Rampage
Date: December 16, 2022
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re almost done with the year and the interesting point here came from Tony Khan, who promised to put in some more effort on this show. I’m not sure what that is going to mean, but the card certainly does look to be a bit bigger than usual. That might not last beyond a week or two, but I’ll take what I can get. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara

Tay Melo is here too. Guevara knees him in the face to start and bites away in the corner. That earns Guevara a clothesline to the floor as we see Daniel Garcia, now under Guevara’s tutelage, watching in the back. Moxley is happy with fighting outside and loads up a chair, only to be sent back inside. That’s fine with Moxley, who grabs a jumping cutter into a superplex for two.

Guevara manages to backflip over him though and hits a dropkick out to the floor. A hard stomp on the apron puts Moxley on the floor and we take a break. Back with Moxley bleeding from the ear (EESH) thanks to Guevara ripping out his earring (e pluribus gads). Melo gets to rub the blood around a bit but the pause for a kiss lets Moxley dive onto Guevara.

Moxley hammers away in the corner but Guevara is right back with his own Walls of Jericho. With that broken up, Guevara fires off forearms to the bloody ears but Moxley channels his inner Seth Rollins with a Stomp for two of his own. They head outside again with Guevara nailing a superkick, setting up the Swanton through a table.

Back in and Moxley rolls through a high crossbody, allowing him to stomp away. The piledriver gets two and Moxley bulldog chokes Guevara, who rolls his way out. Moxley’s huge clothesline doesn’t do much to Guevara, who hits his own Death Rider. Another Swanton (no table this time) gives Guevara two more and he hits a super Spanish Fly. Without wasting half a second, Moxley reverses into the bulldog choke for the win at 15:33.

Rating: B-. It was a hard hitting brawl, but it’s a lot to take with Moxley popping up from a Swanton through a table, plus the super Spanish Fly, with almost no damage. That’s some pretty ridiculous no selling as they kept trying to pump in more and more spots. The match was entertaining, but there were multiple times where I was wondering when they were going to bother slowing down.

Post match Moxley calls out Hangman Page for the fight so here he is. The brawl is on with security breaking it up, only to have Page accidentally Buckshot lariat a guard. That’s enough for them to be split up.

Saraya is looking forward to Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida but is more looking forward to having a mystery tag partner in Los Angeles.

Here is a banged up FTR in the ring for a chat. Final Battle was rough after the beating that they took but it felt like they let the fans down. Harwood talks about how they tried to make people feel a certain way at Final Battle…but then the Gunn Club ruined that. That’s why on Dynamite, it’s time for FTR to give them the beating that their daddy should have.

Jade Cargill isn’t pleased with the Baddies, but she’s even madder at Bow Wow, because THAT story is still going.

Britt Baker vs. Skye Blue

Baker has Rebel and Jamie Hayter with her. They go to the mat to start but Blue is up with an armdrag. Blue’s rollup into a low superkick has Baker in more trouble as we take a break. Back with Baker hitting a Sling Blade into a double underhook spun into a slam for two of her own. Code Blue misses though and a Stomp gives Baker the pin at 6:14. Not enough shown to rate, but the criticisms of the women’s matches being missed because of a break continue to have some validity.

Post match the beating continues but Hikaru Shida runs in for the save. Shida and Hayter have a staredown.

We get a sitdown interview between Preston Vance and Jim Ross. Vance talks about how it was ridiculous to beholden to a kid. Yeah Negative One went through something horrible, but now he has turned into a brat.

Wardlow vs. Exodus Prime

Prime tries a headbutt and gets a glare as a result. The wind up clothesline sets up a four movement Powerbomb Symphony for the pin at 2:03. This was a Wardlow match.

Post match Wardlow calls out Samoa Joe, who pops up on screen to say he won’t be facing Wardlow in Texas. Instead, he’ll do it on December 28 in Colorado.

Trent Seven, Kip Sabian, Butcher and the Blade are ready for Dustin Rhodes, Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends. Violence is promised but the good guys mock Blade for his phone number joke.

Best Friends/Orange Cassidy/Dustin Rhodes vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian/Trent Seven

Danhausen is here with the good guys. Beretta and Sabian start things off but Seven wants to come in instead. The Trents strike it out until everything breaks down, with Bunny and Penelope Ford showing up to block Cassidy’s dive. Back in and Beretta gets thrown into a boot from Blade as we take a break.

We come back with Dustin getting the hot tag and cleaning house with a series of powerslams. Seven splashes Sabian by mistake and Dustin gets to fire off so many shots to the face that Seven is beaten into a six. Beretta gets to clean house but we pause for a hug with Trent. Now the stereo flip dives can take out most of the villains, but Sabian’s springboard Arabian moonsault connects.

There’s Rhodes’ running apron flip dive so the women get in, with Danhausen and Cassidy dropping down and claiming low blows, which is enough for a double ejection. Sabian hits Danhausen low for real and Seven hits a super spinning slam for two on Beretta. Dustin comes back in with a Canadian Destroyer on Sabian, allowing Cassidy to lazy Unnatural Kick Sabian. The distracted referee misses the real thing and it’s an Orange Punch into the bulldog to finish Seven at 10:47.

Rating: C. This could have been on any given house show and it would have worked out fine. The Danhausen/Cassidy faking it spot was funny (the two of them shaking hands behind the referee’s back was great) and Dustin gets to send the fans how happy. It was a perfectly entertaining eight man tag and sometimes that’s all you need a match to be.

Overall Rating: C+. As has been the case with Rampage for a pretty long time now, the first fifteen minutes were rather good, but then the importance falls through the floor. Rampage still doesn’t feel like it matters for the most part and while putting people like Moxley on the she helps for fifteen minutes, there are some big holes that need to be filled in around here sooner than later. The wrestling was entertaining, but it doesn’t feel like any of this matters and that’s where the problem begins.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Sammy Guevara – Bulldog choke
Britt Baker b. Skye Blue – Stomp
Wardlow b. Exodus Prime – Powerbomb Symphony
Dustin Rhodes/Orange Cassidy/Best Friends b. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian/Trent Seven – Bulldog to Seven

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Rampage
Date: December 9, 2022
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We are a day away from Ring Of Honor Final Battle and odds are we are going to be seeing some of the very last build to the show. Other than that we have what should be a heck of a match between Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jon Moxley and Orange Cassidy defending the All-Atlantic Title against a mystery challenger. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Moxley takes him down by the arm to start before it’s time to stand and trade chops. With that not working, Moxley bites Takeshita’s head in the corner and then chops some more. With Don Callis watching, Takeshita sends him outside and over the barricade as we take a break. Back with Moxley (bleeding, believe it or not) getting two off a piledriver but getting caught with a heck of a clothesline.

Takeshita sends him to the apron, setting up a slingshot DDT for two back inside. What looked like a Blue Thunder Bomb is countered into Moxley’s failed Kimura attempt. Instead they slug it out again with the Paradigm Shift being reversed into a knee to the head. Takeshita’s brainbuster gets a rather close two and gives a woman in the crowd an amazing stunned face.

Moxley is able to shove him off the top but now the Blue Thunder Bomb can connect for two. A bridging German suplex gets the same but Takeshita’s frog splash hits raised knees. The hammer and anvil elbows rock Takeshita and the Death Rider gives Moxley….one. The stunned Moxley steals the jumping knee for two of his own but gets his head stomped in. Somehow Moxley manages to kick Takeshita from the mat and hammers him down into the bulldog choke for the tap at 14:01.

Rating: B. These two beat on each other for a good while and it was a blast throughout. They didn’t bother trying for anything here other than a physical fight and it worked very well. Moxley’s bleeding is a running joke at this point, but it made him feel more like a fighter here and that was a great thing to see.

Post match here is Hangman Page to say he’s feeling nuts here and the fight is on. They go to the floor until security breaks it up.

