Chair Shots With Killem Faulkner: Revolution Fallout Dynamite

With another stellar pay-per-view in the rearview mirror, AEW turned its attention to the future and began building toward Double or Nothing, its next featured show in May. This week’s edition of Dynamite promised three huge title matches as well as a number one contender’s match and of course plenty of storyline follow-up from Sunday’s pay-per-view. What were the most promising developments from this week’s show, which segments and storylines felt a bit wobbly, and who looks to have the most momentum coming out of Revolution?

Best Match of the Night

Let’s be fair here: many of the top stars of the promotion had to be exhausted following a 4+ hour show on Sunday night that featured several grueling matches involving performers who were asked to turn around in just three short days and deliver another in-ring performance on Dynamite. Not surprisingly, there were a few good but overly short matches on tonight’s show with only two real standouts, in my opinion, so let’s give a collective honorable mention to Adam Page vs. Dante Martin, Jon Moxley & Brian Danielson vs. The Workhorsemen, and PAC vs. Wheeler Yuta. None of these matches fully lived up to its potential, but they were all good for what they were. Subbing in the relatively fresh Martin, Yuta, JD Drake, and Anthony Henry prevented their opponents from being overworked just a few short nights after Revolution, and the matches worked well on the whole even if they never really got out of first gear.

Jurassic Express vs. The Acclaimed was an excellent match that felt like it could lead to an even better rematch down the line if given enough storyline development and a featured spot on pay-per-view. Max Caster and Anthony Bowens continue to earn themselves more screen time with standout performances like this, and I hope they get the opportunity to seriously challenge for the tag titles sooner rather than later. With big-name tag teams like the Young Bucks, reDRagon, and another team that will be mentioned shortly concentrating on personal feuds rather than the titles for the time being, it feels like now would be an ideal time to give a few teams that have been out of the spotlight a chance to shine in the title picture. The Acclaimed and their apparent fanboys the Ass…Gunn Club would be two such options, along with the newly re-formed Top Flight and perhaps even the Dark Order or Team Taz. Jurassic Express have also been on a hot streak recently – since winning the titles, I’m not sure if they’ve had a bad or even average match. They mesh well with a variety of different styles, as was on display in this match – Caster and Bowens tend to work a slower pace than the Young Bucks and reDRagon did at Revolution, yet it still felt like Jurassic Express was at home in this match, modifying their usual formula to fit their opponents while still getting in their usual stuff. No surprise the champions retained here, but there were at least a couple of near falls that had the crowd believing the Acclaimed might just pull off the upset, and this ended up being a worthy follow-up to a heck of a triple threat match for Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus.

Best match of the night honors ultimately have to go to the main event TNT Championship match between Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky. With Sky’s under-the-radar winning streak on the line in his biggest singles opportunity since facing Chris Jericho for the AEW World Championship, no other match on the card had as much at stake, and both performers delivered admirably. Obviously the biggest spot of the match was Sammy Guevara crashing and burning through a table as he attempted to deliver a devastating 630 splash from the top turnbuckle to his opponent on the outside of the ring. With his ability to continue in serious jeopardy, Sammy showed his trademark gutsiness and resilience as he refused to let the match end due to injury, but that ultimately led to his downfall as his bravery proved to be foolishness, something that is entirely in keeping with his character. Scorpio Sky took advantage, grinding away at Sammy’s midsection to maintain control and cut off every attempt Sammy made to get back into the match. Scorpio’s intelligence also came into play as he rolled under the ropes to prevent a pinfall following the GTH, and he got his knees up to block a shooting star press and deliver further punishment to his opponent’s injured ribs. The numbers game also came into play as Dan Lambert, Ethan Page, and Paige VanZant all inserted themselves into the proceedings to give Sky an opportunity to put the Spanish God away with a TKO. As much as having Sammy lose the TNT Championship for the second time in just a few months is not ideal, it felt like the way this match played out made perfect sense, with the only logical conclusion to the story being a title change. The only question is whether MJF and American Top Team will be able to deny Wardlow the biggest win of his career next week and allow the Men of the Year star to keep his title reign intact. For Sammy, the most logical way forward seems to be inserting himself in a feud with his former Inner Circle mates, as their lack of cohesion meant nobody had his back while trying to defend the title, and that finally came back to haunt him this week as he fell victim to an opponent with ample backup. Good booking, a well-worked match, and two new storylines produced by the result – you can’t ask for much more out of a main event on the show that begins the build to the next big pay-per-view.

