The heels were set to try there best to hobble their opponents for AEW Revolution this week as Chris Jericho sent his new hitman Jeff Cobb after Jon Moxley and MJF set his attack dog, Wardlow, upon Cody inside a steel cage. Could the babyfaces prevail and what state would they be in for AEW Revolution?

No 1 Contenders Battle Royal for the AEW World Tag Team Championships

Teams scrambled into the ring other than Alex Reynolds and John Silver who awkwardly stood on the outside for the first quarter of the match. I get that the only rule is to not get tossed over the top rope but surely you have to at least be in the ring when the bell rings surely?

Rather than listing off the eliminations, here are the key moments of note.

• The Dark Order spokesperson with Evil Uno and Stu Grayson distracted SCU to allow them to be eliminated. As SCU retaliated against the Dark Order, ECW Legend Raven could be seen in the crowd. Could this be a hint of the identity of the exalted one?
• Cima was eliminated and Evil Uno offered him a Dark Order mask but we never saw him refuse. Could Cima and T-Hawk be on their way to the Dark Order?
• Sammy Guevara at ringside tried to chat up the Bunny, it didn’t go well
• Orange Cassidy saved Trent from elimination before being sent to dick kick city by the Bunny
• Matt Jackson was the last man standing against Santana and Ortiz but invited them to a Superkick Party and managed to eliminate them both even after Nick Jackson had been eliminated earlier in the matchmaking the Young Bucks the AEW World Tag Team Championships No.1 Contenders

We all knew the Young Bucks were winning here but the match had enough fun moments and rivalry building segments that it was still an entertaining watch. It was all a bit messy in execution but so are most Battle Royals.

Kris Statlander vs Shanna

It was exciting to see these two great talents face off, with Statlander bamboozling Shanna early on with her trademark cartwheels and boops.

Coming back from the break, Statlander nearly put Shanna away with a Blue Thunder Bomb but she kicked out at two. Shanna came back with a devastating dropkick to Statlander but could only muster a two count herself.

A full Nelson attempt from Shanna was countered by Statlander with a neckbreaker as she pulled Shanna over her shoulder into the Big Bang Theory for the win.

A very entertaining match despite its short length and even managed to get a “this is awesome” chant from the crowd to boot.

Nyla Rose is your new champion

Nyla Rose came out to celebrate her AEW Women’s World Championship win from last week saying she cut Riho’s strings, no one can beat her and no one is a beast like her.

In response, out came Kris Statlander that seemed like she was going to boop Rose but instead pointed directly at the title. After this, Big Swole came out too and squared up to Rose before having to be pulled away by security before a brawl could break out.

All three of these women are great competitors and the idea of a triple threat match between them is tantalising to say the least.

Jon Moxley vs Jeff Cobb

Jericho, Guevara and Jake Hager were in the crowd for this match and yes, they had bought tickets.

This was a big ol’ Hoss match as Cobb threw Moxley around like a rag doll. Cobb appears to have done his training in Suplex City as he assaulted Moxley with numerous suplexes while the battered and plucky Moxley did everything in his power to keep the big man at bay. A huge cradling slam from Cobb seemed to spell the end for Moxley but Cobb released his own pin as he had more in store for Moxley.

Moxley swung for the fences with a dive from the turnbuckle to the outside but Cobb caught him into a huge belly to belly suplex onto the matt. A second rope superplex seemed as if it was the end for Moxley but he managed to clinch Cobb into a roll-up for a surprise win.

The Inner Circle quickly descended onto Moxley to beat down the plucky underdog after the win and even attempted aid from Dustin was thwarted as the numbers game was too much for them. Thankfully, a returning Darby Allin came to help out the faces, which was met with a thunderous reaction from the crowd as Allin went to town on the Inner Circle with his skateboard and sent them packing.

It probably wouldn’t have hurt for Cobb to get the win here but the finish worked with the follow-up angle. This match looked brutal and violent in all the right ways and made Cobb look like a monster even in defeat. Also, it’s great to see Allin return and with such an amazing crowd reaction for him too.

AEW World Tag Team Championship match: Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs The Lucha Brothers

This was one heck of a tag team match, but you knew that was going to be the case as soon as the Lucha Brothers were involved.

The Lucha Brothers took control early showing what a well-oiled machine they were, impressing early with an innovative senton assisted by a monkey flip. After the break, Omega was looking battered but managed to hit a leaping DDT to get the hot tag to Hangman Page who proceeded to bulldoze his way into his opponents.

Omega looked to toss Rey Fénix into Page’s German suplex, but instead, Fénix planted Page with a cutter followed by Pentagon leapfrogging over the floored Page into a Destroyer onto Omega. Fénix continued the amazing action with a hurricanrana to the outside to Omega with Page retaliating with an Orihara moonsault.

An anti-air V-Trigger to Fénix followed by the Tiger driver ’98 only mustered a two count but Omega and Page finally managed to secure their win by hitting Fénix with the Buckshot/V-Trigger combination for the win.

After the match, the Young Bucks came down to celebrate with their Elite brethren but Page refused once again and got a beer from the crowd instead.

This was simply one of the best tag matches we’ve seen on AEW and that’s saying something. Breakneck pace, frantic action and some phenomenal spots made this a match you should definitely take the time to watch in full.

Steel Cage Match: Cody w/ Arn Anderson and Brandi Rhodes vs Wardlow w/ MJF

AEW’s first cage match started off with the dominant Wardlow showing off his superior strength as he brushed off Cody’s early offence and nailed him with a hellacious lariat before clattering him into the cage wall busting Cody open.

After the break, Cody had managed to take a break by impressively lifting up Wardlow for a slam and followed up with a Cody Cutter but as his momentum was starting to flow, Wardlow retaliated with a dastardly low blow.

Wardlow toyed with his pray and Cody looked like he may end up crawling out of the cage to forfeit. Arn met him at the door as MJF tried to goad him into turning on his trainee and demanding he slams the door in Cody’s face. Arn responded by clattering the door into MJF which saw the crowd let out a raucous cheer.

Cody got his second win and took several attempts to get Wardlow off his feet but managed to land a powerslam for a close two-count.

Wardlow resorted to using MJF’s diamond ring looking for a cheap shot but Cody countered with a low blow and put the ring on himself. An incensed MJF clambered the cage to distract Cody but took a chair shot to his ass from Brandi and got dumped over the barricade by Arn.

A diamond-encrusted punch and a Cross Rhodes seemed like it would be the end but Wardlow still managed to kick out. With no options left, Cody looked to the sky and began to climb the cage. Standing at the very top he launched himself off with a stunning moonsault and secured the victory.

This wasn’t a complicated match by any means but it was perfect wrestling storytelling with some classic in-ring action. The end moonsault was breathtaking and a bloody Cody stood triumphant atop the cage was an iconic image.

AEW, this week, had matches that were truly PPV quality and it’s something that AEW can afford to put on with its limited schedule. AEW Revolution is going to have a tough time topping several of the matches here and I for one cannot wait.

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