Powerhouse Hobbs walks the streets of Oakland at night and talks about bleeding on the ground. He is going to take everything you hold dear.

We look at Hook debuting a year ago.

Stokely Hathaway shows us the Keisha Zapruder Film, which shows Hook’s foot NOT being underneath the bottom rope. With that out of the way, Stokely asks Keisha to Waffle House because he still has some MJF money. Hathaway is still hilarious.

Regina Di Wave Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Bunny

Shida is defending a Japanese title and Penelope Ford is with Bunny. For a bonus, Jamie Hayter says the winner gets an AEW Women’s Title match. They lock up as Tony explains that tomorrow’s college football schedule is lame so we should watch wrestling instead. Shida forearms away to start and slams Bunny down but misses a springboard knee. Bunny grabs the choke over the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Shida hitting her own Down The Rabbit Hole but Ford throws in a kendo stick to distract the referee. Shida goes to yell but then hits the jumping knee to Bunny. A Meteora off the apron sets up a Michinoku Driver for two on Bunny back inside. Not that it matters as Shida hits the Katana for the pin at 7:28.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what this being for a title added as fighting for a title shot should be enough. Other than that, there was no reason to believe that Bunny was a threat to beat Shida, even with Ford around. Shida is a star and someone who runs through a lot of people, which is all she should have done here. There was barely a sweat broken and there was no reason for that to happen.

Post match Jamie Hayter comes out for the staredown.

Video on Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez, who have history dating back to Shimmer.

The Firm vs. Clayton Bloodstone/Izzy James

That would be Lee Moriarty/Big Bill (which might be a better name than W. Morrissey) handling the destruction here. Moriarty ties up Bloodstone’s leg and James’ arm at the same time but gets kicked into the corner. Bill comes in to wreck people and Bloodstone is sent to the floor. Moriarty dives onto Bloodstone and Bill chokeslams James for the pin at 2:03. Standard squash.

After Dynamite, FTR was asked about the Briscoes’ challenge for Final Battle and yeah, they’re in.

Ortiz and Eddie Kingston want the House Of Black.

Kip Sabian has a friend to take out Orange Cassidy. Danhausen tries to steal Mark Henry’s catchphrase but thinks Henry is the thief.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows, including four matches added to the Zero Hour show.

Shane Taylor and JD Griffey are ready for Swerve In Our Glory.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. ???

Cassidy is defending against…Trent Seven, who has Kip Sabian and the Bunny to counter Danhausen/Best Friends. Seven chops away to start and then slams him down when Cassidy offers a thumbs up. Cassidy is sent outside and goes after Sabian, allowing Seven to chop him again. A hard shot drops Seven for a change and a glare sends Ford to the back. Seven gives Cassidy a DDT as Ford comes back with Bunny, Butcher and Blade as we now have eight extra people involved in this match. A bunch of them brawl to the back and we take a break.

Back with Seven hitting a suplex for two and backhanding him out to the floor. Seven accidentally takes out Sabian so Cassidy drops Seven for a bonus. Back in and Seven suplexes him again but gets caught with the Stundog Millionaire. The tornado DDT is blocked (as usual at first) so Seven grabs Emerald Flosion for two.

The Seven Star Lariat is blocked, leaving Seven to steal Tyler Bate’s Bop and Bang. A hard lariat gives Seven two but Beach Break doesn’t work for Cassidy. The tornado DDT connects this time around though so Seven has to punch him out of the air. Seven’s spinning piledriver gets another near fall but Cassidy counters the Birminghammer into a rollup. The Orange Punch and Beach Break retain the title at 12:53.

Rating: B-. This got better once they got rid of so many of the extra people on the floor and let the two guys get in there and have a back and forth match. It was what Cassidy does best, in that he got to do his usual stuff as the fans were thrilled. Seven was a nice surprise as he has enough name value to mean something, but I don’t know if he would be able to become a major star around here.

Post match the beating is on with Sabian being just fine, only to have Dustin Rhodes make the save. Posing ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Maybe last week’s show spooked AEW a bit but this did feel like a slightly bigger show. What mattered here was having a pair of matches but also keeping the energy up. The Austin crowd was on fire here and it was a great way to boost up the show. Moxley vs. Takeshita and the main event were both very good and nothing in the middle dragged it down, so we’ll call this a rather solid show.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Konosuke Takeshita – Bulldog choke
Hikaru Shida b. Bunny – Katana
The Firm b. Clayton Bloodstone/Izzy James – Chokeslam to James
Orange Cassidy b. Trent Seven – Beach Break

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: December 2, 2022
Location: Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are eight days away from Final Battle and the card is in need of some work. There are a few matches set but nowhere near enough to carry a full pay per view. Maybe we can get something new added tonight, but you never can tell with this show. At least the wrestling tends to be fun so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Cole Karter

Before the match, Allin beats up Nick Comoroto with the baseball bat to cut him off. With that not being enough, Allin dives onto Karter on the floor but an apron powerbomb cuts him off. Back in and a buckle bomb rocks Allin again as we take a break. We come back with Karter missing a Stinger’s Splash but hitting a jumping knee to the face. Allin goes after the knee though and grabs a Code Red for two, leaving them both down. Karter drops him again and goes up, only to miss a 450. A hammerlock Scorpion Death Drop sets up the Coffin Drop to finish Karter at 7:41.

Rating: C+. Well they certainly did get rid of the loose end from a bad segment from a few weeks ago. Karter is the definition of “I’m not sure why he’s here”, as he has a good physique and nothing else that makes him stand out in any way. He’s certainly ok, but bringing him in felt like just an excuse to sign someone else. Pretty decent match though, as Allin does his signature style and as usual, it works.

Keith Lee is in the back when his former partner Shane Taylor comes in to interrupt. Taylor accuses Lee of always walking away, so let’s do it at Final Battle: Taylor/JD Griffey vs. Lee and whomever he can find. Taylor leaves and a grinning Swerve Strickland comes in. Lee hopes he can trust him. Why Taylor didn’t want to do this one on one isn’t clear, but having Taylor around is a good thing.

We recap 10 turning his back on the Dark Order and joining Rush last week. The Dark Order is crushed and La Faccion Ingobernable is rather pleased.

Here is the Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, for a chat. After a rap of various topical statements, Bowens talks about how everyone wants a title shot, but there is one team that has been waiting for a very long time to get a chance. The fans think that might be FTR and since the Acclaimed are fighting champions…..and here is the Gunn Club to interrupt. The Gunns don’t think much of the champs but Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh interrupt. The villains argue but Billy cuts them off, saying they want the best. Cue FTR for the handshake with the Acclaimed and a match seems set.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. the Bunny, who will face off next week for Shida’s Regina Di Wave Title next week.

Private Party vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett

Singh, Dutt and Matt Hardy are here too. As commentary reminds us that Jeff Jarrett last wrestled on TNT 21 years ago, Kassidy flips out of Lethal’s headlock and armdrags him down. That earns Kassidy a trip into the corner so Jarrett can come in to stomp away. Jarrett gets taken into the corner as well and it’s time to start in on the arm. As the seconds get in a staredown on the floor, Kassidy is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Quen getting the hot tag to clean house, including a suicide dive to Jarrett on the floor. There’s the Silly String to Lethal but he avoids the 450. Quen is fine enough to grab a rollup but Jarrett makes the save, setting up a Stroke/Lethal Injection combination for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C. So we have Lethal and Jarrett having a perfectly competent tag match that wasn’t much in the way of interesting and probably drew more TNA chants than AEW would like. I’m still not sure why Jarrett is wrestling on this or any AEW show, but it had been a full 21 years since he had wrestled on this channel and thankfully that has been rectified.

Saraya sits down with Renee Paquette and still can’t believe that she got back in the ring at Full Gear. She was amazed that her brother could be there for the match and will be back in the ring soon. Not much to say here.

