What went right and wrong at AEW Revolution 2022

This past Sunday, Orlando, Fl. hosted All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) first pay-per-view show of 2022: Revolution. The 12-match (including the Buy-In) supercard served as the culmination (or continuation of several compelling storylines, including the intense and personal CM Punk and Maxwell Jacob Friedman program and the battle of the Adams: AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page and number one contender Adam Cole.

Aside from those two anticipated bouts, fans got to enjoy three other title matches, a six-man ladder match to decide the next top contender for the TNT Championship, a wacky trios match, and Eddie Kingston’s chance to pick up his first AEW PPV win.

All of that made for a show that had plenty of positive moments worth recounting and a few negatives to point out.

This is what went right and wrong at AEW Revolution 2022

Right: Everything about the CM Punk vs. MJF Dog Collar Match

Going into Revolution, the Dog Collar Match between CM Punk and MJF carried the most emotional weight thanks to the molten hot angles the two participated in during the last two weeks of the build. All that was left for fans to do was to hope that the match lived up to that hype.

Well, if those fans expected a brutal, bloody, character-driven encounter, they weren’t disappointed. Even before the opening bell sounded, fans were driven into a frenzy when Punk harkened back to his Ring of Honor days with his entrance and the bitter rivals kept them at that emotional high for the next 26 minutes.

We even got the long awaited Wardlow turn during the climax of this one, a neat callback to the closing moments of Punk/MJF in Chicago that set up Friedman falling at the hand of his own sword (or ring) once he was done falling into some thumbtacks after taking a GTS from Punk. This combined with the action that preceded it made for a cathartic experience while setting up the next feud for Friedman.

Right: Eddie Kingston beats Chris Jericho

Revolution’s opening match for the main card saw Man of the People Eddie Kingston take on Chris Jericho in what the promotion framed as a potential career-defining moment for the Mad King. Tasked with setting the tone for the rest of the show, Kingston and Jericho battered each other in a King’s Road-style slugfest.

Even with the amount of times these two struck and suplexed each other, though, it would’ve been bittersweet if anything other than Kingston winning. Fortunately, that’s what happened, as Kingston connected with three backfists and applied a Stretch Plum to force Jericho to tap out.

We’ll see what comes out of Jericho breaking his word and refusing to shake Kingston’s hand. For now, let’s enjoy Kinston capping off a tremendous match with a big win.

Right: Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson and William Regal’s debut

If you expected gory violence in the Bryan Danielson vs. Jon Moxley match, then you weren’t disappointed. And if you hoped to see some technical prowess in this match, then you also weren’t disappointed. Basically, Danielson and Moxley delivered an outstanding hybrid encounter.

After Moxley countered Danielson’s Triangle Choke into a rollup for the win, those same fans couldn’t have felt anything other than elation and surprise when they saw who walked down the ramp to talk sense into Moxley and Danielson.

Indeed, William Regal came down to act as the frustrated dad to his surrogate wrestling sons, setting the stage for a potential faction that viewers have salivated for since Danielson posited the idea on television a few weeks prior (and likely before).

Wrong: Britt Baker retains the AEW Women’s World Championship

When AEW announced that Thunder Rosa would challenge Britt Baker for the AEW Women’s World Championship at Revolution, everyone thought that the time was right to move the upgraded belt onto Rosa. Instead, we saw the typical Baker match — complete with interference from Rebel and Jamie Hayter — and a title retention.

Yes, it looks like AEW held off on a title change so it could pull the trigger in Rosa’s hometown next week, but if that’s the case, it should’ve had Baker face someone else and save the Rosa match for later instead of overbooking this one to protect her while giving Baker the win. Also, the constant interference in Baker matches has become tiresome.