An update is available regarding what is next for Hangman Page following his loss to MJF at AEW Revolution.
According to Fightful Select, Page is expected to have time off from AEW television. The report notes it is unclear whether his absence will begin immediately or if he will return to Dynamite in the coming weeks before leaving. There is also no timetable for how long he will be away.
During the Revolution post-event press conference, Tony Khan addressed the stipulation that Page can no longer challenge for the AEW World Championship, noting it is the same situation Cody Rhodes agreed to after losing to Chris Jericho at AEW Full Gear 2019.
“It’s the same thing with Cody, it was a gentleman’s handshake with both of them,” Khan responded when asked how strict the stipulation is. “They both came to me and said, ‘I want to put this at stake.’ And both of them, I told them, ‘That sounds f***ing nuts, dude.’ Both of them really wanted to do it. And in both cases I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And they both said, ‘Yeah.’ So it is an agreement we made. Second time it’s happened. [Page] is somebody that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.” that’s known for being a man of his word, and we made an agreement. So it’s a verbal contract.”
Before returning at AEW Revolution, Will Ospreay had already been medically cleared for a couple of weeks.
Ospreay made his surprise return at Sunday night’s pay-per-view in Los Angeles, targeting Jon Moxley after Ospreay had been written off AEW programming last year in a Death Riders attack. Ospreay last wrestled in August 2025 before undergoing surgery for a neck injury. He is now ready to compete again.
In a tweet today, Ospreay shared that doctors gave him the okay to return on February 25. That’s a few weeks after AEW started building the hype for Ospreay’s return with a video on the February 4 edition of Dynamite.
— Will Ospreay • ウィル・オスプレイ (@WillOspreay) March 16, 2026
The Revolution card included a Continental Championship match where Moxley choked out Konosuke Takeshita to retain. Following the match, Moxley extended a handshake to Takeshita in a show of respect. Takeshita was initially hesitant but did end up shaking Moxley’s hand.
As Moxley was then leaving, Ospreay emerged for his comeback. He fought off the Death Riders before Moxley escaped.
Ospreay’s return coincides with the ticket pre-sale for All In 2026 beginning today. He figures to play a big part in the show in his home country of the United Kingdom. The PPV is being held at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, August 30.
During his time away from the ring, Ospreay stayed involved in wrestling through his role as a producer for the U.K. women’s indie promotion Pro Wrestling Eve.
If you’re planning on attending AEW Revolution in L.A. this Sunday, you’d better have your tickets in hand—CEO Tony Khan announced tonight that the venue is sold out.
“Thank you all who watch AEW!” Khan wrote on social media. “It’s one of my favorite weekends—AEW Revolution is this Sunday! Revolution will be sold out with a live gate over $1 million this Sunday! See you this Sunday for the PPV.” He went on to plug the Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada match on Collision that will take place one day prior.
Crypto.com Arena has a capacity of up to 21,000 for wrestling shows.
AEW Revolution 2025 updated lineup | This Sunday | Los Angeles
Main Card
Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm – Everyone banned from ringside
AEW Trios Champions Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis defend against Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla defends against Kris Statlander in a two-out-of-three falls match
Brody King vs. Swerve Strickland
Bandido vs. Andrade El Idolo
AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley defends against Konosuke Takeshita in a no time limit match
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Hangman Page in a Texas Death Match where if Page loses, he can’t challenge for the World title ever again
AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions Babes of Wrath (Harley Cameron & Willow Nightingale) defend against Megan Bayne & Lena Kross
Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. The Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors)
An appearance by Kenny Omega is still possible for AEW Revolution, but an agreement would need to be worked out for it to happen.
Omega is scheduled to be in Japan during the week of Revolution for Capcom Cup 2026, an annual “Street Fighter” video game tournament. There is a contractual commitment for Omega to be at the tournament, but Dave Meltzer reports that Omega is trying to reach an agreement where he could return to the United States in time for Revolution on Sunday, March 15.