Athena vs. Dani Mo

Athena decks her to start and hits Two Amigos into a swinging neckbreaker for two. Mo’s superkick has no effect so Athena forearms her in the face, setting up the over the shoulder backbreaker spun into a Codebreaker for the pin at 1:27. Total squash to get Athena ready for her ROH Women’s Title match at Final Battle.

Post match Athena sends her out to the floor and beats her up some more. This is FAR better from Athena than whatever she was doing before.

Juice Robinson wants Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title at Final Battle. There’s your “you know this guy and now he’s getting a random title match” random title match.

The Factory is ready for the lumberjack match with Orange Cassidy. The Best Friends, dressed as lumberjacks, seem to be more ready.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, including FTR vs. the Acclaimed for the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite.

Darby Allin wants the TNT Title and gets a shot on Dynamite, with promises of no Sting.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. QT Marshall

Cassidy is defending in a lumberjack match…but the Best Friends and Danhausen can’t bring their axes to the ring. Eh they’re lumberjacks and they’re ok without them. Cassidy starts fast with the dropkick and Marshall is on the floor ten seconds in. The Best Friends throw him back inside, where he throws Cassidy outside too. That earns the Factory some lazy kicks but Marshall pulls Cassidy’s high crossbody out of the air back inside. Some backbreakers drop Cassidy and he gets thrown outside again.

Hold on though as Ethan Page stares at Matt Hardy and then ejects him. Does he have lumberjack rights over Hardy too? We take a break and come back with the lumberjacks coming in and getting cleared out. The distraction lets Marshall hit a handspring enziguri, only to get caught with the Stundog Millionaire.

A pop up right hand rocks Cassidy but he’s fine enough to hurricanrana his way out of a powerbomb. Marshall loads up a powerbomb on the apron but gets cursed by Danhausen. Another lumberjack brawl breaks out on the floor, leaving Cassidy to hit a heck of a springboard dive. Cue Penelope Ford (JR approves) for a distraction so Kip Sabian can push Cassidy into a cutter for two. Not that it matters as the Beach Break retains the title at 9:32.

Rating: C+. Fun match, but nothing that Cassidy hasn’t done before. The stuff with the lumberjacks was the usual for a match like this but I’m not exactly going to get excited over the prospects of Kip Sabian getting a title match. Fine for a Rampage main event, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Cassidy goes after Sabian, because it’s his turn to be reheated again. Everyone brawls until the lights go out and the House of Black appears. Carnage ensues and the House stands tall to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Rampage is an interesting subject, as the wrestling is usually completely watchable, but you need to accept that most of it means absolutely nothing. This show’s goal tends to be to set up things for either Dynamite or the next pay per view, which doesn’t exactly seem to be the best use of one third of your weekly television time. We got some stuff set up for next week’s Dynamite/Rampage/Final Battle and if that is what Rampage is for, good for it. I’m not sure if that’s the best use of the show, but I guess you can call it a direction. Maybe?

Results
Darby Allin b. Cole Karter – Coffin Drop
Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal b. Private Party – Lethal Injection/Stroke combination to Quen
Athena b. Dani Mo – Backbreaker spun into a Codebreaker
Darby Allin b. QT Marshall – Beach Break

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: November 18, 2022
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and the show has quite a bit set up in advance. The main story is advancing a tournament whose finals have been moved from Full Gear to next week, which is the best option that AEW had all things considered. Other than that, we have a special guest star so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Ricky Starks vs. Lance Archer

We start in the back (as originally planned and with Starks in street clothes) with the two of them taking turns sending each other into a metal garage door. Archer sends a backstage worker into a bunch of chairs and now they head into the arena, with Archer dragging him towards the ring. A right hand knocks Starks most of the way over a barricade and they go into the crowd with Starks diving onto him. They get to ringside, where Archer runs him over and leaves Starks rocked.

They’re finally inside for the opening bell, with Starks hammering away and clotheslining him over the top. The chokeslam onto the apron plants Starks though and we take a break. Back with Starks hitting a top rope shoulder and a tornado DDT, only to have Archer blast him down with a lariat for two. A second tornado DDT gives Starks two but the Roshambo is blocked. Archer loads up a Pounce but Starks dives over, setting up a spear straight into a rollup (Jericho sounded really impressed) to pin Archer at 5:25.

Rating: C. The ending alone was cool to see and they were going rather quickly throughout the whole thing. It’s good to see Starks getting a win and now he has to take out another monster in Brian Cage at the Zero House show tomorrow. Archer is a dragon to be slain and they both did this rather well.

Post match Brian Cage and Prince Nana come out for a distraction, allowing Archer to chokeslam Starks onto the steps.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. MJF, who have a long history together but Moxley isn’t afraid.

Chris Jericho is ready for the Blackpool Combat Club to implode at Full Gear so he can retain the Ring Of Honor World Title. With Jericho gone, Sammy Guevara says he isn’t sure about that.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is challenging and has Stokely Hathaway with him. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get the better of the grappling. Hook takes him down with a waistlock and goes for the arm. That’s switched into a kind of bow and arrow hold but Moriarty is right back up. That’s fine with Hook, who flips out of a hiptoss and drops Moriarty again. A Hathaway distraction lets Moriarty kick Hook down though and we take a break.

Back with Hook blocking a crossface shot and hitting a hard clothesline. There’s an STO into a fisherman’s toss to have Moriarty in even more trouble. Moriarty manages to grab a quick Kimura though, sending Hook straight to the ropes. The Border City Stretch goes on instead but Hook slips out and reverses into Redrum for the win at 8:37.

Rating: C. Hook is getting better in the ring every time and it is a good sign that he is able to last these longer matches instead of a short squash. Being able to hang technically with someone like Moriarty is impressive as well and now we are well on our way to Hook turning into something other than quick wins. That’s quite the success and well done on turning him into a thing.

We recap John Silver costing Rush his #1 contenders tournament match last week.

Jose the Assistant and Rush yell at the Dark Order, including Silver. Several insults seem to set up a match.

Athena vs. Madison Rayne

Before the match, Rayne talks about how she doesn’t like the disrespect Athena has been showing after her matches. The inset promo goes on so long that we miss Athena dropkicking Rayne during her entrance as they start fast. Thankfully we see the replay as Rayne fights back and knocks her outside. That’s fine with Athena, who picks her up for an easy swing and then takes it back inside. Athena grabs a suplex but Rayne reverses it into a DDT for the double knockdown. Back up and CrossRayne is countered into a flipping Stunner. An over the shoulder backbreaker spun into a Codebreaker finishes Rayne at 2:48.

Post match Athena punches out Aubrey Edwards and grabs a Crossface. Cue the returning Mercedes Martinez for the save.

We look back at Danhausen costing Lee Johnson last week.

The Best Friends and the Factory have a staredown with Best Friends showing them a video of Danhausen….playing with teeth. A ten man tag is set for Full Gear.

The House Of Black is still ready to come back and destroy everything. The team is shown beating up a lot of people as we hear what sounds to be a prayer for their success.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz are ready for Konosuke Takeshita and Jun Akiyama. Kingston’s dream match is Akiyama so this is a big deal for him.

Full Gear rundown.

Eddie Kingston/Ortiz vs. Jun Akiyama/Konosuke Takeshita

Eddie shoves Takeshita around to start and snaps off a belly to belly. Ortiz comes in to work on the arm, even as Kingston runs over to elbow Akiyama in the head. Takeshita breaks that up and brings in Akiyama, who kicks Kingston off the apron. A piledriver gets two on Ortiz and Kingston comes in for the glaring breakup. Ortiz gets dropped with a belly to back suplex/running clothesline combination for two and we take a break.

