Revolution 2025 Felt Like A Hard Reset For AEW's World Title Scene

Jon Moxley left AEW Revolution 2025 with his World Championship reign intact, but the pay-per-view felt like a necessary reset for the company's main event scene after a difficult few months.

The Death Riders' leader was one of four men who could believably have left Revolution as World Champion. His main event opponent, Cope, was his most obvious conqueror, then Christian Cage, who had held a right-to-challenge contract (treated by AEW like WWE's Money in the Bank stipulation) since winning All In London's Casino Gauntlet last August. Some fans, meanwhile, had predicted a Jay White swerve, potentially taking Cage's contract for his own and winning the belt.

All four were involved in Revolution's main event. White arrived first, thwarting Wheeler Yuta's interference. 'Switchblade' was neutralised when he and Yuta brawled to the back, after Jay had accidentally knocked Cope with Mox's World Title briefcase. Later, Cage showed up, signed his contract to enter the match officially, landed a nearfall on Cope, then got choked out by Mox for the finish.

But although Moxley left with his championship, his new number one contender closed Revolution on top. Swerve Strickland earned his future shot by besting rival Ricochet earlier on the show. As Mox tried to escape through a tunnel at the night's end, Strickland leapt from the bleachers, crushing the pile of humanity below (including Moxley) with a Swerve Stomp.

Not all of this was perfect. Cope and Moxley worked a mid-paced, traditional wrestling match on a night of bloodbaths and had to follow two blistering action-fests in Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega and Kyle Fletcher vs. Will Ospreay. The interference-heavy layout was atypical of AEW's mission statement, too, and Cage's cash-in failing sets a bad precedent for any future attempts.

No More Casino Gauntlet Cash-Ins After Christian Cage's Revolution Failure

The thing is, there shouldn't be any future attempts.

AEW copying WWE's Money in the Bank cash-in concept last August was an unnecessary contrivance that clouded the World Title scene. Rather than building intrigue and generating excitement, it left AEW with an unideal set of conclusions.

Either:

A. Christian successfully cashed-in, angering Cope, triggering the latest chapter in their decades-old wrestling story and a World Title feud between two 51-year-olds.

B. Jay White added another layer of contrivance by stealing the shot.

C. Christian didn't cash-in at Revolution, prolonging the doubt.

D. Christian failed.

Ultimately, AEW went with the least damaging option. The experiment failed and shouldn't be repeated. If the promotion seeks to differentiate itself from WWE in 2025, it should steer clear of the cash-in concept entirely and rebuild its top title scene around a competitive, sport-centric framework.

You can say that with three interferences, several twists (Yuta re-aligning with Mox, White accidentally clobbering Cope) and the failed cash-in, Mox vs. Cope was overbooked. That's hard to argue with. What's easier to argue, however, is that it was worth sacrificing one match on an otherwise outstanding pay-per-view for the greater good.

Assuming Swerve Strickland won't face significant time on AEW's injury list after suffering a burst eardrum at Revolution, the build to a cathartic babyface triumph over the Moxley can now begin in earnest.

Swerve Strickland Is The Solution To AEW's Death Rider Problem

Tony Khan appears to be in albatross hunting mode. Christian's contract is gone. Now, the Death Riders enter the crosshairs.

Moxley, Yuta, PAC, Marina Shafir, and Claudio Castagnoli have split opinion since choking Bryan Danielson out with a plastic bag last summer. The idea of Mox grabbing AEW by the throat, tearing it apart, and rebuilding it in his image quickly fell apart as the promotion completely failed to impart this narrative on the Death Riders' actions. AEW's inability (or unwillingness) to throw big-name babyfaces up against the crew didn't help, either. For a while, it felt like midcard lifers like The Dark Order were the only ones willing to fight for AEW's "identity." Evil Uno, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds are a fine act and they've been around a long time, but who could treat them as a serious counter to the Death Riders' existential threat?

AEW deserves some credit for refining the heel group's focus through the Cope/Mox program, softening the company takeover angle and developing more of a personal rivalry. Unfortunately, it is very, very difficult to overcome a rocky start in wrestling. Some fans had given up the Death Riders' plodding, morose presentation long before Revolution 2025. It's hard to blame them.

Fortunately - mercifully - Swerve is a different beast to Cope. AEW fans have watched him climb the ladder rung by rung. He entered the company as a bundle of untapped potential and has fulfilled his promise organically, becoming a genuine star in the process. The audience has been with him every step of the way, which will continue into the Moxley feud.

It's about time. In the midst of one of the least exciting AEW title programs in memory, Moxley desperately needs a jolt back to life. Fortunately, Swerve is electric. Fans will be able to lose themselves in the fiction of this one, free of the anxiety of an impending cash-in, building, hopefully, to Strickland ending the Death Riders at long last.

And hey, AEW has a stadium to fill in Texas this July.

Maybe a certain Cowboy will be down to dance again.