“Regarding Kenny Omega, as noted two weeks ago, he is under contract to be at the Capcom event at Sumo Hall in Tokyo from 3/11 to 3/15. He is trying to make a deal where he can leave on 3/14 and be on the PPV, but as of right now he still has the commitment,” Meltzer wrote in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “He said there is a possibility he can make the date but at this point he didn’t want to be in a position where he had to be on the show or where he would be teased or advertised in case he cant make it.”
Revolution is being held in Los Angeles at Crypto.com Arena. A match between Omega and Swerve Strickland would have made sense for the pay-per-view if Omega were able to wrestle at the show. Instead, they faced off on Dynamite this week with Strickland getting the win, laying out Omega, and turning heel.
The Revolution card is being headlined by MJF vs. Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship. On AEW programming recently, we’ve seen Omega attempt to get back into the World title picture. Another World title reign is something that he’s open to, but Omega believes that AEW should prioritize its future.
AEW and Ring of Honor’s schedule of pay-per-views and special shows are always developing throughout the year. The following is the known/announced schedule for both AEW and ROH PPVs and streaming events throughout 2025.
Just days before their AEW Women’s World Championship match at Revolution, an angle involving Toni Storm and Mariah May took place in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
May blindsided Storm with a sucker punch as she was being interviewed on the red carpet at last night’s “Queen of the Ring” premiere in LA. After the sucker punch, Christopher Daniels stepped in to separate May from Storm and stop the attack from escalating. Video of the angle can be seen below:
“You are nothing without me,” May yelled. “I made you a star.”
“She’s ruined my moment. She’s ruined my red carpet moment,” Storm said. “Bloody hell, look at me — look at the state of me. Where the hell is she? Where is that bitch?”
Revolution will be the third time these two have faced off since May betrayed Storm last summer. May won the AEW Women’s World Championship from Storm at All in 2024, but Storm regained the title last month with a victory at Grand Slam Australia.
Crypto.com Arena in LA is hosting Sunday’s pay-per-view. Storm vs. May has a falls count anywhere stipulation and is being billed as “The Hollywood Ending.”
Last night’s “Queen of the Ring” screening was held at the AMC The Grove 14. The movie is a Mildred Burke biopic, and it features Storm in a role as wrestler Clara Mortensen.
AEW has revealed the four-person panel for this Sunday’s Revolution pre-show.
The Zero Hour broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be hosted by Renee Paquette, RJ City, Jeff Jarrett, and actor/wrestler Paul Walter Hauser. The pre-show is airing live for free on AEW’s social media channels immediately leading into the Revolution pay-per-view.
Your official lineup for AEW Revolution Zero Hour.
I love how the guy with the Golden Globe has the least professional headshot. pic.twitter.com/gm8up5xbWY
Hauser — a wrestling fan who now regularly competes in the ring — also served as a panelist for AEW’s Full Gear pre-show in November 2024. As an actor, he’s best known for starring in the movie “Richard Jewell. He won an Emmy award for his role in the 2022 Apple TV+ mini-series “Black Bird.” In April, Hauser will be an entrant in MLW’s 40-wrestler Battle Riot match where Matt Riddle is defending the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is hosting Revolution on Sunday (March 9). The pre-show broadcast will feature TikTok star Big Boom AJ returning to the ring for a six-man tag match. He’s teaming with Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy against Johnny TV, Mason Madden & Mansoor.
Here is everything that’s been announced for Revolution as of now:
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends against Cope
AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita defends against Kenny Omega
The Hollywood Ending: AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Mariah May
AEW Tag Team Champions The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) defend against The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum)
TBS Champion Mercedes Mone defends against Momo Watanabe
AEW World title number one contender’s match: Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet
MJF vs. Hangman Page
Steel cage match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ, Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV, Mansoor & Mason Madden
Ric Flair wanted to betray Sting one final time before Sting ended his in-ring career.