Back with Kingston fighting both of them off, setting up a DDT for two on Takeshita. They knock each other down and it’s a double tag to bring in Akiyama and Ortiz. A jumping knee drops Ortiz but Kingston comes in to strike it out with Akiyama. Everything breaks down and Kingston grabs a suplex on Takeshita to leave all four down. They knock each other down again until Akiyama exploders Ortiz for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure how much this match needed to take place but for a one off Rampage main event, it worked out well enough. Akiyama is a legend and it was certainly a big deal for Kingston to get to face him, even if it was in a nothing tag match on the B show. There wasn’t much Kingston vs. Akiyama and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a singles match take place somewhere.

Overall Rating: C. This was another show where it felt like they could have done some more stuff for the pay per view but instead we got a tournament match and a bunch of unrelated stuff. For the life of me I don’t get why AEW treats this show as a place where they can just throw whatever on there but that is what most of Rampage feels like. Pretty weak show this time, but the main event was good. Not exactly important in any way, but good.

Results
Ricky Starks b. Lance Archer – Spear into a rollup
Hook b. Lee Moriarty – Redrum
Athena b. Madison Rayne – Codebreaker
Jun Akiyama/Konosuke Takeshita b. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz – Exploder suplex to Ortiz

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: November 11, 2022
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Well there’s no Mike Tyson this week so we’re already on a downgrade. The Full Gear Tournament continues this week and that means we’ll be getting to see what they have planned for the next round. Other than that, Jungle Boy is here for a challenge to Luchasaurus, which he announced on Dynamite instead of just making the challenge there for whatever reason. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus to answer Jungle Boy’s challenge, which he wants to give in person. Cue Jungle Boy, who Christian thinks must be from Boston because he’s such a loser. Christian talks about how the two of them have beaten Jungle Boy multiple times and Jungle Boy says they have cost him everything. He is tired of the interference so at Full Gear, he’ll fight Luchasaurus inside a steel cage.

Christian says but Jungle Boy better be glad that he has his father’s good looks. That’s enough for Jungle Boy to go for the throat, so Luchasaurus beats him down and hits a chokeslam onto an open chair. The match seems to be on. Kind of a weird way to start the show but I’ll take it over rushing right to a bell for a match.

Pac pitches the idea of cheating to the Lucha Bros because they need to keep the Trios Titles by any means necessary. The Bros leave but don’t seem sold on the philosophy.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Brian Cage vs. Dante Martin

Cage has Prince Nana with him. Martin slugs away in the corner to start which goes as well as you might have guessed. Some jumping enziguris stagger Cage but he is fine enough to pull a diving Martin out of the air. The curls don’t quite work for Cage so Martin kicks at the leg. A dropkick sends Cage outside, where he catches Martin’s dive and hits a suplex as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a tilt-a-whirl slam for two but the F10 is countered into a DDT to put them both down. Martin’s springboard high crossbody drops Cage again and a missed charge sends Cage to the floor. The really big springboard dive hits Cage again, setting up a frog splash for two. A 450 misses though and Cage plants him with a swinging full nelson slam for two of his own. Weapon X is enough to finish Martin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. The match had enough big spots, but you can almost feel Cage trying to get in the moves off his checklist most of the time he’s in the ring. Martin losing is becoming a repetitive theme and while it would be nice to see him get a win over someone like Cage, there was no way he was going anywhere of note in the tournament. It was a fun match though and that’s all you can ask for in a lot of situations.

Stokely Hathaway and Lee Moriarty are interrupted by Hook, seemingly setting up an FTW Title match.

Video on the House Of Black, who seem ready for a rebirth/return.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Bandido vs. Rush

Jose the Assistant is here with Rush, who takes Bandido down with a running flip dive before the bell. Rush sends him into the barricade again and grabs a cable cord before throwing Bandido inside for the opening bell. A running corner clothesline sets up the kick to the face, allowing Rush to backflip into the Tranquilo pose. We take a break and come back with Bandido hitting a Low Down for two (and yes, the Eddie Dance). Three Amigos are broken up so Rush goes up for…kind of a flying pump kick, which seemed to have been improvised off something gone wrong (still worked so well done on the save).

Bandido fights up and starts the comeback, only to charge into a leg lariat for the double knockdown. Rush is up first with a piledriver for two so let’s go with a chair. The distraction lets Jose go for the mask but cue John Silver (having issues with Rush as of late) for the save. That’s enough for Bandido to grab a rollup for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, though the ending was a little lame by AEW standards. Bandido going forward is the right call as he has the potential to be quite the star and Rush is already dealing with the Dark Order. They work well together and it was a match that could have gone either way, which had me interested to the end. Solid stuff.

Earlier today, Jake Hager interrupted Claudio Castagnoli and tried to bury the hatchet but Castagnoli didn’t seem interested in jumping to the other side.

Nyla Rose vs. Kayla Sparks

Rose has Vickie Guerrero and Marina Shafir with her and is defending the TBS Title, which isn’t hers. A pump kick and elbow in the corner sets up Jaded to finish Sparks (complete with Jade Cargill’s signature pin) at 38 seconds.

Post match cue Jade Cargill and the Baddies to clear out Rose with the real pump kick. Rose and company still escape with the title.

The Factory is ready for Lee Johnson to win the All-Atlantic Title. Orange Cassidy and his friends don’t seem to think so. Cassidy whips out his own microphone to steal Mark Henry’s catchphrase in a funny bit but Henry cuts him off.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming show.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Lee Johnson

Cassidy is defending. They run the ropes to start until Cassidy shoulders him down for an early one. An armdrag drops Johnson, who misses an armdrag of his own, allowing Cassidy to hit the lazy kicks. A regular dropkick takes Kole Carter off the apron and Cassidy sends him into a variety of buckles. The Best Friends cut off QT Marshall but Nick Comoroto throws Cassidy into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy backdropping Johnson onto Comoroto on the floor. Cassidy busts out a springboard corkscrew dive but gets caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two back inside. Johnson throws Cassidy outside where Comoroto tries to interfere, only to get speared down by Trent. Chuck adds a big running flip dive, leaving Cassidy to miss the Orange Punch back inside. Some superkicks rock Cassidy but he’s right back with the Beach Break to retain at 7:53.

Rating: C+. It’s still nice to see AEW having figured out the exact right way to use Cassidy. This was a fun main event with low stakes for pretty much everyone involved, but Johnson and Cassidy were fighting over something and that made it feel valuable. They were working and got some other people involved to make it feel important. It’s a hard trick to pull off but it worked here.

Post match Carter goes after Cassidy and gets Orange Punched. The Big Hug….doesn’t end the show as Carter gets hugged as well. Then he gets triple bombed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The tournament matches helped a good bit here as they felt more important than most of the things that you see on Rampage. The show still feels firmly secondary, but it’s still a very easy hour to watch with the AEW stars. Dynamite is the serious show and this is the fun one, and if you don’t expect it to be the third hour of Dynamite, it’s fun to check out almost every week.

Results
Brian Cage b. Dante Martin – Weapon X
Bandido b. Rush – Rollup
Nyla Rose b. Kayla Sparks – Jaded
Orange Cassidy b. Lee Johnson – Beach Break

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Mike Tyson, Tony Schiavone

You might notice an interesting guest star here as Iron Mike Tyson is making another appearance for the company. I’m not sure how well that is going to go, but Tyson is likely going to bring some energy. The big match this week is a special appearance by Katsuyori Shibata as he challenges Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Mike Tyson gets a special entrance.

Video on Katsuyori Shibata, who hits people very hard and is back after what appeared to be a career ending injury.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Cassidy is defending. They stare each other down so Shibata grabs a headlock takeover. A headscissors gets Cassidy out of trouble before cranking on the ankle. Shibata misses the big kick to the head and gets forearmed off the apron, setting up the suicide dive. Back up and Shibata sends him into the barricade a few times, allowing the sitdown pose back inside. Cassidy shrugs it off and sends him into the barricade as well but they both have to dive back inside to beat the count.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy hitting a running corner dropkick and the lazy kicks for the mind games. The lazy superkick is blocked though and now Cassidy is willing to pick up the pace. Shibata cuts him off with an STO (as called by Tyson) and hits his own lazy kicks. That makes Cassidy sit down as well, with Shibata sitting right in front of him. Cassidy gently slaps him so Shibata BLASTS HIM with a forearm before unloading in the corner.

