AEW: Rampage Review - May 20th, 2022

 

AEW Rampage

May 20th, 2022

Houston, Texas

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Thunder Rosa (since 3/16/22)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky (since 4/27/22)

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, & Ruby Soho

1) Malakai Black, Brody King, & Buddy Matthews vs. Evil Uno, 10, & Fuego Del Sol

This was a great opener. It's setting in that Stu Grayson really is gone from AEW as we see Uno teaming with 10 & Fuego here. RIP :((( BUT YEAH. HOB kills these trios matches and this was no exception. Just a blast of a way to kick this show off. HOB obviously wins, but that doesn't take away from how fun this was along the way. 

Match rating - ***

AEW: Rampage Review - May 6th, 2022

AEW Rampage 

May 6th, 2022

Baltimore, Maryland 

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Thunder Rosa (since 3/16/22)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky (since 4/27/22)

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho & Ricky Starks 

Hello everyone. It’s a 5:30pm edition of Rampage and IM HERE. I accidentally turned to TBS instead of TNT but I realized it before missing more than a few minutes of the show. 

1) Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter (w/ Rebel) vs. Ruby Soho & Toni Storm

AEW: Rampage Review - April 15th, 2022

AEW Rampage 

April 15th, 2022

Garland, Texas

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Thunder Rosa (since 3/16/22)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky (since 3/9/22)

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks & William Regal

ITS A LIVE 7PM EDITION OF RAMPAGE

1) Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, & Wheeler Yuta) (w/ William Regal) vs. The Gunn Club (Billy, Austin, & Colten Gunn) 

AEW: Rampage Review - April 8th, 2022

AEW Rampage 

April 8th, 2022 

Boston, MA

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Thunder Rosa (since 3/16/22)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Scorpio Sky (since 3/9/22)

Commentators - Excalibur, Jim Ross, & Tony Schiavone 

1) Bryan Danielson vs. Trent Beretta 

William Regal joined commentary for this one. Loud, strong “you’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in” chants to start. The strongest since Danielson debuted in AEW which is sick. Good wrestling for the first few minutes with Danielson targeting Trent’s neck. A sick saito suplex on the floor from Trent to Danielson sends us to break. Trent fights from under after the break with a super plex and a release german for a nearfall. Danielson fires back with a shoulder capture suplex for a two count. They run back and forth with big moves for the final few minutes. Danielson hits the running knee and stomps Trent’s head in before wrenching back on his head and twisting it for the referee stoppage. Another dominant performance from Danielson and Trent put in a super solid singles effort as he always does when given the chance. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Backstage, HOOK is approached for an interview again. He still has nothing to say and goes to leave the room when Danhausen pops out of the trash can. Hausen eats the chips that Hook tossed in the can and says “maybe this is where he gets his powers” LMAO. 

2) Swerve Strickland vs. QT Marshall 

This was a throwaway match. It’s nice seeing Swerve, but there isn’t much to write home about. An easy way to get him on the show and put him over a name who’s been around since the start of AEW, but I barely even paid this any attention. Swerve wins and yeah. 

Match rating - *3/4

At some point around this time, Excalibur runs down matches for Dynamite next week and CASUALLY announces Samoa Joe challenging Minoru Suzuki for the ROH TV Title. WHAT THE FUCK. Dream match any day of the week and I cannot fucking wait. 

3) Willow Nightingale vs. Red Velvet - Women’s Owen Hart Memorial Cup Qualifier 

Willow tried. Red Velvet should not have won this, and the match itself even told that story. Nightingale is clearly the better competitor and was the only thing that held this match together. Unfortunately, Velvet wins and gets an undeserving spot in the women’s portion of the Owen cup. A much more enjoyable story would’ve been Willow getting the shocking victory and tournament entry despite not being signed and then using this big loss to run a rehabilitating Red Velvet story if you insist on keeping her on TV. This was predictable and not in a good way. Great effort and performance from Willow, though. 

