Welcome to another edition of Triple Threat from Smark Out Moment, where three of us get together to discuss three questions based on one big topic going down in the week of professional wrestling.
This week, Dallas Allsopp, Tony Mango and Callum Wiggins review AEW Revolution 2022.
Revolution 2022 was a top quality show, but just how seismic was it for members of their roster?
Question 1: Was CM Punk defeating MJF the right outcome? Did the match live up to the hype?
ALLSOPP: I will go against the grain here, championing my belief that MJF should have actually won this match. MJF is the future of AEW, and wrestling as a whole. A decisive victory over CM Punk would have validated him further. I feel it was a win-win scenario for AEW as both men are such big names.
MANGO: Absolutely the right outcome. Not only did it give closure to this feud, but it started something new in MJF vs. Wardlow. That will work out better for both parties, and since Punk got the ultimate win, he's still a top guy and not entering the territory of "old legend who is only there to lose" like others tend to become. The match itself lived up to my hype, at least, and I'm glad MJF was defiant even in his loss.
WIGGINS: Yes, CM Punk should have won that match. MJF can now always proclaim that he beat Punk twice in his hometown, but the good guy won in the end. MJF has an in-built feud with Wardlow he can focus his attention on now, while Punk can push towards championship opportunities. Plus, the match was a masterful, story-driven, bloody battle, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, particularly the Wardlow turn at the end.
Question 2: Will Wardlow’s victory in the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match catapult him into AEW’s main event scene? Was this his true coming out party, or will he need to overcome MJF first to achieve this?
MANGO: I'm hesitant to think Wardlow will go straight into the world title picture, since he's a babyface and that would be encroaching on Hangman's territory. However, I do think he's in the same position Batista was when he was heading toward breaking up with Evolution. Wardlow is a future world champion in the making. This was one of the first steps toward that. I expect him to dethrone Scorpio Sky for the TNT Championship and/or start a feud with MJF that will result in Wardlow hanging around the upper-midcard for a few months. Whoever beats Page for the title has Wardlow on their ass as the next champion after them.
WIGGINS: I think it's only a matter of time before Wardlow is competing at the very top of the AEW card, but it might still take a little while. MJF is definitely his ticket to reaching the summit, but how long that takes isn't clear. I don't know for certain if Wardlow will beat Scorpio Sky for the TNT Championship or MJF screws him out of it, but they seem destined for a big match at Double or Nothing.
ALLSOPP: If Wardlow can swim instead of sinking as a face, I’d love to say that he will succeed. I hope his victory at Revolution will be perceived as the very moment that Wardlow as a mega star was born.
Question 3: Are you happy that Hangman Adam Page retained the AEW World Heavyweight Championship? Is he the most complete holder of that title to date?
WIGGINS: I think Adam Page has been a very good AEW Champion thus far. It's fair to say that he doesn't carry the same star power as the three champions that preceded him, but the prestige that they placed on the title has helped legitimize Page as a true main-eventer. Plus, he is having excellent title defenses on a monthly basis, and the match with Adam Cole was no exception. He's a true workhorse world champion (fitting for a cowboy), and I'm excited to see who steps up to him next.
ALLSOPP: Yes, but only because I am desperate for MJF to defeat Hangman Adam Page for the title. He’s not the very best AEW World Champion so far (who is Kenny Omega, by the way) but he is certainly a very credible holder of one of the biggest titles in the industry.
MANGO: Hangman Adam Page can't lose that title to anyone but MJF, in my mind, and it shouldn't happen until All Out. He needs a long enough reign to justify how the company was built around this happening from the very start. Page is great, too, so I'm down for keeping the title on him for quite a while. Adam Cole is awesome, too, but he's not in need of establishing himself as much as Page, so he can easily take that loss and still be fine. If Page had come up short, people would be writing him off as a weak champion.
Those are our thoughts on the issue, but where do you stand?
Let us know your answers to these questions in the comments below!
Subscribe to Smark Out Moment on YouTube, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!
0 comments: