AEW Revolution 2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved
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After more than five hours of pro wrestling, the seventh edition of AEW Revolution is in the books. As expected, it was an action-packed show, but there were plenty of surprises tonight as well, and not all of them were pleasant.
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In the marathon main event, Maxwell Jacob Friedman endured a barrage of offense from "Hangman" Adam Page, ensuring that he held onto the AEW World Championship while Page can supposedly never challenge for the title again. We'll cover that match in great detail here, along with some other highlights and lowlights of the show.
However, there will be plenty we don't get to. If you need a refresher on everything that took place, you'll find that at our results page. Otherwise, take a look at some of our thoughts on the show and share your own with us in the comments.
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Loved: Big Returns Kick off Revolution in Huge Way
Will Ospreay poses on the stage during his entrance before a match on "AEW Dynamite." - AEW/Lee SouthThere were some really nice surprises tonight at Revolution; some expected, but fun and exciting none the less. Some were less expected, making them even more special, with one big shock that has the internet wrestling community divided.
AEW kind of front-loaded the show with all the big returns, but they worked, so I don't think I minded that aspect at all. The first return was Adam Copeland and Christian Cage making their way back to AEW to set their sights on the World Tag Team Championship. While I'm sure a lot of fans expected them back, nobody was exactly sure when we'd see them. They not only stared down FTR, but were confronted by the Young Bucks, who had just lost a brutal, bloody match to the team to kick off the show. The veteran team being the first return and surprise of the night just felt right.
I don't think anyone expected to see Ronda Rousey in AEW ahead of her big fight against Gina Carano on Netflix in May. Think how you want about Rousey, of course, and she has certainly lost me as a fan over the years, but this appearance was unexpected, at the very least. I didn't mind it as much later in the night, as when commentary announced "Timeless" Toni Storm's No Holds Barred match against Marina Shafir on "Dynamite" this week, there was no mention of Rousey being there as well. Even writing the news story tonight after it happened, I was hesitant to call it a "debut for AEW," as it was hopefully just a one-off appearance in an attempt to pop the crowd.
The best return of the night was accompanied by an incredible video package teaser, and right after, Will Ospreay's music hit, and the "Aerial Assassin" returned to our screens, seemingly to challenge Continental Champion Jon Moxley and the Death Riders. I had no idea where or when we were going to see him, and I kind of expected it at Double or Nothing. I also expected him in the top title scene immediately, so when the video played following Moxley's victory, I was pleasantly surprised.
And even though he wasn't gone for an awfully long time, we saw Kenny Omega pop back up to protect Brody King from a further beatdown by Swerve Strickland, slightly furthering that story. It's always nice to see Omega, so I also liked that. The first half of this show was full of surprises, both good and bad, depending on how you feel about these stars, and it helped Revolution feel even more big and exciting, which was great after a few months without AEW pay-per-views.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Hated: Ronda Rousey's face-off with Toni Storm
Ronda Rousey at AEW Revolution 2026 - AEWThe introduction of Ronda Rousey in All Elite Wrestling probably makes great financial sense for everyone involved, as Rousey prepares for her big return to MMA on Netflix in a few months. Just because it makes great business sense, though, doesn't mean I have to be excited to see how it all unfolds on TV.
In all likelihood, Rousey isn't going to wrestle in AEW; at least not before her fight in May. A No Holds Barred rematch between Storm and Marina Shafir has been booked for this Wednesday's "AEW Dynamite," and it stands to reason that Rousey will appear once again there and will get physical in some capacity. What remains to be seen is if this is the extent of her AEW involvement, or if she'll continue to appear on TV in the lead-up to her bout against Gina Carano.
Either way, I can't say I'm too happy about the development. Throughout her time in WWE, Rousey was always just fine, but seemed to mostly rely on her name recognition and reputation. On top of that, Rousey hasn't shied away from sharing some fairly abhorrent opinions over the years. While it's great that Rousey's name brings with it a lot of attention, which will undoubtedly benefit AEW, I can't exactly envision her elevating the quality of any storylines or delivering a PPV singles match on the level of anything we saw tonight. I'll happily be proven wrong if things work out great, but my expectations aren't high.
Written by Nick Miller
Loved: Mox and Takeshita wrestle a classic
Jon Moxley retains Continental Championship over Konosuke Takeshita - AEW/TrillerTVJon Moxley continues to be one of the world's greatest workers between the ropes, and every now and then, when there is a moment of doubt that begins to creep in whether or not he deserves his place atop the card, he stages matches like Sunday's with Konosuke Takeshita to remediate that.
Heading into this weekend, Takeshita had been the asterisk against Moxley's reign as Continental Champion. Moxley had won the title in a bit of a surprise and slingshot manner, coming off of huge submission losses both to Darby Allin and Kyle O'Reilly before entering the Continental Classic, then losing to Claudio Castagnoli and Takeshita before managing to secure a place in the semi-finals; there he eliminated Kyle Fletcher and beat Kazuchika Okada in the final to win the title. Then Takeshita and Moxley battled to a draw at Grand Slam Australia, so the Revolution bout was made with no time limits.
Takeshita brought everything he could to the battle, and as the bout went past 20 minutes both had fired some of their best shots but not quite everything in the chamber yet; Takeshita finally landed Raging Fire, a move, in a world of finishers that get sponged, that had put everyone it had hit away. And yet Moxley kicked out. Moxley fired back with his own finishing move, the Death Rider, and Takeshita kicked out at one, prompting Moxley to follow it up with an avalanche Paradigm Shift, which Takeshita still kicked out of.
