AEW Revolution 2024: 10 Things That Must Happen
AEW has the chance to do something VERY cool at Revolution. Do it for Sting!
It's been a trip.
Sting burst into view as a sprightly young face-painted babyface opposite Ric Flair at the very first Clash Of Champions in 1988. Since then, he's captured hearts and made countless memories in WCW, TNA, WWE and AEW. The latter can be proud of how they've handled a legend - Sting's All Elite run surpassed the mediocrity of his WWE one early, and it hasn't looked back.
Tony Khan would be doing little Stingers everywhere a disservice by failing to look back at Revolution this weekend though. It's important that an icon's rich history is honoured properly. Admittedly, Khan will have a lot of other things flying through his mind come AEW's latest pay-per-view.
There could be a new World Champion to crown, and Will Ospreay's full-time arrival on the roster promises endless high-quality matches that'll satisfy the hardcore audience. The hilariously titled "Meat Madness" power-based bout could also be a sleeper hit, and the same could be said for a Women's Title showdown that feels grander than anything else in the division recently.
Here's everything that must happen at Revolution. AEW will press forwards, but surely not without paying homage to wrestling's past!
10. AEW Goes Retro
Retro flavour is nothing new in modern pro wrestling. WWE's "Old School" episodes of Raw scratched itches to varying levels of success, and AEW itself has paid tribute to NWA/WCW history sporadically since launch. At Revolution, it's time for Tony Khan to reach deep into his grappling fandom bag of tricks.
A quick look above reveals that the NWA went fairly minimalist for the first Clash Of The Champions on TBS in March 1988. The promotion favoured nuts n' bolts rasslin' over big-time production, but there's always something charming about revisiting that era via WWE Network/Peacock.
This weekend, AEW can put a slightly more modern twist on the Clash set, graphics and...everything else. They should go old-school NWA like it's '88 again and Sting is about to become a breakout star opposite Ric Flair. Why not? Drench the Greensboro Coliseum in nostalgia and take fans on a time machine tour.
All Elite's next pay-per-view is the ideal chance to lean on fond memories for a wrestling stronghold.