AEW rolls into the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday February 29 for their first PPV of 2020, Revolution. This is only the second PPV event the company has held since Dynamite premiered on TNT and the card is absolutely loaded with heated rivalries, blood-feuds, and a title match for every belt in the company. And there’s perhaps no better place for an event of this scale than AEW’s unofficial home base of Chicago where the company found much of its early success.
The show starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be available for purchase through the B/R Live streaming service and traditional PPV for the price of $49.99. To help fans gear up for the event AEW announced that immediately following this week’s episode of Dynamite, TNT will air a one-hour television special called Countdown to Revolution. In the mean time our panel of experts break down each match and provide their predictions.
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jake Hager
AEW
Jake Hager’s first match in AEW is against the man who without question wants this fight more than anyone else on the roster, Dustin Rhodes. Why? Well, it wasn’t that long ago that Hager slammed Rhodes’ arm in a car door, sidelining the eldest Rhodes brother and earning Hager an enemy in the form of one of wrestling’s most experienced veterans.
Forrest: Dustin is a known quantity. He’s had a lot of air time in AEW and in WWE, a lot of character building, and a lot of big in-ring moments. Jake Hager, comparatively, hasn’t wrestled in AEW yet. The obnoxious (seriously, the dude sucks) but obvious move is to give Hager the win, otherwise they risk deflating his entire schtick as Jericho’s muscle.
Winner: Jake Hager
JJ: If there’s any chance of Jack Hager being taken seriously in AEW then not only does he need to win, but he needs to wrestle. This is Hager’s debut match with the company despite having been on TV since October. That’s right, five months of simply menacingly staring at Jericho’s opponents. It’s time to sh*t or get off the pot. If the monster of the the Inner Circle can’t win his first match, then he doesn’t look like much of a monster anymore.
Winner: Jake Hager
Peter: I see no way that Jake Hager loses this match. JJ and Forrest have both put it extremely well and at this point anything else I would say would simply be redundant. It’s his first actual match if he loses what is he even doing here?
Winner: Jake Hager
Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
AEW
Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager have a lot in common. They’re both members of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction and they’re both in matches at Revolution because they pissed off the wrong guy. In Guevara’s case he joined his brothers in the Inner Circle in a pig-pile beat down on Allin several weeks ago, finishing off the former skateboarder with a blow to the larynx with his very own skateboard. Allin has revenge on the mind and with good reason.
Forrest: In a recent article about break through stars in AEW, I wrote about Darby Allin: “Darby Allin has paid the physical and promotional dues and is at worst, one good match away from really arriving if he hasn’t already. A self-made star, Allin’s performances across the board are enthralling, energetic, and downright dangerous in a way few professional wrestlers can really execute.” This could very likely be that one really good match. Guevara is a great wrestler, potentially the most technically proficient in the Inner Circle, but Allin has that unattainable ruthlessness and recklessness that makes pro wrestling so enthralling. After matches with AEW’s best, this is poised to be Allin’s catalyzing moment (if not set up a great rivalry between these two for years to come).
Winner: Darby Allin
JJ: This match is a late addition to the card but will undoubtedly make a big impact. Both Allin and Guevara are top level performers from an athletic standpoint, but Allin has the edge on Guevara in that he’s also an incredibly charismatic and compelling character. Allin has been out of action for several weeks due to Guevara’s attack, but he somehow managed to be more compelling than his component via pre-taped segments.
Winner: Darby Allin
Peter: I’m tempted to go with JJ and Forrest on this one as well but there is a little bit of doubt in my mind on this outcome. So let me use that doubt to play the contrarian. Darby has gotten over at this point. He has demonstrated time and time again that he is not just a rising star but one who with just one solid match could overtake Cody as the face of AEW. Meanwhile Sammy shows extremely strong potential to be viable and not just a henchman. A win over Darby would easily get him there. All that would need to be done is have just the tiniest of gimmick endings to save face for Darby, and it could work starting a longer rivalry. And this card overall seems pretty easy to predict who will be winning each match, so this bout seems like the perfect place shake things up a bit.
