By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer
AEW’s 2024 installment of Revolution is in the books. It was everything we thought it would be – a very good professional wrestling show highlighted by an icon’s send-off that ended abruptly if you happened to be at home, tuning into the broadcast (sadly, it’s a lot more difficult to finagle overrun time on the fly when you’re dealing with a pay-per-view). Outside of that, everything and everyone delivered, which was probably why this was the first show that felt must-see from AEW in a little while – nobody was going to mail it in on Sting’s last day at the office.
But enough about all that. Let’s dive into five takeaways from the proceedings. Because if there isn’t any Monday Morning Quarterbacking on PPVs or PLEs, did a PPV or a PLE even happen? Let’s go.
SHOWTIME
There really isn’t much to add to the chatter when it comes to Sting’s final match. The tributes poured out all weekend and any pro wrestling website with a pulse made sure to weigh in on all the guy did for the business in at least some capacity. On top of that, AEW stuck the landing. After so much was made of how perfect the company booked Sting during his run there, Tony Khan didn’t disappoint with the way things finally came to an end. That main event Sunday night was wild and Darby Allin wasn’t entirely kidding when he talked about dying in the ring (or, I guess to be fair, outside of it … in a pool of blood and broken glass).
Looking beyond all the deserved kudos the company earned in giving Sting one final great run, it’s hard not to wonder if AEW rewrote the book on retirements with the way they treated Sting’s final match. I’m not saying every wrestler probably deserves the care that Sting was given on his way out (Bastion Booger probably didn’t need the same type of treatment as the character’s final in-ring days approached), but when you have true legends of the business declaring their intention to hang it up, doesn’t it seem logical to go out with their hands raised?
I wrote in this space earlier this year that I was hopeful AEW would give Sting a victory in his final match and I’m glad they went that route. But only time will tell if others will be treated the same when they decide to say goodbye. There’s quite a distance between what happened Sunday night and, say, Kurt Angle losing to one half of the current NXT tag team champions in a nothing-happening WrestleMania match. Sting’s goodbye was as close to perfect as goodbyes can get in pro wrestling, so it’s unfair to suggest this happens all the time moving forward, but on the sliding scale, can’t we err more towards an amped up Steve Borden cutting the longest promo of his life than we do a bald Shawn Michaels who immediately regrets stepping in that Saudi ring when these things happen down the road? Please? Pretty please?
THE DEVIL’S DETAILS
Say what you want about Adam Cole, the devil, and all that nonsense, but … actually, there is no but. Say all you want to say. It’s been butt cheeks. In fact, it’s been so not good that a couple things happened in the story’s trajectory Sunday night and nary did a person care. Or, at least so it seemed. Wardlow, who can’t stop screaming, earned a shot at the world title by winning the Not The Face Of The Revolution Match. Roddy Strong, meanwhile, brought more gold to the Devil’s faction by winning the International Championship from Orange Cassidy. Does any of this matter? Meh.
Actually, if I’m the booker (and nobody wants that), I consider Wardlow beating Samoa Joe for the AEW World Title. Why not? The guy isn’t necessarily wrong for being all pissy that his opportunities have come and gone depending on the way the wind blows throughout the last few years. It’d be a mild surprise. And on top of that, you’d have almost all the gold in AEW on the Devil’s dudes. There isn’t much more you can do to push a group to the top than give them all the titles. We can’t say it’s sink or swim time for the faction yet because it feels like Adam Cole is going to have to get healthy before we see if the gimmick truly can or cannot work, but if that factor wasn’t around … OK, yeah, it’s sink or swim for this stuff. Something isn’t clicking and maybe force-feeding viewers the group by putting them on the tippy top is the only way to inject life into the story.
And what’s up with Kyle O’Reilly? I could do without him joining his buddies this time around, if only for the wrinkles to the narrative it might provide. At the same time, picking on a faction by yourself can be a tricky thing to navigate (here’s looking at you, “Elite Hunter” Kazarian). Either way, something needs to move in the Devil’s world and it needs to move soon.
