Coming out of Saturday's AEW Revolution, many are believing the company can do no wrong at the moment. There were hiccups with the show, but the positive outweighed the negative. Many in AEW don't like to compare what they do to what is done elsewhere, but there were some who couldn't help but look at AEW Revolution in comparison to what another company did days prior and just smile.
AEW executives aren't dumb. They know the cries of their fanbase and are feeding into it as much as possible. It's why they announced Blood & Guts on a pay-per-view titled Revolution. Anything thrown at them, they will take it and throw it back.
One person compared AEW's mindset and creativity to that of Eminem's, believing that the creative geniuses in AEW and the way they respond to criticism are akin to how Eminem puts together rhymes and his attitude on albums.
By most metrics, AEW hit another home run with Revolution and they don't plan on settling for singles anytime soon.
AEW Power Rankings - Post-AEW Revolution
1. Jon Moxley
Moxley is now on top of AEW and officials are both thrilled and concerned. First off, they love Moxley because he's exactly the kind of rebel they want leading the promotion forward. But that rebel attitude is also why they're a little worried. As I reported last week, Moxley is the kind of guy who will fly off to Japan for a week to fight Minoru Suzuki without telling anyone. He's a wild card and that's a scary thing when the wild card is the champion and holds the majority of the cards. Everyone was worried about Moxley not having people in his corner, but Moxley showed that you can get it done alone. This is a copycat league and others might begin following in his footsteps. Moxley could not be reached for comment about his victory on Sunday. All I was told was, "He's still knocking back whiskey."
2. Hangman Page & Kenny Omega
The tension remains between Hangman and Omega but they once again put it all aside in the ring. As I?ve been reporting for weeks, these two have unmatched chemistry as partners and recognize that once the bell rings, they need each other. The two rarely converse outside of practice and those close to them are waiting for the big blow up. This is very much a Shaq and Kobe situation.
3. Nyla Rose
Nyla Rose is on a mission. One person told me ?I?ve never seen anyone with a chip on their shoulder the way Nyla has a chip on her shoulder.? She was not happy that Statlander got a title shot after failing once this year. She doesn?t believe Statlander is committed to AEW the way she is and wanted to prove that. Expect big things from Nyla moving forward.
4. MJF
MJF told the world what he was going to beat Cody and he did it. And now he?s AEW?s problem. I can?t express to you enough how worried officials are about MJF following this win. He already requested a meeting with officials to renegotiate his contract for a raise and extra perks. MJF is going to be a headache for AEW officials and there?s not much they can do about it.
5. Darby Allin
A solid victory for Allin, but let?s not forget how often Guevara loses. The good news for Allin is that he made short work of Guevara. If you?re facing lesser competition, you want to make sure you?re impressive in victory. And Allin was impressive. He has made it clear that he is not done with the Inner Circle.
6. The Dark Order
Dark Order has filed a complaint against Christopher Daniels for theft. This is the second time Daniels has entered another locker room and stolen gear. Daniels will likely face a fine and if his behavior continues, harsher punishment could come. It might get lost, but remember that Dark Order did win this match and have been rolling since finding the Exalted One.
7. PAC
PAC was caught off guard by Orange Cassidy, despite warnings that Cassidy is better than he leads on. PAC was actually more concerned with Chuckie T and Trent, which is why he had the Lucha Bros in his back pocket. All that matters to PAC is that he won. PAC cares about nothing but victories and hurting people. He accomplished both on Saturday.
8. Jake Hager
Hager picked up the victory, but I can tell you that AEW officials and even some in the Inner Circle were not impressed. They expect Hager to put Dustin away in short order and it obviously didn?t happen. There might be some buyer's remorse on Hager.
9. Colt Cabana
I can confirm that Cabana has not joined SCU. He is currently a free agent in AEW but will train with various camps in order to lend his expertise. AEW was very excited to sign Cabana because he?s a guy who brings a lot of different things to the table.
10. Orange Cassidy
As I said last week, Orange Cassidy was going to prove that he's not the guy everyone portrays him to be. One man close to OC told me, "Orange is like Allen Iverson. Everything is practice to him. But when it's game time, there's no one better. He might not win, but he's going to go out there and sacrifice himself and put it all on the line. And the people love it." Cassidy doesn't have championship aspirations, which confuses people. But only one person can be the champion. Cassidy is happy just being.
11. Chris Jericho
Jericho stormed out of the building on Saturday following his loss to Moxley. As I said prior to Revolution, Moxley was in Jericho's head. And that was evident with Jericho going after the bad eye of Moxley, which turned out to be just fine. Jericho threw everything at Moxley before and during the match, but none of it mattered. Jericho is said to be "soul searching" right now. He's owed a rematch, but is unsure when he'll exercise that clause as he wants to make sure he's in the right headspace. Jericho hasn't had to face this kind of doubt since joining AEW and those close to him, especially members of The Inner Circle, are worried he will do something irrational this Wednesday.
12. The Young Bucks
Disappointment. Frustration. Doubt. Those were the words used when describing the Young Bucks after their loss. They haven?t found success in their major AEW matches and once again failed to capture the tag titles. For a team that claims to be the best tag team in the world, they need the championship to back it up. If Hangman and Omega are Shaq and Kobe, the Young Bucks are Westbrook and Harden.
13. Cody
Cody came into the bout very confident, but something changed on Friday. Those close to Cody now believe that Cody was putting on an act and that MJF messed with his head more than he wanted to lead on. One person told me, ?There?s no way Cody gets that neck tattoo if MJF we?re still around. What people don?t know is, but what MJF tried to tell everyone, is that MJF was the brains. He talked Cody out of so many bad decisions. Cody only needed MJF previously. Now he?s got his wife, his coach, his actor friend, his dog, and his neck tattoo out there with him. And none of them are equal to MJF. Because he?s better than all of them. And he proved it.?
14. Kris Statlander
There are those that are worried about Statlander and her acclimation to AEW. As fans know, Statlander is an actual alien and she was the most dominant alien on her home planet. But life is different on Earth and Statlander hasn?t adjusted to the competition level.
15. SCU
It was obvious from the start that Kazarian and Scorpio Sky were not mentally ready for this match. They were concerned about Christopher Daniels and his potential departure from SCU. It?s never easy dealing with turn rumors and though Daniels gave them assurances, Dark Order clearly got into their head. I can already tell you SCU are pushing for a rematch.
16. Dustin Rhodes
People were impressed with Dustin?s toughness but there are already talks of him needing to cut back in the ring. He?s not winning and there?s obviously not much upside. Officials love Dustin but they don?t want to see him hang on too long.
17. Sammy Guevara
It?s back to the drawing board again for Guevara. Jericho loves Guevara and won?t give up on him under any circumstances. But there is concern that Guevara isn?t picking things up as quickly as Jericho likes. There?s a lot of pressure on Guevara because people want to compare him to Jericho and Jericho believes he can be a long term transcendent star like he is. But the greatest players don?t always make the best coaches.
*These rankings are a satirical take on pro sports power rankings and treat AEW as such. Any reference to sources or reports should not be taken seriously.