Alright, finally watched AEW Revolution 2026 a day late (thanks Oscars!), and the short answer is, it was one of the best top-to-bottom PPVs AEW has ever done. This show felt like the work of a super hot promotion, in a way AEW hasn't presented since early 2022 (taking nothing away from the quality of their 2023-2025 PPVs of course). The Los Angeles crowd on this night was one of the loudest in a long time, and despite this show going a whopping five-and-a-half hours including Zero Hour, they never seemed to get tired. On top of all that, the card featured a smorgasbord of excellent matches and a few big surprises. And one booking decision that is sure to leave a lot of people scratching their heads until they look like MJF's back.
I guess we'll lead with the main event, since that was the biggest talking point. MJF vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match was 46 minutes of some of the most violent wrestling anyone's ever done on a North American show (MJF wore Terry Funk-inspired gear to mark the occasion). Though I might classify Hangman-Swerve and maybe even Hangman-Mox II as slightly more grisly, this match was certainly one of AEW's most brutal offerings to date. There are arguments to be made both ways; when you promise a Texas Death match you need to deliver one, but how far is too far, and what can you possibly do to top it next time? Conventional wisdom says you risk turning off casual viewers with content this bloody, but then again, the Undertaker-Mankind Hell in a Cell match (among others) came during one of the WWF's most mainstream-accepted periods.
For me the best way to judge a match like this is on its own terms. What did it set out to accomplish, and did it succeed? MJF and Hangman wanted to deliver an over-the-top display of wanton violence built on an emotional story with the highest imaginable stakes, and on that level it absolutely succeeded. The live crowd was with them the whole time, in spite of the match's excessive length (I would say ten minutes could've been trimmed but it also didn't drag for me), and the finish hit hard emotionally. These two used every weapon imaginable - chairs, tables, window glass, a syringe, kabob skewers, trash can lids, light tubes, a dog collar chain, and there was a spot through the electrical equipment table. Both men gushed like crazy and likely have a few permanent scars now. After withstanding everything they could do to each other, it looked like Hangman was finally getting the win with a Buckshot Lariat (the second one of the match), when MJF slipped on the diamond ring and punched him in the face with it before choking him out with the dog collar. Hangman went unconscious, collapsed to the floor, and got counted down. And now he can never challenge for the AEW Title again.
I'm gonna try to hold off judgment on this decision until I see how it plays out, but my initial reaction is "Are you fucking insane?" This is one of your absolute top guys, the "main character" of AEW, the guy whose 2025 title quest and redemption arc is what turned the company's fortunes around in the eyes of many, and you're just never gonna put him in the top title picture again? And if you do go back on this stipulation you've just cheapened it forever, the same way WWE has cheapened every stipulation they've ever done. I just don't understand what the endgame is. If he wasn't winning, why do that stip at all? Yes, Hangman can hold other titles, but none of them will ever be the company's top championship. This feels at this moment like a major unforced error. But we'll see how the story progresses, maybe they'll find some way to make it work - I hope they haven't pissed away some of the goodwill they finally got back last year.
Anyway, ***** for the match, it was an incredible spectacle.
Alright, looping back to the start of the show, we joined the pre-show battle royal in progress, or more accurately near the end. Ricochet, Jack Perry and El Clon were the last three men in, Perry made short work of El Clon and that left the two National Title rivals. They had some crazy exchanges, ultimately fighting on the apron, where Jack hit a poison rana to knock Ricochet off and capture the belt. Jack pointed to the sky to honor his late father, who often took him to wrestling shows in this building. Nice moment, but I only saw the tail end of the match.