During a Monday appearance on Busted Open Radio, Flair detailed an idea he had for Sting’s retirement match at AEW Revolution. He wanted the match to go exactly as it did except he would have turned heel and gotten laid out by Sting at the end. Flair believes the crowd would have loved it, and he thinks it would have given him a direction to go in as a heel in AEW after Revolution.
“I wanted those guys to have the same match, but at the end, you know, instead of leaving me laying there like that, just keep me on the outside the whole time. At the end, as Sting is standing there and those guys are gone, I jump on Sting — boom, boom, boom, one big move to me, puts the Scorpion on me, and we go off the way we started 31 years ago,” Flair said. “You know what I mean? It would have blown the roof off the joint. And it would have made me a heel so I had somewhere to go, because it’s just hard to get the people to get mad at me now.”
Revolution took place from Greensboro, North Carolina this March and ended with Sting capping off his career with a victory. Sting & Darby Allin defeated The Young Bucks to retain the AEW Tag Team titles and then vacated the belts after their win.
Flair was laid out by a double superkick from The Young Bucks during the Revolution match. He told Busted Open Radio that he thinks a lot of fans were disappointed that he didn’t turn against Sting.
“They looked at me like I had seven different things,” Flair said about pitching the idea. “I don’t think Tony [Khan] knew that I was on blood thinners. I’ve been doing all that sh*t for all these years. I’ve had that blood clot since 2012. Tony, if he asked me once, he asked me 10 times, he said, ‘Do not cut yourself, please.'”
While laughing, Flair indicated that he hasn’t heard back from AEW since Revolution.
Flair was in AEW as part of Sting’s retirement tour. Dave Meltzer confirmed last week that Flair’s time in AEW appears to be over with the promotion having no future creative plans for him.
On Busted Open Radio, Flair praised Revolution as a great show and said Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita was one of the best matches he’s seen in a long time. He also had kind words for MJF, The Young Bucks, and Kenny Omega.
After nearly four decades in the ring, Sting’s legendary career only has one match left.
Sting’s retirement match headlines AEW Revolution in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday (March 3). It will be Sting & Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks in a tornado tag match for the AEW Tag Team titles.
The New York Post published a story on Saturday about Sting and his upcoming Revolution farewell. In the article, Sting responded to a question about how he wants his career to be remembered:
I’d like to be remembered as Sting the guy who brought it every night. Sting the guy who never really changed. He was just rock solid through and through all the years and he was a man of God.
The 64-year-old Sting also addressed what he hopes fans get out of his retirement match:
I just want wrestling fans to be entertained. I want it to be a night to remember, a night where no one would say, ‘Ah man, it was just kind of sad. You can tell it just kind of passed him by. Well, good thing he’s done now.’
I don’t want that. I want them to go, ‘Oh my god, how does he do that?’ I want them to say, the Bucks, Darby, Sting all of them, that was so entertaining. That’s a night to remember. That’s all I ever cared about.
The Revolution main card airs live starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Before the pay-per-view begins, there will be a Zero Hour pre-show airing for free on social media and YouTube. The pre-show starts at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
On the pre-show for Revolution, the Bang Bang Scissor Gang will take part in 12-man tag team action.
AEW has announced that the Bang Bang Scissor Gang’s Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, Billy Gunn, Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn will team up on Revolution Zero Hour. They’re facing Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Willie Mack, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen & Satnam Singh.
The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn and Bullet Club Gold agreed to form their Bang Bang Scissor Gang supergroup in AEW this January. Bowens, Caster & Billy Gunn are the current AEW Trios Champions.
The Zero Hour broadcast streams live for free starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow (Sunday, March 3). The Revolution main card then begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
This is the second match that’s been announced for Zero Hour. Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue is also set for the pre-show.
