to be. [**½] 

AEW Women’s World Championship Hollywood Ending Match: Toni Storm [c] vs. Mariah May

Not having this main event the show is a MISTAKE. Mariah came out with a wedding veil and she jumped Toni during her entrance. Hollywood Ending is basically anything goes. Mariah tried to use a taser ad Luther stopped her so she dropkicked him over a table. She did take a vicious back bump on the stage because of it though. Toni hit her with a choke bomb off the stage and through a table for a huge early spot. Mariah responded with a piledriver on the stairs and we had a very bloody Toni from that point on. Like, she was GUSHING blood. Toni brought broken glass into play too, adding to the violence level here. The glass was used to cut Mariah and Toni had a champagne bottle broken between her legs. The visuals of Toni drenched in blood was sick. Toni got the famous shoe from their rivalry, causing Mariah to bail up the ramp. That allowed a bloody Mariah to hit Mayday for two on the stage. Toni wailed on her with the heel and then hit Storm Zero to retain in 12:54. That was probably not for everyone but I absolutely loved it. A spectacular match that was every bit the war it needed to be with the right callbacks and the ending with Toni basically hugging Mariah as she pinned her was perfect. [****¾]

AEW International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita [c] vs. Kenny Omega

For these matches, I’ve been writing up the review as it happens but I stepped away from the computer to watch this one so I might not be recapping it as well as some others. They had a different match than I was expecting. I thought it would be more high octane but they actually worked it at a slower pace to start. They built this around Omega’s injury with plenty of shots to the ribs. Takeshita was a brute, laying into the ribs with straight punches or doing things like front suplexing him onto the edge of a table. The back half of this was filled with action and saw Kenny try the One Winged Angel but fail because of the damage he had taken. That meant he had to resort to other moves and dig deep into his bag. The spot where Takeshita hit him with a pump knee for two and then hit a second pump knee for one was a perfect use of the kickout at one. When Kenny went for his finisher again, Don Callis intervened and saved Takeshita. However, that meant Kenny rolled him into a crucifix for two, Takeshita turned it into his own pin for two, and then Kenny went back to his own pin to win the title in 28:29. One of those matches where at times, I wasn’t sure if it was going to live up to the hype, and at other times, I was in awe. It did go a bit long and I don’t think it needed that. I did love that the finish protected Konosuke. [****¼]

Steel Cage Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. Will Ospreay

This should be the blow off for the feud. Both men stood atop the cage and stared across at each other before bell for a cool shot. As expected, these two went all in from the very beginning and it was just a few minutes before both men were busted open. Everything they hit had snap and looked brutal from half dragon suplexes to Kyle’s Liger Bomb to Will’s diving forearm. Kyle kept licking the blood which was pretty gross. Like, maybe don’t do that. It also cost him at one point as he was busy doing that goofiness and missing Will get up. Will also licked some blood because we’re just gross. After some breathtaking exchanges, both men were down and bloodied. Mark Davis came out and broke the lock to the cage, sending weapons into the ring. Will cut off Kyle and kicked the door into Mark’s dead before bringing out a barbed wire bat from the new bag of weapons. He used it and eventually hit Storm Breaker but Mark Davis broke the pin up. Will fought him off and climbed the cage for the biggest Oscutter, yet only got two on it. They kept going, complete with a screwdriver being used as a weapon, and even a Styles Clash onto thumbtacks couldn’t end it. They climbed to the top where Will hit him with the screwdriver again and did a Spanish Fly off the top. Kyle sat up a bit and shouted that he hates Will, who hit him with Hidden Blade and the Tiger Driver to end this in 28:56. While that was great, I do think there was some overkill in there. Parts of this had me like “Oh, so we’re still going after that?” but overall, it was phenomenal. [****½]

AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley [c] vs. Cope

This on as the main event is a choice especially given how cold the Death Riders angle is. The crowd singing Alter Bridge is pretty cool. These two opened by trading forearms for a long time, trying to prove who was tougher than the other. Then, what we got was a slog. With a crowd that has seen some great stuff and were burnt out, they should’ve gone for a short, explosive brawl. Instead, they opted for a slog of a brawl that dragged on and had nothing of interest really happen. The crowd was mostly dead and it was boring for 20 minutes until we got a ref bump (Bryce took a pretty big bump) that led to shenanigans. Wheeler Yuta came out and kind of teased hitting Moxley but as expected, he hit Cope. Jay White made the save and accidentally hit Cope with the title briefcase gimmick. Cope survived and hit several Spears only for someone in a hoodie to pull the referee out. He revealed himself to be Christian Cage, who hit Cope with the contract. He signed and cashed in, making it a three-way. He Speared Cope for two and then Moxley got back into the ring. He put Christian in the bulldog choke while Christian kept trying to pin Cope and Christian passed out in 26:32. They took nearly 30 minutes for that? A boring slog of a match, no turns or anything of interest happening, and Christian cashed in at a moronic time. All to end up back with Moxley as champion, which was bad to begin with. A total mess. [*}

Post-match, Swerve dove out of the crowd onto Moxley. Our only hope is for Swerve to mercifully end this Death Riders stuff next month.

9.5

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

That is in the conversation for the greatest PPV of all time if you turn it off as soon as the crowd stops singing “Metalingus.” That main event dropped it from a 10/10 because it was otherwise stellar. Revolution is always AEW's best show (and Double or Nothing is always the worst it seems).