Match rating - **1/4

4) Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta 

Wow… I’m almost just at a loss for words. The greatest match in the short history of Rampage and one of the best matches in the history of AEW. And the fact that it was filmed on the same night as FTR/Bucks is just insane. A true testament to how special the run AEW is on is. This is a story that began developing before our eyes long before we even realized it. This is the third match between Mox and Yuta. The first two were fine, but it wasn’t until the last few weeks and this match in particular, that the full story came together right in front of us. Moxley absolutely pummels Yuta and Yuta refuses to die. Amazing facial expressions, his blade job was awesome— who knew Yuta was a grade a gusher? This just checked all the boxes. The blood and fire from Yuta was enough, then they threw in some crazy false finishes at the end. Yuta kicked out of TWO paradigm shift’s which I don’t think anyone ever expected. The crowd was biting on every single bit of this and I was too. In an era where AEW has been around a few years and a small bit of the luster from their first crop of top stars is beginning to wear off, a new breed has began to rise and Yuta is the first to ascend to that new level. This match will be remembered for years and years to come. After the match, we get an equally phenomenal moment as William Regal & Bryan Danielson come to the ring. After a staredown and Yuta asking for more as he still gushes blood, Regal shakes his hand. Yuta uses his own blood to write BCC on his chest and when the show goes off air, Danielson attaches the ROH Pure Title around his waist.. TALK ABOUT THE TORCH BEING PASSED HOLY FUCK WHAT A MOMENT. As the show goes off air, Mox tells Yuta “now the real work begins”.. my god. This was epic. 

Match rating - ****3/4

AEW: Rampage Review - February 18th, 2022

AEW Rampage : SLAM DUNK 

February 18th, 2022

Nashville, Tennessee 

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Britt Baker (since 5/30/21)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Sammy Guevara (since 1/26/22)

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho & Ricky Starks 

DAMN I WISH RAMPAGE WAS ON AT 7PM INSTEAD OF 10PM EVERY WEEK 

1) Adam Cole vs. 10

Adam Cole has become almost a guarantee for opening Rampage every week. I enjoyed this match more than a lot of his recent Rampage singles matches. Maybe because the dynamic is different for once. Not that Evil Uno or Silver are bad, but they all fall in the same vein as Cole as far as wrestling style go. I still don’t know all that much about 10, but he’s a big guy.. powerhouse if you will. So, in my head and eyes, it creates a more interesting match because of the dynamic. Although, 10 didn’t really do himself any favors with the awkward tossing of the security on Dynamite on Wednesday. None the less, this was solid and I enjoyed it. 10 gets some power spots in and Cole does what he usually does. A completely suffice outing that had some story behind it bridging from Dynamite which made you wanna see it unfold. Cole wins a good opener.

Match rating - **3/4 

Punk/MJF video package airs. 

2) Dante Martin vs. Powerhouse Hobbs 

AEW: Rampage Review - February 4th, 2022

AEW Rampage

February 4th, 2022

Chicago, Illinois 

AEW World Champion: Hangman Adam Page (since 11/13/21)

AEW World Tag Team Champions: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (since 1/5/22)

AEW Women’s World Champion: Britt Baker (since 5/30/21)

AEW TBS Champion: Jade Cargill (since 1/5/22)

AEW TNT Champion: Sammy Guevara (since 1/26/22)

Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, & Ricky Starks 

1) Adam Cole vs. Evil Uno 

Uno gets the jobber entrance :/ aka no entrance. But WHATEVER. We know he’s a king. This doesn’t go long at all, though and he doesn’t look so good as a result. That sucks. This was basically just Cole hitting all his stuff on Uno and winning in less than 2-3 minutes. 

Match rating - *3/4

AEW: Rampage Review - January 14th, 2022

AEW Rampage 

January 14th, 2022

Raleigh, North Carolina

Commentators: Excalibur, Tazz, Chris Jericho & Ricky Starks 

1) Adam Cole (w/ Britt Baker, The Young Bucks, Brandon Cutler, & ReDragon) vs. Trent? Beretta (w/ Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander, & Wheeler Yuta) 

Dear god there are so many people ringside for this. It makes sense given the feud, but it’s just wild. It’s worth noting Nick Jackson is wearing a mesh top.. foreshadowing Jeff Hardy, are we? None the less, match itself here goes about how you’d expect. Cole gets the advantage early off distractions from his unit at ringside. This pairing is one we saw a decent bit in PWG so we know they have chemistry. Cole goes for a Panama Sunrise on the floor and eats a backdrop for his troubles. Trent charges Cole, but ends up going head first into the railing. Bump looked sick. This sends us to commercial. Back from commercial and they trade big moves for 5 minutes or so before The Last Shot from Cole ends it. I’m just not into the majority of the matches this Best Friends/Super Kliq-Adam Cole unit has delivered. I didn’t care for the trios match on the last Dynamite of December and this match felt about the same for me. Just.. stuff. I think Cole/Cassidy and Bucks/ReDragon will be great, but the road to it has been very dull match quality wise. Nothing wrong with this, just nothing all that great either. Best thing for me was seeing Trent back and throwing suplexes. Hell yeah. He is so underrated in singles and it’s honestly where I prefer him. Get him out of this feud and run him a TNT Title match and reign. Would be a blast. 