Here’s the updated Revolution card:
Tornado tag match: AEW Tag Team Champions Sting & Darby Allin defend against The Young Bucks (Sting’s retirement match)
Three-way match: AEW World Champion Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Deonna Purrazzo
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Roderick Strong
AEW Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Bryan Danielson
TNT Champion Christian Cage defends against Daniel Garcia
Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR
All-Star Scramble match for a future AEW World Championship shot: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Chris Jericho vs. Hook vs. Brian Cage vs. Magnus vs. TBD
Zero Hour: Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue
Zero Hour: The Bang Bang Scissor Gang (Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, Billy Gunn, Jay White, Austin Gunn & Colten Gunn) vs. Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Willie Mack, Isiah Kassidy, Marq Quen & Satnam Singh
AEW’s first pay-per-view of 2024 is loaded. Momentum is building around both this card and the future of the company. By honoring a retiring legend 10 days before debuting two S-tier wrestlers (Kazuchika Okada and Mercedes Mone), AEW is positioning itself for a tremendous year. That doesn’t even consider a likely increase in media rights (money is good) or the return of big-name wrestlers currently out injured – Kenny Omega, Adam Cole, Britt Baker, and MJF to name a few. The last time the stars seemed to align like this was around The First Dance. We all know how that ended, but for a brief period, nothing was hotter. Here’s hoping this year is more of that without the heartbreak.
These PPVs always deliver. Even if they are plagued with questionable builds and hastily booked matches, the in-ring quality tends to be top-notch. This card promises more of the same in terms of match quality, but this time the builds and stories are strong. This is the most cohesive build a major AEW event has had…ever? They booked a major tentpole match months ago – Sting’s last match – and worked backward to fill in the rest of it. It gave the show structure and stability to work around. More of this!
Others on the internet, and this site, will offer far more eloquent and thoughtful reflections on Sting’s career and his impact on the business than I ever could. This piece from 2022 by Cameron Hawkins at The Ringer is my personal favorite. My job is to preview the matches. Let’s do it.
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. FTR
Just a good, solid pro wrestling build to this one. Nothing sexy, nothing fancy, just four dudes who want to beat the crap out of each other. Sometimes it’s just that simple. The first tag match was a delicious appetizer, and the six-man tag this past Wednesday only made me hungrier for something more on a PPV stage. Give this 15 minutes to open the show and let it rip.
This program just started to heat up and should keep going. FTR rarely loses standard tag team matches, but I get the feeling that changes on Sunday. Mox and Claudio stay hot leading into their feud with the entirety of CMLL, and hopefully more with FTR.
Prediction: Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli
All-Star scramble: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lance Archer vs. Chris Jericho vs. Hook vs. Brian Cage vs. Magnus vs. Dante Martin
My reaction to the sadly postponed Meat Madness match was “hell yeah dudes rock.” Now it’s a more tepid “heck yeah some of these dudes rock.” To be clear, Lance Archer and Powerhouse Hobbs still get a full-throated hell yeah, but the rest of the dudes are kind of just there. Lord knows, Wardlow went out and tried his absolute best a couple of weeks ago on Dynamite. It’s the best promo he’s cut in AEW, but it still wasn’t enough. The bloom is all the way off that rose. It doesn’t look like it’s ever fully coming back, either.
Whoever wins this has no shot against Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, or Adam Page, so it’s all about figuring out who can give them the best match. That’s probably Lance Archer – which means oh my god Chris Jericho is winning this, isn’t he?
Prediction: Sigh, Chris Jericho
Will Ospreay vs. Konosuke Takeshita
Rarely has a wrestler this talented been so divisive. By any objective measure, Will Ospreay is almost unimaginably talented. There is truly nothing he can’t do physically. But there’s still a bit of a disconnect for me. My main criticism of Ospreay is that he tries to be everything in the same match. I’ll rip off the great Dr. Ian Malcolm and say that young William is so preoccupied with whether he could, that he doesn’t stop to think if he should. He does not need to always go out and try and have the best match of the week/month/year/all time. Not every match demands that level of performance. If everything is the greatest or the best, isn’t it all the same?
It’s clear that Ospreay loves wrestling, but too often it feels like he’s trying to break an arbitrary rating scale for a particular website. A website you happen to be reading right now. If his matches were a bit less self-indulgent and more purposeful, they would resonate so much more. They would stay with you.