Winner: Sammy (with interference)
AEW Women’s Championship — Nyla Rose (c) vs. Kris Statlander
AEW
Nyla Rose recently captured the AEW Women’s Championship after she defeated Riho in a championship bout on Dynamite. Rose will look to cement the foundation of her reign by winning her first title defense at the first PPV event of the year. Meanwhile Kris Statlander is one of the company’s fastest rising stars and has quickly climbed the ranks of the women’s division. Statlander will look to show everyone in Chicago and those watching at home that aliens from another galaxy can win championships.
Forrest: There’s little doubt in my mind that Statlander will be a massive star someday, no one can deny her extreme athletic ability and in-ring energy, but today isn’t that day.
Nyla’s run as Women’s Champion has only just begun and her massive potential as the monster heel of the company can’t be understated. The AEW’s Women’s Championship (and division) has been in flux, especially with an absentee Riho, and this is the perfect moment to set a new standard. I’d also just like to see a trans woman of color keep the title for a little longer, to be perfectly honest.
Winner: Nyla Rose
JJ: For only being 3-years into the business Statlander is extremely impressive in the ring, but her character work still needs massive work. She’s an alien from another galaxy, which is of course a ridiculous gimmick, but she’s in the same company as a guy that claims to be a dinosaur from the cretaceous period and he’s hugely over. My point being, she can get over with her current gimmick once she figures out how to connect with the crowd. Rose is a monster that has zero chance in hell of losing her first title defense. This is about as cut-and-dried as it gets.
Winner: Nyla Rose
Peter: Nyla Rose seems to be one of the women that AEW wants to be one of the faces of the company. I was a little surprised that Riho got the title first; however, now that Nyla has the title I expect her reign to be a substantial one. I’m a bit disappointed Statlander has no chance in hell with this match. I don’t think people give her enough credit when it comes to her in ring ability and her gimmick, although needs some ironing out for AEW’s overall tone, is one that I thoroughly enjoy. Hopefully she will get the title at some point. But she’ll have to wait a while now that Nyla holds the belt.
Winner: Nyla Rose
Cody vs. MJF
AEW
This match very well may be looked back at one day as what helped cement one of the cornerstone feuds that put AEW on the map. MJF has all the tools to become the biggest heel in AEW and he’ll look to secure that spot for himself by defeating his former mentor and best friend Cody Rhodes. This is without question the most personal and nasty blood-feud the company has seen since its inception and no other match on the card carries as much emotion. Cody will look for revenge on Saturday while MJF will look to continue to do what he does best, piss everyone the f*ck off.
Forrest: Similar to my Statlander-Rose prediction above, I expect AEW is using their first PPV of 2020 to establish new paradigms. That means, naturally, that Cody — even accompanied by Pharaoh — can no longer be the top dog. He’s had his share of great moments leading up to this match (that moonsault!) but MJF needs the win to establish a real character and angle beyond Cody’s friendship. Ask yourself, what’s the more interesting story: Cody overcomes all of MJF’s stipulations with relative aplomb and cinches the win or Cody overcomes all of those stipulations, recklessly endangers his body and the company, and still can’t win because MJF is just so detestable, just wants it so bad? The answer seems obvious to me.
Winner: MJF
JJ: Both Cody and AEW want MJF to not only be the biggest heel in the company, but the wrestling business itself. This guy is only 23 years old and he’s already one of the best in the business when you put him behind a microphone. Not only that, but he undeniably has “it.” That special aura and intangible talent that can’t be taught. Cody doesn’t need to win here as he’s unquestionably transcended to his place among wrestling royalty. It benefits AEW so much more in the long run to build MJF as much as possible and the folks running this company are clearly well aware of that.