Match rating - **1/2

2) Shawn Spears vs. Andrew Everett

AEW: Rampage Review - January 7th, 2022

AEW Rampage 

January 7th, 2022

Newark, New Jersey 

Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, & Ricky Starks 

1) Adam Cole vs. Jake Atlas 

Happy to be back reviewing Rampage after missing a week but yeah!! Jake Atlas has signed with AEW and what a first match for him to have. Atlas is someone I’ve liked for a long time. I saw his once to be believed final match against Effy live in Chicago during All Out weekend so the fact that Tony Khan talked him out of retirement and we are getting him here has me grinning from ear to ear. These two have came so close to crossing paths on many occasions but never got the chance to lock up so it’s cool to finally see. This worked well with Atlas getting multiple hope spots, but Cole controlling most of it and looking strong. Atlas’ spots were awesome and he hit a big move at the end that got him a great near fall. Unfortunately, Atlas gets injured right before the Panama Sunrise finish and is unable to take the move forcing them to call an audible as Cole puts him in a leg lock and Atlas taps. Damn that sucks for Atlas. Truly happened at the worst time, but hopefully it’s nothing too serious. He had a good showing here regardless. But man.. this was a bad night for injuries.

Match rating - **1/2

After the match, O’Reilly & Fish come down and they tease a further beatdown on Atlas, but Orange Cassidy shows up with a chain and runs them off.

AEW: Rampage Review - December 25th, 2021

AEW: Rampage - HOLIDAY BASH

December 25th, 2021

Greensboro, North Carolina

Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, & Ricky Starks

HOWDY YALL!! I didn’t review Dynamite last week because I was just.. tired. I did watch, though. What I didn’t watch, however, due to some holiday plans, was the Christmas edition of Rampage. SO. I am watching it now and it’s the best 1 hour in pro wrestling so YOU KNOW I GOTTA REVIEW IT. 

1) Jungle Boy (w/ Luchasaurus & Christian Cage) vs. Isaiah Kassidy (w/ Marq Quen & Matt Hardy)

Jungle Boy’s music hitting to start the show will never get old, I don’t think. It’s just so fun and really sets the tone for what’s to come. This is a rare Isaiah Kassidy singles match and I think it’s cool he’s getting the chance to be featured. This honestly went a little long and had a little too much overbooking for me, though. Truly didn’t need any of that, just let these guys have a 6 minute sprint and call it a day. I love that Jungle Boy has started elbowing the head of his opponent before he locks the snare trap in. He does that here and forces Kassidy to tap. 

Match rating - **1/4 

2) HOOK vs. Bear Bronson 

The crowd chants “we want Hook” as soon as the graphic appears on screen for this. Ohhh man. God, HOOK’s entrance is even more tough than last week. His theme rules so hard. They show Tony Nese in the crowd because we’re supposed to care when HOOK is in the ring.. anyways. This match rules. The crowd pops for every move HOOK makes and every move HOOK makes looks awesome. From his offense to his selling. If this character and these matches are really all laid out by him then man… that kid is a gem. HOOK wins with the redrum. 

Match rating - ***

3) Leyla Hirsch vs. Kris Statlander 

Great little match here from the women’s division. It’s been a while since we’ve seen both of those women in a featured TV match (outside of Stat’s performances in the TBS tournament) so hell yeah. Leyla Hirsch grows on me more every time I see her so I enjoyed this a lot. Statlander plays the role of the bully almost due to the size difference, but Leyla fires back with just as much, if not more grit, and Knox had to pull her off Kris for trying to throw some closed fists. I loved to see these two link up again down the line. You can tell they have history on the Indies and the chemistry is there. Statlander wins. 