The sooner our beautiful, massive, adult son Konosuke Takeshita disentangles himself from the Don Callis Family the better. Diamond Don had his moments earlier in AEW, but now it’s more of the same, tired stuff. This grouping does not serve Takeshita at all. This is someone the crowd wants to get behind because of what he can do in the ring. He is a special, special talent.
I hope that the fallout from this match leads to Takeshita splitting from the Callis Family and doing his own thing, and a loss to Ospreay sets that up. Sometimes you have to go back to move forward.
Prediction: Will Ospreay
Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong for the AEW International Championship
To avoid turning the Undisputed Kingdom boys into even bigger geeks, they need some non-Ring of Honor gold. ROH titles do not count unless they are held by Eddie Kingston or Athena. Those are champions giving the titles meaning, not the other way around. The gold they seek must be legitimate. That’s what Orange Cassidy has spent more than a year doing; making the International title a meaningful secondary title. No one has worked harder or more often than the guy who doesn’t want to work at all. But the time has come for a change. Would it be nice if the change didn’t involve a dead-on-arrival faction? Certainly, but Strong can continue making this title the workhorse title Cassidy turned it into.
Few are better at wrestling similar-sized or smaller wrestlers than Rod Strong – the best wrestler in the Undisputed Kingdom, Adam Cole included – and I’m already wincing at what Strong is going to do to OC’s chest and back. This should be a whole bunch of fun.
Prediction: Roderick Strong
Christian Cage vs. Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship
Pull the trigger, and make the guy. If any of you are selling your Daniel Garcia stock let me know, because I’ll buy it all. Finally, mercifully, free from the Chris Jericho vortex, Garcia can fully show what he’s capable of in the ring and on the microphone. The dancing has become a nice complement to his act rather than the sole focus. That focus is now sharply on what he can do in the ring and on the microphone. It’s clear to anyone who’s watched AEW that Daniel Garcia is already a star. Sunday is the time to etch that in stone by giving him his signature moment.
This version of Christian Cage is an asset to any company. It’s almost impossible to properly value him. His segments remain must-see. His war on Dads continues, unceasing like the ocean waves. He constantly elevates his competitors and is hated enough that when someone finally gets to pay him his comeuppance, they are a made guy. Who better to deliver that comeuppance than Garcia? It’s his time.
Prediction: Daniel Garcia
Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson for the Continental Crown Championship
Claudio may be Kingston’s forever rival, but Bryan Danielson is his one true person. Much like the far ends of the political spectrum are closer than each side would realize or admit, so are Danielson and Kingston. They both live for this, and they LOVE this with every cell in their body. The two approaches, while different, both come from similar places. They come from a deep love of the history and art of the sport. Borrowing from the past and paying tribute to it is foundational to their essence as performers. Both wrestle with such passion – Kingston’s born from a seething desire to prove that yes, he can do this, and Bryan with a passion only the purest love can evoke. That’s why Kingston’s wasted potential infuriates him. He sees someone that could have been one of the all-time greats. One of the people who is paid tribute to by future generations. Instead, he’s “just” Eddie Kingston, which isn’t enough for Danielson.
Beating Danielson in a major PPV match is the last BCC infinity stone for Kingston to collect. Winning the ROH title from Claudio Castagnoli and beating Jon Moxley in the finals of the Continental Classic were tremendous accomplishments. Beating the greatest wrestler of all time on a major show? That’s something else entirely.
Prediction: Eddie Kingston
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo for the AEW Women’s World Championship
The Timeless Toni character is on its last legs. This was a fairly ambitious gimmick, and they did some interesting things with it. The slow descent into madness and the black-and-white camera both worked well. It might be generous to call it a success, but it was ambitious and different, and things like this are worth trying out. Absurd gimmicks like this have a definite shelf life, and it’s hard to see this having much more.
This program with Deonna Purrazzo has been clear and made sense. Drawing on their shared history was great, the tattoos were a nice reference, and Toni covering hers up was a unique story beat. We love it all! Normally this is where a title change makes perfect sense – a fresh debuting star beating a champion that’s been at the top for a while – but there is another debut looming that hangs over the result of this match.
