The biggest in-ring test of Maxwell Jacob Friedman’s career is set to take place at AEW Revolution on Sunday night.
MJF will put his AEW world championship on the line in the main event against Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match. It’s a 60-minute match pitting the brightest young star in wrestling against one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time.
The 26-year-old MJF has built his reputation on his cocky, better-than-you persona. In an era when the quality of wrestling matches around the world is so high, MJF has stood out by prioritizing character work and promos. There’s no one better at making you hate him. If he wants you to feel sympathy for him, MJF is capable of doing that, too. MJF is such a unique figure in AEW. It’s much more likely that you’ll see him cutting a promo on Dynamite than having a match. AEW has purposely made it so MJF matches are a rare occasion. In 2022 he wrestled fewer than 10 times. Sunday will be his second match of ’23.
But when he does wrestle, MJF usually delivers. He’s coming off a great match against Konosuke Takeshita only a few weeks ago. At Revolution last year, MJF had maybe the best showing of his career when he faced CM Punk in a dog collar match. He’s just such an incredible talker that it has overshadowed his wrestling ability.
Revolution is a chance for MJF to prove he’s the same caliber of wrestler in the ring as he is on the microphone. Danielson is the ideal opponent for an Iron Man match, but it will take two special performances if they’re going to steal the show. It’s so hard to keep the audience engaged for an entire hour—especially at the end of a long pay-per-view. Because everyone knows the match isn’t ending before 60 minutes, there usually isn’t much drama in the near-falls until time is running out. It’s a match that needs to be paced perfectly for the stipulation to work.
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If MJF is able to defeat a pure wrestler like Danielson at his own game, it’s something he’ll never stop bragging about. For Danielson, winning the AEW world championship would only add to his Hall of Fame legacy. Danielson has been one of the best wrestlers in the world over the past two decades. He’s succeeded everywhere he’s gone, even when the odds were stacked against him. Danielson has said that becoming AEW world champion is his new dream in pro wrestling. It’s a dream that should come true at some point.
With WWE on such a hot run during WrestleMania season, Revolution is an especially important night for AEW. A great show would go a long way in helping AEW regain some of the momentum it has lost to WWE over the past several months.
Revolution’s main card will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. The PPV is being held at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Here’s a rundown of the lineup, along with predictions for each match.
Iron Man match: MJF vs. Danielson for the AEW world championship
There have been some personal elements to MJF and Danielson’s story line (like MJF being the person to take Danielson’s mentor William Regal out of AEW), but the appeal here is seeing how MJF will hang with Danielson over 60 minutes. While there are bound to be points when he stalls and cheats, this should be a legitimate victory for MJF. He can’t lose the AEW world championship in his first PPV title defense. Fans should leave Revolution feeling like MJF was the better wrestler on this night.
Prediction: MJF retains
Jamie Hayter vs. Saraya vs. Ruby Soho for the AEW women’s world championship
Ruby Soho is currently stuck in the middle between the AEW originals (Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker) and the outsiders (Saraya and Toni Storm). Saraya’s time in AEW has been a disappointment thus far, but this alignment will hopefully help things. It would have been a mistake to try to force her as a babyface when it wasn’t working. And it would have been a mistake to fight against the audience when they clearly want to cheer Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker.
This being a three-way match means AEW has the option to take the title off Hayter without her being pinned. Saraya could pin Soho and claim to be the legitimate women’s champion despite never beating Hayter. That would make sense for the story line, but it isn’t the direction AEW should go in. It has something special with Hayter right now. Having her lose the title would be overthinking things.
Prediction: Jamie Hayter retains
Texas Death match: Jon Moxley vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
This feud started after a scary incident when Adam Page was legitimately concussed during a match against Jon Moxley in October. Since then, Moxley and Page have each defeated the other once. Given how much Moxley bleeds during normal matches, it’s hard to imagine how violent this Texas Death match will be.
Page will rise to Moxley’s level of violence and get the win here. It makes sense to establish Page as a future challenger for MJF, while Moxley and the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club turn heel.
Prediction: Adam Page wins
The Elite vs. House of Black for the AEW trios titles
This has the potential to be a classic. It’s the type of match everyone envisioned when the trios titles were created. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews are all so good in the ring. Their styles should mesh perfectly.
Either team winning would be an acceptable outcome. The trios titles are belts that should change hands often. Still, they would probably benefit from a bit of stability now that The Elite are getting a real run as champions. This is likely just the start of The Elite’s feud with House of Black. Hopefully we’ll get a singles match between Omega and Malakai Black down the line.
Prediction: The Elite retain
Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow for the TNT championship
It’s time for Wardlow to regain the momentum he had before Double or Nothing last year. It felt like he had a legitimate chance to be the future of AEW at that time. Even though he’s gotten some significant wins since then, uneven booking has prevented Wardlow from reaching his potential.
Samoa Joe and Wardlow were briefly tag team partners before Joe turned against him in November. Their match at “New Year’s Smash” ended with Joe taking advantage of an injury and making Wardlow pass out in a chokehold. Joe then added insult to injury by cutting off Wardlow’s ponytail, which Wardlow had grown as part of a tribute to his late father. With that being part of the story for this match, there’s no way Wardlow loses.
Prediction: Wardlow wins
The Gunns vs. The Acclaimed vs. Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett vs. Orange Cassidy and Danhausen for the AEW tag team titles
It was shocking to see The Gunns defeat The Acclaimed for the AEW tag team titles last month. Austin and Colten Gunn are effective heels, but they’re not a team that should be tag team champions yet. The tag team division has always been one of the best parts of AEW. Putting the titles on a team that isn’t ready has the chance to jeopardize that.
The story between The Gunns and The Acclaimed looks likely to continue past Revolution. The Gunns can pin fan favorite Danhausen on Sunday, retaining their titles and getting even more heat in the process.
Prediction: The Gunns retain
Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks
When Ricky Starks was able to goad Chris Jericho into accepting this match, he also got Jericho to add the stipulation that the entire Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from ringside. That may be a swerve, setting up that a new Jericho Appreciation Society member will appear and help Jericho win. But even though he’s already beaten Jericho once, Starks shouldn’t lose here. Starks is someone who should be in contention to take the AEW world title from MJF.
Prediction: Ricky Starks wins
No holds barred match: “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Christian Cage
AEW has been building to this grudge match since Christian Cage betrayed Jungle Boy in June. They faced off at All Out, but plans for the match had to be changed due to Cage suffering an injury. Luchasaurus attacked Jungle Boy before the match, and Cage was able to defeat Jungle Boy in less than a minute.
Cage returned from injury in February and picked up right where he left off in antagonizing Jungle Boy. When Jungle Boy attempted to get his revenge by giving Cage a con-chair-to, he hesitated and paid the price for it. Cage capitalized on the moment of hesitation and bloodied Jungle Boy with a steel chair.
There will be no hesitation from Jungle Boy this time. His road to winning a singles championship in 2023 starts with defeating Cage at Revolution.
