While the build to AEW Revolution was pretty uneven, the show itself will likely end up being one of the best shows of the year.

AEW World Champion MJF once again proved the doubters wrong, submitting Bryan Danielson in the main event of their Iron Man match. The match had gone into overtime with both Danielson and MJF scoring three falls. MJF used an oxygen tank that he had used only minutes before to recover from the 60-minute bout, striking Danielson as he went to grab him off the floor. 

MJF then did what he did best: add insult to injury by eventually making Danielson tap out to the Lebell Lock. MJF didn’t just win in sudden death; he defeated Danielson with his own move.

The match was a masterclass in telling a story. From MJF doing his best to not wrestle in the early portions of the match, the tremendous nearfalls halfway through, to the bloody affair it became toward the end, each and every minute of this match mattered. I had Will Ospreay vs. Kenny Omega positioned as the match of the year back in January, and it still may be but I'm not sure. This match wasn’t as crisp or as jaw dropping as some of the stuff I saw at Wrestle Kingdom. But in terms of psychology and storytelling, I am hard pressed to name a match that was as good as this match. It was absolutely one of the best 60-minute Iron Man matches in modern history.

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Jon Moxley and Hangman Page also had a tremendous Texas Death match with Page besting Moxley. I expected this match to have blood as Moxley bleeds in most of his matches, — not exactly a secret. But these two BLED. Everywhere. Early on, Moxley used a fork to split open Page which set the tone for the rest of the match. There was lots of bumps both onto, and with, barbed wire, the use of BRICKS, and both men fell through barbed wire tables and chairs at one point. This match had every sick bump you could think of. I don’t know if I want to see this kind of match every week on television, but this was a classic, bloody war.

Jungle Boy finally got his measure of revenge against Christian Cage, defeating him in what was billed as "The Final Burial." When this gimmick match was announced on Friday, it sounded right out of WWE and I was hoping it wouldn’t be a really weird stipulation match. Thankfully, the gimmick didn't harm the match as the drama that was needed was there, turning the match into something great. I can't stop watch the casket quickly descend into the earth in a hilarious manner.

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We had several new champions coming out of the show. The House of Black defeated The Elite in a surprise to win the Trios titles in a very fun match that had everything you would expect between these two teams. Wardlow also regained the TNT Championship from Samoa Joe. This had to follow the crazy Texas Death match and as a result, it wasn’t particularly heated but was fine.

FTR returned to the company, so whatever that thing was about them being mad that they weren’t congratulated on winning Tag Team of the Year in the Wrestling Observer Awards is all water under the bridge. Or maybe it isn't. Or maybe it was a storyline. Who knows, but FTR are officially back, and they look to be next for the Gunns, who pulled off the win in a four-way  with The Acclaimed, Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal, and Danhausen & Orange Cassidy. This was good and pretty gimmicky at times, but it was fine for this show in this undercard.

Chris Jericho lost to Ricky Starks clean in the middle of the ring for a second time in what was a solid opener to the show. And while Jamie Hayter retained the Women’s Championship in a three-way match over Ruby Soho and Saraya, the real story was Soho turning on Hayter and Britt Baker, officially siding with Saraya and Storm in what looks like an ongoing battle with the homegrown talent versus former WWE talent.

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AEW has been struggling since Forbidden Door to find their groove in terms of storytelling. Some weeks work really well while in others, it just isn't there. But Revolution proved that even if the build didn’t completely hit its mark, you can still put on some one of the best cards of the year. 

If there is a card better than this one, it’s good news for wrestling fans as we’re in for one hell of a year.