Mercedes Mone is coming, and she will immediately be the top star in the women’s division by orders of magnitude. There is, frankly, no one else like her. A one-of-one. A star with so much presence that she can block the light from anyone else. That’s what happens with a star of that caliber, sometimes. How much purpose would it serve for Purrazzo to have a major win on her first AEW PPV and then immediately be overshadowed 10 days later? Purrazzo is in the right place, she’s just showing up at the wrong time. This makes me think Toni keeps the title for just a bit longer.
Prediction: Toni Storm
Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland vs. “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW World Championship
Wrestling Samoa Joe is like getting into a knife fight in a phone booth. There is no path for retreat. You’re in there with him until he decides you aren’t. If someone is going to get past, over, or even through him, they will have earned it. They will be fully deserving of the gold and accolades that go with it. The physical toll will linger – their bodies aching at even a mention of him. He is Samoa Joe, the rightful king of AEW and a real-ass world champion.
His opponents in this match have built a literal blood feud in under four months. It took exactly two matches for people to begin salivating at what could be the beginning of a years-long rivalry. All it took was drinking blood. Happy marriages are built on far less. The alignment between Swerve and Page is fascinating. The guy who broke into the other’s house and implicitly threatened an infant is somehow the good guy here. And it works! Swerve has so much charisma, so much presence, and so, so much talent, that we are willing to overlook legitimate psycho behavior. It also speaks to Page’s versatility that the audience bought into him as a heel. The guy just wanted to protect his family! For years he has been one of the most loved wrestlers on the roster. Now he’s doing fake injury angles and rocking a devastating mustache.
These three should put together something special on Sunday, but I’m a bit puzzled as to where things end up when the show goes off the air. Rarely does AEW do transitional champions with the big belts, and Samoa Joe is only a few months into his reign. But Swerve remains hotter than a Middle Eastern climate. No one would second-guess a title change here. There’s just something in the back of my mind that says it won’t happen. I can’t shake the notion that Page will do whatever it takes to prevent Swerve from winning, even at his own cost. I can see Page willingly sacrificing his own success just to prevent someone else from achieving their dreams. We love a petty king.
Prediction: Samoa Joe
Sting’s retirement match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. The Young Bucks for the AEW Tag Team titles
Surfer, Crow, Joker, Icon. However you know him, this is Sting. Sting’s significance transcends athleticism or what he can do in the ring. His magnetic presence – the face paint, the black baseball bat – became symbols of resilience and defiance in the 90s. Crow Sting had the wrestling world in a chokehold from 1996-1997. It was the first time I knew something was cool even though I couldn’t explain it. I don’t even think I knew what cool was back then – surely it was not me – but I knew enough to beg my parents to let me stay up and watch Nitro just so I could see what I called “the guy on the roof.” He captivated the world in different decades, in different promotions, and different ways. His journey from the vibrant arenas of WCW, to an injury-shortened stint in WWE, and now to AEW is appropriate for someone who epitomized evolution in wrestling. Flowery prose aside, Sting has always been the dude.
His retirement, like the last chord of your favorite song, rings bittersweet. Beginnings are fun, but the end always comes, and the end is always hard. We always want more; a selfishness born out of love. How wonderful for Sting to be able to go out fully on his terms; something sadly few wrestlers get to do. How wonderful to do it in historic Greensboro. And how wonderful to have it be a celebration of what he is, and what he meant to an entire industry, rather than a sad reminder of what he couldn’t do. The outcome of this match is secondary, even tertiary, to the larger spectacle that this will be. This is the rare occasion in this silly sport where who wins doesn’t matter. All that matters are the feelings and the moment. And what a moment on Wednesday when Sting descended from the rafters one last time. The child in my heart was bursting with a happiness I did not expect. A legend like Sting getting to experience a fulfilling final chapter is something that should bring a smile to all wrestling fans, regardless of which company they support.