Best Moment of the Night

The opening segment featuring Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston was an obvious highlight right out of the gate even if it devolved into somewhat predictable nonsense by the end. Kingston once again took on a starring role, talking up his self-doubt heading into Revolution and giving credit to the fans who inspired him not to quit by telling him of the impact his Players’ Tribune article had on them at a desperate time in their lives. (Seriously, take the time to read that article if you haven’t. Re-read it like I did if you’ve already read it.) He challenged Jericho to explain himself – the handshake, Eddie said, wasn’t for him but for the man who still had something missing inside him despite all he’s accomplished in the wrestling business that wouldn’t let him show respect to someone who finally got his first signature win in a mainstream promotion at age 38. Jericho admitted he was right, that it was wrong not to shake his opponent’s hand after promising to do so, and showed respect to Kingston for picking up the biggest win of his career before giving him a long overdue handshake. Sure, it was all a ruse to set up Jericho’s heel turn, and calling the newly formed group of Jake Hager, 2point0, and Daniel Garcia “the Jericho Appreciation Society” is not exactly a great start to their association, but everything up to that point was excellent stuff, and a fully heel Jericho should lead to some interesting storylines going forward even if the turn itself was telegraphed so obviously as to be almost anti-climactic. (Also, did anyone in the entire world think for a single solitary second that Jake Hager was coming to the aid of Santana & Ortiz? I mean, if it were Sammy Guevara coming down to confront Jericho, I might have believed it, but Hager? Come on.)

William Regal‘s promo detailing his history in the wrestling biz and in particular with his new compatriots, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley, was also a highlight – I mean, is a William Regal promo ever not a highlight, really? Especially since it was his first official segment in AEW, this felt like must-see TV. Not every promo has to be a full-on shoot to be good, but considering the legit history between Regal, Danielson, and Moxley, it only made sense to lean into that here as a way of explaining how and why this group came to be. It’s near impossible not to feel exactly what Regal means when he says Danielson is the wrestler he should have been and that he probably saved him 10 years of his career just by using himself as an example of what not to do. Plus, just watch that middle-aged British man get emotional as he thanks Tony Schiavone for helping him out when he first got into the business. You watch that and tell me it wasn’t the best completely unscripted moment on the show. I will call you a liar right to your face.

I really went back and forth about moment of the night, and I will say that in my heart of hearts, the most impactful thing on this week’s show was Regal’s promo, but the most significant moment of the night that will get the most mainstream attention going forward was clearly the debut of Jeff Hardy, who came to the aid of his brother Matt and set up a feud with the Butcher & the Blade, Private Party, and Andrade El Idolo. (Whatever that collective will be known as going forward, assuming they hang together.) Sure, the “emergency meeting” of the AHFO felt like it came out of nowhere and may as well have just been advertised as “segment in which Jeff Hardy is definitely going to debut” for as much mystery as there was about what was going to go down, but hey – the crowd was hyped to see the Charismatic Enigma (or whatever they’re allowed to call him in AEW) and the segment overall was effective enough at garnering sympathy for Matt that a face turn feels justified if a little rushed. How much the younger Hardy has left in the tank remains to be seen, but at least AEW’s weekly format and roster of new opponents for him to face should prevent overexposure from sinking in for a while.