Back up and they knock each other down, allowing us to look at Tyson watching the match. It’s Cassidy up first with a running penalty kick so Shibata tells him to do it again. That’s what Cassidy does before more kicks have no effect. A big running kick manages to knock Cassidy do but Shibata is back up with something like an Orange Punch to knock Cassidy silly. The octopus goes on and they fall to the mat, where Cassidy gets his foot on the rope.

The Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble and he fires off some lazy Kawada kicks. Shibata is right back with a Death Valley Driver but Cassidy counters another one into a Stunner. The Beach Break gives Cassidy two and the Orange Punch….doesn’t actually knock Shibata down. Instead Shibata is up with the choke before suplexing Cassidy back down. The Penalty kick is loaded up but Cassidy pops to his feet for the Orange Punch to retain at 11:10.

Rating: B-. This is going to be an example of “your mileage may vary” and I’m not overly surprised. The match felt like something you see at a Wrestlemania weekend independent show with the question of “wouldn’t it be cool if these two faced each other?”. It was a completely fine way to go and I’m sure Shibata’s fans are happy to see him. Cassidy is one of the most oddball people around but he did well here and it was a bit of a treat, even if not what you would expect Shibata to do.

Respect is shown post match and Cassidy gives Shibata his sunglasses, while also cracking a smile.

That’s it for Tyson, making it a rather forgettable cameo, though he did sound happy to be there.

Toni Storm thinks Britt Baker is manipulating Jamie Hayter but she’ll be ready at Full Gear.

The Blackpool Combat Club isn’t happy with Chris Jericho going too far against Ring Of Honor. Why is he going after non-wrestlers like Ian Riccaboni? If Jericho wants to go after the Ring Of Honor World Champions, come after Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson. William Regal tells Jericho to make his choice.

Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker vs. Skye Blue/Madison Rayne

Rebel is here with the villains. Rayne takes Hayter into the corner to start and Blue cuts Hayter off with a raised boot. A high crossbody gives Blue two but Hayter cuts her off with a hot shot as we take a break. Back with Hayter and Blue knocking each other down, allowing Blue to kick Baker in the head as well for the tag off to Rayne.

House is cleaned and a neckbreaker gets two on Baker, followed by a cutter for a bonus. Hayter is back in with what looked like a chokebreaker to Rayne but Blue gives her a Backstabber. Baker kicks Blue down and hits the fisherman’s neckbreaker for two on Rayne. The villains hit stereo superkicks and Hayter adds the ripcord lariat for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. They kept this moving and the match wound up being a nice showcase for Hayter on the way to her title match. Hayter has impressed a lot in recent weeks and that very well could continue through Full Gear. Blue and Madison are good target practice who can still do fairly well in the ring, making this a completely acceptable match.

Post match Baker mocks Toni Storm and promises Hayter is winning the title at Full Gear. Cue Storm, who drops Rebel with one hand, beats up Baker and Thesz presses Hayter to start the brawl. As you would in any fight, Storm grabs a Texas Cloverleaf but Baker comes in with a belt shot to knock her silly. Hayter gets to hold up the title.

We look at Chris Jericho calling out Lamar Jackson on Dynamite, plus the Baltimore Ravens (Jackson’s team) tweeting a response to Jericho. That’s the kind of publicity AEW can/should brag about.

Tony Schiavone talks to Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho about the Blackpool Combat Club’s challenge. Jericho is thinking about saying both, because the Club doesn’t like each other. So how about the three of them and Sammy in a four way for the title. Jericho suggest that Sammy would “do the right thing”, which doesn’t seem to sit well with him.

Here is Ricky Starks for a chat. Starks asks if you can hear the crowd reaction because he knows people are asking to see him get on TV. He has never had to ask the fans to have his back because they know he can deliver. The people like to see him do the pose and he likes them too.

There is a question that people want to know and that is about the eliminator tournament. Starks is one of those six answers, because he is officially entering. Things are crumbling around here (probably shouldn’t say that) but he is going to hold it up on his bare back. He’s ready to face Jon Moxley or MJF because he is Ricky Freaking Starks. Good stuff here, as I can always go for more of Starks, especially when he is fired up.

Sammy Guevara is ready to keep the Ring Of Honor World Title in the Jericho Appreciation Society, but for now he wants to talk about Bryan Danielson. He wants a rematch and he wants it next week on Dynamite, 2/3 falls.

Samoa Joe/Wardlow and the Gates of Agony are ready for each other. Oh and Wardlow wants Powerhouse Hobbs to come get him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We get the brackets for the Full Gear tournament:

Eddie Kingston
Ethan Page

Bandido
Rush

Lance Archer
Ricky Starks

Brian Cage
Dante Martin

Samoa Joe/Wardlow vs. Gates of Agony

Prince Nana is here with the Gates. Wardlow misses a clothesline to Kaun to start but is fine enough to drive him into the corner. A clothesline drops Kaun again before Wardlow opts to just hammer away at the head. Joe comes in and slugs at Loa before hitting the corner enziguri. Kaun gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and Loa runs Joe over for two.

We take a break and come back with Joe fighting out of a dropkick and Rock Bottoming him out of the corner. Wardlow comes back in for a bunch of German suplexes as everything breaks down. The wind up punch drops Kaun and Wardlow shrugs off a knee to the face. The four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Kaun at 9:11.

Rating: C. What am I supposed to say about this? The Gates of Agony have been around for seven months, they haven’t won a two on two tag match since July (when the other team split up mid match) and there was no reason to believe they were going to win here. This was a good example of a match where it felt like Ring Of Honor was shoehorned in and it did not help things in the slightest.

Post match Powerhouse Hobbs comes out to stare down Wardlow to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is more or less the standard Rampage: fun opener, nothing middle match, and something Ring of Honor related in the main event. While it might be a pretty good show, other than an announcement about an upcoming Ring of Honor Title match, absolutely none of this stuff felt important. Shibata vs. Cassidy was little more than a fun curiosity match, Hayter is set for the title match and the Gates of Agony have never felt important around here. Rampage has very little excitement most of the time and I can’t imagine wanting to go to one of these shows, special commentator (for one match) or not.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Katsuyori Shibata – Orange Punch
Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter b. Skye Blue/Madison Rayne – Ripcord lariat to Rayne
Samoa Joe/Wardlow b. Gates of Agony – Powerbomb Symphony to Kaun

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Rampage
Date: October 28, 2022
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re back with another live Rampage this week and this time we have the World Champion in action as Jon Moxley is facing Matt Menard. That would likely be the big match of the show and after that, there is a good chance the star power goes a bit downhill in a hurry. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but we should be in for a fun show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Matt Menard

Non-title and Angelo Parker is here with Menard. Hang on though as Moxley asks Menard for a minute before going after a distracting Parker. With that not working, Moxley sends him outside and there’s a ram into the barricade. There’s the back rake to Menard and Moxley bites away back inside. We hear that Mike Tyson will be on commentary next week (oh dear) as Menard has to block a Figure Four attempt. Parker gets in a shot that we don’t see (thank goodness for replays) and we take a break.

Back with Menard choking on the ropes but Moxley grabs a quick cutter to get himself out of trouble. Moxley tells Menard to hit him before hitting the King Kong lariat for the knockdown. The ankle lock goes on but Menard actually manages to kick his way to freedom. Parker tries to interfere and gets cuttered as well but Menard gets in a cheap shot off of the distraction. Menard gets in his own kicks but gets pulled into the choke to give Moxley the tap at 8:06.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it should have been. There was zero reason to believe that Moxley was in any serious danger and other than Parker interference, Menard didn’t get in control very often. This was a glorified workout for Moxley but it was fun, which is the direction a match like this should have gone.

