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AEW REVOLUTION is this Saturday in Chicago! Here is a breakdown of what we think should go down, compiled prior to this week's AEW Dynamite broadcast!
Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara
Dave: Darby is over like rover. He really should go over here and continue his ascent. Sammy is great and the superkick he took during the tag match to determine the number one contender's match was a fabulous spot. His future is bright and he will be fine with the loss here.
Mike: When you have a babyface's throat crushed and he makes the comeback, there are only two things to do. One, he gets the big win. Two, he goes all out and is out of control, emotionally overcome that he beats the crap out of the heel and gets DQ'd or counted out in the process, because it's not about the win to the babyface. I sense a lot of destruction and craziness out of Darby, but in the end, he costs himself the win.
Richard: Darby is the guy that should get the rocket strapped to him since Guevara is still part of the Inner Circle and a loss by Guevara could lead to some dissension within the group if Jericho is able to successfully defend the title and Hager wins his match. I don't want to see Sammy leave the group, but of the arcs on the circle, he is the one who can do the most on his own. There will be a lot of crazy spots in this match, but Allin will be the one to get his hand raised.
Cory: Darby is AEW’s first home grown star, and it’s amazing to see how the crowd reacts to him. Pairing him with Sammy, who is a solid mid card heel who knows how to get himself over on AEW’s TV should be a solid showcase for each of them. Darby should go over due to his crowd appeal and the injury angle, and done correctly, it won’t hurt Sammy at all.
Dustin Rhodes vs Jake Hager
Dave: Jake finally wrestles! I love Dustin, but this match has to have Hager go over.
Mike: This should be Dusty vs. Big Bubba Rogers 2020. Hager should show no pain and be extremely dangerous, but in the end, Dustin gets the surprise victory, only to be laid out by Hager.
Richard: I hope Hager wrestles in his 1970s Sears catalog tribute ring attire in this match. Dustin will hit a Destroyer at some point in the match but Hager will get the win because the Inner Circle needs to make Sammy look like the loser of the night. I am expecting 12 Oklahoma references during this match.
Cory: This is Jake’s first match in AEW, and he must win in order to be considered a force. Dustin should put up a tough fight, but this is a match to make Jake Hager into the badass they have made him out to be.
Cody Rhodes vs MJF
Dave: This should be interesting. After all Cody he has gone through, he should get the win here to send the fans home happy. Will it happen? I am betting that somehow MJF finds a way to eke out a win.
Mike: I still don't trust an Anderson in a Rhodes' corner! To have Cody get his revenge and destroy MJF would wipe out all the hard work they've put into him as a character. I expect he'll pinball all over the place for Cody and then somehow pull off something nefarious out to end up the victor. Arn Anderson turning? Nothing would surprise me. I don't see MJF losing. Bloodied? Perhaps. Losing? Nah.
Richard: With all of the hoops that Cody had to jump through in order to get this match, most would expect him to win the match. However, with the damage that he has endured with the strapping and the cage match while MJF has been sitting back and watching, MJF should get the win. Cody will probably bleed during the match but the Double Cross will be greater than Cross Rhodes on this evening.
Cory: This better not be a wrestling match, but knowing Cody, it will be a fight that Dave doesn’t want to watch. They have been building this for months, with the betrayal, the obstacles to overcome, and now the fight from behind. Cody’s wife has come back to him, Arn has been at his side, and while everyone is waiting for Arn to turn on Cody (and if they ARE going to do it, this would be the match), I would prefer that this is a match that Cody does something over the top to win, and his next opponent gets involved after the match. OR, if the feud with MJF is to continue, MJF will have to have some sort of way to engineer a beat down after the match. Here’s why Arn turning on Cody wouldn’t work for me: What would Arn do? He can’t wrestle, they haven’t shown his connections to anyone else, and Cody’s feuds have all been about him subverting expectations so turning him doesn’t lead to anything new.
AEW Women's Champion Nyla Rose versus Kris Statlander
Dave: .Wow, they sure went to this quickly. I would have liked to see them build to this match as these are arguably the two best women in the division. I can't see them taking the belt off of Nyla so soon, which means Statlander loses. I don't see the point in that this early, even if she loses by screwjob.
Mike: The news that Statlander has the flu couldn't have come at a worse time. Rose should retain. She just made it to the title. I like the idea of Statlander, if healthy, going down fighting so she is again raised a level in the fans' eyes. There is zero reason for Rose to lose the belt at this juncture.
