By NICK TYLWALK and DALE PLUMMER — Slam Wrestling
The differences between AEW and WWE are more than just the semantic and aesthetic choices by the former to call its product “professional wrestling” and the latter to prefer “sports entertainment.” But it was uniquely fitting on a week that saw AEW announce the purchase of Ring of Honor that the promotion displayed once again where its heart lies with nearly four hours of all out, pedal to the floor pro wrestling at AEW Revolution 2022.
With a card that featured everyone from hall of famers like Chris Jericho and Sting to homegrown talents such as Wardlow, Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin to recent acquisitions like Keith Lee, Revolution was arguably the most well-rounded night in the promotion’s history to date, though the common thread between the nine matches was one of all-out physicality. And while a few of the bouts might have gone on a bit longer than needed, it’s hard to imagine many people in attendance at Addition Financial Arena left unsatisfied.
The main event, pitting “Hangman” Adam Page against Adam Cole for Page’s AEW World Championship (and, one assumes, all-out Adam supremacy) was no exception to the night’s full contact feel. The announcers speculated about which man would be the fan favorite, but an early “lets go Adam” chant answered nothing. Cole tried to take things to the mat, with the champ matching him hold for hold. The challenger crashed home forearms in the corner and audibly asked the champ what he’s got, with the response a big right hand.
A pair of lariats sent Cole to the canvas, so he slid to the floor but found no respite. A dropkick was first, followed by Page sending his foe into the barricade. Page gave Cole a running boot along the apron, but failed to put Cole through a table and was sent into the steps — not once but twice.
Cole took things back into the ring and choked Page with his boot, hitting a neckbreaker for one. He pushed his advantage with elbows to the neck of the champ, then smothered Page in the corner. Page turned him around for chops but was hit with a slam for a near fall.
The two men traded shots until Cole countered from the fireman’s carry position with a backstabber for a two count. Page responded to some trash talk with big strikes, then got a boot up to ward off a Panama Sunrise. The ref counted as both men were down, but they rose at three to continue.
Page hit a fallaway slam, then a jumping lariat that knocked Cole to the floor, where he suffered a powerbomb on the apron followed by a moonsault. Cole seemed like he was in trouble, but he rolled out the other side of the ring to avoid the Buckshot that was looming for him.
A counter into a Liger bomb earned a near fall for Page, who leaned into more chops in the corner. They battled on the turnbuckles, where Page launched into a moonsault and was caught with a superkick for another near fall. The champ rallied quickly with a Deadeye, making Cole scramble to kick out at two.
Cole connected with a pump kick and a superkick, and after responding with his own strike, Page ended up in a crossface and had to crawl to the ropes to break the hold. The champ ended another sequence of counters with a tombstone piledriver, but Cole kicked out once again.
Both men wildly threw strikes from their knees, then on the feet. Cole executed a shoulderbreaker for another two, and started to talk to himself to psych himself into a victory. Up top they went again, with Page launching into a somersault powerslam that somehow still didn’t end it.
ReDRagon came down the ramp, distracting the champ to get knocked off the apron and leave him victim to a Panama Sunrise on the floor. Page managed to kick out, somehow, and countered a Panama Sunrise in the ring. A low blow set up a Panama Sunrise and a running knee, yet Page kicked out one more time. The announcers noted that Cole didn’t remove his knee pad as he usually does, a subtle but smart way to protect his usual finishing sequence.
Page ate two superkicks, but rose to lariat his way out of danger. Cole hit several more superkicks, forcing the champ to lay down flat so the challenger couldn’t do his running knee again. ReDRagon set a table up near the ring, but it backfired as Page hits a Deadeye through it, and the Dark Order ran down to check on Page, starting a brawl with reDRagon — a rare case of a face champion having more friends than his heel counterpart.
With the outside distractions removed, Page hit a Buckshot only to see Cole reach out for the bottom rope with his hand. Page hit three superkicks before Cole could respond with one, but Page landed another. Page used Cole’s own running knee to set up another Buckshot, finally bringing a grueling title defense to an end.
Though Cole was essentially out cold after the bell, Page went over and raised his limp arm into a handshake out of respect. With both men graduates of Ring of Honor, the announcers wondered if the champ was still following his own code of honor in victory.
The next AEW pay-per-view is Double or Nothing on May 29, 2022.
AEW REVOLUTION 2022 FULL MAIN CARD RESULTS
Dale and Nick have their shtick down pretty well by now from working together on years of WWE PPV reports, so the same rules apply here: Nick’s commentary is in plain type while Dale’s is in italics.