Post match Stokely Hathaway and Lee Moriarty come out. Stokely throws out the challenge to Moxley for next week on Dynamite and for some enticement, we see a video on Moriarty beating on Wheeler Yuta and explaining Taigastyle. Moxley says the Blackpool Combat Club likes Moriarty but that was a big mistake. The match is on.

We’re getting another #1 contenders tournament with the finals coming at Full Gear for a Winter Is Coming title shot. The first entrant: Dante Martin. Their last tournament was last month.

Jade Cargill is training and promises to get the TBS Title back.

Keith Lee vs. Serpentico

Serpentico chops away and the Spirit Bomb finishes him off at 17 seconds.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring to talk to Lee about the Full Gear Tag Team Title match. Before Lee can say anything, the Acclaimed interrupt, sans rap. They haven’t seen Swerve Strickland or Billy Gunn and want to know where he is. Swerve pops up on screen to reveal that he has kidnapped Gunn and has him tied to a chair. Gunn tells Swerve to blame himself but Swerve says Gunn won’t be at the title match. Swerve whips out some pliers and seems to break Gunn’s finger before cutting the video. The Acclaimed runs off….and I have no idea to where. Lee seems to think that was too far.

We see the Jericho Appreciation Society challenging any former Ring Of Honor Champion. Thankfully they have the audio fixed this time.

Tay Melo vs. Madison Rayne

Sammy Guevara is here with Melo. Feeling out process to start and Melo flips her over into a sunset flip, which is reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and they yell at each other until Melo hits a backbreaker on the ropes and we take a break. We come back with Madison managing a DDT and a neckbreaker gets two. Rayne catches her on top with a super cutter for a rather delayed near fall. Melo is back with a spinebuster for two and the SHOCKED face is great. A quick TayKO finishes Rayne at 9:22.

Rating: C. Rayne continues to be just kind of there and nothing more as she keeps losing one after another. The good thing is that she came in with low expectations but she is still enough of a name and can hang in a match well enough. Melo gets another win here and should be moving up the ladder, at least a little bit.

Ethan Page yells at the idea of MJF being anything without him. Plans have changed and now MJF is going into Full Gear at less than 100%. In addition, he is going to Full Gear himself because he is in the #1 contenders tournament.

Wardlow and Matt Taven are ready to fight. Taven is ready to make the TNT Title into the Taven Network Television Title. Wardlow would rather just powerbomb him a lot.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Matt Taven vs. Wardlow

Taven, with the rest of the Kingdom, is challenging. Taven chops away to no effect but a dropkick puts Wardlow on one knee. Unfortunately that lasts half a second and I’M MATT TAVEN takes a bit longer, allowing Wardlow to send him flying. A big toss over the top sends Taven outside and that means a posting to make it worse.

Mike Bennett gets in a cheap shot, allowing Taven to hit the Flight of the Conqueror. Wardlow gets rammed into the steps and we take a break. Back with Taven missing a top rope…I guess stomp, allowing Wardlow to hit the F10. There’s a spinebuster to plant Taven so Wardlow offers a distraction, which does nothing to stop a Four Movement Powerbomb Symphony to retain the title at 9:01.

Rating: B-. This is exactly how AEW should be using Wardlow. Taven isn’t a major star, but he has enough of a resume that beating him means something. Wardlow needs to move up in competition but he needs to be doing it the formula that got him to this point. The match was good enough, but what matters is that it was the Wardlow style that worked so well for him in the first place.

Post match Bennett comes in to jump Wardlow but Samoa Joe makes the save. Cue Powerhouse Hobbs to stare at Joe and Wardlow, with the Embassy running in from behind to beat the two of them down. The big beatdown ends the show, with Hobbs holding up the TNT Title while Brian Cage grabs the ROH TV Title.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a very Rampage style episode of Rampage: there was some good enough content but it felt like the majority was spent setting up something for later or just wasn’t that important. Having Mike Tyson on the show next week should be entertaining, but it isn’t going to make the show feel like it matters any more than that. It’s strange as Dynamite makes the lowest stuff feel important, but for some reason Rampage is the complete opposite. Maybe find a bit of a better balance? Or just put more into Rampage.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Matt Menard – Rear naked choke
Keith Lee b. Serpentico – Spirit Bomb
Tay Melo b. Madison Rayne – TayKO
Wardlow b. Matt Taven – Powerbomb Symphony

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: October 21, 2022
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re live this week and not taped after Dynamite for a change. We’re also back in the old stomping grounds of Jacksonville and the card happens to be stacked with three title matches in an hour. That should be enough to carry the show, though Rampage has a bad tendency to underwhelm. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Varsity Athletes

The Acclaimed is defending and it’s titles vs. the SCISSOR ME trademark. As you might expect, the rap mocks AEW’s heavily hyped World Title match beating NXT. The Athletes tease an early scissoring and get jumped from behind, only to send the champs outside. Back in and the Acclaimed break up some more scissoring and a powerslam plants Woods. Caster gets knocked outside, where Billy Gunn chases Tony Nese around. That’s enough for a Gunn ejection, much to Sterling’s delight.

We take a break and come back with Bowens getting the tag to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and Woods hits something like a spinning GTS to drop Caster. Woods drops Bowens and the Angle Slam/neckbreaker gets two with Caster having to make the save. Nese kicks Caster in the face and dives onto Bowens on the floor. Back in and Bowens slugs away, setting up the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain the titles at 8:03.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a great match but they kept things moving quickly enough that it didn’t get boring. The good thing is that the fans love the Acclaimed so much that it is going to work no matter they do so they’re playing with the house’s money. Thankfully the Sterling scissoring deal didn’t last long, as it was a pretty dead end idea in the first place.

Post match Sterling says that trademarks don’t end like that so the Acclaimed beat him up, stomp him low, hit Scissor Me Timbers and scissor with Billy Gunn. A feel good family moment!

Jade Cargill isn’t happy that Penelope Ford is injured but she is willing to let Leila Grey take her place. Then she gets the TBS Title back from Nyla Rose.

Ortiz/Eddie Kingston and the Lucha Bros are in the back in an attempt to make peace. The Bros want Eddie to keep his temper and avoid losing another job. Pac comes in and seems to mock Kingston, who has to be held back.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Ari Daivari

Hook is defending and turns down Daivari’s offer of cash for the title. That’s not cool with Hook, who suplexes Daivari at the bell and they start fast, with Daivari being sent outside for a ram into the table. Daivari’s butler Jeeves K is here and slaps Hook in the face with some money (must have asked about it). Hook fights out of the corner with rights and lefts to the ribs and an STO. A release fisherman’s suplex drops Daivari, who uses a Jeeves distraction to set up his own suplex for two. The hammerlock lariat is countered though and Redrum retains the title at 2:50. More proper Hook usage.

Matt Hardy is annoyed at the Firm, who have sent Private Party off for a match. For now though, Matt can have a match on Dark: Elevation. I still can’t get my head around Isaiah Kassidy vs. Ethan Page being for Matt’s contract. Why not, I don’t know, Page vs. Matt?

Leila Grey vs. Willow Nightingale

Kiera Hogan is here with Grey. Nightingale wrestles her down without much effort to start before running Grey over with a shoulder. Back up and Nightingale easily slams her but Hogan gets in a cheap shot superkick to take over. We take a break and come back with Nightingale spinebustering Grey for two but getting caught in a Russian legsweep. Grey hits a running knee in the corner but gets belly to back suplexed. A kick to the head rocks Grey and a doctor bomb gives Nightingale the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C. There are some wrestlers who can best be described as fun, which would be the case with Nightingale. She has such a bubbly personality and there is something about her that makes you want to see her do well. Beating Grey on TV is nice, but it would be better to see her win a bigger match down the line.

