The exploding barbed wire deathmatch at AEW Revolution was the first of its kind for a nationally televised promotion.
Given the danger of the match, AEW made sure to that proper precautions when it came to protection, which included putting referee Bryce Remsburg in a hazmat suit.
Speaking on The Zebra Talk podcast, Remsburg discussed when he found out about the gig.
"For safety reasons, it had to be decided who was going to referee that match three weeks in advance because we had to go to a safety training, get fitted for the suit, and understand the ins and outs of the execution. Three weeks in advance, Paul [Turner] said, 'Do you want to do this?' I didn't ask to do it, but I was like, 'Yeah.' Maybe I'm more animated in the ring and that lends itself well to exploding barbed wire, whatever. I don't know what the reason was. I had to go to the meeting with the production guys, the pyro guys, [Jon Moxley], Kenny [Omega], Tony [Khan], and learn how this was going to work. Then, I had to get fitted for a hazmat suit," said Remsburg.
When asked how he felt once he saw himself in the suit, Remsburg replied, "I get paid for this? People actually watch this? Tony knew about it and okay'd the suit. I do remember putting it on, walking into the locker room, and Mox just goes, 'WOAH!' There was part of it for him when he saw me for the first time like, 'Aw, we're doing this. We're really leaning into this.' Kenny was intricate to how this was connected and he okay'd the suit. If we're going to do this and do it for the World Title in the main event, we're going to do it all the way."
While the actual match went off without a hitch, the post-match explosion was a dud.
Tony Khan revealed that he got a refund for the lack of explosion at the end. You can find his full comments on the dud by clicking here.
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