“The Influencer” Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston
Jericho is one of the few wrestlers in history to have the ring announcer call him by two different nicknames while entering and have the graphics list him with a third. Kingston hits Jericho with an immediate Half and Half and Jericho looks woozy already. The crowd is pretty much behind Eddie, which gets them a middle finger from Le Champion. Minoru Suzuki would approve of the lengthy battle of chops, which tests even the most devoted whoo-ers in the audience. Jericho uncovers one top turnbuckle, but it remains to be seen who will end up eating the steel. Before we find out, Jericho suplexes Kingston off the apron to the floor, which has to hurt. He gets Eddie in the Walls of Jericho as well, only to see Kingston make it to the ropes. Kingston’s spinning back fist connects but can’t close the show either. Jericho gets another near fall with a Codebreaker, then catches Eddie running at him for a second one. Two more spinning back fists from Kingston find the mark, giving him a chance to lock in the Stretch Plum. Jericho taps out, giving Kingston his biggest win in AEW and arguably one of his biggest ever. Kingston offers a handshake after the bell, but Jericho can’t bring himself to accept, cementing Eddie as the face in this one.
Winner: Eddie Kingston by submission
Rating: 3.5/5
Young Bucks (challengers) vs. reDRagon (challengers) vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (champions) – AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
Jungle Boy and Kyle O’Reilly face off to start. An arm drag takes down O’Reilly, but Bobby Fish feints coming in. The distraction allows O’Reilly to get a leg up. Luchasaurus with a chop to Nick Jackson and then takes Matt out. The Bucks and ReDRagon avoid Luchasaurus from taking flight over the ropes, but Jungle Boy is able to target the four, taking them out on the floor. Matt Jackson kicks Jungle Boy off the ropes and then sends Luchasaurus into the security barrier with a suicide dive. The Bucks double team Jungle Boy in the ring. Kyle O’Reilly breaks up a pin. ReDRagon get their turn to team up on Jungle Boy. O’Reilly covers and Nick Jackson runs in to break the pin. O’Reilly fakes a tag to the Bucks. Nick makes a blind tag as Bobby Fish is yanked out of the ring. Jackson and O’Reilly argue in the middle of the ring, which almost gets Matt rolled up by Jungle Boy.
Luchasaurus gets the hot tag, cleaning house. He ducks superkicks form the Bucks and hits the tail whip. He then takes out Fish and O’Reilly on the floor with a moonsault off the apron. Nick counters getting caught on the ropes with a destroyer to Luchasaurus. The big man recovers and choke slams the Bucks. He gets a near fall. Jungle Boy hits the doomsday device on Matt, but still can’t get the pin. Fish sweeps the leg om Jungle Boy from the floor, but then eats a superkick from Nick. Jackson and O’Reilly trade shots in the ring. O’Reilly catches a superkick from Jungle Boy, who then makes a blind tag. JB fights Fish off the top turnbuckle. Fish with an avalanche exploder and O’Reilly follows with a diving knee. He locks in a kneebar and Fish hits a diving headbutt. Nick Jackson catches Luchasaurus with a kick. O’Reilly locks in a guillotine on Luchasaurus. Jungle Boy breaks the hold with a shooting star press. Nick Jackson breaks up that pin with a 450 splash. The ref has to stop Matt Jackson from bringing in the title. O’Reilly and Fish go high low on JB, but still can’t get the pin. The Bucks take out Luchasaurus on the floor. O’Reilly drops JB with a piledriver, btu the Bucks superkick Kyle. The then hit the BTE Trigger on Jungle Boy. The champ kicks out. Jackson and O’Reilly argue and Kyle is thrown from the ring. Jungle Boy with a hurricanrana off the top as Luchasaurus wipes out everyone on the floor. In the ring JB and Luchasaurus hit Matt Jackson with Thoracic Express and get the pin.
Winners … and still AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus by pinfall
Rating: 4.5/5
Christian Cage vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks vs. “Mr. Mayhem” Wardlow vs. Keith Lee vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy – Face of the Revolution Ladder Match
After Cassidy rolls right through the ring ams misses the opening bell, he returns to give his nonchalant kicks to all three big men, then tries to climb their backs to grab the brass ring. Nice effort. A ladder is quickly brought into play and Christian gets a chance to show off his vast experience with ladder matches. Lee wipes out both Starks and Cage and uses Cassidy as a weapon to take out several other competitors. Hobbs prevents a Wardlow-Lee faceoff, then races his teammate Starks up the ladder. Cassidy gets a chance to get creative with the ladder until he is crotched on top of it, selling the whole thing with his facial expressions. He doesn’t need to do much selling on a huge vertical suplex that Hobbs gives him off a ladder leaning in the corner. Starks leaps through a ladder for a spear, which is dangerous but cool. With all six men climbing two ladders at once, only Wardlow and Hobbs remain until they, too, are knocked to the mat. With Cassidy interrupting a big man showdown again, he ends up getting hurled to the floor as a projectile before the giants end up fighting all the way to the ramp. Hobbs and Lee end up near the announce table before they both are knocked to the floor by Wardlow, crashing through part of the stage and possibly taking them out of play. Danhausen appears to haul Starks off a ladder and presumably curse a few people before leaving. Starks recovers quickly only to be powerbombed onto another ladder by Wardlow, who is all alone to claim the ring.
