AEW Revolution 2025 Review: All Kinds of Awesome

Welp, AEW Revolution once again set an extremely high bar for every other wrestling PPV to try and clear.  Jesus, this was a helluva show.  One of the best cage matches of all time, one of the best women's matches of all time, a host of other great bouts, significant story progression, a clear direction for next month's main event, and a mostly very hot crowd.  I'd have maybe changed up the match order for reasons I'll get to, but overall this was yet another stellar show from a company that's been building great momentum over the last couple months.

The opener, surprisingly, was MJF vs. Hangman Page.  They had an excellent wrestling match where MJF worked Page's arm in between moments of trying to avoid him.  Max hit Page with a front pelvis attack, which pissed Page off.  Page kept trying to set up the Buckshot Lariat but Max kept rolling out of the way.  Page finally hit one but Max was too close to the ropes.  They fought outside and Page went for a Tombstone piledriver but his arm gave out.  Instead he moonsaulted into position but Max reversed and hit a Tombstone on an open folding chair, which looked brutal.  Page barely made it back into the ring in time.  Page hit a sick-looking Angel's Wings, in tribute to Christopher Daniels, that planted Max right on his face (I hope he's alright) and then hit another Buckshot for the win.  Great opener that left room for a rematch.  ****1/2

Oscar Film Journal: The Hollywood Revue (1929)

Still chipping away at some old Academy Award nominees and bangin' out some Oscar Film Journal entries here at Enuffa.com!

Therefore let's talk about another nominee from the 1920s, The Hollywood Revue, essentially a stage bound song and dance show captured on film at a time when audiences marveled at the fact that movies now had sound.  To capitalize on this still-novel technological innovation, MGM put all their contracted stars in one extravaganza, complete with three segments shot in two-strip Technicolor.  There's no narrative or drama here, just some songs (including "Singin' in the Rain"), a lot of dancing and a bit of light comedy.  The show is MCed by Jack Benny and features appearances from Laurel and Hardy, Joan Crawford, Marion Davies, Charles King, Bessie Love, Anita Page (the three stars from the studio's Oscar-winning The Broadway Melody), Buster Keaton, Lionel Barrymore, and so on.  

AEW Revolution 2025 Preview & Predictions

Ho-lee shit, look at the lineup for this Sunday's AEW Revolution PPV.  In terms of match quality this might be the most on-paper stacked show this company has ever put together.  Look past the main event which is, granted, not the most exciting thing story-wise but should still deliver big in-ring, and there's a murderer's row of ****+ matchups.  AEW is definitely trying to keep the Revolution streak alive.  The build for this entire show has been excellent and AEW has had more momentum over the last couple months than they've had in a long time.

I'm just gonna get right into it....

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ/Orange Cassidy/Mark Briscoe vs. Johnny TV/MxM

Yeah they're still capitalizing on Big Boom and his YouTube followers, but whatever, it's on the pre-show and doesn't matter.  If it entices some extra PPV buys, cool.  The babyfaces obviously win.

Pick: Big Orange Briscoe

AEW Tag Team Championship: The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Outrunners

Alright, down to business.  The Outrunners are finally getting a real tag title shot, and while they sorta banana-peeled into it, the crowd should be pretty hot for this.  Magnum and Turbo are super popular and Lashley and Benjamin are over like crazy.  I predict a lot of dueling chants.  There's no way THS is losing the belts already but hopefully The Outrunners will look good in a loss the same way Harley Cameron just did.

Pick: Hurt Syndicate retains

Oscar Film Journal: Nickel Boys (2024)

The 97th Oscars may be over (Congratulations to Anora for scoring the big statuette, well-deserved!), but the Enuffa.com quest to see all 610 Best Picture nominees keeps rollin' along (I'm currently at 328).....

