7 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Revolution 2021

1. THAT Ending

Eddie Kingston Jon Moxley
AEW

Revolution was so close to ending on a pitch-perfect angle. Genuinely, this was incredible stuff up to the pivotal moment.

A prolonged beatdown from the Good Brothers and Kenny Omega left the bloodied, broken Jon Moxley facing certain death. The loud, harrowing countdown clock boomed through the arena. With less than a minute to go, the heels fled to safety, Moxley was screwed. Doomed.

Until Eddie Kingston rifled out from the back. Once Moxley's mortal enemy, King was the perfect guy to bring out here. There's always been a begrudging respect between the two, no matter how personal things got, because Mox, like Kingston, is a fighter. He's a scrapper. A sell-out? Once, in Kingston's eyes, but they're cut from the same cloth.

Not like Omega, who hides behind Don Callis, cheated to win the AEW World Title in the first place, and called on Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows to help him retain again.

Pure panic spread through the building as Kingston struggled with the clock ticking away. When the realisation that he couldn't get Moxley out of the ring before the building exploded set in, Eddie had no choice but to collapse on Jon, shield him from the blow, and pray.

And then the clock struck zero.

And then the "explosion" happened.

And it was lame. Impossibly lame. More a faint puff than a blast, it comprised entirely of a few meek sparks and clouds of smoke, putting Kingston and Moxley in the toughest of tough places. Both had to sell it like death.

Let down by whoever rigged the pyro up, the wrestlers at least did everything they could, with Moxley blaming Omega for rigging up a sh*tty explosion in his unaired post-match promo. That's a quick-thinking cover-up, sure, but not enough to nullify the disappointment.

Make no mistake, this made for a pitiful visual when it should have been one of the year's most memorable.

And that sucks. That really, really sucks.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.