The first full match of the card, shockingly, was FTR vs. Young Bucks, and true to form, they blew the roof off the place. Given the personal nature of the feud, they skipped the usual first-act feeling out process and went straight into intense fight mode, cutting such a pace I wondered if this would be a shorter sprint. But amazingly they kept up that pace for 18 minutes, with two bladejobs and a climactic barrage of finishing sequences and nearfalls. Both teams stole the other's moves, both teams kicked out of multiple finishes, and it took a top-rope Shatter Machine for FTR to retain the belts. As they celebrated, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage returned and took out FTR and Stokely, before having a face-off with the Bucks. I smell a three-way. This was fantastic. ****3/4
Next up was the Toni Storm-Marina Shafir fight, with everyone banned from ringside. I liked this a lot, they told the story of Shafir being such a consummate badass that Toni couldn't get out of first gear for most of it. Shafir dominated with grappling and striking (Toni had welts all over her from the kicks) while Toni scrambled to find a weakness in her game. Finally on the outside Marina missed a kick and hit the announce table, and Toni capitalized by biting her foot. Toni used German suplexes to get the advantage, hit the hip attack three times and seemed to finish Marina with Storm Zero, but Marina kicked out. Toni went for a headbutt but Marina locked in Mother's Milk, which Toni countered by biting her breast, then rolled her up in the Big Package for the three. As Toni celebrated on the ramp, who should appear in the ring but Ronda Rousey(!). Ronda pointed to Toni and motioned for her to return to the ring, as security rushed to separate them. Shafir then sucker punched Toni and the two MMA friends left together. Not sure how much Ronda will appear on AEW TV but this could be a HUGE cross-promotional opportunity, particularly given how many people are likely to watch the Rousey-Carano fight in May. Ronda vs. Toni would be an enormous money match, but at the very least they could do Ronda and Marina vs. Toni and Mina. Either way, great chance to raise AEW's mainstream profile. ****
The hits kept coming with the Continental Championship match, as Jon Moxley defended against Konosuke Takeshita, with no time limit. This was incredible, a basically perfect back-and-forth match that built to a fever pitch and had the crowd buying into every nearfall. This L.A. audience desperately wanted Takeshita to win the title here and it really looked like he might pull it off. Mox had Takeshita bleeding from his black eye but Takeshita kept getting up after every big move. Takeshita withstood the Death Rider and another off the second rope, but Mox locked in a choke. Takeshita struggled and finally flipped Mox off, only for Mox to trap both arms until Takeshita passed out. Post-match Mox offered a handshake, Takeshita initially refused, but thought better of it and the two showed mutual respect. I'm guessing the story is the Don Callis Family bullies Takeshita for coming up short and Takeshita finally leaves the group. Suddenly a video package appeared on the screen, inspired by Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk movie of all things, depicting Will Ospreay waking up in a water tank and breaking out. Ospreay ran to the ring and dispatched the Death Riders (even performing a sky twister press off the top to the outside - Jesus Will, slow down!), minus Mox, who collected his troops and left. Ospreay looks great and I can't wait to see him back in the ring. Probably the match of the night. *****
The Women's Tag Titles were next, following up on Willow's successful TBS Title defense against Lena Kross on the pre-show. After that match Lena and Megan attacked Willow, and the resulting shoulder injury played into this match. They only got five minutes, but that's all this needed to be. Lena and Megan, or The Divine Dominion as they're now known (I still like my suggestion of Twin Titans), made short work of the compromised champs, pinning Willow after a double chokeslam. Love this pairing and I hope they get a lot of dominant title defenses on both TV and PPV. Give 'em five or six months with the belts and they can eventually face The Brawling Birds at Wembley. Weakest match of the night by default, but it wasn't bad. **
Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King was next, and it was a gritty slugfest. Swerve was the obvious choice to win here but he made Brody look like a monster in the process. They fought all over the ringside area, where Swerve exposed the hard flooring, only for Brody to hit a Bossman Slam on it. But later Swerve hit a Vertebreaker, which looked scary but ultimately was very safely executed. Swerve hit the top-rope stomp but King kicked out at one, which drew a huge pop. It took three House Calls for Swerve to finally put King away. Swerve then brought out a cinderblock and made ready to curb stomp King, when Kenny Omega made his return and chased the heels away. Their inevitable rematch should be spectacular. This was really good. ****
The Women's Title match was in a tough spot crowd-wise, but Thekla and Statlander worked hard to deliver a solid outing. This was short for a 2 out of 3 Falls bout but they somewhat covered for that by booking Thekla to steal the first fall with a rope-assisted cradle. In the second fall Kris dominated, swinging Thekla into the barricade and ramming her into the ring steps before finishing her with Sunday Night Fever. The third fall featured a ref bump and attempted interference by the Sisters of Sin. Thekla stole referee Paul Turner's belt and whipped Stat with it, but Stat stole it and whipped her right back and hit another Sunday Night Fever for a visual pinfall. The Sisters showed up but Stat took them both out. Paul Turner revived and saw Stat with his belt, and took it from her, allowing Thekla to hit a spear and two curb stomps to retain. Kind of a "dumb babyface" trope finish, which was unfortunate, but the match was solid. ***1/2
I found the overall match order of this show very strange, as they saved the two trios matches for the second half and front-loaded the show with most of the top-billed stuff. As great as this show was I still prefer it when a wrestling show starts off with the shorter bouts and builds to a peak. But that's just my personal preference.