Match rating - **1/2 

4) Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Cody Rhodes - TNT Title Match 

The pre-match interview hosted by Mark Henry got me more excited for his than I was initially. Sammy says everyone thinks this is a big match for him, but it was a big match for him in 2019, not now. He says he’s gonna carry Cody tonight and calls him “kid”.. oh hell yea. Entrances happen and David Crockett is at ringside. This match feels kinda big. The opening moments fucking rule. Sammy runs wild with fast paced offense to stun Cody, including the signature Rhodes uppercut. Cody rolls to the outside and is reeling early. Arn tells him to calm down and shit. Then we settle in and man.. the match is honestly good. Knowing the outcome and how disappointing it is took away any real drama for me. They also didn’t do anything too nuts, but they did do just enough for me think it was more than just a decent match. Sammy hit an insane springboard 450 splash to the floor, Cody powerbombed Sammy into the crowd, great spots all around and the near falls at the end had the crowd going. Cody wins with the Tiger Driver to become the first three time TNT champion in company history. He has some sort of heroic celebration with all his family and friends while the crowd boos the shit out of him.. I hope they have a plan for this because if not this is some WWE shit for real. 

Match rating - ***1/2

AEW: Rampage Review - December 17th, 2021

AEW Rampage

December 17th, 2021

Garland, Texas 

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, & Ricky Starks

1) Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, & Bobby Fish vs. Chuck Taylor, Trent, Orange Cassidy, & Rocky Romero 

I love love love love trios and atomicos matches so hell yeah on this happening. Lots of different stories and issues foiled into this one little match. Rocky & Fish hooking up was cool, but the best part early was Orange hitting his flurry on Cole, the place coming unglued and The Elite/Superkliq nailing him with a gang attack during the middle of it. Good ass shit. This begins a small heat segment with Orange being the face in peril. Naturally.. good shit. Trent gets the hot tag and we get some tandem moves from him & Chuck that we haven’t seen in a while like the soul food-half & half combo. Not to mention, some RPG Vice shit from Trent & Rocky. Shit breaks down from here. Some good near falls between Fish & Trent. The Bucks go nuts and Orange gets his shit in before Trent pins Fish with the CRUNCHIE. This was a blast. 

Match rating - ***1/4

We return from commercial and Dan Lambert is in the ring. He’s with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky per usual. He lays into Tony Khan saying he’s began playing politics and doing everything he promised initially that he wouldn’t. He goes after Cody next and Cody comes out. He snatches the mic from Lambert so Lambert snatches it back. They do this over and over before Cody gets pissed and a brawl breaks out. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara make the save for Cody when the numbers get to him. Sammy shares an awkward stare at Cody & Dustin after the heels leave the ring. Sammy and Cody face for the TNT Title this coming Wednesday on Dynamite. 

2) Tay Conti (w/ Anna Jay) vs. Penelope Ford (w/ The Bunny) - Submission Match

This was ok. It didn’t get much time to develop into a lot, but what they did was solid. Tay looked awesome as always as of late. From her selling to her offense, everything from her ruled. She wins after a couple minutes and yeah. That’s all for this one.

Match rating - **1/4

The card for next week’s Dynamite is announced and is as follows: 

Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy 

Malakai Black vs. Griff Garrison

Christmas Party w/ Britt Baker & Tony Schiavone 

FTR/MJF vs. Darby/Sting/Punk 

PLUS Rampage next week will feature HOOK facing Bear Bronson and Cody Rhodes challenging Sammy Guevara for the TNT Title. 

3) Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Rey Fenix, Santana, & Ortiz vs. Daniel Garcia, 2.0, & The Acclaimed 

Eh. This was kind of a cluster fuck. As I honestly pretty much expected. There was no need for the Lucha Bros or The Acclaimed to be here, if you wanted them involved just throw it on Dark. For TV, this would’ve been much more effective as a trios match with King & Lucha Bros vs. Dan & 2.0 instead we get unnecessary filler and the only truly great bits are from Dan & King although Santana & Ortiz and 2.0 did do some fun stuff also. Dan Garcia gets the flash roll up on King to win. 

Match rating - **1/2

Heels beat down the faces after the match. Jungle Boy, Christian Cage, & Luchasaurus make the awesome save. JB & Lucha stare down the Lucha Bros teasing the tag title match that we are expecting to get soon. This closes the show. 

