All Elite Wrestling returns to pay-per-view this Sunday as the sixth-annual Revolution takes place at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California.
While AEW pay-per-views always generate excitement, Revolution stands out each year. Whether it’s the longer buildup as AEW’s first major event of the year or the fact that WWE is ramping up for WrestleMania, Revolution has become arguably AEW’s strongest annual show. If All In is AEW’s WrestleMania, Revolution could be seen as its SummerSlam given the preparation and hype behind it.
No matter what, AEW pay-per-views always guarantee great wrestling. The weekly TV product may fluctuate between “OH MY GOD WE ARE SO BACK” and “OH MY GOD WE ARE SO COOKED,” but AEW consistently delivers pay-per-views that could have been the best event of any year two decades ago. Almost every show produces at least one match destined to be a classic.
With Revolution this weekend, here are, in my opinion (don’t hurt me, it’s just wrestling), the best matches from each event.
2020 – The Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (AEW World Tag Team Championships):
Perhaps the greatest match to have ever taken place on February 29th.
When AEW first started, Matt and Nick Jackson prided themselves on making the tag team division the focus of AEW. Up until the company’s formation in 2019, tag team wrestling was, to put it bluntly, on its ass in the United States, with NXT being the best option if you wanted to see solid two-on-two action. However, The Young Bucks wanted to change that, and by the time Revolution 2020 rolled around, the company had a blossoming tag division that is sadly a shell of its former self these days. The Lucha Brothers, Santana & Ortiz, Best Friends, SCU, Private Party, The Young Bucks—all of those teams were delivering the goods on a weekly basis, with the division being led by Kenny Omega and Hangman Page at that time.
The other big selling point of AEW heading into its formation was the melodrama and lore surrounding The Elite, which was on full display from the jump as Hangman became an alcoholic, Kenny didn’t know how to stop Hangman from being an alcoholic, and The Young Bucks were angry that Hangman was wasting away as an alcoholic. However, Revolution 2020 was the first time the four could show that they weren’t just excellent storytellers, but that they had in-ring chemistry some wrestlers could only dream of. Some fans plant their tribalistic flag and say they aren’t good enough, but this match is a perfect example of why WWE was willing to break the bank to sign all four in 2019.
For 30 minutes, The Bucks, Kenny, and Hangman put on not just one of the greatest tag team matches in history, but perhaps the greatest match AEW has ever produced in its short six-year lifespan. It had the storytelling, it had the moves, it had all of The Elite callbacks that make you smile from ear to ear because you feel rewarded for paying attention to the little things. That’s why Kenny kicking out of The Golden Trigger got the reaction it did—people knew what it represented.
Honestly, I don’t think AEW has reached this level in the tag division since, and judging by the way things are nowadays, I don’t think they ever will. But if you ever need a reminder of why you became a fan of AEW in the first place, this match is the perfect starting point.
2021 – Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley (Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch for the AEW World Championship):
Now hold on, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, this is the match with the farty pyro at the end that made everyone involved look like a complete moron. God bless Eddie Kingston for having to sell that explosion as if he had been killed—I still don’t know whether to laugh or cry at what he had to do. However, if you watch this match from bell to bell instead of from entrance to the end of the show, it’s a lot better than you remember.
To start, Moxley and Omega have phenomenal chemistry, and the fact that they were AEW’s two biggest stars at the time helps this match feel like a big deal. You have to understand that had the ending been executed properly, this could have genuinely been considered one of AEW’s greatest-ever main events. Both men took some insane bumps—especially Moxley, which makes sense given his background—but that shouldn’t take anything away from Omega, who can get down and dirty when he really wants to.
Everything about this was set up perfectly. Personally, I would have preferred it to be no ropes, like what FMW and ECW used to do, but there was enough barbed wire, blood, and explosions to make this feel like the most dangerous match you’d ever see. AEW was trying something different, bringing a match type that most North American fans had only seen in YouTube highlight packages.
Every small detail was packed into it, from Bryce Remsburg dressing like the world was about to end—just like FMW refs used to do—to Kingston recreating Atsushi Onita trying to save Terry Funk despite their differences. It was the kind of stuff hardcore fans appreciated… and then the ending happened.
Don’t let that terrible ending cloud your judgment—this match deserves a second viewing. And, for my money, it also produced the greatest t-shirt AEW has ever made (that white one designed like a B-movie directed by a Grindhouse filmmaker with no budget).
2022 – CM Punk vs MJF (Dog Collar Match):
When it comes to CM Punk’s run in AEW, many will try to pinpoint where everything went wrong. Some say it was Hangman Page’s comments about workers’ rights, others blame Brawl Out, and a few even joke that Punk’s lack of Rocky movie knowledge played a part in his exit. But if you stop Punk’s AEW run at Revolution 2022, it could have gone down as one of the best runs any wrestler has ever had in any company.
