AEW Revolution was live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, in the event’s 7th annual showing. A Texas Death Match topped the card, the 11th in the promotion’s seven-year history, between champion MJF and challenger Adam “Hangman” Page.
With the ‘Zero Hour’ pre-show available for free on HBO Max, the lead-in to the PPV remains an important endeavor in the streaming era. In a similar fashion to past shows, AEW used the ‘Blackjack Battle Royal’ to begin in the pre-show and finish on the main show.
The Zero Hour event featured comedian Wayne Brady, who did a bit of foreshadowing in his ringside interview before the trios’ match started. When questioned what his theoretical wrestling finisher would be, Brady responded by saying ‘the ‘b**** slap’ would be his go-to move. He would go on to debut the move on Shane Taylor during the trios match featuring the TikTok Stars in Big and Little Justice.
MAIN EVENT: MJF(c) vs Adam “Hangman” Page—AEW World Title (TEXAS DEATH MATCH)
The history of the Texas Death Match is baked into wrestling lore (as covered on FightsATW.com as a prelude to the Revo feature title bout). That lore was important enough for Tony Khan to revive the match— with major help from the roster’s most passionate stars. While the ‘death match’ genre in pro wrestling is not everyone’s cup of tea, it must be acknowledged just how artistic and narrative-driven it can be when done right.
It was Dory Funk who invented the match, and his brother Terry Funk who immortalized the TDM. So, in honor of the founders of the match, the champion wore trunks inspired by Terry Funk’s ECW run.
The match was as violent and bloody as anticipated, and then some. Aside from the steel chairs wrapped in barbed wire, the light bulbs, and the skewers stuck into the forehead of the champion, we were also treated to 1/3 a one-third dog collar match as Hangman pulled the heavy-sounding chains from out of a black bag.
Once connected, the two went through a table that exploded (this was before Hangman went through a table with barbed wire), though that did not end the match. In fact, one of the main issues with the match was the immediate counts (faster than usual) that forced the stars to have to almost no-sell
Thekla(c) vs Kris Statlander—AEW Women’s World Title (2 out of 3 Falls)
Thekla picked up the first fall, and she looked terrific. The champion maintained a very active style with a faster-paced offense than we are used to seeing from her, but the powerful Statlander made her strength advantage count.
Statlander picked up the next fall, but the ref went down almost immediately after that. Statlander had the champ down for the pinfall until the rest of the Sisters of Sin came down to interfere.
Two stomps later from Thekla, and the match was over as the champion retained in a good match with a predictable finish.
FTR(c) vs Young Bucks—AEW Tag Team World Titles
The history between these teams put a ton of pressure on this tag title match, and the teams did not disappoint. There was more blood than in any of their previous matches, at least that soon after the bell, and they issued nods to their past showdowns.
Like when FTR went for the ‘high risk maneuver’ in a failed effort, paying homage to the crux of their long-running rivalry, after several spots that felt like the finish, FTR managed to pick up the win and retain their tag titles.
In the post-match, Cope and Cage returned to square off with the tag champs before eliminating them from the ring. That led to a faceoff with the Bucks, though it was much friendlier than their meeting with FTR moments prior.
The former Edge and Christian in WWE are considered one of the greatest tag teams of all time, and now they will test their place amongst the hottest version of the division in wrestling.
Jon Moxley(c) vs Konosuke Takeshita—AEW Continental Title (NO Time Limit)
Moxley and Takeshita went back and forth in a banger with almost as many near falls as the two Undertaker-Shawn Michaels matches at Mania combined. They managed to create a terrific story out of the idea that this was a 50/50 fight, and it was fought that way.
Mox picked up the victory in a very physical match, and after the match, he even tried to shake his defeated opponent’s hand, though Takeshita rebuked the gesture. It seems like Moxley’s ‘sportsmanship approach’ continues to push the boundaries of the faction he built on ruthlessness.
The lights cut out as Mox was making his exit, and the video package that followed was a dramatic vignette of a returning Will Ospreay, who has been out with a neck injury since August 2025. The video had a ‘superhero’ theme, mirroring the ‘super serum’ narrative, like Captain America or Winter Soldier storylines. In fact, he was shown inside a vat of liquid, alluding to the idea that it was helping regenerate his injuries.
Ospreay eventually made his way out to the ring and put on a show by dismantling Mox and co. This was a hero’s return, and Ospreay could be a major difference maker to the remainder of AEW’s calendar year.
Don Callis Family(c) vs Mistico Jetspeed—AEW World Trios Titles
This was the match before the main event, meant to be the transition between the two title matches (men’s and women’s), but what transpired was some of the best action of the night. It was a great mix of brute strength, speed, and athleticism.
We got new Trios champions when Keven Knight landed a midair altering frogsplash in which he was forced to cross 2/3 of the ring (and Mistico). They picked up the win and the belts, and then Mistico picked up an AEW contract when it was announced that he is now ‘All Elite.’
Bandido vs Andrade El Idolo
The women chanted for Andrade to ‘take off his pants’ early in the match, so, of course, the face obliged as Bandido stripped down to his trunks. The match continued to the approval of the female fans in attendance (and more men than you’d think) as they went move for move.
It did not take long before Andrade felt foolish being the only one in the match still wearing pants, so he stripped down to his ‘chones.’ He was forced to stop and take a pic with a female fan that seemed desperate for a beverage ;).
This match had it all, including pure tests of strength as Bandido pulled a belly-to-back suplex from a deadlift position. To Andrade’s credit, he showed an incredibly athletic version of his style while keeping his highlight reel for an opponent to guess continually. Andrade was able to pick up the win, looking super jacked while he did.
Swerve Strickland vs Brody King
Swerve picked up the victory in this match, though it should not be glossed over, as both men put in work for this one. We saw Brody dropped on his neck on exposed arena floor before Swerve launched him into the turnbuckle like a lawn dart.
While the match is worth mentioning on action alone, it was the post-match program that was the biggest storyline. As Swerve lined up Brody for a cinderblock shot, Kenny Omega came down to make the save and further his feud with Strickland.
Toni Storm vs Marina Shafir
Everyone Banned from Ringside
The match was physical early as Shafir delivered brutally stiff kicks to Storm’s body, but the former women’s champ was able to shift momentum with some physicality of her own. Storm kept her distance when she could so that she could ‘wind up’ on her shots, and the storyline continued that theme as the trained MMA fighter remained in her wheelhouse from the inside range.
In the end, Storm was able to dig deep (and bite down even deeper) as she caught Shafir’s foot and applied teeth to toes in a desperate counter. Storm picked up the win in a hard-fought effort, but the match’s biggest spot was yet to come.
As Toni made her way down the aisle, she collapsed on the floor just before crossing the curtain. That is when the camera cut to the ring, where Ronda Rousey had entered through the fans to call out Storm. Storm did not take long to oblige, and a couple of dozen AEW staffers quickly broke up the in-ring showdown.
Shafir took the opportunity in the chaos to take a cheap shot on Storm before walking out with her friend Ronda—the two have history dating back to their early MMA days.
Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Roderick Strong vs The Dogs (Tornado Trios Match)
This was a wild affair with two basic offensive displays: 1) Darby and Cassidy with full-speed assaults against 2) The Dogs’ ruthless display of stiff combos that included forearms and raw slaps.
Despite being handcuffed in the match, Allin managed to lock up Gabe Kidd with zip ties in the match’s final sequence. After Gabe was nullified, Roderick Strong was able to put together the winning sequence—throwing Cassidy on top of Clark Connors for the pinfall win.
Babes of Wrath(c) vs Megan Bayne & Lena Kross—AEW Women’s World Tag Team Titles
Megan Bayne and Lena Kross won the titles from the champs, though Willow was forced to pull double duty on this card, so hopefully a rematch is in the near future.
ZERO-HOUR RESULTS
- 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royale—for Ricochet’s AEW National Championship. Winner: Jungle Jack Perry
- Boom & Doom VS The Infantry- The Boom & Doom team picked up the win, a pre-show tradition at this point, with the help of Wayne Brady—sign him up!
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