After the show went off air, I went live on YouTube with Mike, Courtland, and Zach to give our immediate thoughts PLUS Mike opens a pro wrestling crate package live to kick off the stream! Check it out below:  

Thanks for reading and watching. See y’all next week <3

AEW: Rampage Review - December 10th, 2021

AEW: Rampage 

Long Island, New York 

December 10th, 2021 

Commentary - Excalibur & Taz

They seem to be rushing into things production wise as we head straight to the ring as Excalibur is talking 1,000mph. 

1) Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (c) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) - AEW World Tag Team Title Match 

I’ve not been the biggest fan of this feud, and subsequently, I never look forward to their matches. I think it’s because of how much I didn’t enjoy the Full Gear match, but every match after has ruled. This was no exception and is definitely my favorite match of the entire Death Triangle/FTR feud. It was so much better paced than the Full Gear match and the false finishes were placed perfectly to the point that they felt super believable. There were some rough patches of miscommunication, but the flow of things was so much better than their prior match at Full Gear that I can’t help but still rate it higher because they actually had me completely invested in this one. Penta & Fenix retain after a thrilling match. 

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Ruby Soho, Tay Conti, & Anna Jay vs. Nyla Rose, The Bunny, & Penelope Ford

I love these women’s tags and trios that AEW has been doing. It’s much easier to play toward each woman’s strengths and that means a lot when you have so much green talent in the division. There were some rocky moments here or there, but they largely held this together and I loved the formula they went for here with the faces in peril and hot tag choices. Really just a blast. Nyla gets the win off a brass knuckle shot from Bunny to Anna. 

Match rating - **1/2

Backstage, Tony Schiavone is with Sting & Darby Allin. Tony starts talking about Sting’s history in Greensboro, NC and the upcoming Dynamite there in January. Before he can really comment, FTR jumps them and Tully kicks Sting in the nuts.

3) Hook vs. Fuego Del Sol 

HOOK HAS AN ACTION BRONSON THEME SONG. It’s Hook’s debut match. This had a lot to live up to considering how hype people have been for Hook and it undoubtedly delivered. Hook looked just about flawless and Fuego was a perfect first opponent. You got some spots where Hook’s inexperience almost cost him like on the roll up spot, those little things rocked. The most important part is that we got to see what Hook was made of and we all loved it. HOOK. 

Match rating - *** 

4) Adam Cole vs. Wheeler Yuta

Happy to see Yuta getting this match. It’s not a full on squash, more like an extended with one and I’m very happy with that. Cole doesn’t deserve to be taken to the limit by Yuta, but Yuta doesn’t deserve to be completely squashed either. So best of both worlds, here. Some nice exchanges down the stretch before Cole gets the victory. 

Match rating - **3/4

After the match, great beatdown by the Superkliq/Elite. BTE trigger to Trent and a kick to the nuts to Orange after Cole faked him out by teasing a Panama Sunrise which was hilarious. 

That’s all for this week, make sure to check out myself, Mike, Courtland, and Zach’s Rampage instant reaction show from last night, it’s embedded at the top of this review. Also be sure to follow @ThePWTruth and @UpAndOverPod on Twitter! Thanks for reading, see y’all next time <3

AEW: Rampage Review - December 3rd, 2021

AEW: Rampage

December 3rd, 2021

Duluth, GA 

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks & Thunder Rosa

 

1) Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Tony Nese - TNT Title Match 

A lot of people probably anticipate my review of this match, but truthfully there’s nothing wrong with it. That’s the thing about Tony Nese, there’s not anything offensive or outwardly bad about much of what he does. The issue is there’s also nothing to write home or frankly, to care about. No need to harp on it, however. Because this isn’t something that keeps me up at night, it’s just the way it is viewed through my eyes. It also needed to be mentioned to further explain how I felt about this. So yeah, Sammy did cool stuff and Nese did stuff, too. Sammy’s was just cooler and meant more because he has so much more depth. Sammy retains, as expected. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Christian is backstage with Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus. They will be watching the FTR/PAC & Penta match closely in prep for Jurassic Express getting their shot at the titles. 

2) Jade Cargill vs. Janai Kai 

HEY ! JANAI KAI ! Well, nice seeing her for a second before she eats the pin I guess. SQUASH for Jade and Thunder Rosa runs down post match and we get a below average pull apart between the two to try to hype their semi finals match in the TBS Title Tournament coming up next week? Or sometime soon.