THE PEOPLE’S CHAMP
Hey there. Fun fact: Did you know AEW’s world champion is this guy named Samoa Joe? OK, apologies for the glibness, but between Sting’s last match, the Devil reveal at the beginning of 2024, the Swerve/Hangman drama and a slew of high-profile signings, the AEW World Champion has felt like an afterthought ever since MJF limped his way into the sunset and Samoa Joe took the reigns. This is not Joe’s fault. Or, at least in my mind, it’s not Joe’s fault. In fact, I think he’s done a low-key great job as champion and I’m happy to see my fear of him being a transitional champion fade with each passing day he has that belt draped across his shoulder. But for whatever reason, it feels easy to forget that this guy holds the company’s top prize.
So now what? Hangman and Swerve are still in the middle of their never-ending story (and I think I read recently that Hangman is due for some time off, and if that’s true … man, that guy seems to take a lot of time off), so I’m not sure either of them get a rematch. Wardlow won a title shot, but we already addressed that. Mercedes Mone isn’t eligible to challenge Joe, despite The Internet insisting she’s the second coming of Wrestling Jesus. And it’s too early for Ospreay to get in the title mix … right? I’m just curious to see where Joe’s story goes now. Does he hold the title until MJF comes back for a rematch? Is Wardlow really the next man up? Is there something out there none of us have thought of?
Whatever shakes out, it’s worth noting that Joe deserves his flowers as AEW’s most prestigious champion – even if some might forget that he is just that from time to time.
A TIMELESS CONUNDRUM
Toni Storm is entertaining as hell. Everything about the act, I love it. There’s humor, wit, and fun – and all three of those things are at the precise perfect levels whenever she pops up. It’s great stuff. But how the hell does it fit into the atypical pro wrestling landscape?
She’s wrestling as a heel against babyfaces, but crowds love her. She’s not really villainous and most of the heel tactics she uses can be easily played for laughs. It’s not that you don’t take her seriously; it’s just that … well, do you take her seriously? My point is that I’m not so sure you can craft a serious story that pulls in viewers and gets them to emotionally invest in whatever Toni Storm is doing. We all know that she’s on a path to collide with Mariah May, and maybe by the time that development gets here, it’ll be easier to take the tale seriously, but for now, it’s a weird spot to be in because she doesn’t really elevate anyone she beats and in the meantime, she hasn’t been able to establish herself as a dominating, fierce champion.
The bigger issue is … well, how do you get out of this? Does she wake up one day in a colorful world, ditch Luther, and stop throwing shoes? Could you even gradually turn a character like hers? Is that something the masses would even want to see? It’s an impossible situation to rectify and while she’s a lot of fun to watch, when it comes to shelf life … umpf. Here’s hoping they figure it out.
QUESTION THE ANSWERS
-Are Jon and Claudio really going to be the next AEW Tag Team Champions?
-How long until Will Ospreay moves on from the dumbass Callis Family?
-Eddie Kingston doesn’t truly hate Bryan Danielson, right?
-Did Kazuchika Okada watch Jay White’s promo on the pre-show and then text Barry Bloom to see if he had Paul Levesque’s number?
-Does Deonna Purrazzo go the route of Ruby Soho and fade into the Rampage mid-card now that she had her obligatory “You just got here; here’s a title shot!” moment?
-Speaking of which, what’s up with the rankings?
-Is anyone else still wondering why this was ostensibly a home game for Adam Copeland and they still didn’t put him on the card?
-What’s next for Orange Cassidy?
-Why, exactly, is Konosuke Takeshita positioned the way he’s positioned?
-And finally, does AEW truly need an April PPV?
Honestly, though. Really?
1. Guys on their way out usually lose because that’s the way the old school pros think it should be done. That’s why it’s happened a zillion times. Not sure how you don’t know that.
2. Gee, a column by McGuire about AEW of which is mostly negative comments. Shocking.
i feel that AEW need an April PPV if they reduce the number of matches on each PPV to Four to Six. and alternate which wrestlers and championships are on which show…the alternative argument is to not have ppvs at all and just do tv but they have nt gone down that route. given there ppv buy rates i think they shhould not do that actually.
you said “atypical” when you just mean “typical.”