Worst Matches/Moments of the Night

I may just retire this section of the review because I almost never have anything to say here. The concept of calling a group “The Jericho Appreciation Society” is bad but the segment that proceeded that moment was not. The AHFO “emergency meeting” was fairly pointless, but it was a decent setup for Jeff Hardy’s return. There was approximately zero suspense about Leyla Hirsch vs. Thunder Rosa to determine *checks notes* who is going to challenge Britt Baker for the women’s championship at *checks notes again* St. Patrick’s Day Slam next week in *checks notes a third time* San Antonio, TX. Could it be the person who was screwed over by Baker and her cronies at Revolution, had her big breakout match at last year’s St. Patrick’s Day Slam, and lives in San Antonio or, um, Leyla Hirsch? Oh and QT Marshall vs. Keith Lee isn’t exactly the most inspiring matchup imaginable for someone who just got to AEW. Have I picked enough nits yet? Can we move on?

Parting Shots

• Did Tony Khan buy RoH just so he could have wrestlers shake hands? Not only did Jericho and Kingston share a handshake in the opening segment, but Adam Page and Dante Martin shook hands before their world title match too. It’s either the Code of Honor creeping into AEW or the fact that COVID restrictions are being lifted all over the place so we don’t have to fist bump or rub elbows anymore.
• Wardlow’s promo deserves a mention as one of the better segments of the night – it may not have been anything overly special, but considering how much the crowd wants to get behind him it really didn’t have to be. A simple explanation – he signed with MJF even though he knew he was a bad guy because he needed to provide for his family, but he broke away because of MJF’s abuse – and a statement of intent going forward was really all we needed, and he delivered on that. Considering we didn’t really know what he could do on the mic, I would say he probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations even if it was a pretty straightforward promo.
• FTR firing Tully Blanchard was also a pretty awesome moment – this week was really loaded for promos, segments, and backstage interviews that were important and well-done. It seemed like a face turn might be in the cards for FTR – Dax Harwood referenced his daughter as motivation for wanting to stay true to themselves, and Cash Wheeler stepped in to defend his partner by saying they’re family and Blanchard is not. They could still be villains without Blanchard, of course, but it was a significant moment to be sure.
• How come the Butcher and the Blade didn’t get a vote to determine if Matt Hardy was allowed to stay in the group? Are B&B not full members of the group but Jose the Assistant is? Did they realize it would be 4-3 and Andrade wouldn’t need Private Party to switch their votes in order to win? If that was the problem, I think it’d be funny if one of them voted to keep him and the other voted to remove him – imagine Butcher giving a thumbs up while Blade gives the thumbs down, everyone giving Butch a dirty look, and him just shrugging like “whatever, you can’t tell me how to vote.” In my head canon, Butcher doesn’t particularly like or support Matt, he’s just so committed to democracy and the right to express oneself by voting that he’s willing to express dissent to the majority even if it means going alone.
• Were people really concerned that AEW wouldn’t be able to get the rights to the Hardy Boyz entrance theme? For one, considering what they’ve done with people like Bryan Danielson, I don’t think it would have been the end of the world if they had created something new for Jeff to use, though it obviously wouldn’t have had that immediate impact on the live crowd. Secondly, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that song in some sort of motorcycle commercial – I don’t get the feeling that it was in any way exclusive to WWE. Between this and the kerfuffle over CM Punk using his old RoH theme, can we chill with discourse about entrance music at least until Punk brings back his WWECW song? And continue to chill even then because that song absolutely slaps? AFI, Killswitch Engage, and Living Colour are all such great bands that any wrestler would be lucky to have even one of them for their entrance theme, and CM Punk has had all three. Legend.
• Adam Page revealing he already agreed to have Jurassic Express as his partners against Adam Cole next week when the Dark Order naturally assumed he’d pick two of them was so incredibly awkward and sad. I would hate to see Dark Order turn on him, but if they just kind of drift apart now that he’s champ…I’m fine with Page going the Rocky III route where he forgets his friends, gets beat to a hungry upcoming challenger, and has to turn to a former rival (*cough* Kenny Omega *cough*) to get his title back. Hopefully Miro doesn’t murder Omega in the sequel, though.

So that’s it for another week – pretty good show following on a hot pay-per-view and starting the build to Double or Nothing. There were plenty of impactful moments that will bear monitoring as we go forward, some good matches, and two hours worth of entertaining pro wrestling content. Thanks again for joining me this week, and I hope you’ll all come back next week for more Chair Shots!