The Revival (professional wrestling)

NXT (2014–2017)

In 2014, after returning from injury, Scott Dawson teamed up with a debuting Dash Wilder with the two performing extensively at live events under the name The Mechanics. The two made their debut on the July 17, 2014 episode of NXT, losing to the team of Bull Dempsey and Mojo Rawley. They made only one further televised appearance in 2014, losing to Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady on the October 23 episode of NXT, but continued to wrestle extensively at house shows.

The duo resurfaced and picked up their first televised win on the July 29, 2015 episode of NXT, defeating Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady. They were involved in an 8-man tag-team match that was taped prior to NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn. At NXT TakeOver: Respect, Dash and Dawson were defeated in the semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic by eventual winners Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe. On the October 21 episode of NXT, The Mechanics' ring name was changed to Dash and Dawson. On the October 28 episode of NXT, Dash and Dawson would attack Enzo and Cass before their match, completely laying out Enzo while decimating Cass' knee, leaving him unable to compete.^[3] Due to an earlier non-title victory over NXT Tag Team Champions The Vaudevillains, Dash and Dawson earned a title match on the November 11 episode of NXT, and won the match to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions for the first time. They made their first successful title defense two weeks later, defeating The Vaudevillians in a rematch.^[4] Afterwards, they successfully defended their titles against Amore and Cassady at NXT TakeOver: London. Beginning in February 2016, Dash and Dawson began performing under the team name The Revival.^[5]

On February 23, 2016, The Revival attacked Enzo Amore outside the WWE Performance Center.^[6] The team made their first appearance on WWE's main roster at Roadblock, successfully defending their championships against Amore and Cassady. On April 1 at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, The Revival lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan).^[7] On June 8 at NXT TakeOver: The End, The Revival regained the titles from American Alpha, thus becoming the first team to gain the NXT Tag Team Championship twice.^[8] On the July 6 episode of NXT, The Revival defeated American Alpha in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain the titles. At NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, the champions retained their titles over Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano. In a rematch against Ciampa and Gargano (now called #DIY) at NXT TakeOver: Toronto, The Revival would lose their tag team titles in a two-out-of-three falls match after scoring the first fall via pinfall. The match was later named "WWE Match of the Year" for 2016.^[9] At NXT TakeOver: Orlando, The Revival would lose to The Authors of Pain in a triple threat elimination match for the NXT Tag Team titles that also featured #DIY.

Dawson (left) and Wilder (right) in September 2016

Raw (2017–present)

On the April 3 episode of Raw, after WrestleMania 33, The Revival answered an open challenge issued by The New Day. They defeated The New Day, after which they attacked Kofi Kingston, who was not participating in the match. They defeated The New Day once again the following week on Raw. On April 14, Wilder subsequently suffered a fractured jaw during an NXT live event, and was estimated to be out for eight weeks, putting the team on a temporary hiatus.^[10] Wilder returned eight weeks later, walking backstage during the attack on Enzo Amore. Over the following weeks, Big Cass would accuse The Revival, among other suspects, of attacking Enzo. Big Cass would later be mysteriously attacked backstage, this time accusing the Big Show as the suspect. On the June 19, 2017 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Cass was the one who attacked Enzo after faking his attack to lure suspicion away that he was the attacker, with The Revival stating their alibi of being innocent. On the July 10 episode of Raw, The Revival attacked The Hardy Boyz after their match with Gallows and Anderson, and became embroiled in a three-way feud between themselves, The Hardys, and Gallows and Anderson; however, shortly afterwards, Dawson suffered a ruptured bicep, putting him out of action for an estimated five months and bringing the feud to an abrupt end. The duo returned again on the December 18 episode of Raw, defeating Heath Slater and Rhyno. On Raw 25, The Revival lost to Gallows and Anderson, marking their first defeat on the main roster. After the match, they were attacked by D-Generation X, Finn Bálor, Gallows and Anderson. On the Royal Rumble pre-show, The Revival defeated Gallows and Anderson. On September 3 episode or Raw The Revival and the other Raw superstars help to get rid of The Shield off Strowman, Ziggler and McIntyre. The Revival were attacked by Ziggler and McIntyre, turning face in the process, and they couldn't compete for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship.