7 Ups & 1 Down From AEW Revolution 2023 (Review)
Ups...
7. Hot Opener
Chris Jericho didn't become a legend by not knowing what he's doing.
The cynical take is that he lobbied to nab the hot opener and guaranteed himself a strong reaction. The sensible take is that Tony Khan, knowing this was the coldest big programme in the company, pushed it to the front so that it would benefit from a hot, excited crowd. That it did, and in either event, it was a smart decision.
At a tight 14 minutes, it achieved its two objectives: it set the tone for a phenomenal night of action, without being phenomenal in and of itself, and further cast Ricky Starks as a player. The action peaked at very good - the match was in the ***1/2 range - but the crowd was up for it, and if there's a benefit to Jericho's perception as a clout vampire, it's that the correct result wasn't expected as a formality. The fear lingered from the Eddie Kingston programme to add an edge to this.
Not as great as the best of Jericho's 2022 output, it was still dramatic and well-worked. The duality of Jericho however was in effect; after hitting his best Codebreaker counter in an age - he neutralised that Starks spear with impeccable timing - he took far too long to make the cover. This dampened the effect of the near-fall. The finish was tremendous; Starks defended the Judas Effect with a cool, unique block and struck the Roshambo for the win.
Jericho likes to be put in a position to put people over, but he does put them over. Acclaimed next alongside Sammy Guevara will do nicely; the former champions will need something important to do over the spring.