AEW Revolution: Who needs to win the ladder match the most?

AEW Revolution is coming up this Sunday with an absolutely stacked match card.  With the AEW Men’s and Women’s Titles, the AEW Tag Team Titles, and the TBS Title being defended, a dog collar match between CM Punk and MJF, and a highly anticipated match between Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson it is easy to forget about the Face of the Revolution Ladder match.

This ladder match should not be overlooked as it will include some of the future stars of AEW.   Scheduled to compete in it as of now are Keith Lee, Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, and Orange Cassidy.

Friday night’s episode of Rampage will give us one more participant as well when Christian Cage and Ethan Page go one-on-one for the sixth and final (barring a surprise entrant) spot in the match.

And while most of the betting money is going towards Wardlow or Keith Lee to win this match, another question arises when looking at the six competitors in this match:

Who would benefit the most from winning the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match at AEW Revolution?

Before breaking down the men that could use a win in this match let’s talk about the ones that do not.

The winner of Friday’s Rampage match between Ethan Page and Christian Cage does not need to win the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match.

Ethan Page had a crack at the TNT Title not that long ago and was beaten by Sammy Guevara.  And as great as Christian is he doesn’t need to really even be in this match at age 48, much less win it.

The same can be said for Orange Cassidy.  As someone who is wildly popular and competes against top-level talent in AEW already, winning this match does little for him.

Factor in the fact that Orange Cassidy’s character can barely be bothered to put out the energy to perform a simple task such as give interviews, and it becomes clear that asking him to climb a ladder or carry around a title that weighs over five pounds is simply too much to ask of the “king of sloth style.”

So that leaves us with the four men that could really use a victory in this match as a springboard into bigger things, Keith Lee, Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Ricky Starks.

Of those four men, Wardlow probably needs this win the least.  In fact, the only way he should win this match is if it is part of the story of his emancipation from MJF.  If MJF loses to CM Punk at Revolution and Warlow wins this ladder match and goes on to win the TNT Title it would surprise no one if MJF went back on his word and told Wardlow to give him the title.

This would be the perfect time for Wardlow to make his final stand and complete the face turn that he has been teasing for months.  But there are so many ways to finally cap that turn-off that Wardlow doesn’t need to win at Revolution for it to happen.

Both members of Team Tazz, Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs could really use a win in this high-profile match at Revolution on Sunday.

Ricky Starks has unlimited charisma and is clearly comfortable both in the ring and on the microphone.  His push to stardom will come.  He is lined up at the starting blocks just waiting for someone to say go.

Hobbs is very much in the same boat as Starks in regards to having the talent to be a main event player in AEW’s future.

While Hobbs isn’t as polished on the microphone as Starks, Powerhouse is a rare combination of size and speed that is hard to find in pro wrestling.  Add to that the fact that Hobbs has a very under-appreciated skill in that his facial expressions are always on point and add so much to every segment he is a part of and you got a multifaceted big man just waiting for a push.

And while both Starks and Hobbs could benefit from winning this ladder match, it just doesn’t feel like either of them is going to be the next TNT Titleholder at this time.  So instead of giving them a mini-push just to be followed by a loss, it is better to let them show out in this match, but come up short.

So that leaves Keith Lee.

Let me start by saying, Keith Lee doesn’t need this win in the true sense of the word.  Keith Lee is going to have a great AEW run whether he wins this match or not.

But the last time AEW signed an ex-WWE product with as much upside as Lee, it was a man named Miro.

And that man spent the next four months playing video games and being a sidekick to Kip Sabian.

Yes, eventually AEW turned Miro into what he should have been from the start and gave him a stint with the TNT Title, but it wasted a good chunk of time with silliness instead of building Miro into a star from the start.

They can’t make the same mistake with Lee.

AEW has a potential megastar on their hands, and they need to strike while the iron is red hot.

No video game playing, no ridiculous “Bearcat” nicknames, just Keith Lee coming to the ring and wrecking people, becoming the next TNT Champion, and becoming the star we all know that he will be with the proper booking.

And that needs to start at Revolution, with Keith Lee winning the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match.