What a dud.
Oftentimes in wrestling, the last impression is the lasting one. All Elite Wrestling's "Revolution" event on Sunday night (mostly) delivered fireworks, but it was what happened after the main event that left fans with a sour taste.
After a brutal and bloody exploding barbed wire deathmatch (yes, really) between Jon Moxley and AEW champion Kenny Omega, the ring was set to "explode," but the final effect was nothing more than a Fourth of July showing at your uncle's place.
Eddie saved Jon Moxley from having to watch a trailer park worthy firework show#AEW #AEWRevolution pic.twitter.com/WrZqrrIhdl
— Brothers of Discussion Podcast (@BODpodcast) March 8, 2021
“Exploding” Barbwire Death Match 😂 #Aew #AEWRevolution pic.twitter.com/cwZcO5HtX2
— Joey (@Slapnutjoey) March 8, 2021
MORE: Watch Shaq get sent through two tables on AEW "Dynamite"
To be fair, there's only so much you can do without, you know, actually blowing up and murdering your wrestlers in a ring, and the match did deliver on the brutality and whackiness that fans come to expect, appreciate and accept in wrestling. But the suspension of disbelief can only go so far in a scripted sport, and setting off some sparklers that could be recreated with $5 and some effort didn't leave fans thrilled, and understandably so.
The idea of "under-promise but over-deliver" isn't exactly a thing in a sport in which over-promising is in its DNA. Can the dud be explained away? Potentially. Good promoters and wrestling writers can usually spin bad finishes and events forward, which is what AEW brass was already doing last night.
Owner Tony Khan is taking on the tough task of damage control, seemingly turning the underwhelming pyrotechnics display into an angle, with an explanation on the failed kabooms said to come on this week's episode of "Dynamite."
Tony Khan said Kenny Omega's master bomb plan was a dud, and he drew the plans up with crayons
— Sean Ross Sapp of WrestleMyBritishGranny.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 8, 2021
Disappointed nobody has asked Khan about why Kingston was selling. I'm sure that they'll come up with something by Wednesday, but I definitely wanted to hear why after the show.
— Sean Ross Sapp of WrestleMyBritishGranny.com (@SeanRossSapp) March 8, 2021
It's unfortunate that the audience was left underwhelmed with the explosion, because the brawl between Moxley and Omega was one of the better hardcore matches we've seen in years. While the match was a bit more tame than its Japanese counterparts, it once again showed that both Mox and Omega are elite performers at the top of their games.
Still, not everyone was pleased, with some fans in the building yelling "refund" after the conclusion of the show as the last sparkler fizzled out, while others took to Twitter to mock the light show.
*AEW ring exploding* #AEWRevolution2021 pic.twitter.com/tI46royMf8
— Tiger Driver ‘91 (@carl0076) March 8, 2021
“Exploding” Barbed Wire Deathmatch 😂😂😂 #AEWRevolution pic.twitter.com/I6iLeHCOji
— Dirty (@JalenHurtSoGood) March 8, 2021
HAVE YOUR OWN EXPLODING BARBED WIRE DEATHMATCH AT HOME FOR ONLY 1 EZ PAYMENT OF $1 #AEWRevolution pic.twitter.com/rPRggKRKjB
— KeepUpWithKayfabe (@KeepUpWithKFabe) March 8, 2021
remember the time you had an exploding ring barbed wire death match, and then you lied to me and said kenny omega built a dud bomb? but why was eddie kingston dead in the ring, bart? WHY WAS EDDIE KINGSTON DEAD IN THE RING? https://t.co/4K0IQvhywq
— TAPE (@tapemachines) March 8, 2021
...and this is why we leave exploding barbed wire deathmatches to the people and companies that actually know how to plan them 🙄 https://t.co/kN0lXeMhfX
— Trans-Am ⭐ Catie (@catie__kaboom) March 8, 2021
Hopefully we get some answers Wednesday night.