Another nominee at the 97th ceremony was RaMell Moss's powerful narrative feature film debut Nickel Boys, based on the novel by Colson Whitehead (itself inspired by an appalling true story of racism, abuse and murder at a Florida reform school).  Set mostly in 1960s Jim Crow-era Florida, the story follows a young black man named Elwood Curtis, raised by his grandmother, who shows interest and aptitude in both school and in the Civil Rights movement.  Elwood is accepted into a free college program but makes the mistake of hitchhiking to the college, his driver stopped by the police for operating a stolen car.  Elwood is sent to the segregated Nickel Academy and subjected to harsh, racist conditions.  He meets another student named Turner, and the boys form a strong bond.  Turner is cynical about ever experiencing a better life, while Elwood is ever-optimistic and envisions justice and equality for himself and his fellow African-American students.  

WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 Review: John Cena Is a Heel

WWE Elimination Chamber 2025 is in the history books, and overall it was a very good, historic show that served as a good setup for WrestleMania 41.  You had two strong Chamber matches, a show-stealing fight, a filler tag match, and a big angle to close the PPV.  I have some gripes about a few things, but this was one of WWE's better offerings in recent years.

The show opened with what I thought was the superior of the two Chamber bouts, the women's match.  Liv Morgan in particular shined in this match as one of the first two participants and the last one to be eliminated.  By the end she had welts all over her from various bumps.  Liv and Naomi were the first two combatants, the bell rang and suddenly Jade Cargill came out and was able to get into the Chamber because the door was still open.  So wait, you mean to tell me the officiating is so sloppy they couldn't get the cage door shut in the time it took for the bell to ring and for Jade to make her slow entrance in a stadium??  That's some bad storytelling.  Anyway, Jade made it look like she was going to attack Liv (who sold it like she was terrified), but instead went after Naomi, beating the crap out of her.  Naomi was ruled unable to continue, which is pretty fuckin' thin considering basically all the women in the match took more punishment than she did; why couldn't Liv have just pinned her right away?  Liv gloated as the officials took Naomi away and then Belair was the next entrant.  Liv got the advantage early as Belair was preoccupied with her injured friend.  Roxanne Perez was next and ran wild for a little while, before Bayley entered.  Alexa Bliss was the final entrant.  They all exchanged some good, crisp action before Liv took Bayley out with Oblivion. Alexa pinned Roxanne after Twisted Bliss.  Alexa hit Bianca with Sister Abigail but got rolled up by Liv for the pin.  The match really got good when it was down to just Bianca and Liv.  Morgan repeatedly whipped Bianca into the cage with her braid, but Bianca came back and swung Morgan repeatedly into one of the pods.  At one point while they were fighting on top of the pod, Bianca whipped Liv with her braid, which made a loud cracking sound and left a sick-looking welt.  They settled back in the ring and tried to finish each other off but Bianca countered Oblivion and hit the KOD for the win.  Very good Chamber that built to a strong peak.  ****1/4

Oscar Film Journal: The Broadway Melody (1929)

Welcome to another edition of the Oscar Film Journal, here at Enuffa.com!

Set your Wayback Machine for almost a century ago to 1929, when the Hollywood musical was born, more or less.  Sound films were all the latest rage, particularly sound films that featured singing and dancing.  One of the most significant films of this type was entitled The Broadway Melody, which went on to be the first sound film (and only the second film overall) to win Best Picture.  

Directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Anita Page, Bessie Love and Charles King, The Broadway Melody is a showbiz melodrama about two sisters, the man who loves them both, and the love quadrangle that ensues when a rich playboy tries to seduce one of the sisters.  Harriet "Hank" and Queenie Mahoney are aspiring song and dance girls hoping to make it on the Great White Way, where their childhood friend Eddie Kearns works as a songwriter.  Eddie and Hank have been engaged to be married for some time, but upon seeing Queenie for the first time as an adult he immediately begins to fall for her.  Wealthy womanizer Jacques Warriner has his eye on Queenie as well, and what follows is a series of shouting matches between Queenie and Hank and Queenie and Eddie, both trying to talk her out of getting involved with Jacques, who has promised her a lush Manhattan lifestyle.  Eddie also professes his love for Queenie, who somehow never reveals this to her sister; Hank figures it out on her own.