AEW wrestler Miro has been dealing with an injury since September.
Earlier this week, Tony Khan announced that the Meat Madness match that was planned for AEW Revolution was being postponed because multiple wrestlers who he wanted to be in the match are out of action. Khan then noted on his pre-Revolution media call that Miro and Keith Lee were two of the wrestlers he was hoping to use, but neither is currently available.
Miro posted a tweet on Friday morning explaining that he’s been injured since September and received medical attention in January. Miro hasn’t wrestled since defeating Andrade El Idolo at AEW’s Worlds End pay-per-view in December.
Miro wrote that he’s sorry Khan “wasn’t aware” of his situation:
I’ve been injured since September and i got medical attention in January. Sorry he wasn’t aware of it
Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Lance Archer had been announced for Meat Madness. They’ll now be three of the participants in the eight-man All-Star Scramble match that’s taking place at Revolution instead.
Khan said on the Revolution media call that he got the idea for Meat Madness after hearing the “Meat” chants for Miro vs. Hobbs at All Out 2023 and Lee vs. Brian Cage on Collision last December:
And one of the great moments on the [All Out] show was Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and the ‘Meat’ chants from Chicago. I don’t think these were just isolated to Chicago. Then we went on the road and in other big-man matches we had them. We had ‘Meat Forever’ chants during Miro vs. Hobbs at All Out. And then we had a great match on Collision, I think it was in December, and it was Brian Cage vs. Keith Lee. And it was on a really strong episode of the show, I believe it was around the Continental Classic. And this was a great show that had lots of good matches on it, and then also a match outside of the tournament [with] big men Keith Lee vs. Brian Cage. And the crowd really enjoyed that.
Now, I wanted to put a lot of the big wrestlers and get the crowd fired up for a multi-man scramble, a Meat Madness match. And I think the crowd would enjoy it and it would be a lot of fun, but some of the wrestlers I was hoping to use, including some of the wrestlers I just named, you know, the Miro vs. Hobbs chant and the Keith Lee vs. Brian Cage. Right now, you know, there are two great wrestlers in AEW just as an example, Miro and Keith Lee are both out. Neither one is available. And some of our big men being out injured, I wanted to have the depth in the field to do the match I’d really originally envisioned. I think people would enjoy that.
Khan said he still wants to do the Meat Madness match when AEW has their big men healthy at the same time.
Revolution is taking place from Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday (March 3).
Sting wants to give the fans one last classic match at AEW Revolution.
At Revolution this Sunday, the 64-year-old Sting will wrestle for the last time ever. He’s teaming with Darby Allin against The Young Bucks in a tornado tag match for the AEW Tag Team titles.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated just days before retirement, Sting explained what his goals are for this match. Sting said he wants to entertain the fans — and he wants to elevate AEW:
I want people to walk away saying, ‘How was that even possible?’ I want people to be entertained. I want to elevate AEW.
I never wanted wrestling to pass me by. That’s why I wrestled the way I did. This Sunday, I’m going to wrestle a way that will make people want to save the tape.
Sting reflected on how much the support from pro wrestling fans has meant to him throughout his Hall of Fame career:
My lip quivers thinking about it. Wrestling fans, they’re in my heart. The Little Stingers aren’t little anymore. They’re adults now. We’ve all grown together. We’ve been through all of this together.
The relationship with the fans, that’s what brings this to a whole other level. I can’t tell you the amount of conversations I’ve had where someone would tell me that the only relationship they had with their father was watching Sting in WCW, or the ones where people told me they were bullied in school but they watched Sting and he made them feel strong. Can you believe that? I still can’t. The feeling that wrestling fans give me is as great as anything I give them. It blows me away. Hearing that I touched a person’s life, it’s very humbling.