The story of CM Punk and MJF took the torch from Hangman Page vs. Kenny Omega as AEW’s best storyline and ran with it into the new year. On the surface, it had MJF’s usual schtick of forcing his opponent to jump through endless hoops, but by the time Punk offered Max the chance to be his valentine with a dog collar, this story had ascended to another level. Incorporating elements from Punk’s feuds with Raven and Jimmy Rave in Ring of Honor, this was a story that needed a match this violent by the time Revolution rolled around.
Punk coming out in white basketball shorts to AFI (or if you ask some people, a remix of the Terminator theme) hit like crack for those who had followed him his entire career. MJF wanted the old CM Punk, and the old CM Punk literally walked out through a cloud of smoke to a thunderous reception. The match itself starts a little sluggish, but once the blood starts flowing, it’s something to behold. If anything, it becomes a match you want to end—not because it’s bad (it’s quite the opposite) but because both men look two or three bumps away from killing either the other or themselves.
Add the ending with Wardlow—who strolled out looking like he had just fallen out of a nightclub—and you have one of the best dog collar matches that doesn’t include Mad Dog Connelly. It’s just a shame this ended up being the final chapter rather than a stop along the way.
2023 – Jon Moxley vs Hangman Adam Page (Texas Death Match):
Arguably the most contentious pick on this list, as another match from this show could easily take its place. However, in the wake of everything that happened with CM Punk and The Elite in 2022, this was the feud that carried AEW and made fans believe everything was going to be okay again.
Moxley had just lost the AEW World Championship to MJF, and with William Regal completing his mission as a WWE scout inside AEW, Mox found himself without direction. But Hangman Page hadn’t forgotten that Moxley once hit him so hard he forgot his own son’s name, and he was determined to make Mox pay. After two brutal Dynamite matches, they needed a fitting conclusion, and since Mox was deep in his “I’m going to bleed at every possible moment” phase, a Texas Death Match was inevitable.
Some might argue that Page had an even better Texas Death Match later in the year, which is why this one gets overlooked. But rewatch it, and good grief, it is brutal. Barbed wire, chains, bricks, tables, chairs—if they could grab it, they used it. The sheer violence makes you uncomfortable even in the most comfortable of circumstances. Moxley channeled his CZW roots, while Page proved he might actually be better suited to brawling than traditional wrestling.
And the craziest part? No titles were on the line. No promise of a shot at MJF. Just two lunatics determined to put the “death” in Texas Death Match. Some might prefer the main event over this, as blood and gore aren’t for everyone, but if you’re new to AEW and want to see what shaped these characters, this is essential viewing.
2024 – Sting & Darby Allin vs The Young Bucks (Tornado Tag Match For The AEW World Tag Team Championships):
2024 was a year of goodbyes for All Elite Wrestling. Bryan Danielson stepped away from full-time competition, Hangman Page abandoned sanity altogether by the end of the year, and at Revolution 2024, it was Showtime for the last time as Sting officially retired at the age of 64. Heading into the show, he and Darby Allin were undefeated as a team (28-0) and had just won the AEW World Tag Team Championships. A win at Revolution would’ve given Sting his 29th straight victory, allowing him to ride off into the sunset with the flowers he rightfully deserved. But The Young Bucks, sporting brand new mustaches, had other ideas. They wanted AEW to return to what it once was, and for that to happen, the veterans had to be put to the sword.
Everything about this match is magical. A sold-out Greensboro Coliseum hanging on every single thing Sting did—extra special considering what he and Ric Flair did in that building back in 1988. Speaking of Flair, watching him and Ricky Steamboat get superkicked by the Bucks was fantastic (one moment more so than the other, but that’s a discussion for another day). Sting’s sons showing up dressed like different eras of their dad and actually holding their own in the ring. Matthew and Nicholas Jackson being the perfect heels for the situation, from their outfits to their mannerisms to literally everything in between. Darby Allin jumping off a height that would kill a normal human through a pane of glass and somehow living to tell the tale. I realize I’m just listing things at this point, but this match needs to be seen to be believed.
Even the video package beforehand—Sting alone in an empty movie theater, reflecting on his career, looking just a little sad that it was all about to end—set the stage for something truly special.
There’s been some debate over whether the Bucks should have won, given what happened in the weeks after this show. But sometimes, you just have to give the people what they want—the good guy finally winning.
If you wanted to argue that Revolution 2024 is AEW’s greatest PPV, even surpassing All Out 2021, I wouldn’t blame you. Especially when this was the main event.
Honourable Mentions:
2020 –
- Orange Cassidy vs PAC
- Jon Moxley vs Chris Jericho
2021 –
- Darby Allin & Sting vs Team Taz
- Hikaru Shida vs Ryo Mizunami
2022 –
- Eddie Kingston vs Chris Jericho
- Bryan Danielson vs Jon Moxley
2023 –
- MJF vs Bryan Danielson
- The Elite vs House of Black
2024 –
- Will Ospreay vs Konosuke Takeshita
- Bryan Danielson vs Eddie Kingston