Post match Nightingale is announced as officially All Elite but here is Jade Cargill to interrupt. Nightingale leaves so Cargill has a seat in a chair and gives Nyla Rose ten seconds to come get the title. Rose and the rest of the Vicious Vixens pop up on screen in a car. Rose drives off with the title….and apparently that’s Cargill’s car. Cargill sits down, saying she isn’t leaving without her belt. Security comes in and gets dropped, which is enough for Cargill to leave. Well that was easy.

Last night, Rush threatened 10 with a beating. Orange Cassidy popped up from behind a bar to offer them beers. Oh and he’ll join their match to make it an All-Atlantic Title triple threat.

Orange Cassidy tries to steal Mark Henry’s job but Henry asks why Cassidy is getting into Rush and 10’s business. Cassidy: “Um, I don’t know.” 10 and Rush want to win the title while dealing with their personal issues too.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. 10 vs. Rush

Cassidy is defending and Rush has Jose the Assistant with him, while Cassidy has Danhausen. 10 and Rush slug it out but Cassidy gets involved with the lazy kicks. Rush sends 10 outside, leaving Cassidy to dropkick Rush. That’s fine with Rush, who sends him into the corner for the running slap into the Tranquilo pose. Rush goes outside to send 10 into the barricade but 10 is back with his own shots. Cassidy dives at both of them but gets caught and chokeslammed onto a table (which doesn’t break).

We take a break and come back with Cassidy having to block 10’s full nelson before hitting a Stundog Millionaire. The spinning DDT plants Rush and there’s the Beach Break for two on 10, as Jose breaks it up (JR: “It’s a mockery of the rules!”). Danhausen comes in and hits Jose low but Rush knocks him down as well.

A suplex sends Cassidy into the corner but 10 is back up with his spinebuster. 10 discus lariats Cassidy for two, with Rush having to dive in for the save. Rush messes with 10’s mask but walks into the Orange Punch. Another Beach Break is countered but Cassidy sits down on 10 to retain at 11:48.

Rating: B-. This is another perfect use of Cassidy, who has to work to retain his title so it doesn’t feel like a joke, even if there is virtually no value to it whatsoever. At the same time, this felt like AEW realizing that Rush vs. 10 isn’t an interesting story and needing to do something to change it. Cassidy can often make that work, so this was as good as it could have been.

Post match 10 and Rush have a staredown but -1 comes out and gets carried to the back by 10.

We get an In Memoriam graphic to Brian Muster, a video engineer who died unexpectedly this week. That’s a very classy thing to do.

Overall Rating: C+. That was about as Rampagey of a Rampage as you could get, as there was little that felt important but it was still in front of a hot crowd. The stuff they did involved either titles or stories with a bit of value, so it didn’t feel like a waste of time. At the same time though, Rampage feels completely like a secondary show, which does make it seem a lot less important. With three hours of TV a week, AEW might want to change that.

Results
Acclaimed b. Varsity Athletes – Mic Drop to Nese
Hook b. Ari Daivari – Redrum
Willow Nightingale b. Leila Grey – Doctor bomb
Orange Cassidy b. 10 and Rush – Rollup to 10

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Rampage
Date: October 7, 2022
Location: Entertainment And Sports Arena, Washington DC
Commentators:

It’s the first half of a live double shot with a special Rampage. That should make the show a bit more interesting, which is a boost that is rather necessary around here. We have a Trios Titles match tonight, as the previously announced mask vs. career match has been canceled due to reasons of Andrade El Idolo. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Rush/Private Party

Regal calls Excalibur a caramel cheesecake that he would let melt in his mouth. Regal to Jericho: “I’d rather rip off my own eyelids and dip my head in hot soapy water than sit next to you.” That’s quite the range of emotions. The Firm is watching at ringside as Castagnoli takes Kassidy down with almost no effort to start. Yuta comes in as Jericho and Regal argue over how filthy and horrible Blackpool, England is.

Kassidy gets sent down again so it’s off to Rush, who spits at Moxley and shakes his hair, which is enough to bring Moxley in. Rush’s German suplex is easily blocked as Moxley sends him into the corner and we take a break. Back with Rush coming in to stay on Moxley but Kassidy isn’t a fan. Moxley fights up and brings in Castagnoli to clean house, including a Swing to Quen and an airplane spin to Kassidy at the same time because he can do that.

Back up and Private Party kicks Moxley outside, only to get taken down by Yuta. A top rope splash gets two on Kassidy with Rush making the save. Moxley sends Rush outside and hits a suicide dive, leaving Kassidy to rake Yuta’s eyes. Silly String is broken up by Castagnoli and the pop up uppercut drops Kassidy. That leaves Yuta to grab an arm hold (the Bicep Slice) to make Quen tap at 10:11.

Rating: C+. They didn’t bother with much of the tagging stuff here and that is a good way to go. The people involved here tend to go better with all of the insanity and brawling, though Yuta was there for more of the traditional style. It’s a fun opening match and it had star power, so good job here, even if Private Party has faded so far since the start of AEW.

Video on Death Triangle vs. Dark Order, with 10 talking about how much Brodie Lee meant to him.

Varsity Blonds vs. Tony Nese/Josh Woods

Nese gets taken into the Blonds corner to start and Garrison comes in to crank on the wrist. A blind tag brings in Woods though and it’s an Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination to finish Garrison at 1:56. Arn Anderson is shown watching in disgust in the back.

Post match Mark Sterling says he has trademarked the term VARSITY in wrestling, so Nese and Woods are now known as the Varsity Athletes. If the Blonds use the term, he’ll sue. For a more personal issue though, his groin has been on fire since National Scissoring Day….and here is the Acclaimed to interrupt. Rapping and three way scissoring ensues.

Eddie Kingston talks about losing control two weeks ago against Sammy Guevara and then gets annoyed that he is out of time after thirty seconds. Kingston: “MJF gets fifteen minutes and I get thirty seconds?”

Tay Melo/Anna Jay vs. Madison Rayne/Skye Blue

Madison and Jay start things off with Rayne having to deal with an early Melo distraction. Blue comes in and manages a kick to Jay’s face, only to get tripped down and kicked by Melo. We take a break and come back with Rayne getting the tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Melo gets planted but Melo catches Rayne with a Gory Bomb. Blue superkicks Melo but the Queenslayer makes Blue tap at 7:48.

Rating: C. Melo and Jay are one of the most established teams around and them winning here wasn’t exactly a surprise. Rayne still doesn’t hurt anything by being around and it isn’t like she has taken up a major role. Blue feels like someone they could turn into something, though that name doesn’t exactly make me take her seriously.

The Dark Order wants to win the Trios Titles for Brodie Lee, but Pac and the Death Triangle says not so fast.

Here’s what’s coming on various show.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t care about getting cheers, but rather beating up Billy Gunn.

Trios Titles: Dark Order vs. Death Triangle

Death Triangle is defending. It’s a brawl to start with the referee having to get the belts out of the ring. Fenix can’t hurricanrana 10, who sends him over to the rest of the Order for a double faceplant. We settle down to Reynolds dropping a slingshot elbow on Fenix for two but it’s right off to Penta. That’s fine with Reynolds who drops him with a superkick to take over again. Silver comes in to slug it out with Penta and we take a break.

Back with Penta coming back in to take over, including a Backstabber to Reynolds for two. Pac comes in for a bridging German suplex and a near fall of his own, leaving Penta to pose over Reynolds. A spinebuster plants Reynolds again and Penta adds the top rope What’s Up stomp for two. Penta works on Reynolds’ arm as commentary talks about the Jim Crockett days. Pac suplexes Reynolds on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Reynolds dropping Pac and diving over for the tag off to 10. House is cleaned and 10 steals Shawn Spears’ 10 deal, only to get hammered down by known gimmick protector Pac. JR isn’t sure why the champs can triple team 10, who gets caught with a moonsault/flipping splash combination. Back up and 10 gets over to Silver for the tag and the slugout is on with Pac. A brainbuster gets two on Pac but a blind tag brings in Fenix. That doesn’t seem to matter to the Order, who loads up the Pendulum Bomb to drop Fenix for two just as fast.

