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All Elite Wrestling's first PPV of 2020, Revolution, takes place this Saturday. The first-ever AEW World Champion, Chris Jericho, faces perhaps his toughest test in the form of Jon Moxley. Throughout the build to the PPV, Moxley has taken everything that Le Champion and the Inner Circle have thrown at him. He and Jericho are the two biggest non-Elite stars in the company and a title change could be in store.
In other feuds, Dustin Rhodes finally gets Jake Hager into an official AEW ring whereas his brother, Cody, also gets his hands on his one-time friend and protege, MJF. The Elite also go into battle against each other with the AEW Tag Team titles on the line. Will Kenny Omega and Hangman Page keep the titles they won last month? Or will the Young Bucks finally win the titles that everyone thought they would already have captured?
Elsewhere, new AEW Women's Champion Nyla Rose defends her title for the first time against a game Kris Statlander. Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin fight it out in order to represent the promotion as the future. The Dark Order's master plan is building to the eventual reveal of the Exalted One. Will his or her reveal come at the expense of SCU or will it happen after Revolution? And can Orange Cassidy bring it against a highly motivated and ferocious Pac? Here are predictions for AEW's Revolution PPV.
#8 SCU vs. the Dark Order
The Dark Order is 3-0 in 2020 while SCU is 3-2. The former Champs have consistently been targeted by Evil Uno and his minions, so much so that Christopher Daniels has been teased to be involved with the group.
It would be too easy if Daniels is revealed as the Exalted One. He's been a focal point of the whole Dark Order storyline so much so that it could be done to set us up for a swerve. Something will happen with the Dark Order regarding the storyline, but it might not be having the leader revealed. That would be a huge moment, but depending on who it is, the timing might not be right.
SCU had its run atop the division as the inaugural Champs. They've fought almost every team on the roster and are still faces. I think the Dark Order gains more by beating Scorpio Sky and Kazarian but Daniels could feasibly join the heels. It might not be as the leader though. He could easily interfere and turn his back on his friends.
Prediction: The Dark Order wins.
#7 Pac vs. Orange Cassidy
This match emerged on the go-home episode of Dynamite. After a hard-fought loss to Omega in an Iron Man match, Cassidy confronted Pac while he was being interviewed by Tony Schiavone.
It will mark Cassidy's singles in-ring debut for AEW and both Chuck Taylor and Trent promised that Cassidy would "really try hard" in the match. He'll have to because he's stepping into the ring with a very angry man from Wales.
Pac is one of the best talents in the world and in theory, should walk through Cassidy. I'm sure the OC man will put up a fight and pop the crowd with his usual moves. The thing is, he's an extremely credible in-ring worker when given the chance. Going from being the third member of Best Friends to a match with one of the best talents in the world is an enormous step up.
After falling to Kenny Omega in sudden death, this has to be a match won by Pac. I don't think it being Cassidy's singles debut matters much in the scope of the AEW singles division. When all is said and done, I expect a brutal man to use the Brutalizer to send Freshly Squeezed OC to his first loss as a singles competitor in AEW.
Prediction: Pac takes his frustrations out and squeezes OC for the win.
#6 Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
Two young hotshots look to make their marks with a signature win. Both stars represent the future of not only AEW, but also the business. Guevara was hand-picked for the Inner Circle by Jericho but has not won as many matches as his mentor. Allin is only 1-3 in 2020 while the Spanish God is 2-2.
Allin took Cody to the limit at Fyter Fest as the draw protected both men. Since then, he's looked valiant in defeats to the likes of Moxley and Cody. Guevara has a better record in 2020, but it seems like the Master of the Coffin Drop is being groomed for bigger things at the moment.
Guevara does have the Inner Circle behind him and they could very easily factor into the match. This pairing seems like it would be a perfect combo for a potential mid-card title feud, but alas, AEW has not introduced one just yet.
Both men need the win and Allin was the one to put forth the challenge. He's not the top face in AEW but he's among the more popular members of the roster that aren't a part of the Elite. Who will pull off the craziest move in order to win?
Prediction: Darby Allin skates to a win.
#5 Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes
It's been several months since Hager debuted as the silent muscle of the Inner Circle. He hasn't had an official match, instead attacking opponents of Le Champion and tormenting the likes of Dustin Rhodes. Well, after some stern words and a challenge, Hager will have his first match in AEW at Revolution.
The Big Hurt hasn't been competing in matches yet due to still pursuing an MMA career in Bellator. He last fought in October of 2019, but still hadn't competed for AEW. After breaking Rhodes' arm a few months ago, seeds were planted for Rhodes and Hager to square off sooner of later.
