AEW Revolution headlined by an exploding barbed wire death match has become the highest-grossing non-WWE U.S.-based wrestling pay-per-view since 1999.
The pay-per-view took place on March 7th with Kenny Omega defending the AEW Title against Jon Moxley in the controversial main event. The match attracted ridicule in some quarters for the promised ‘exploding ring’ turning out to be a damp squib. AEW has explained in storyline that Omega had built all the components for the death match. Additionally, it may have been a psychological ruse on the part of him and Don Callis for no real explosion to take place.
The event was also notable for WWE Hall Of Famer Sting wrestling his first match in over five years. The Icon would team with TNT Champion Darby Allin in a cinematically filmed street fight. The duo would defeat Brian Cage and Ricky Starks of Team Taz.
The Wrestling Observer has reported that the event has grossed more pay-per-view revenue than any other non-WWE event in the U.S. in 22 years. This timeframe includes the last two years of World Championship Wrestling as well as the entirety of TNA.
The report states that the event has grossed more than $6 million, although this number could rise to almost $7 million. AEW would be due close to 50 percent of that revenue, making it a lucrative night for the company.
The report also notes that streaming numbers on B/R Live were up by over 50 percent from the Full Gear event in November. Full Gear was headlined by Jon Moxley defending his AEW Title against Eddie Kingston in an I Quit match. The streaming numbers are reported to be the highest of any AEW show in the company’s short history.
Internationally, the report states that the event was a success. With streaming number having a purported increase of anywhere between 20 and 40 percent from the last show.
All Elite Wrestling will no doubt be hoping they can build on the success of AEW Revolution. The company returns to pay-per-view on May 29th, 2021 with the third annual Double Or Nothing event.