Richard: It is definitely too soon to have Rose lose the title but Statlander has the potential to be a star in the AEW women's division. The one positive of this match will be that we won't have to hear on commentary about how much bigger Nyla is than her opponent because she isn't wrestling Riho. Rose wins and then I would have her continue the attack after the match to set up the emergence of her next challenger, maybe Big Swole.
Cory: I am NOT happy about this match being booked so soon, since Statlander should be built to this match, but we have to have a championship match and Riho doesn’t get a rematch for some reason. Rose has to win and win convincingly, but that will crush Statlander. So, I see Nyla Rose winning, and something to be done to keep Stratlander strong They are also pushing Britt Baker hard, so I look for her to be involved at some point, but I don’t know how.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (c) vs The Young Bucks
Dave: Everyone has been expecting Hangman to turn so I think they go the other way. Omega turns and maybe the Bucks do too. I will call new champs here.
Mike: I am with Dave here. I think we are looking at the implosion of the Elite here, but not until we see a hell of a back and forth effort with lots of insane dives. In the end, my guess is Omega hit ths V-Trigger by accident on Page, but it turns out he and the Bucks were on the same page all the time. I guess that would make Page the Sting of AEW, which is fine with me.
Richard: I agree with Dave that this is where they zag when people think they are going to zig. Adam Page comes off as a guy who doesn't give a damn as long as he is drinking and having fun. Omega can finally hit the breaking point because he was overshadowed by Cody in the early days of the company and then the Young Bucks are trying to glom on the success of Omega and Page to the point where they need to consider wearing Stephanie McMahon's ECW beret. With Omega in the 30 minute Iron Man match on this week's show, it should have an effect on Omega's performance. Let him be the one who doesn't tag in Page but he cannot sustain the onslaught from the Bucks. If they are going to do a title change, this would be the logical choice.
Cory: The Bucks need to win here, Omega and Page need to end their alliance, and story-wise either could turn, but I see Page being the one to turn. The Bucks are a tag team, while Omega and Page aren’t, the singles scene needs more bodies, and AEW is a showcase for the Bucks, so why not have them run with the title as everyone chases them? If Omega turns, he must be the top heel, a spot Jericho is holding. Omega still has a lot of heels to work with, and he’s been positioned as the Main Good Guy in the work with Pac, so I see Page turning on the Elite, especially since he has so many good reasons to do so. Page, on the other hand, can feud with The Elite members, more on to Mox and other singles stars, and because he is so over with the crowd, he can become their Main Tweener, holding a role like Steve Austin or the NWO as the cool heel everyone loves.
AEW World Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs Jon Moxley
Dave: The big question is do they flip the switch here and put the Title on Mox. You could make the argument to go either way and I have no conviction in this prediction, but I will go with Jericho somehow retains by nefarious means and it sets up a rematch down the road.
Mike: If it was my call, I'd say put the belt on Moxley. He's the most over babyface they have and while Jericho has done an AWESOME job of getting others over, he doesn't need the belt to do that. Now that I've said that, I do believe there's a lot more juice out of the Jericho/Inner Circle brigade. I expect Jericho to retain, but the right thing to do is for Moxley to get the win and the title.
Richard: The story of this match should be Jericho trying to work over the one good eye that Moxley has after the spiking, but instead, Moxley's eye is just fine. This should be a brawl as much as MJF and Cody should be based on their history. Since Ortiz and Santana are not in matches (at this point), I would have them get involved so if Jericho wins, Moxley can claim that Jericho needed help and then if they want to continue the feud in Vegas, they can go with a stipulation for the next chapter.
Cory: The build toward this has been the showcase of AEW. Mox has gone through the Inner Circle, he’s surmounted every obstacle, and he’s got momentum on his side. However, if Jericho loses, what is his role? His team is supposed to be the Main Heel Faction, but without any gold, can they keep that prestige? I think Jericho wins through DQ or some other means. Not to get into armchair booking, the first match should be one where Jericho uses all sorts of heel tactics to win and keep the gold. The next match would be the one where there is a stipulation involved for Jericho to exploit once Mox is about to win, and the final match is one where it’s an all-out, no DQ, no way for Jericho to escape match, taking us through the next few months because this feud has a lot of juice left in it.
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