Winner: “Better than you” Maxwell Jacob Friendman
Peter: I don’t think it’s a question of if MJF is going to win, it’s a question of how. For all the reasons my fellow AIPT writers have stated he is going to win. However, my question is will it be a clean win? We haven’t seen MJF in too many matches. Everytime he has been in one he’s cheated. And while his mic skills are superb I haven’t been shown that he is a legitimate threat in ring. So for Cody to lose this one clean is going to be a huge blow to Cody. That said, I think that’s what is going to happen. Cody is going to have to bite the bullet and take a huge lose here to establish MJF as a threat. It would also further the plot of The Elite falling apart.
Winner: MJF
AEW Tag Team Championship — Kenny Omega & Adam Page (c) vs. The Young Bucks
AEW
The Elite will square off against The Elite in a match that has the potential to steal the show or crush the crowd. Adam “Hangman” Page formed an uneasy partnership with Kenny Omega to wrest the Tag Team titles away from SCU. It should have been fun. It should have been easy. But the Hangman has been struggling with his drinking and his friendships of late and that puts his and Omega’s title run in serious jeopardy. Meanwhile the Young Bucks will look to begin their first run in AEW as Tag Team Champions and prove to everyone what they’ve been claiming for years, that they’re the best tag team on the planet.
Forrest: Omega is one of my favorite wrestlers in the biz and I would love for a title defense to be a crystalizing moment for he and Hangman, but it doesn’t seem destined to be. They don’t have a tag team name, a defining angle, or a real in-ring chemistry (yet). Even the most recent Being The Elite, where most of AEW’s storybuilding is happening right now, is alluding to their loss. The Young Bucks are, comparatively, The Young Bucks.
Winner: The Young Bucks
JJ: The Young Bucks have been one of the best tag teams in wrestling for some time now. There was no question that they would have a run with the AEW Tag Titles, but why rush it? Well after nearly six months we’ve arrived. You don’t need a bloodhound to follow the trail of clues that lead to Adam Page’s heel turn and exit from The Elite. It’s been right in front of us for the past several weeks.
Winner: The Young Bucks
Peter: I think it’s obvious that Kenny and Hangman’s title run is purely for the purpose of the plot surrounding The Elite and is there to solidify Hangman’s heel turn. WIth the obvious tension between Kenny and Hangman there is no way they can hang onto the titles for much longer. I am a bit hesitant to give it to The Bucks simply because that plot could be accomplished no matter who wins, and putting the belt on The Bucks would be AEW giving their tag titles once again to The Elite, especially to a team that would be hard to take it off of. But at the same time…. I mean… they’re The Bucks. I just gotta go with my gut on this.
Winner: The Young Bucks
AEW Championship — Chris Jericho (c) vs. Jon Moxley
AEW
It’s time for Chris Jericho to put away the bubbly, shut down the recording studio, and face what is clearly his biggest fear — Jon Moxley. The Death Rider is coming for the AEW World Championship and Jericho has run out of excuses. It’s time to face the music. Hopefully the Le Champion has a spike or two prepared because Mox has never been hotter and the crowd is going absolutely crazy for him every time it looks like he might just get his hands on Jericho. Despite being down an eye Mox has never looked stronger. Will AEW’s first ever world champion continue his historic title run?
Forrest: Looking forward to seeing Jericho stumble around with TWO eyepatches on the next Dynamite.
Winner: Jon Moxley
JJ: This is the match I’m easily the most torn on. Does AEW put the strap on the best anti-hero since Stone Cold Steve Austin or keep it on one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time to see if he can somehow stretch this feud out until May when their next PPV event occurs? I can’t see the most important title in the company changing hands on a weekly episode, it feels like too much of a waste. So it’s either Saturday night or in May at Double or Nothing. Ultimately, AEW doesn’t go wrong with the belt of either of these men, but I can’t see wrestling fans being patient for another 12 more weeks.
Winner: Jon Moxley
Peter: I don’t see anyway Mox loses here. He’s been built up as an unstoppable force of nature and even Jericho has shown some cracks with Scorpio Sky pinning him and Jungle Boy outlasting the time limit (and then almost pinning him as well!). The only way Mox loses here is if there’s some extreme amount of interference, and I would hope AEW isn’t dumb enough to pull that on a match that has been hyped for months.
Winner: Jon Moxley
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