7 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Revolution 2024 (Results & Review)

4. Red = Green

Dax Harwood Revolution
AEW

FTR Vs. Blackpool Combat Club was a timely reminder of an eternal wrestling truth: blood immeasurably enhances the drama and spectacle of a match. The first half wasn't all that great.

The atmosphere was flat; the crowd still hadn't recovered from Kingston Vs. Danielson. This combination of wrestlers has felt familiar over the last few weeks and, compounding the issue, the pacing was a bit misjudged. It felt like they'd done the TV matches, and they thought it was time for their pay-per-view epic, but in reality it was just a bit slow and meandering. The programme worked so well because it felt refreshingly pissy and violent. That energy, that urgency, was missing. Until a hole suddenly appeared somewhere in the head of Dax Harwood.

Then, every vicious strike landed with that bit more oomph. Then, every near-fall felt believable.

It felt like Dax had to get the job done since he was draining that energy bar (or that he was screwed and three slaps away from being put out of his misery). The crowd sparked into life deeper into a match that ended up being glorious. In a great Greensboro moment, Claudio Castagnoli scored an amazing near-fall after completing his part of an uppercut Doomsday Device, and in an even better spot, sidestepped a reckless Cash Wheeler dive to smash him with an uppercut.

The story was that Claudio was too much of a beast on the night for FTR to overcome, and it was certainly believable: he was a total animal during that closing stretch. The human horse galloped into that thing.

FTR lost on home turf when Jon Moxley choked out Dax Harwood: the reality of Cash Wheeler's potential legal situation, or the first phase of a heel turn?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!