AEW Revolution 2026 preview and predictions: 5 big questions for Sunday’s stacked PPV

While the rest of the sports world is obsessed with college basketball and filling their void this weekend, the wrestling world has all eyes on AEW as it holds its annual Revolution pay-per-view event at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The three Uncrowned Knights – Kyle Dansby, Derek Riggs and Anthony Sura-Heffinger – are here to sift through this unique madness, answer some burning questions and choose which stars will have their “shining moment” on Sunday.

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Let’s ride!

1. Is MJF or Adam “The Executioner” Page the biggest star in AEW’s career? If you could only move forward around one person, who is that person and why?

Sulla-Heffinger: When you ask who is the bigger star between these two, the margin you get is razor-thin — which is what makes this debate so interesting. Considering both are AEW OGs and have held the promotion’s top belt multiple times, I think the question boils down to which moment feels more important when everyone is at the top of the card?

To me, that’s MJF. Our Uncrowned King teammate Cam Hawkins did a feature on MJF this week that touched on a few unique aspects of his past and current championships, namely how long his first title reign lasted, and his desire to become the AEW Tour Champion. That’s not a knock on “The Executioner,” who was very good, but it feels more like his run and winning the championship were by far the more important moments than anything he’s done since. I think it’s more about how you handle the ball when it’s given to you than how you get the ball in the first place.

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As for who to build around, I also think the answer is MJF, as evidenced by his crossover appeal and charisma outside of AEW programming. In the history of AEW, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has reached such a level of popularity during their tenure with the company. This is an invaluable tool when looking for new opportunities and growth.

Dansby: The “Executioner” page may have Booked One of the biggest stars in AEW history, especially with his long-term story culminating in a World Championship victory. But if I were to pick one goal to focus on moving forward, it would be MJF.

His charisma is on another level. Whether it’s his promos, his work in the ring, or his performance outside of wrestling, MJF comes across as someone who can lead a company. He’s already involved in movies, he can sing, and he has a larger-than-life personality than almost anyone in the industry. As he likes to remind everyone, he’s better than you, and you know it.

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Riggs: It’s one of those “can’t go wrong with either” questions. The answer is probably more about perspective on what people might want: a long period of wrestling exclusivity, or overall reach.

Put like that, it sounds obvious.

MJF proved to have a wider reach during his fledgling acting career – then, in the ring, the man was just as great. But because of his broader scope, building around MJF is also a riskier proposition. His willingness to do his own thing or pursue the most lucrative wrestling option at any given moment regardless of the company is another factor he’s openly acknowledged.

So, ultimately, it comes down to star power. As much as I love “Hangman” Adam Page and believe he is a top talent in wrestling, there’s no denying that MJF has more energy worth squeezing and risking.

2. Do you like the “no more championship challenges” rule in professional wrestling?

Riggs: Not really. Cody Rhodes’ situation in WWE makes me very unhappy with this particular stipulation.

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There are ways to do this effectively. Ideally, what works best – at least for me – is not being able to challenge someone, like Laila Valkyria’s recent inability to challenge Becky Lynch. But generally speaking, is it a certain title? This often feels like a lose-lose, because despite the high risk, you’re either creating a likely outcome or, if the outcome changes, you’re putting the talent in some sort of promotional black hole.

Dansby: This is a tricky provision, especially when it’s attached to the company’s main title. In many ways, it unnecessarily hinders the development of top talent. As Drake mentioned, a better version of this idea would be to tie the stipulation to a specific champion, meaning that as long as that champion holds the title, challengers can’t compete for the title.

You could even make it work for mid-card champions, but putting a permanent cap on a main event star would make little sense. Just look at what happened in Cody Rhodes’ final match in AEW. This also tends to give away the results, as the winner is almost always The belt will eventually fall off in these situations.

Sulla-Heffinger: I don’t like it for several reasons. First, it either constrains your talents from a creative perspective and may limit their upper limit. Second, it can communicate results, especially if it involves top talent, as in this case.

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Finally, I don’t like breaking this rule so early in the program.

Yes, I know MJF and “Hangman” have Year There’s been history like this, but this AEW World Championship feud is new – as I mentioned above, it’s all about chasing “The Executioner.” This feels a little short-sighted.

3. Toni Storm is in a match with Marina Shafir, while Mercedes Moné has been away from AEW for a while. Is there a gap in AEW at the top of the women’s division, or will Thekla vs. Kris Statlander be enough to compete for the top title?

Dansby: AEW is using this period to test out some new names near the top of the division, which isn’t necessarily a bad idea. But as summer approaches, it might be time to regroup as the top contender for the Women’s World Championship.

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Toni Storm taking the title back at some point feels like a logical direction. Meanwhile, Mercedes Monáe’s story should take longer to unfold. The most interesting path for her would be to lose the various belts she’s collected along the way with the promotion, letting the frustration drive her a little unhinged and spark a new obsession with a title that has eluded her so far – the AEW Women’s Championship.

