[ad_1]
All Elite Wrestling pay-per-view events have become some of the most exciting dates on any wrestling fan’s calendar since the promotion’s launch. The Revolution event on Sunday is no different, with arguably the strongest top-to-bottom card in AEW history.
After back-to-back events that rank among the absolute best in the history of professional wrestling, AEW is looking to blow it out with nine huge matches, in addition to two matches on the Buy-In pre-show.
The action goes down with the main card starting at 8 pm ET from Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
Let’s take a look at the CBS Sports expert picks for all the action set to go down on Sunday.
2022 AEW Revolution predictions
AEW World Championship — “Hangman” Adam Page (c) vs. Adam Cole
AEW has not shown any interest in short world title reigns and it’s unlikely Page is where they start. A ton of time and effort was invested into getting Page to the peak, and Cole is a great challenger that won’t lose a ton from coming up short against the champion. What we can count on is this world title match to feel like a world title match. Cole and Page are going to go out with every intention of putting on a Match of the Year quality bout and have the talent to pull it off to close out what could be one of the best pay-per-views in history. Pick: Adam Page retains — Brent Brookhouse
Simply put, it’s too soon for Page to drop the belt. “Hangman” is just coming into his own as AEW champion and a longer reign is necessary to rival the runs of Jericho, Moxley and Kenny Omega before him. Cole is a future world champion, no doubt about it, but he has a program between The Elite and The (formerly known as) Undisputed Era to look forward to. Pick: Adam Page retains— Shakiel Mahjouri
AEW Women’s World Championship — Dr. Britt Baker DMD (c) vs. Thunder Rosa
With Baker closing in on a year as champion, things are starting to get stale. Rare is the title reign that can survive this long without a downswing in momentum. Rosa has been carefully built as a contender, and after stumbling in her first two AEW matches against Baker, Rosa now has three tag match victories over the champion along with the March 2021 win in their classic unsanctioned match. Running with the idea that Rosa has Baker’s number is interesting and sets up plenty of opportunities for down the road while also allowing for Rosa to start her reign off with a bang. Pick: Thunder Rosa wins the title — Brookhouse
Initially, I was going to side with Baker. She is without a doubt AEW’s most popular women’s champion. Her initial heel turn and run to contendership is among AEW’s biggest success stories. Her run as champion has not been quite as magical as the chase, but it rarely ever is. I don’t expect to see any other title changes at AEW Revolution, so why not put Rosa over? She’s due for a championship run, can lord multiple victories over Baker’s head, and set Baker up to become AEW’s first two-time women’s champion down the line. Pick: Thunder Rosa wins the title — Mahjouri
AEW Tag Team Championship — Jurassic Express (c) vs. reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
There’s no real reason to put the belts back on the Bucks, so they can be removed from the equation. Jurassic Express will only be two months into their reign which gives AEW plenty of reasons to not take the titles off the champs. Also, with as committed as AEW is to Jungle Boy as a massive part of the promotion’s future, they aren’t likely to want his first title reign to end so soon. Pick: Jurassic Express retains — Brookhouse
Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus need the belts more than O’Reilly and Fish do. reDRagon have a great, slow-burn feud in the works with The Young Bucks. Jurassic Express, on the other hand, don’t have a major program to shift into and need the belts to keep their momentum going. It’s also too early in the reign to take the titles off what is arguably AEW’s most popular homegrown tag-team act. Pick: Jurassic Express retains — Mahjouri
AEW TBS Championship — Jade Cargill (c) vs. Tay Conti
What AEW has done a good job of with this card — and what they usually do a good job of in general — is finding opponents who will allow champions to shine even when in a situation where they’re unlikely to drop the title. When you build a wrestler up as undefeated and put a belt on them, you don’t take that belt off unless you have the right situation where it means something. That’s not the situation with Conti. She’s a great challenger and beating her means something for Cargill as the champion continues to be built as something special. Pick: Jade Cargill retains — Brookhouse
Conti is among a small handful of women — along with Thunder Rosa, Ruby Soho and Serena Deeb — who are due for a TBS or AEW Women’s title down the line. Now is not the time. Cargill has received a monster push out of the gate. It’s too early to strip her of the title and her winning streak. It needs to be a big deal when someone comes along and conquers Cargill. Conti just isn’t in that position. Pick: Jade Cargill retains — Mahjouri
Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson
