Why AEW's 1st Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match Was Such A Disaster
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Highlights
- The AEW World Championship match between Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley at AEW Revolution 2021 did not end with the expected massive explosion in the exploding barbed wire death match.
- The match was a violent and bloody war, with Omega ultimately retaining the title with interference from Don Callis and The Good Brothers.
- The disappointing ending of the match was due to mismanagement and has become a famous mishap in AEW, even being joked about in their video game.
Professional wrestling has seen a variety of different gimmick matches used throughout the years. They have varied from company to company, with different stipulations used when the occasion called for it. Of these is the concept of the death match, which is a hardcore based stipulation that can employ a number of different weapons in. At AEW Revolution 2021, Kenny Omega put his AEW World Championship on the line against Jon Moxley in an exploding barbed wire death match. The two already had a lot of history with each other in the company and this was another encounter between two of AEW’s biggest main event competitors. However, the ending of the match did not go off with the massive explosion that many had anticipated to see.
RELATED: 5 Biggest Allies Of Jon Moxley's Wrestling Career (& 5 Biggest Enemies)
The Lead-Up To Jon Moxley Vs. Kenny Omega At AEW Revolution
In the build up to Moxley and Omega’s encounter at Revolution 2021, fans had witnessed Omega go through his first heel turn in AEW. After losing the AEW World Tag Team Titles with Adam Page to FTR, Omega set his focus on the AEW World Title. He won a number one contender’s tournament for the AEW World Title, with a championship match against Jon Moxley, the company’s second-ever world champion, to take place at the Dynamite: Winter Is Coming special. With aid from Don Callis, Omega turned heel and captured the title.
A rematch for AEW’s top prize in the men’s division was scheduled to take place at Revolution in 2021. Airing from Daily’s Place, the rest of the card featured a number of fantastic matches. This included The Young Bucks defending their AEW World Tag Team Titles against Chris Jericho and MJF, Hikaru Shida defending her AEW Women’s World Title against Ryo Mizunami, and Scorpio Sky winning the Face Of The Revolution Ladder match. It also featured the AEW debuts of Christian Cage and Ethan Page. Omega and Moxley squared off in the main event of the evening.
RELATED: 10 Best Matches In AEW Revolution History, Ranked
The End Of The Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match Went Wrong
The ring was set up with barbed wire wrapped around the ropes. The referee for the match sported a white hazmat suit with a face shield. In addition, there were a number of other weapons provided for the match that had barbed wire on them. Omega traded out his traditional tights for jeans and an event t-shirt for the match. Moxley also wore jeans and a t-shirt as well. The two went back and forth in a bloody and violent war with each other. However, the odds were not in Moxley’s favor. With interference from Callis as well as The Good Brothers, Omega was able to successfully retain the title.
The end of the match saw a defeated Moxley in the ring handcuffed. As Omega celebrated, sirens went off and a timer was counting down. Then, Eddie Kingston was running out to go and protect Moxley. While The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny tried to stop him, Kingston went to the ring and tried to get the handcuffs off of him. However, he could not. Everyone had cleared from the ringside area. With Moxley unconscious and unable to move, Kingston shielded him and covered his head. Everyone was expecting to see a grand and large explosion take place at the end of the match. However, this is not what happened. Instead, once the timer hit one, fans witnessed one brief pop of explosion.
Reactions To The Exploding Barbed Wire Death Match Failure
When this happened, fans online reacted questioning what exactly had happened. Many were disappointed by the ending, especially because there was so much praise for everything that had happened in the match prior and for the show as a whole.
Speaking with Renee Paquette on The Sessions, Kenny Omega himself spoke on the ending of the match and the reaction to it. Initially, Omega had thought that it had to do with a wind tunnel as a result of AEW shows taking place in a half open air arena. However, that was not the case. It was actually due to mismanagement on the part of the person who was responsible for executing the explosion.
RELATED: 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About AEW's Kenny Omega
In the world of professional wrestling, as with anything, things can go wrong or unexpected at any point. The explosion has since become one of AEW’s most famous mishaps, however, it is one that many also look back on and joke about as well. For instance, in AEW’s first console game, AEW: Fight Forever, fans can have an exploding barbed wire death match with two options of a finish. One with the real life ending and one with a massive explosion.
