The Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, typically home to mediocre basketball, hosted some exciting pro wrestling in the form of All Elite Wrestling’s seventh annual Revolution pay-per-view.
Tony Khan took as much advantage of being on the West Coast as possible, filling the main card with 10 matches. Generally, all of them lived up to the lofty standards that AEW set for itself, but that doesn’t mean the (still) young promotion got everything right. So, let’s talk about the good and the bad.
Hits for AEW Revolution 2026
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
At this point, if you go into a TEXAS DEATH MATCH and expect anything other than ultra-violence, then that’s on you. MJF and Hangman Adam Page delivered on the carnage at Revolution. Both men played their respective roles (Page as the resolute babyface and Friedman as the feckless champion) to perfection, and the continuing story of MJF using the Dynamite Diamond ring as a last resort worked effectively. With Page now frozen out of the world title picture, it will be interesting to see what his next steps are.
Andrade El Ídolo vs. Bandido
This was a “steal the show” candidate going to the PPV, and that’s what these two did with their work-rate and respective strip shows for everyone. Despite the loss, Bandido should remain a fixture in the main event scene. As for Andrade, he continues to prove that Khan was right to bring him back and push him out of the gate (for now).
Místico and JetSpeed win the Trios titles
It’s always a treat to see the legendary Místico on U.S. soil, and this trios match showcased him well. Overall, the match went as you’d expect one with Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey, Kazuchika Okada, and Kyle Fletcher to go: Very good. Místico winning the trios titles with JetSpeet was a legitimate feel-good moment, as was the announcement of Místico signing with AEW.
Most of Thekla vs. Kris Statlander
Even with the L.A. crowd growing weary, Thekla and Statlander kept them engaged during their Best-of-3 falls match. These two have good chemistry, so while this should be their last match for a bit, AEW should revisit this one after a year or so. We’ll get to the finish later.
Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King
In the battle to find out who’s the “most dangerous”, Strickland barely prevailed over the valiant King. This was a good match that further re-established Swerve as a major heel threat while keeping King strong in defeat. Of course, getting a big babyface endorsement from the returning Kenny Omega helps the latter, too.
The Divine Dominion wins the women’s tag titles
First, the Divine Dominion is a GREAT tag team name for Megan Bayne and Lena Kross. It’s also good that they got a dominant tag title win. Some will quibble over the match length, but it made sense for the monster heels to get a decisive win, especially after Kross lost to Willow Nightingale during Zero Hour. Nightingale’s kayfabe shoulder injury gives the babyfaces a reasonable out.
Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Will Ospreay returns
Forget match of the night, this was an early contender for Match of the Year. Moxley has washed away any remaining bad taste from the early days of the Death Riders angle, and Takeshita is poised for a huge breakout year, though fans have been saying that for a few years now. With a big program against Okada on the horizon, it appears to be coming finally. Ospreay’s return was great, too, as he got the hero’s welcome everyone imagined. An additional thumbs up for him not forgetting about Moxley injuring him despite Mox’s quasi-babyface turn.
Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir
A really good, well-thought-out midcard match. Some fans will give the lion’s share of the credit to Storm, and understandably so, but Shafir held up her end. This feud with Storm represented an audition of sorts for “The Problem” as a viable singles act, and while she isn’t a main event caliber attraction, she earned some more chances as a solo wrestler. It would’ve been nice if this placed Storm back into the world title hunt, but…we’ll get to it later.
FTR vs. The Young Bucks
Aspects of the FTR/Young Bucks rivalry have left something to be desired, but their Revolution opener was a definite high point. Given the tone of the feud, both teams’ blading fit the story they told; it gave the bout an extra hint of intensity and danger. FTR winning made sense given that Cope and Cage returned after the match to resume hostilities with the champions (and tease a match with the Bucks). This was another MOTY candidate.
Misses for AEW Revolution 2026
(Poe Dameron voice) Somehow…Ronda Rousey returned
When Rousey showed up to confront Storm, the fans didn’t sound happy to see her, and not in a “good heat” way. Khan is a big MMA fan and probably thinks that Rousey’s remaining name value makes her worth taking a chance on. Unfortunately, there’s enough evidence to show that the orange isn’t worth the squeeze, especially when everyone saw the last promotion she worked for wring it for an amount of juice that wouldn’t fill a shot glass. Off-camera, her corrosive comments (that she has half-heartedly apologized for, apparently) make her a non-starter with most of the fanbase. As a performer, her wooden promo delivery, anti-charisma, and spotty in-ring résumé outside of hyper-rehearsed settings make this decision even more questionable. At least she’ll be sequestered in a tag team with Shafir.
Tornado trios match
The first of two slight misses. There was nothing wrong with this match, and the babyfaces handcuffing Gabe Kidd to isolate the other heels and get the win is pretty shrewd, but this felt like a match that could’ve been saved for a Dynamite or Collision. It’s not the end of the world, but given how long these PPVs run, there’s always one or two matches that feel extraneous, and this was the one on this show. At least Roderick Strong and Orange Cassidy worked well together.
The finish to Thekla vs. Statlander
The final fall to the women’s world title match kept it from being great. The ref bump opened the door for the big belt whipping spot, a visual pinfall for Statlander, and Sisters of Sin shenanigans to protect Stat in defeat, but the anticlimactic execution brought this match down a notch. It’s more disappointing than bad, but the underwhelming finish was worth noting.
If you would like even more AEW Coverage from Chris Jeter, check out more of his articles right here on Let Them Wrestle.
