AEW’s Revolution comes to Chicago
(Photo above courtesy AEW)
By Mike Pankow
February 27, 2020
In a bit of a “homecoming,” All Elite Wrestling returns for its third major show in the Chicago area Saturday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago’s South Loop.
It’s fair to say All Elite Wrestling was conceived in the area about 18 months ago when Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, known collectively as The Elite, banded together to pitch the idea of an mega independent wrestling show – a non-WWE show that could fill a 10,000-seat arena.
Longtime wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer didn’t think it was possible, but The Elite along with help from the folks at Ring of Honor, made Meltzer look like a “doubting Thomas” when All In packed in 11,263 fans into the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates on Sept. 1, 2018. In fact, the show sold out of its original allotment of tickets in about 30 minutes. More seats opened up closer to the show, but those were scooped up quickly as well.
“We wanted the best chance to succeed,” Cody said during an AEW conference call last week. “We thought Chicago would be the city for it. There’s something really unique about Chicago. It hasn’t always been the hottest bed for wrestling. I’m not sure where it started, maybe with the WrestleMania (22) they did at Allstate (Arena) where especially the crowd’s level of involvement shifted. The Chicago crowd has its own identity, like Philly’s crowd has always had its own identity. Chicago, all of a sudden, has its own identity as a crowd, which is so fun as a competitor or a performer.”
Cody won the NWA Championship from Nick Aldis while the Bucks teamed with Kota Ibushi to defeat Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix and Bandido in a six-man tag team main event. Kenny Omega defeated Pentagon Jr. in an epic match before longtime WWE star Chris Jericho made a bold statement by attacking Omega.
Those ingredients and the rousing success of All In were the “Big Bang” that drew in University of Illinois alumnus Tony Khan and his father, Shad Khan (owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and English Premier League’s Fulham FC), as investors, which led to the creation of AEW in January 2019.
Inaugural AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has held the title for nearly six months since winning it at All Out in Hoffman Estates last summer. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Now the AEW troupe returns to Chicago proper for Saturday night’s Revolution pay-per-view event after holding a successful All Out show in the summer of 2019 and a live Dynamite on Thanksgiving Eve last year.
Two big matches highlight a card that has come together nicely over the last few weeks with the main event of Jericho defending the AEW World Championship against Jon Moxley and the grudge match between Cody and his former protégé Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).
Jericho, whose inaugural reign has lasted nearly six months since beating Hangman Adam Page for the title at All Out, has had a terrific run with the title after branding himself “Le Champion” and forming the super faction, The Inner Circle. Jericho gave AEW instant credibility as its champion when Dynamite took to the air live on Wednesday nights on TNT in October 2019.
Moxley arguably was AEW’s biggest signing when he jumped to the fledgling company after his WWE contract expired last April. He made a big splash when he came out through the crowd in his debut at Double or Nothing last May in Las Vegas. His momentum was stunted a bit last summer as he dealt with a staph infection, missing All Out. Upon his return to the ring, Moxley has been AEW’s most popular star, and he’s become even more unhinged since shedding his Dean Ambrose persona from WWE.
In another highly anticipated affair, Cody takes on MJF. Their rivalry is the classic wrestling storyline of mentor and pupil, like the Bruno Sammartino-Larry Zbyszko relationship four decades ago. Much like Sammartino-Zbyszko, MJF turned on Cody at Full Gear when MJF threw in the towel when Cody was stuck in the Walls of Jericho during an AEW Championship match in November. Then MJF viciously attacked Cody after the match.
Cody fought through conditions set forth by MJF in order to get a match with the brash, young heel. He took 10 lashes from MJF in the ring on a live Dynamite, then survived a brutal cage match with MJF’s associate, the mighty Wardlow on Dynamite in Atlanta last week.
MJF is, hands down, the best heel in the wrestling business, and there’s no telling what tactics he will employ to get the upper hand on his mentor at Revolution. Cody, meanwhile, is simply the best storyteller in AEW, whether it’s his in-ring psychology or impassioned promos on the microphone. He is the son of one of the best wrestling storytellers of all time in “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (aka MJF), right, walking with his associate Wardlow, is facing his mentor Cody at AEW Revolution on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy AEW)
The AEW World Tag Team Championship will be on the line as Page and Omega defend the titles against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). While all four men are members of the beloved Elite, the strange dichotomy of the Page-Omega pairing has been entertaining television inside and outside the ring.
Over the last few weeks, Omega and The Bucks have shown concern for Page’s drinking and social awkwardness. Page seems like he may be feeling overshadowed by his mates in The Elite. The tension got a little stronger during Dynamite in Kansas City this week.
The Young Bucks, who also are part of the company’s executive team, are perceived to the best tag team in AEW even though they have yet to hold the championships. It finally could be time for the Bucks to reign.
Nyla Rose makes her first defense of the AEW Women’s Championship since she defeated inaugural champion Riho a couple of weeks ago. Rose faces up-and-coming Kris Statlander, who is currently the Women’s Champion for Chicago-based AAW.
In a battle of former longtime WWE veterans, Jake Hager, who recently christened himself as “The Big Hurt,” as part of the Inner Circle takes on Dustin Rhodes. Hager, who has become a mixed-martial arts fighter since his departure from WWE, will be making his AEW in-ring debut. Rhodes has been doing his best work over the last few years as he’s gotten older even his final matches in WWE were strong even if his former employer didn’t push him like a main eventer.
Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara will square off in an exciting of matchup of young, hungry athletes. This will be a great showcase of two emerging talents. Allin quickly has become a crowd favorite with his daredevil moves and unique look along with his entrance where skateboards down the ramp to the ring. Guevara, another member of The Inner Circle, is a slick performer and has really caught the eyes of AEW brass.
In a match just made on Dynamite this week, PAC takes on fan favorite Orange Cassidy. PAC has been one of the best in-ring workers since the promotion started. His series with Omega was phenomenal, especially the match in All Out last year and this week’s ironman match, which went into sudden-death overtime. Cassidy is a unique character, who seems like he’s the cool kid in school, wearing sunglasses and walking around his hands in his pockets. There’s still a lot to learn about Cassidy as he continues develop his character.
Also recently announced was a tag team match between former AEW Tag Team Champions SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) taking on The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson). The Dark Order has been an intriguing story over the last couple of months and Evil Uno was hyping the arrival of the “Exalted One.” Speculation on the identity of the “Exalted One” range from SCU member Christopher Daniels (who was formerly known as “The Fallen Angel” to Matt Hardy, whose WWE contract is rumored to be expiring soon.
It’s all shaping to be another mega-event from AEW in the Chicago area, where the promotion was conceived and is beloved to this day. The likelihood of AEW returning to the area soon is very good as several hints have been dropped that the 2020 version of All Out will be at the Sears Centre this summer.
“I’m one of the most loyal people on earth,” Cody said. “For all my bad traits, my best trait is that I’m incredibly loyal to a fault. I’m going to be loyal to Chicago throughout the entire future of AEW, because that was the place where we got started. It really was the spark for something that people are still arguing isn’t real in terms of how popular wrestling is across the globe, which means Chicago is always going to have our flag in the sand. We hope we can give Chicago the best possible shows.”
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chris Lanuti on The Windy City Slam Podcast, available Tuesday mornings wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/. This week’s Podcast previews AEW Revolution with some predictions!
We are looking for guests to appear on the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