When it gets to the point where both man has kicked out of the finishers and the question starts to be asked over what could get the job done, Moxley went back to basics and locked in the rear choke. Takeshita, a man that could power out of effectively any cover before the count of three, saw time turned into his enemy as he was cinched into the hold with nowhere to go. After all was said and done, Takeshita had passed out and Moxley had retained his title.
He beat Takeshita at long last, allowing him to continue on whatever his reign holds next. And as it would turn out, Will Ospreay would then return and confront him. I don't know if there is a better advertisement for Moxley versus Ospreay for the Continental title than that match with Takeshita. It was genuinely great. On the face of it, one might look at the amount of near-falls and big moves and feel as though it was a hollow contest. But it genuinely wasn't. There was a sense of story to everything, a weaving of the challenger desperate to prove himself and the champion proving that he still deserves to be so.
Written by Max Everett
Hated: The Dogs lose their first AEW pay-per-view appearance
David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, and Clark Connors look in disgust down to the ring after being attack by Roderick Strong during an episode of "AEW Dynamite." - AEW/Lee SouthI wasn't a fan when Roderick Strong, Darby Allin, and Orange Cassidy stood tall over The Dogs' Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, and Clark Connors on "AEW Dynamite" on Wednesday, and I certainly wasn't a fan of it here tonight during the latter factions' first-ever AEW pay-per-view appearance. I didn't think this match necessarily needed to be on what was already a very packed card tonight that just screamed "very long show!" before it even got underway, and despite being a pretty fun match, I just didn't think it needed to be on this show tonight.
I thought it was a choice to give it the semi-main event spot with so many other matches being well-deserving of it, like the Continental Championship match, complete with Will Ospreay return, the tag title match, or even Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland. So, I figured we'd be getting a Dogs win with maybe an exciting return or something, but no. I had no problem with any of the in-ring action, and I do quite like tornado tag team matches, but I am just already so tired of the Allin vs. Kidd feud that even adding Connors and Finlay to this didn't do much for me.
The one spot I did have a problem with, speaking of Allin and Kidd, is Allin I guess zip-tying Kidd to a road case somehow after a crazy gross spot where Allin dropped in with his skateboard right on Kidd's neck. When the camera cut back to Kidd, he was somehow stuck, and it just looked silly and made him look really stupid.
I thought we were headed toward a Strong heel turn or something here, since he hasn't been there for Cassidy. I just didn't think much of this made sense, and if you were going to have the Dogs lose, this could have been a "Dynamite" main event, which is certainly crazy to say about a match that got the semi-main event spot tonight.
Written by Daisy Ruth
Loved: The bad guy won
MJF wins at AEW Revolution 2026 - AEW/Triller TVGoing into tonight it certainly seemed as though "Hangman" Adam Page had been booked into a position where he would win the AEW World Championship from MJF, considering it had been stipulated that, if he lost, he would never challenge for it again.
Much had been said and shown about Page and his position as the main character of AEW, the protagonist one could rely on to take down the villain when all was said and done.
The match was a Texas Deathmatch, a bout that can and is argued to be a staple for Page, and MJF was beaten brutally and bloody throughout a contest that would and probably has upset a few people with refined tastes over the scripted fighting.
That is fine, constitutions vary and that is the essence of art and its many different flavors. But it also shouldn't be argued that it did exactly what you would want it to do for a villain. It was purely exciting to watch MJF get his rear-end handed to him in the most brutal ways.
It was also exciting to see Page endure his own collection of "Ouch I bet that really f****ing hurt" spots. It was a Texas Deathmatch, in Los Angeles, so it made sure to deliver on at least half that promise. Could this writer have maybe done without the syringe spot? Probably. But it was hardly out of place in a match that asked itself how violent is too violent for every second it went on. It was pretty violent.
The crowd being a conglomeration of sickos in one building called for fire, and Page as the main character for those sickos asked, on more than one occasion, "Has anyone got a lighter?" Alas, no one had a lighter. LA had been exposed for the faux sickos they are. But Page went and got some barbed wire on a board instead. There were also light tubes, which are always ill-advised, but Page was syringed in the cheek, nothing here was advisable it was just fun.
They both went through a table that went all sparky because it had some pyro on it – you know those tables you just have lounging about, waiting to spark at the right moment – and that still didn't prove to be the end of the match. They nodded very hardly at CM Punk with Page and MJF bonded to one another by dog collars, and it was all looking to be a Page win as predicted. That was until MJF draped Page over the ropes and hung him, choking him out and dropping him onto glass for the final count. Just like that, Page lost... And what happens now?
Written by Max Everett
Hated: Hangman Adam Page locks himself out of the world title picture
Hangman Adam Page's entrance at AEW Revolution 2026 - AEWWhen Adam Page announced that he'd never challenge for the AEW World Championship again if he lost to MJF, I'm not quite sure how Tony Khan wasn't backstage having terrorized flashbacks to the early days of Cody Rhodes in AEW. For those who don't remember, or weren't fans at the time, Rhodes did the same thing Page just did and, like Page, Rhodes lost. It wound up being a major obstacle through the rest of his time in AEW, and one can see how that decision might've contributed to Rhodes' decision to leave the company.
I understand the appeal of adding such high stakes to tonight's main event, especially considering Page and MJF have had some level of a rivalry since the promotion's first-ever show in 2019. I even believe that it's possible for them to write themselves out of this corner, though ideally with more effort and thought put into it than simply having Page turn heel and go back on his word. The problem is that I don't think any of this was really necessary, as MJF and Page are more than capable of telling a great story without a plot device like this one.
The results of this match will undoubtedly leave a compelling impact on Page's character, and he'll have a reason to go after some of the company's other championships. Eventually, though, they are going to want Page back in the world title picture, and Tony Khan is going to have to walk a fine line to do that in a way that doesn't feel cheap or lazy.
Written by Nick Miller
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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.