Sulla-Heffinger: I wouldn’t say there’s a hole because the top talent in Statlander and Thekla are obviously very good, but I do think we’re going through some decline because the AEW women’s roster has been really good over the past two years.

I also think that, consistent with what’s going on in WWE, the focus on the relatively new AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship has shifted the focus a bit – in a good way.

Statlander and Thekla will put on a great match that could push them into the top of Storm-Moné, but this one doesn’t have that much star power yet.

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Riggs: Both can be true. The absence of these two is a hole when it comes to competing for the main title, but Thekla and “Big Stat Daddy” are great, and they have a proper feud building here.

It’s also good to use this time to maintain the status of stars like Stat and Thekla and Storm and Moné. It makes it easy to reconstruct or build stories for everyone, as Stat has a clear history with Storm and Moné. This is a necessary “rest period”, especially to avoid the fatigue that the community has developed towards Moné.

4. Last year’s Revolution card featured two MOTY candidates from “Hollywood Ending” along with Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher. Are there any combinations on this card that can reach such heights?

Sulla-Heffinger: Something special happens when FTR and The Young Bucks share the ring, so I believe this will be on the shortlist for the best tag team matches of 2026. Add to that the fact that Jon Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita have the makings of an instant classic with no time limit following last month’s Slam match, and Andrade has unlocked something I haven’t seen from him since his NXT days.

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All that said, to answer the actual question posed here: No, as exciting as these games may be, I think it’s going to be difficult to achieve the same goal as what we saw last year with an iconic event.

Riggs: Any “Hangman” Texas Deathmatch has that potential. It doesn’t matter who you’re against. Add MJF to the mix, we’ve already seen him crush his opponents in regulation matches, and we’re sure to see something epic again.

This is your obvious choice, but don’t get hung up on Jon Moxley vs. Takeshita and Bandido vs. Andrade. This feels like the perfect time for the parties to flip the House.

Not to mention another guaranteed conflict between FTR and the Young Bucks. There can be no mistakes, folks. Fasten your seat belt.

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Dansby: At this point, it almost feels like every AEW pay-per-view show has produced at least one Match of the Year candidate, so I’d say this show has a good chance of reaching that level.

“The Executioner” vs. MJF Death Match feels like a clear contender. That has five-star mayhem and lots of blood written all over it. Meanwhile, FTR’s match against the Young Bucks is always a reminder of how great tag team wrestling can be when these two teams are in the ring together.

5. Will the 21-player Blackjack Battle Royale succeed or fail?

Dansby: Battle royale games can hit or miss, and often end up feeling a bit bland. But if AEW uses it to throw in some surprises, it has the potential to be interesting.

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Ideally, it should help elevate the new name into the main event conversation.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bobby Lashley returns in the match – and if he does, he’ll feel like a strong candidate to win the entire thing.

Riggs: Kyle noted that this game felt like it should be a big comeback or debut — or at least something significant.

At the same time, it’s hard to imagine convincing surprises at the moment, at least around new ones. The game definitely served its purpose, though. After yet another failure at the WWE Royal Rumble, AEW could cash in by giving fans what they want.

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Forget about the winner, although that is just as important. WWE really gave AEW a thing to deliver here easily, because as long as a few surprises are presented, we’ll be in for a treat.

Sulla-Heffinger: Unless there’s a big surprise, I’d lean towards the bust.

My guess is that we will see Tommaso Ciampa win and possibly have a feud with Ricochet, which will be very interesting. It just doesn’t require a battle royale to set it up.

predict

• AEW Championship Match: MJF (Riggs, Shula Hefinger) vs. Adam “The Hangman” Page (Dansby) in a Texas Death Match

• AEW Women’s Championship Match: Thekla (Riggs, Sula Huffinger) vs. Kris Statlander (Dansby) in a three-for-two falls match

• AEW Intercontinental Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita (Dansby, Riggs, Sulla Heffinger)

• AEW Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (Dansby, Riggs, Shula Hefinger) vs. Young Bucks

• AEW World Trios Championship: The Don Callis family (Dansby, Riggs, Sulla-Heffinger) with JetSpeed ​​and Mistico

• Bandido (Surla-Heffinger) vs. Andrade (Dansby, Riggs)

• AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Angry Baby vs. Megan Bain and Lena Cross (Dansby, Shula Hefinger)

• Roderick Strong, Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin vs. Dogs (Dansby, Sula Huffinger)

• Tony “The Eternal” Storm (Dansby, Riggs) vs. Marina Shafir (Sula Huffinger)

• Sverve Strickland (Dansby, Sula Huffinger) vs. Brodie King (Riggs)

• 21 player blackjack battle royale: Tommaso Ciampa (Riggs, Sula Huffinger), Bobby Leslie (Dansby)