There are a lot of interesting options for how this plays out. That said, no option is more interesting than Moxley losing and reluctantly joining up with Danielson to lead a group of young talent. It doesn’t require a full heel turn by Moxley to make work and the inevitable split, with the young talent having to take sides, is even more exciting. With that long-term potential in mind, it’s hard for me to go against Danielson getting the win here. But this is yet another fantastic match on this card. Pick: Bryan Danielson wins — Brookhouse
This is one of the tougher matches on the card to predict. Danielson has flourished since making the jump from WWE to AEW. However, he has yet to have that one defining victory. He scored draws against Kenny Omega and Page, and lost to Page in an AEW championship rematch. Moxley made a touching, inspiring return to AEW following an extended hiatus to deal with his alcoholism. The expectation is that regardless of the outcome, Moxley and Danielson will unite to lead a faction of talented young stars in need of their tough love. That’s a great position to be in. Either man can come out victorious and that can set the wheels in motion for a double turn down the line. Tough pick, but I’ll lean on the sentimental favorite in Moxley. Pick: Jon Moxley wins — Mahjouri
CM Punk vs. MJF
In Punk vs. MJF, AEW has struck promo gold. Both men can deliver on the mic and have enough in the ring — even as Punk’s skills are somewhat faded — to back up the intriguing trash talk. Given MJF has one win over Punk already, letting Punk score a win to set up a third match makes sense. AEW doesn’t fall back on 50/50 booking the way WWE does, which means there’s some actual meaning when it does happen. Pick: CM Punk wins — Brookhouse
MJF delivered one of wrestling’s greatest promos on last week’s AEW Dynamite. Prior to that, I was convinced Punk would go over at Revolution. Now, I’m not too sure. Ultimately, I’ll side with Punk hesitantly. He has not looked particularly strong in between the ropes during this feud. He lost to MJF, by nefarious means, and barely inched out a win over Wardlow. Punk’s return was monumental. Even if the company doesn’t plan to run with him as AEW champion, he should be in the title mix sooner than later. MJF has a lot of time on his hands. I foresee Punk getting the victory and moving onto a program with the AEW champion. By the time AEW’s next PPV rolls around, MJF will have time to position himself as title challenger and eventual champion. Pick: CM Punk wins — Mahjouri
Chris Jericho vs. Eddie Kingston
If there is any justice in this world, Kingston is set to get a win here. It’s understandable why he hasn’t been able to pull off wins in big spots, but the crowd remains firmly behind him. That can and will only last so long if they’re repeatedly shown that their investment doesn’t come with any returns. Jericho doesn’t benefit from a win here, he’s bulletproof. His legacy is secure and cemented and he can be put in any position at any time because of it. Kingston actually needs a win. Pick: Eddie Kingston wins — Brookhouse
It’s time for Kingston to get his big win. Kingston has received some of the best ovations since arriving in AEW to challenge Cody Rhodes for the TNT title. His veteran status on the independent circuit, touching real-life story and authenticity on the microphone has made him a favorite amongst the AEW faithful. He lost to Danielson, he lost to CM Punk. It’s time for Kingston to win a big one. Pick: Eddie Kingston wins
Keith Lee vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks vs. Wardlow vs. Christian Cage or Ethan Page (Face of the Revolution Ladder Match)
Without knowing the final participant in the match, you start looking down the list of entrants to figure out who is the most likely to get a program as challenger to the TNT title. With that in mind, Keith Lee was a huge addition to the roster and should not be left to play around “waiting his turn.” There are some concerns over Lee’s fitness after so much time out of the ring, but that’s something he should be able to deal with just by being more active. Pick: Keith Lee wins — Brookhouse
Wardlow has to be the favorite going into this match. His powerbomb spot has been a hit with fans and the promotion has expertly dragged out Wardlow’s eventual face turn and split from The Pinnacle. Winning the Face of the Revolution ladder match adds another layer of complexity into the eventual Wardlow-MJF feud. If MJF beats Punk at Revolution, he and Wardlow may find themselves on singles title pursuits. If MJF loses to Punk, it may plant seeds of envy for MJF to see his hired muscle eclipse him. Pick: Wardlow wins — Mahjouri
AHFO (Andrade El Ídolo, Isiah Kassidy & Matt Hardy) vs. Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara & Sting (Tornado Tag Match)
Every show has one or two matches that are hard to care too much about. This is that match on this show. AHFO is a gimmick that was dead on arrival but just keeps getting dragged along. Allin and Guevara are massive pieces of AEW’s future and Sting is Sting. That should be enough. Pick: Allin, Guevara & Sting win — Brookhouse
Very few wrestlers on the AEW roster can match Andrade’s intensity and fluidity in the ring. It’s a bummer that he’s been saddled with the AHFO stuff, which comes off more comical than it should. Allin, Guevara and Sting is the safe choice. Give them the rub and move Andrade onto a more program that he can really sink his teeth into. Pick: Allin, Guevara & Sting win — Mahjouri
[ad_2]
Source link