Revolution will mark Hager's debut, and since he hasn't competed in a bout yet, it's hard to see him losing this. He's been presented as the muscle, the heavy and the Big Hurt in AEW, and outside of a few others (Wardlow, Luchasaurus), he's one of the biggest stars physically in the company.
I'm expecting Rhodes to make the MMA star look truly dangerous and legit, so it's Hager's match to win or lose. If he wasn't treated as a such a big deal during his time with Le Champion, then this match would be harder to call. Due to the way both men have been presented, it should be an easy call.
Prediction: Hager wins his AEW debut.
#4 MJF vs. Cody
The way this feud has been presented, Cody should win in storyline fashion. He's jumped through all the hoops set forth by MJF just to get to face the youngster. In the bigger scheme of things, however, MJF needs this win for validation as a the future of the company.
Cody has one of the best records in the company (10-3-1 overall, 4-0 in 2020) and is one of its biggest stars. Outside of Le Champion and Moxley, his record is among the best in the promotion. Yeah, it would be fulfilling for him to get revenge on his former protege. But if they truly want to build newer and younger stars, then Cody must lose at Revolution. Wardlow may or may not come into play, and Brandi could also be ringside.
In his prior feuds, he toppled former friend Shawn Spears but fell to Jericho. His loss to Jericho, however, was due to MJF. Cody does some masterful storytelling but all of that storytelling has to go to someone else's benefit real soon. He went over Wardlow, who was presented as a beast. The American Nightmare can afford a loss to the arrogant Friedman despite the catharsis that we'd all feel if he put MJF away.
Prediction: Kiss the ring as MJF wins.
#3 AEW Women's Championship match: Nyla Rose (c) vs. Kris Statlander
Statlander has been in a weird spot, and not just because she claims to be the Galaxy's Greatest Alien. Physically, she's one of the bigger women on the roster which is something that Jim Ross makes sure to bring up every time she has a match. The rest of the women, however, are smaller or leaner than both Statlander and Rose.
It would have made a little more sense to have the alien challenge for the title a little further down the road. It would provide a little more intrigue surrounding a potential title change. Since she's the first person to attempt to dethrone the Native Beast, however, the likelihood of doing so is slim.
Rose has been presented as her moniker suggests - a beast. It took a few tries, but she eventually wrested the title from Riho. It's way too soon for her to lose the title but Statlander will put up a fight. The promotion has been adding talent each month and due to how the roster has been presented over the last few months, it makes sense for the Alien and the Native Beast to square off for the title at this time.
Prediction: Rose wins and sends the Galaxy's Greatest Alien into the stratosphere.
#2 AEW Tag Team title match: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (c) vs. the Young Bucks
One of the most anticipated tag team matches in company history takes place at Revolution. Four members of the Elite, the group that helped form AEW, will battle it out for tag team supremacy. The Young Bucks have long been considered the best tag team in the world. They just haven't had the AEW Tag Team titles to back up that claim.
Instead, Page and Omega were the duo to dethrone the first-ever AEW Tag Team Champs in SCU. It helped both Page and Omega refocus their energies since they had both struggled at points in the early run of AEW.
The quality of this match is not in doubt. It could easily be the best bout of the night while also providing some shocking events. Someone could turn heel, whether it's the Bucks on Page and Omega or someone else. Expect some miscommunication to lead one team to victory. Page and Omega have soldiered through several instances of that, but it might be too much this time if they lose the titles to the Bucks. It might be time for Nick and Matt to win the gold.
Prediction: The Young Bucks win the titles.
#1 AEW World Championship match: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Jon Moxley
If there was anyone who made sense as the person to dethrone Le Champion, it's Moxley. Aside from Jericho and Cody, he's been the most protected star as well as one of the top performers each week. He's had huge matches with Omega, Pac, Joey Janela and Darby Allin.
Depending on how the booking will play out, things have constantly painted the situation as unwinnable for Moxley due to the outside pressure of the Inner Circle. They've tried anything and everything in order to thwart the anti-hero from capturing the title. That booking could suggest that the babyface will come out on top at Revolution.
A heel has carried the torch for the early stages of AEW's growth and Jericho has faced the likes of Cody, Page, Jungle Boy, Scorpio Sky and Omega during his time in AEW. It might just be the time to switch the title off of his spiked shoulders and let a face run with the title. If MJF comes out on top of his feud with Cody as he should, then he would be a potential opponent down the road for Moxley.
Prediction: Moxley wins the AEW World Championship
