AEW kicked off its 2023 pay-per-view schedule with Revolution on March 5th from the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
The card was headlined by the AEW World Championship Ironman Match between MJF and Bryan Danielson. In the end, it was MJF who retained his title, through incredible amounts of spilled blood and broken tables.
Elsewhere on the show, Wardlow won the TNT Championship and The House of Black claimed the World Trios Titles. All in all the show was a hit with fans and critics alike, with some online hailing it was one of the best shows that All Elite Wrestling has produced.
Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer gave an update on how the show had performed on pay-per-view. The report noted that the buy rate was actually higher than many expected.
“The PPV news this week has been good regarding late buys. As of 3/14, traditional PPV buys were almost identical to the final numbers for both Full Gear and All Out. They are down 0.7 percent from the past two shows so this will likely wind up closer to 133,000 buys (factoring in the international decline as the U.S. numbers may wind up identical to Full Gear, and if there are even a few hundred buys after 3/12 it’s possible the television number could go ahead of both of the last two shows as far as television buys go.”
Meltzer added that while the figure is down 22.5% from 2022, it’s not as much of a decline as it looked initially. The report stated that no one expected the buy rate to be close to 2022 as the product was much hotter 12 months ago.
"It's time for me to go home." @bryandanielson
Tune in to #AEWDynamite LIVE on TBS! pic.twitter.com/GBP3DaSu1k— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 9, 2023
Is Bryan Danielson Leaving AEW?
On the first episode of Dynamite after Revolution, AEW aired a promo from Bryan Danielson, filmed immediately following his clash with MJF. In the clip, an exhausted and broken Danielson said it was time for him to go home.
The promo sparked speculation over the star’s future, as he has previously admitted that his time as a full-time wrestler is coming to an end.
Speaking in his first interview since the promo aired, Danielson said that he is in a “ton of pain” and could barely lift his arm.