Winner: Wardlow
Rating: 4/5
Tay Conti (challenger) vs. Jade Cargill (champion) – AEW TBS Championship Match
Cargill looks for Jaded early in the match after planting a kiss on Tay, but Conti counters with a judo throw and then an arm submission. Jade mocks Tay and then stomps her. Conti blocks a chop and hits a pump kick three time in a row. She follows with a swinging DDT. Conti wants a pin, but Cargill is under the rope. Conti hits Smart Mark with a moonsault, so Jade pump kicks Anna Jay at ringside. Jade falls into the rope and Anna smacks her with a chair shot. Conti can’t take advantage. Jade blocks a Tay-K-O and hits her with eye of the storm. Cargill with a frog splash from the top rope. Conti goes to the floor and connects with a pump kick. In the ring, Tay with a piledriver, but only gets a two count. Jade catches Tay on the top rope and plants her in the middle of the ring with Jaded.
Winner … and still AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill by pinfall
Rating: 3/5
Tony Schiavone has a special announcement, namely the signing of Swerve Strickland. He signs his AEW contract, without reading it, and has a question for the fans: who’s house? Swerve’s house, naturally.
MJF vs. CM Punk – Dog Collar Match
Some early mind games in this one as MJF pulls a fakeout with “Cult of Personality” before hitting his music and walking out, while Punk reverts to an early career entrance theme (“Miseria Cantare” by AFI, from his RoH days) for his walk. The opening minutes show why this stipulation is difficult for an occasionally cowardly heel, though you know Max will adjust. He turns to apologizing but Punk will have none of it, stomping on his hand and raining down corner punches. MJF rallies with a powerbomb for the first near fall of the bout. Punk is opened up by the chain, possibly in the same general spot he was bloodied earlier in the week. Even with blood streaming down his face, Punk hauls MJF off the turnbuckles while he is trying to talk on the mic. Punk signals for the GTS, but MJF wraps the chain around his neck to aid his sleeperhold. It forces Punk to the mat but he reverses it into a pinning predicament for two. A GTS attempt is countered with the Salt of the Earth, which Punk reverses into the Anaconda Vice. Punk connects on a shining wizard with the chain wrapped around the knee that sends MJF flying to the floor, and now he’s busted open too. Back on the ring, Punk once again signals for the GTS before collapsing to the mat. He summons the strength to piledrive MJF on the apron, and a great camera shot made it look like one fan was praying for the two wrestlers. Punk goes for a chain aided top rope elbow, but MJF rolls away and covers for two. He goes under the ring and retrieves a bag full of tacks, sprinkling them over the canvas. A bunch of teases follow, with neither man tasting the tacks. That soon changes as a battle atop the turnbuckles leads to MJF executing a superplex right on the edge of the danger zone. MJF has slipped away from the chain, somehow, calling for Wardlow as the ref reattaches the chain. Alas, Wardlow seems to have forgotten the diamond ring, and Punk hits the GTS. Oops, says Wardlow, leaving the ring on the mat and heading back up the ramp. Punk gleefully slips the big ring on his right hand, and after MJF spits in his face, he smashes home a right hand to get the three count.
Winner: CM Punk by pinfall
Rating: 4/5
Thunder Rosa (challenger) vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M. D. – AEW Women’s World Championship Match
Rosa wrestles Baker to the mat. Britt with an underarm suplex. Britt goes for the Lockjaw, but Rosa is able to counter. Thunder Rosa connects on a back breaker and follows with a rising knee strike in the corner. Baker dodges a second knee strike and hit a neck breaker. The numbers catch up with Rosa, as Britt distracts the ref, Hayter with a cheap shot. Baker stretches Rosa across the ring post. Once again, Baker distracts the ref, allowing Hayter and Rebel to beat on Rosa. Baker lands hard after taking a German suplex. Rosa keeps the pressure on with forearms and then a drop kick to the back. Baker catches Rosa in the corner and hits the air raid crash. Bitt with a pendulum suplex and gets a near fall. After a butterfly suplex, Britt calls for the glove. She takes too much time and Rosa drop kicks her into the corner. Rosa with a superplex and gets Britt up for a neck breaker. A sliding lariat take down the champ, but Rosa only gets a two count. The two trade shots in the middle of the ring. Baker looks for Lockjaw, but Rosa counters into a pin. Baker kicks out. Thunder Rosa goes up top again, pulling Baker up to her. Baker gains the upper hand, hitting the air raid crash. Rosa kicks out. Rosa with a tombstone piledriver, but Rebel distracts the ref so he can’t make the count. Rosa decks Rebel on the apron. Baker calls for the belt, as the reg tends to Rebel. Baker stomps Rosa face first into the title belt, but some how she kicks out of the pin. Baker wants Lockjaw. Rosa counters and applies Lockjaw. Baker bites her. Rosa with a straight jacket and Baker taps out. The ref doesn’t see it, as Rebel distracts him. Thunder Rosa spears Rebel through the ropes and takes out Hayter. Britt is ready for in the ring; nailing her with a stomp as she enters the ring.
