AEW Revolution 2025: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s review of AEW Revolution 2025, the show that will remembered for either how close it flew to the sun or how far it fell in the end. We definitely need to talk about the main event between Cope and Jon Moxley, just as much as we need to talk about the match that probably should have been the main event, Mariah May vs. Toni Storm. Aside from that, we're going to float around a little, covering the event more broadly at some points and focusing in on more specific things elsewhere.

As a result, this is not the place to find comprehensive Revolution match coverage — that place would be our Revolution results page. This column is for the WINC staff to express their entirely subjective opinions on the show they just watched. From Kenny Omega winning gold once again to a Hollywood actress casually destroying kayfabe, these are three things we hated and three things we loved about AEW Revolution 2025!

Earlier this year, many people in the comments section called for me to be fired because I felt there was no better wrestler, story, or moment than Big Boom AJ's triumphant return to the ring at AEW Full Gear. I stand by my vote. Defeating QT Marshall with help from his son, Big Justice, and their pint-sized friend The Rizzler, in a match in front of a sold-out arena, Big Boom AJ essentially played out the ending of "The Wrestler" if it had been written and directed by the bitter optimist Frank Capra instead the grim Darren Aronofsky. 

It's the kind of moment that can only really happen once.

It pains me to say it, but there was nothing about Sunday's display that could recapture the magic of Big Boom AJ's first AEW match. It was a once-in-a-lifetime comeback and now that he's back, he just kinda feels like a guy. Sure, it was cute to see his son deliver a powerbomb to Mansoor. It was also adorable to see The Rizzler do his best Orange Cassidy impression, but it also felt like everyone was straining to make another moment. They were forcing the magic. It was a problem that continued through the rest of the show.

When the magic is real, and AEW is good, there's nothing like it. Bryan Danielson winning the world title in Wembley, Hangman Page overcoming Kenny Omega — these moments really meant something. Even Toni Storm finally putting an end to her feud with Mariah May had a certain magical spark, but the rest of the show was MJF screaming "Why not me!?" and Kyle Fletcher yelling "I hate you!" over and over again. 

It felt like much of the show was flailing in the hopes that it would look big enough to be important, like a scared mountain climber making itself look as big as possible to scare off a bear, but there's only so much blood and so many lengthy matches one can take. It all just felt empty, hollow. I watched a man lick his enemy's blood off of his own boot and felt nothing, which is the last thing someone should feel at such a visceral sight, but when it was the umpteenth visceral sight of a night of gore and shouting it all just starts to blend together into grey mush.

Written by Ross Berman

Mariah May promised to give "Timeless" Toni Storm her "Hollywood Ending" in Los Angeles, and, fittingly, their AEW Women's World Championship match at "AEW Revolution" was nothing short of pure cinema.

If you asked me to choose *the* AEW match, I would seriously consider picking this match as a prime of example of AEW's brand of wrestling. May and Storm's match was not only a masterclass in the AEW wrestling style, but was a prime example of the Hollywood ending — that is, the cinematic, theatrical ending. Without exaggeration, May and Storm's match — their whole feud, really — is one of the best examples of the revenge tragedy, a form of theatre focused on revenge and justice popular during the Shakespearean era.

While it might be a drag to compare professional wrestling to the stage's most classic revenge tragedies, there is merit here. By making justifiable comparisons between professional wrestling and the stage's classic revenge tragedies, we can fully appreciate both as violent spectacles and examples of elite storytelling.

May and Storm's match was, dramatically, put together so well. Both characters have made their punishment — the revenge that they seek — narratively significant with their in-ring storytelling beats. The shoe that Storm so famously beckons the audience to watch out for has become a frequently-revisited weapon in the feud — so much so, that I'd go as far as to say that it has become synonymous with their saga. It is not simply enough for them to beat each other to a bloody pulp — although they certainly did that in Sunday's match, and the bloodshed certainly help add to the drama and finality of their trilogy — but they must do so in ways that are both spectacular and significant to their narrative as to satisfy their need for revenge. Their "Hollywood ending" needs to be a spectacular, full-circle moment where their revenge is dealt in a way that is befitting of their betrayal and hurt.

It's hard to pull off a revenge tragedy where the identity of the revenger character shifts throughout the storyline, but that is the beauty of speaking about revenge tragedies in the lens of wrestling. At first, Storm was the revenger, having being slighted by her wily mentee (in an inversion of the traditional world order, which is a key in the revenge tragedy setting). Then, when Storm earned the championship at Grand Slam, May quickly and seamlessly adopted the role of the maniacal revenger, hellbent on exacting her vengeance in a narratively satisfying and gorily spectacular way. It's like we got two revenge tragedies for the price of one!

All that is just the tip of the iceberg, really. You could write a whole thesis (as I am) on May and Storm's feud alone, but simply put: their match at Revolution was pure cinema. Honestly, it should have been the main event, because there are no better storytellers in AEW right now other than "Timeless" Toni Storm and Mariah May.

Written by Angeline Phu

With how much AEW has invested in the awful Death Riders storyline and Cope's AEW World Championship chase, I already knew that there was no chance that the "Hollywood Ending" match pitting AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm against Mariah May, a story that has had well over a year of major build at this point, was going to be the main event. I knew it, but just watching it happen tonight wasn't fun, especially with how the show ended. The No Holds Barred Falls Count Anywhere Match, basically a straight up death match between these two women, was hands down my match of the night. It was brutal, bloody, and everything about it just dripped with storyline callbacks, from the champagne bottle glass to the use of the shoe that's been there almost from the very beginning.

The match's ending was perfect, with Storm covering May on the stage, both women absolutely battered to pieces and Storm the bloodiest I have ever seen a woman in a match in my time watching wrestling. It was an excellent match, but it felt like that's where the show should have ended. The match following, a dang Kenny Omega match, felt like a cool-down match and I personally couldn't get it to it. Even worse, the cage match after that was also bloody, though it definitely needed to be as it was another grudge match, but it got so much more time than the women. But, I suppose that's a more than common occurrence in AEW at this point, but it never ceases to be frustrating, especially when many fans knew Storm versus May was going to likely be match of the night. Its placement on the card really put a damper on Revolution.

I think it could have easily been the co-main event to Jon Moxley versus Cope. That match wasn't a bloody, brutal bout in the slightest, and the ending was so ridiculously disappointing, the fans were quiet and seemingly not into it much anyway until Swerve Strickland made his appearance to send them home happy. The women's championship match could have easily switched spots on the card with the cage match, and it would have been a much better night. A longer promo package could have run between the matches, letting crews clean up the ring area, and things would have been fine. It would have been fresher in the fans' minds, and maybe it would have psyched them up more to be just a little louder for the AEW World Championship match.

I suppose I should be happy that this match was as incredible as it was and that we got to witness it all. But, I think AEW needs to work on the way they structure these pay-per-views. I'll also never stop saying they need to run fewer matches, and Storm and May, as well as Revolution as a whole, would have really benefitted from that fact.

Written by Daisy Ruth

AEW Revolution put me in the unique position of starting a Kenny Omega match with spent emotional energy after the ever-impressive Hollywood Ending between Mariah May and Toni Storm – the main event in everything but actual card placement. I have no issue with saying that personally, with all the bias in the world, Omega is hands down my favorite performer between the bells; but it was going to take something extraordinary to stave the mental fatigue coming from one the other. 

Admittedly, it took some time for it to really feel like the match had switched into that upper gear, with the first half of the affair largely brought down by the slow and limbering heel-work of Takeshita – from a psychological aspect, I get it, but it just felt like a waiting game before both dipped into the expansive lockers they possess. Once things had opened up, though, the bout presented itself as a compelling fight. They exchanged stiff strikes, ambitious maneuvers, and typically went the extra mile to keep one another down – by and large to no avail. And it ended much in the same vein, with Omega merely able to keep Takeshita's shoulders down in a roll-up exchange, rather than a big finish indicative of a predetermined outcome – shout out to Damaris Lewis. By the final bell, the match had more than delivered on its promise. It certainly doesn't seem likely to push the "Match of the Year" debate, but good wrestling is still good wrestling, and it's hard not to love that. 

Coming back from diverticulitis in itself is no small feat, but to do so and still perform in the way Omega has done since returning has been spectacular. Winning the International Championship is both the right type of belt to celebrate that and promise more down the line, cementing "The Cleaner" as the only man to have held the International, World, Tag Team, and Trios titles, but also he is also the right sort of champion for the title and what it is supposed to represent. The title was introduced at Forbidden Door, competed for by AEW and NJPW stars at the cross-over event, and was billed as a bridging of the gap between the promotions. There is perhaps no one better in AEW to represent that idea, the co-founding member who established the foundation of the company after reaching the top of NJPW. He has continued to wrestle for both promotions over recent years, and is someone you would expect to defend the title across the globe much in the same way. It's exciting to consider what he may do with the title now it's his.

