10 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Revolution

1. Masters Of The Craft

Many pinpointed Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. The Young Bucks as the most obvious Match of the Night candidate leading into the event, though few could've predicted just how brilliant it would turn out.

"Instant classic" is an overused term. It has been trotted out to the point of exhaustion and no longer holds the heft it should, but it feels like an appropriate descriptor here. This was a near-perfect clash the calibre of Furnas and Kroffat vs. Kobashi and Kikuchi, any DIY vs. The Revival match, or the Bucks vs. Golden Lovers. It was a phenomenal fusion of state-of-the-art action and rich, nuanced, pro-wrestling storytelling delivered by four of the best in the game, and a complete success across the board.

The balance between sporting encounter and getting too personal was on a razor's edge. Omega, at one point, stopped Hangman from powerbombing Matt Jackson through a table, and Nick had to talking his older brother down from going too far in the first act. All illusions of friendliness were shattered when Page slapped the p*ss out of the younger Buck, though. From there, it was the Bucks working to wind Page up by exploiting his hair trigger as they reverted to prime d*ckhead form the likes of which we haven't seen since they were PWG mainstays. Their heel work was exemplary throughout, and essential: the job AEW has done in building Page up as the hot man-of-the-people babyface has been remarkable.

Perhaps the biggest success here was the wrestlers' ability to work their kind of match without sacrificing storytelling. The narrative mirrored the build in that it was deep, engrossing, and full of details like Matt's hand quivering as he tore Kenny's Kinesio tape away. These guys presented an evolution of the classic tag team formula. They're taking tried and tested things that have always worked and pushing them forward with creativity and precision, with this clash a huge feather in their caps.

Omega looked doomed as the Jacksons isolated him after killing Page with an Indetaker on the ramp, but the bout still had gears to get through. Hangman rallied. He hit his own One Winged Angel, him and Kenny found their cohesion, and the combination V-Trigger/Buckshot Lariat sealed the deal.

Props to AEW for not going with the obvious turn, either. A post-match tease saw Page seemingly grapple with the idea of blasting his partner, before pulling out and hugging. This thing is far too good to sacrifice this early.