Winner … and still AEW Women’s World Champion: Britt Baker by pinfall
Rating: 3.5/5
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley
This one starts out as a definite technical wrestling match, which doesn’t figure to favor Mox, though he can hang a bit on the mat. Moxley slaps Danielson and tries to lure his foe in, which works but forces him to eat some kicks. The American Dragon is just picking Moxley apart and doing jumping jacks in between. A Few hard chops seem to wake Mox up, but that also makes Danielson more determined to keep the pressure on him. A Moxley rally includes several suplexes, but Danielson slows him with a front guillotine. They brawl to the outside, with both men knocking each other down. Mox is busted wide open, so we are halfway to his comment that they needed to bleed together. Wait, that might be blood from the Dragon’s mouth so they can just end this, right? After a battle atop the turnbuckles, Danielson hits a superplex for two, then locks on a submission that forces Mox to slide a boot atop the bottom rope. Some brutal ground and pound sets up a cross armbreaker attempt by Mox, which is reversed into a crossface by Danielson. Blood seems like it might be an issue in keeping these holds applied. Mox stomps away on Danielson and applies the bulldog choke. Danielson is a long way from the ropes but manages to roll up Mox for two. The end comes suddenly and somewhat surprisingly: Danielson has Mox in a triangle choke, but Mox rolls toward the ropes, gets Danielson’s shoulders against the mat and holds on for three.
Winner: Jon Moxley by pinfall
Rating: 4/5
The two men won’t stop brawling after the bell, so William Regal makes his way into the ring. Yes, that William Regal. He isn’t taking crap from either man, slapping them and trying to broker some peace and respect. It may have done the job as they shake hands.
AHFO (Andrade El Idolo, Isiah Kassidy and Matt Hardy) vs. “Spanish God” Sammy Guevara, Sting and Darby Allin
Darby Allin sprints down the ramp, slides into the ring and spears Andrade to the floor. Jose slaps Allin over the back, so Sting takes care of him. Jose is whipped over the ring steps. They dump a trash can over his head and Allin takes him out with a suicide dive. Andrade nails Darby with a chair shot, then hits Sting with a trashcan and suplex Sammy into the crowd. Allin and Guevara double team Andrade with a suplex on the floor. Sting takes care of himself versus Hardy and Kassidy in the ring. A cutter from Sammy takes out Kassidy. Andrade drop kicks Sting and then buckle bombs Darby. Hardy with a Twist of Fate to Sammy. Sting breaks up the pin. Marq Quen runs down to help his partner. Sammy tosses both members of Private Party into the crowd, but Isiah is able to hit Silly String on Sammy on the floor. Sting and Hardy fight into the crowd and Darby Allin is also staggering around. The Butcher and the Blade join the fight. Butcher swings Allin into the security barrier. Sammy catches Isiah on top the stage set. Sammy hits him with a Spanish Fly off the top of set through a table. Elsewhere, the Butcher and Blade are building a structure of tables. Hardy with a low blow to Sting and takes into the stands, as Darby and Andrade fight on top the table structure. Andrade falls on a table and Sting leaps off the top of the tunnel, splashing Andrade through three tables. Hardy escorts Allin back to the ring and goes to work on him with a chair. Hardy puts a chair over Darby’s head and wants the Twist. Allin hits the scorpion death drop on Matt and finishes him off with a Coffin Drop. He covers to get the pin.
Winners: Sammy Guevara, Sting and Darby Allin by pinfall
Rating: 3.5/5
All I can say is “you’ll believe a Sting can fly!” God bless him for still doing this into his 60s, massive respect.
Adam Cole (challenger) vs. “Hangman” Adam Page (champion) – AEW World Championship Match
Winner … and still AEW World Champion: Adam Page by pinfall
Rating: 4/5
AEW Revolution 2022 - March 6, 2022
Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, FL
What’s not to like about a full night of very good to great matches, with violence, blood and high risks throughout? With no real filler or time-wasting, Revolution was a treat from top to bottom, though it seemed to lose the crowd a tad in spots just by running a bit long on some bouts. Still, that’s a very minor gripe on a card that delivered on its promise.