Written by Max Everett

Timing is the most important part of comedy. Whether it's a quick joke or a slow burn, timing is everything.

So picture this: You've just watched a marathon of bloody matches, most of which are rife with AEW's trademark intensity and athleticism. A man has licked up the blood of his enemy. A woman has seemingly killed her rival, and ended a months-long story. There have been an endless parade of title matches and emotions. The main event world title match is about to begin — when actress Damaris Lewis gets on the microphone to say "The thing I learned about wrestlers is, y'all know who will win before anyone else does. Thanks for teaching me that."

I am not kidding when I say that it was maybe the funniest thing a person could say before a main event world title match. I've never seen anything like it and I will never forget it as long as I live. "Hey everyone, this is all fake. Ok time for the main event."

Now, I think there are plenty of matches that could've overcome the air being let so violently out of the balloon. The match that followed however was roughly 20-30 minutes of Adam Copeland community theater, and I gotta say, I appreciated the reminder to lighten up.

I am as guilty as anyone of sometimes taking wrestling a little too seriously. In fact, I have often weaponized that very fact for these "Loved/Hateds" or even "Winners/Losers," but no matter how seriously I take the story, it's still a story. It's cute when wrestlers keep strict kayfabe but when fans do it, especially if they're going to be 35 at the end of the year, it's just uncomfortable, and borderline unhealthy.

It was an unprecedented blunder to tell fans that wrestling is fake right before a big title match, the main event no less, but since I don't have a small child, for whom the Santa Clause-like magic of wrestling might've been ruined in that moment, I am only grateful. Laughter is, after all, good for you. The thing about wrestling is that the wrestlers know who's going to win before the match. Thank you for teaching me that, Damaris.

Written by Ross Berman

This has the potential to go down as the worst AEW main event in company history.

I am absolutely livid with the manner of that main event. In an effort to be kind and fair, I will acknowledge that, at that point in the show, pulling together a cohesive and high-energy main event was a difficult task. "Timeless" Toni Storm and Mariah May already set the bar incredibly high, Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher went on for about 35 minutes too long (exaggerating, but alas), Damaris Lewis smashed the idea of kayfabe immediately before the match, and the Los Angeles crowd was completely and thoroughly tuned out of the night after four hours of finisher kick-outs and several inoffensive-but-middling matches. It would have taken the work of a certified group of professionals to reawaken the Crypto.com arena (and all the viewers at home) with a enjoyable, high-energy main event. You would think that a WWE Hall of Famer, a record-breaking four-time AEW World Champion, and one of the most dastardly heels in AEW company history would be able to salvage "AEW Revolution" with a great main event.

You would think!

Cope took on Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship in the main event of "Revolution," and to say that the match was bad would be an understatement. Compared to the night's earlier installments — again, May and Storm, but also after contests like Ricochet's match with Swerve Strickland — Cope and Moxley absolutely dragged their feet. That can sort of be chalked up to age (although I would hate to patronize them, as they are still professionals), but regardless, I don't even think the flashiest of flips could have saved this match. The problem is something more sinister — it was just a match that was unbefitting to the professionalism both men are known for in their careers (at least, up until this point). The cycle of finisher kick-outs and chair spots was thoroughly exhausting to watch, especially after a multitude of matches that were, unfortunately, also full of finisher kick-outs and chair spots. It's like they're afraid of finality, and when it pays to be concise (and that's coming from me), to be so convoluted in your finish reeks of indecisive unprofessionalism.

Speaking of finishers, I cannot imagine being a promotion mainstay just to get screwed over like Christian Cage. Sunday's finish was inexcusable, from Cope miraculously kicking out of a briefcase shot and a spear like he's a Dark Souls boss to Cage passing out in a submission hold, just for Moxley to trap the world title in his corny briefcase. Why would you keep the contract on Cage for so long, just to have him pass out to a worn-out champion? It is such a disrespectful move, and reeks of, again, unprofessionalism and lack of creative planning.

While Strickland's stomp on Moxley from the audience was cool, don't let it distract you from the utter trainwreck that was Sunday's main event. If you paid for this, I'm so sorry.

Written by Angeline Phu