Everything breaks down again and Penta Backstabbers Silver out of the corner. The Order is right back up to clean house with 10 hitting the discus lariat to give Reynolds a rather close two. Cue Jose the Assistant for a distraction and it’s Rush giving Pac the bell hammer. That’s enough to knock Reynolds silly (not clear if the Lucha Bros saw it) and Fenix takes out 10. Pac comes back in and grabs the Brutalizer for the pin at 21:05.

Rating: C+. There’s a lot to this one, with the first thing being a lack of any need for this to go over twenty minutes. This version of the Dark Order has no business lasting anywhere near that long against Death Triangle, Brodie Lee tribute or no Brodie Lee tribute. Then you have the Pac/Rush deal, which could go in a bunch of ways, most of which might be a bit weird. All in all, this is a match that went longer than it needed to and had a weird ending, but the action was enough to make up for a lot of that so it’s acceptable enough.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was the live aspect or having some more star power around here, but this was a better Rampage than most. What mattered the most here was that the show felt more energized, which has been lacking some in recent weeks. Good show as the two six man tags made it work, with the bigger names helping a lot.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Rush/Private Party – Bicep Slice to Quen
Tony Nese/Josh Woods b. Varsity Blonds – Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination to Garrison
Tay Melo/Anna Jay b. Madison Rayne/Skye Blue – Queenslayer to Blue
Death Triangle b. Dark Order – Brutalizer to Reynolds

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Rampage
Date: September 30, 2022
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Rampage is back to normal this week and that should make for a decent enough show. You never know what you’re going to get around here, though odds are you’ll get at least one important thing. Other than that though, there is a good chance you’ll be seeing some names who aren’t around on Dynamite very often. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Butcher and the Blade vs. Private Party

Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is defending. Bowens and Kassidy start things off as Matt Hardy is watching in the back. They trade quick one counts as the fans sing in praise of the Acclaimed. A standoff gives us a handshake before Bowens drives Kassidy into the corner for the tag off to Castor. With Kassidy down, Castor stops for some scissoring with Gunn before Bowens comes in for a neckbreaker onto Castor’s knees.

Quen comes in and gets a middle rope legdrop between the legs. That’s enough for Butcher and the Blade, who come in and run the champs over. Bowens fights back up and is quickly headbutted right back down. We take a break and come back with Bowens powering out of Blade’s chinlock but getting powerslammed instead.

A superkick drops Blade hard but it’s Private Party tagging themselves back in to clean house. Private Party hits the Motor City Machine Guns’ Skull & Bones (with a Swanton instead of a splash) for two on Blade with Castor making the save. Everything breaks down again and Kassidy hits a dive of his own. Castor hits his own dive and sends Blade back inside, where it’s the Arrival into the Mic Drop to retain the titles at 9:58.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced match and a good way to get the Acclaimed their first win, though I have no idea why they went with a three way match featuring all of a few moments of setup. The Acclaimed are over and if they can deliver in the ring to back it up, their title reign could go on for a rather long time.

Celebratory scissoring ensues post match.

The Firm mock FTR for holding various Tag Team Titles, which they can’t remember anyway. The Gunn Club wants the Tag Team Titles and bring up FTR for being #1 contenders for almost six months. They’ll leapfrog FTR too. I’m not sure if mocking your own rankings is the best idea.

Jade Cargill mocks AEW for giving her no competition but Vickie Guerrero, Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose come in. Cargill says Rose can have a title match but on Jade’s time. It’s as good as anything else at the moment.

Lee Moriarty vs. Fuego del Sol

W. Morrissey and Stokely Hathaway are here with Moriarty. Fuego gets taken to the mat to start and then uppercutted up against the ropes. Some stomps keep Fuego in trouble and a Border City Stretch finishes him off at 1:57.

Post match Morrissey gives Fuego a chokeslam.

Hangman Page is ready for Jon Moxley and the Dark Order will be in their corner. Andrade and Jose the Assistant come in to mock 10. Next week is the anniversary of Brodie Lee’s last match so Andrade has an idea: they have a match next week, with the mask Brodie Lee gave 10 vs. Andrade’s career. That could be interesting. The Firm comes in to mock Andrade and brings up Matt Hardy’s contract tampering with Private Party. Please tell me that this isn’t going to be their take on WWE’s alleged tampering.

Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayter

Rebel and Britt Baker are here with Hayter. Nightingale takes her down and fires off some headbutts until Hayter fights up for an exchange of shoulders. Hayter gets dropped for a basement crossbody and splash for two. Some chops have Hayter in more trouble but she’s right back with a big boot to drop Nightingale hard (and Baker dances).

We take a break and come back with Hayter hitting a backbreaker for two. Nightingale pops up and hits a heck of a Pounce out to the floor to rock Hayter hard. Back in and a Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two so it’s time to go up top. Baker offers a distraction though and it’s a shortarm clothesline to give Hayter the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C+. This was an interesting one as Nightingale is such a ball of charisma that I’m looking forward to seeing her most weeks, while Hayter is looking like a breakout star. She has very good abilities in the ring and the crowd is reacting to her, but until she breaks away from Baker, none of that is going to matter. For now though, this was a nice meshing of styles, with Nightingale’s power working well for her.

Video on Wardlow and Samoa Joe, because the best use of two of your midcard champions is to have them team together.

Here is Ryan Nemeth to mock various Philadelphia legends until Hook comes out to wreck him. As Hook is going to leave, the Trustbusters come out with an envelope with his name on it, which Hook takes.

Video on Swerve Strickland at a music festival.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley.

John Silver and Rush are ready for the main event.

Here’s what is coming on upcoming shows.

Trent Beretta is ready for Pac and the All Atlantic Title at Battle of the Belts.

John Silver vs. Rush

Alex Reynolds, Andrade and Jose the Assistant are here too. Silver grabs a headlock to start and a running elbow sends Rush outside. The dive is loaded up but Silver flips down into the Tranquilo pose for a nice touch. Rush comes back in and hammers on Silver, even knocking him outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and the running corner dropkick is loaded up, only to have Rush hit the cocky kick instead.

We take a break and come back with Silver hitting some corner clotheslines, followed by the rolling German suplexes. A sitout powerbomb gives Silver two and it’s time to slap it out. That goes to the bigger/stronger Rush but Silver grabs a brainbuster for two more. Jose tries to interfere so Reynolds pulls him down. The distraction lets Rush hit a running forearm into the corner though, setting up the Bull’s Horns for the pin at 10:55.

Rating: C. Silver is someone who is probably never going to become a major star in AEW but he has found a niche for himself and it is working. He has so much charisma that it is hard to ignore him. On the other side though, I have no idea what we are supposed to get out of Rush, who is a power guy with almost nothing else to him. Why this was a main event eludes me, but Rush did look dominant at the end.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Butcher and the Blade joining in. The rest of the Dark Order and Hangman Page run in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, Rampage is enough of a quality show but so much of if feels unimportant. Rush vs. John Silver? Jamie Hayter getting a win over Willow Nightingale and a Lee Moriarty squash? That’s not exactly must see TV and that is where Rampage falls. It could be something valuable to AEW but instead we get whatever they throw out there that week, I don’t quite get the thinking, but that’s what Rampage is.

Results
Acclaimed b. Butcher and the Blade and Private Party – Mic Drop to Blade
Lee Moriarty b. Fuego del Sol – Border City Stretch
Jamie Hayter b. Willow Nightingale – Shortarm clothesline
Rush b. John Silver – Bull’s Horns

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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