Anyway the Trios Titles were next and we got a super-fun party match with Mistico leading JetSpeed (who each wore Mistico gear) to challenge the DCF for their newly won belts. Mistico and Okada had some fun exchanges, as did Kevin Knight and Okada (each tried to outdo the other's dropkick). Kyle Fletcher and Speedball Mike Bailey renewed their fantastic rivalry, and Mark Davis played the bruiser heel to perfection. Tons of wild action here, but with everyone down or fighting, Kevin Knight jumped over two dudes with a UFO Splash on Davis to win the titles. As the babyfaces celebrated a graphic showed on the screen that Mistico is now All Elite, having signed a part-time contract. Very cool end to a very enjoyable match. ****1/4
Another instant classic was next, as Andrade El Idolo continued his remarkable AEW rebirth against protégé Bandido. I could watch these two duel all damn day; this was a dazzling showcase of Lucha awesomeness and the crowd ate it up. Andrade milked the audience reaction as he removed his shirt, and got a "Take your pants off" chant but refused. Bandido then partway through the match removed his tear-away pants but one leg got stuck and Andrade made him pay for the hesitation. Andrade then eventually did remove his own pants to reveal Speedo-esque trunks, much to the delight of the female fans. They traded super displays of agility, Andrade hitting a top rope moonsault over the corner post to the outside, Bandido hitting a shooting star press. Bandido at one point wanted a 21 Plex but Andrade was face-down on the mat. No matter, Bandido executed the move anyway by dead-lifting Andrade into the German suplex. Andrade hit his spinning back elbow for a nearfall but Bandido kept countering his DM neckbreaker, at one point with a seemingly impossible rolling heel kick. Finally Bandido went for another 21 Plex but Andrade hit another spinning elbow and a second-rope DM for the win. Great, great match. Andrade is yet another Callis Family member who gets babyface reactions. ****3/4
And finally the penultimate slot went to the Dogs vs. Conglomeration Tornado Trios match, an insane 12-minute sprint that gave everyone ample time to get their stuff in. The heels early on tied Darby Allin to the tag rope by his neck and worked over Roddy Strong and Orange Cassidy. But the babyfaces made an extended comeback that drew "Please help Darby" chants. Once Darby was freed he ran wild, eventually brawling up the ramp with Gabe Kidd, who he surreptitiously tied to the stage with a zip tie. Strong and Cassidy double teamed Clark Connors, hitting him with backbreakers, an Orange Punch, and End of Heartache for the win. Another incredibly fun trios match. ****1/4
Sooo yeah, eight matches out of ten in the four-star range or better, two of them I've given the full monty. That's a helluva show. As I said, I have major reservations about the Hangman storyline and I think they probably just shouldn't have done the Cody stip if he wasn't winning here. But aside from that it's hard to argue with anything on this PPV. Yet another incredible AEW Revolution show.
Best Match: Moxley vs. Takeshita
Worst Match: Women's Tag, but it was no more than it needed to be
What I'd Change: MJF-Hangman could've been trimmed by ten minutes and Hangman probably should've won, but we'll see how it plays out
Most Disappointing Match: Thekla-Statlander, but it was still fine
Most Pleasant Surprise: The whole Toni-Marina segment overachieved
Overall Rating: 10/10 - AEW does it again.
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