Since Sting’s AEW debut in 2020, he and Allin have been paired together. Sting told Sports Illustrated that he’s learned so much from Allin during their friendship. Sting doesn’t believe he would have been this successful in AEW without Allin by his side:
I’m in good hands next to Darby. It’s been an honor to see him turn into this polished star. I’m grateful my last hurrah was with him. I didn’t teach him much about wrestling other than psychology here or there. Less is more, I taught him that. I taught him that it’s good to lose if you can lose the right way. Overall, he’s got the wrestling down. But I’ve learned so much from him. I couldn’t have been this successful without him.
Sting & Allin won the AEW Tag Team titles from Ricky Starks & Big Bill earlier this month. It’s the first title reign Sting has had since he was TNA World Champion in 2011.
Revolution is taking place from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday (March 3). The PPV main card begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
One of the matches that was scheduled to take place at AEW Revolution has been postponed.
Tony Khan announced today that, because multiple wrestlers who were scheduled to be added to the match are currently out of action, Meat Madness will no longer be taking place at Revolution. It’s being replaced with an All-Star Scramble match on the Revolution card.
Khan noted that Meat Madness will still be happening when the injured wrestlers are cleared to return:
With multiple wrestlers slated for #AEWRevolution’s Meat Madness match out injured + shelved by AEW docs, I’m temporarily freezing the bout until they’re clear
Meat Madness is on ice; instead Sunday’s ppv will feature an All-Star Scramble Match!
See you tonight on #AEWDynamite!
Wardlow, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Lance Archer had been announced for the “colossal” Meat Madness match. All three will now be competing in the scramble.
Revolution is taking place from Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday (March 3). The updated lineup for the pay-per-view is listed below:
Tornado tag match: AEW Tag Team Champions Sting & Darby Allin defend against The Young Bucks (Sting’s retirement match)
Three-way match: AEW World Champion Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Deonna Purrazzo
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Roderick Strong
AEW Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Bryan Danielson
TNT Champion Christian Cage defends against Daniel Garcia
The Young Bucks are preparing to have the biggest match of their career at AEW Revolution.
At the pay-per-view, The Young Bucks will be on the opposite side of the ring for Sting’s retirement match. Sting & Darby Allin are defending their AEW Tag Team titles against The Bucks in a tornado tag match this Sunday (March 3).
It’s a crazy rollercoaster ride we’ve been on the last 20 years. I remember watching Nitro, seeing Sting come down from the rafters to attack the NWO, and how mad I’d be that he’d always beat up Hogan. So to see him still performing at a high level all these years later is amazing. For Matthew and me to be his last match means a lot. It’s the biggest match of our career, and it’s a moment I didn’t think would happen.
The Young Bucks have only faced Sting once before, teaming with El Phantasmo in a loss to Sting, Allin & Shingo Takagi at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2022.
Matt Jackson added that The Young Bucks have always respected Sting, and it’s up to them to help Sting stick the landing to his legendary career:
Forbidden Door was the very first time we’d ever been in a ring with Sting. You can get caught up in moments like that when you’re standing face to face with an icon. It can mix you up and take you off balance because you almost get caught watching yourself, like you’re in a movie or a dream. You have to stop acting like a fan and remember you’re a participant. I remember more about how I felt in that match, and less about what happened.
This match at Revolution, nobody is more emotional about it than my brother and me. Although we usually rooted against Sting when we were kids, we always respected his game. It’s a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. Sting has had a legendary career, and it’s up to us to stick the landing. But this isn’t going to be Kobe scoring 60 points on his final night. We’re looking for a shutout. And I know Sting wouldn’t want it any other way. He mentioned us being in for the fight of our lives. We live for high pressure, high stakes, big fight feel matches. Nobody performs better in those types of situations than us. Sixty-four years of age, performing in his final match or not, we’re not going to take him lightly.
Also in their interview with Sports Illustrated, Nick Jackson discussed The Young Bucks’ friendship with Cody Rhodes. Nick said that, in a weird way, Cody leaving AEW made them grow as friends:
Cody is the face of the WWE now, and it’s cool to see because we always knew how much of a star he was. The founders of AEW will always have a lifetime bond with each other because we all know what we did for wrestling. We talk every week and in a weird way him leaving made us grow more as friends.
