If you caught Sunday’s AEW Revolution, its first pay-per-view of 2023, you witnessed some top-notch wrestling and performances, and none more so than from the company’s reigning title holder, MJF.

The heel upped the ante, illustrating, why as he professes, he is one of the top wrestlers in the world today, if not thee top wrestler, as well as being one of the best in-ring mic performers around.

In the main event, MJF took on the man considered to be one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all-time in Bryan Danielson in a 60-minute Iron Man Match.  After it was tied 3 to 3,  the match was, at first, called a draw after MJF tapped out to Danielson, just mere seconds after time ran out saving him the belt.  At that point, AEW’s medical team administered oxygen to MJF, which later proved to be an important part of the storyline as MJF would later use the oxygen tank to secure victory.

Now, after the match was called a draw, announcer, Tony Schiavone received instructions in his headset from AEW Owner, Tony Khan to tell the ring announcer, Justin Roberts, to restart the match so that there would be an eventual winner.

With the match now on again, Danielson crawled below the ropes to retrieve the champ who was on the outside of the ring on the floor. However, that’s when MJF hit him with the oxygen tank before the referee could see it. Then, MJF put Danielson in his own staple maneuver, the Lebell Lock. It was then that Danielson tapped out and MJF secured the win.

But while all the accolades from himself, the wrestling pundits and fans poured in for the match and for MJF, he found himself in a media firestorm for throwing a drink in a young boy’s face during the match at ringside. The drink throwing was not planned or part of the story.

In the moment, MJF, while walking around outside of the ring, went up to a woman who was standing up for the match, took her drink, then threw it in the kid’s face.  Even AEW announcer, and former pro wrestler Tazz, said on the air that it, “went a little too far there.”

During the post-media scrum, Tony Khan and MJF fielded a question from a reporter on the incident, in which Khan responded: “We had a conversation before we came up her.  We had a serious conversation, and I mean that and it’s not to be taken lightly. And the young man, Titus, was a real pro about it. And we’ll see Titus here again in AEW, and I believe Titus will be coming to Sacramento. But I was just with him, and Titus was a real champ about it. And you know, the champion didn’t act like a champion there. But I think Titus was great.”

Another report, shares that it was actually tequila in the cup, not water, thrown at the young boy.  In the end, the MJF/Danielson match will go down as an AEW classic or one for the ages in all of pro wrestling.

In other key matches: Ruby Soho turned heel and joined the Outsiders, after Jamie Hayter retained her AEW Women’s Title Belt after besting Saraya and Soho.  The Elite shockingly lost their AEW Trios Title to The House of Black in an excellent match full of high-flying moves.  “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, finally put an end to his feud with Christian Cage in a burial match.  Yup! Christian lost after having the casket closed on him.

Later, in one of the bloodiest matches and not for the weak at heart … forks, bricks, barbed-wire, chairs and more were used by Hangman Adam Page and Jon Moxley during their ‘Texas Tornado’ match.  In the end, Page got his revenge for one final time on Moxley and came out the victor.  Wardlow won the AEW TV Title over Samoa Joe, for his second run with the title.  How long will it last when he collides with Powerhouse Hobbs on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday?

Photo: AEW

In a surprise appearance, FTR returned to AEW just after the Gunns won a four-way title defense to retain the AEW Tag Team championship and Ricky Starks defeated Chris Jericho in the opening match on the card.

What did you think of the MJF vs. Danielson Iron Man match main event? The drink throwing, and the AEW Revolution card top to bottom?  via the comment section.

When AEW Dynamite marks its first full year on TBS on January 4th live from Seattle (8:00 pm EST), there will be changes afoot in the look and feel of the pro wrestling series as well as its companion show AEW Rampage Friday night’s on TNT.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, AEW’s president, founder and co-owner, Tony Khan teased what the aesthetic changes may be and how it may affect production:

Khan shared: “I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag necessarily, especially so close to the big day. But at the start of 2023, we’re going to open the year on Wednesday, January 4 with the first Dynamite in Seattle, marking a full year of Dynamite on TBS. We’ll definitely have a new look, to say the least. I’m excited about it. I think it’s a nice thing to present to the fans, but frankly, I’ve found more so than ever, the more you talk about these things. When you build them up, you don’t want to create expectations that are impossible. I will say the set will be beautiful though. The look of Rampage will also be different. This will affect the way people view AEW on Wednesdays and Fridays in terms of presentation with the set and the show with the same great action.”

AEW’s Vice President of Post Production Kevin Sullivan also took to Twitter and posted a video teaser for the new look, expressing: “We set out to create a new brand identity for #AEWDynamite with a comprehensive set of package elements. The team is thrilled to finally share our new, bold vision, that will help create a new spirit for the show. This is what 9 months of work looks like in :15. To be continued!”

However, before we get to the new year, there’s the matter of tonight’s final show of the year when AEW Dynamite airs live ‘New Year’s Smash’ beginning at 8 pm ET on TBS.  The big bouts feature Ethan Page vs. Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe vs, Warlow and the sixth in the best of seven series trios title bouts between The Elite and Death Triangle.  You can watch the promo also below.

So, intrigued to see how the new look ‘Dynamite’ and ‘Rampage’ may raise the bar in production of the two weekly pro wrestling shows? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

We set out to create a new brand identity for #AEWDynamite with a comprehensive set of package elements. The team is thrilled to finally share our new, bold vision, that will help create a new spirit for the show. This is what 9 months of work looks like in :15. To be continued! pic.twitter.com/72Pm3jB9WD

— Kevin Sullivan (@KevinSullyTV) December 24, 2022

On Wednesday, ahead of tonight’s AEW Dynamite on TBS, and to promote Saturday’s Ring of Honor Final Battle pay-per-view, AEW President Tony Khan spoke with the media and answered questions on several topics.

Chief among them is the status of William Regal who reportedly is heading back to the WWE.  In story, Regal was taken out by MJF on last week’s AEW Dynamite, after Regal helped MJF become the AEW World Champion during the main event at the Full Gear pay-per-view in November.   During last week’s episode, Regal was carried out of the ring by stretcher after being clobbered in the head from behind with brass knuckles by the new champ in another swerve.

Today on the media call, Khan reportedly explained the Regal situation sharing that Regal approached AEW executive Megha Parekh and requested to be released form his contract so he could go back and work his “golden years” coaching his son, Charlie Dempsey, and to the WWE.

This all went down around the time Khan was with his mother in Toronto, who was undergoing a major operation when doctors found that she had a spot on her heart and if the spot was removed, that it the best chance of stopping the strokes she was having.  She has already had two strokes, previously.

During this time, Khan arranged a call with Regal and shared that Regal had good intentions for wanting to go back. He was very empathic to the situation, given what he was going through with his mother and his own family at the time.

Khan added that Regal is still with AEW through the holidays, but he wishes William all the best and that it was “hard to see him go”, and they’re going to make some on-screen sacrifices to help him do the right thing for his family.  In addition, Regal’s release was on the condition that he could not be on TV next year, meaning Regal could then only work behind the scenes at WWE, anyway.

Tonight on ‘Dynamite’ look for Khan to address the William Regal situation.

Reports from Pro Wrestling.net, Fightful.com, David Bixenspan

So, what do you think of William Regal obtaining his release from AEW to go coach his son and return behind the scenes to work with the WWE in 2023? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.