The Young Bucks & Adam Cole are backstage. The Bucks return to tag team action on Dynamite and want two of the Best Friends to show up and face them. Nick calls Brandon Cutler a “stupid dumbass” and cuts the camera. 

Eddie Kingston is on some stairs and says 2.0 will reap what they sow PATNA. 

Bryan Danielson/John Silver video package and BABY IM SO READY FOR THIS. They are gonna tear the damn roof off. 

Next week on Dynamite it’s Jamie Hayter/Riho, Young Bucks/Chuck Taylor & Rocky Romero + more!

3) PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. FTR (w/ Tully Blanchard) 

The pre-match interview turns into chaos and Mark Henry has to yell to someone shit down. This was supposed to be Lucha Bros defending the tag titles, but apparently Fenix is hurt so PAC is subbing in. Bell rings and great flurries from PAC & Penta to start doing their flashy and schtick stuff, respectively til we SETTLE RIGHT IN TO AN FTR STYLE CONTEST DADDY. And it’s great, honestly. Amazing southern heel tag work from FTR. Cutting off the ring, breaking up tag attempts. They build to the Penta hot tag phenomenally well and it RULES. The work here is a blast, but the eye patch shit is just goofy and the fact that it played into the finish took away from this as a whole for me. Malakai Black came down and sprayed PAC in the eyes again and FTR gets the win. 

Match rating - ***1/4 

AEW: Rampage Review - November 26th, 2021

AEW: Rampage (Black Friday edition)

November 26th, 2021

Chicago, Illinois

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho, & Ricky Starks 

Ok y’all sorry for no live instant recap this week. I work retail and it was simply not feasible considering it’s Black Friday. However I am here now with my usual written review so let’s diiiiive in. 

1) Adam Cole & Bobby Fish vs. Orange Cassidy & Wheeler Yuta (w/ Chuck Taylor & Kris Statlander)

AEW: Rampage Review - November 19th, 2021

AEW: Rampage 

November 19th, 2021

Norfolk, Virginia 

Commentators - Excalibur, Taz , Chris Jericho & Ricky Starks 

  

Before I begin, I’d like to formally announce a new segment as a part of our upcoming official partnership with the Up & Over Podcast (something more details will be announced about soon), we will be doing a Rampage live recap & review on the Pro Wrestling Truth YouTube channel every Friday night after Rampage AND we started last night! Check it out above, before, after or during your reading of my written review and make sure to subscribe to the PWT YouTube.

Myself, Mike, and Courtland took an in-depth look at Rampage from tonight and even touched on Dynamite a bit as well. Lots of cool things in the works so make sure to check it out and make plans to join us live on YouTube for our stream next week! 

1) Darby Allin vs. Billy Gunn 

Yeah, you read that right. This was set up in the most random ass backstage segment on Dynamite two nights ago. This is worked in the usual Darby formula. He’s overpowered and bumps around like an actual maniac. Leave it to Darby to do PPV caliber bumps on the secondary TV show. I mean, I’m not complaining, because they are sick.. in one way or another. Darby fights back after a commercial break, and hits the coffin drop. Billy kicks out at 1 and Darby hits another for the win. Idk I kinda enjoyed this.  

Match rating - **1/2

After the match, Austin & Colten attack Sting at ringside. Sting gets the upper hand and clears house before Billy chop blocks the leg of Sting and.. The Gunn Club stands tall. 

Replay of the CM Punk and MJF segment from Dynamite.

Meanwhile… Tony Schiavone is with QT Marshall and challenges CM Punk to a match on Dynamite next week. 

2) Jade Cargill vs. Red Velvet - TBS Title Tournament Match 

I had rocky expectations for this, but I was pleasantly surprised. Both women have strengths, it’s just hit or miss on when all the stars line up and they’re able to string together something solid. Here, they definitely did and it seems like they have some chemistry that I think should be revisited down the line once they’ve both grown further as wrestlers. Velvet bumped around for Jade and they laid out a super solid little match. Jade looked awesome and subsequently gets the win. I really really want a Rosa/Jade final. I think Rosa could lead Jade to a fantastic match and make her look extremely strong in defeat. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Backstage, CM Punk accepts QT Marshall’s challenge from earlier and puts emphasis on the stakes & importance of wrestling him in Chicago. 

They run down some upcoming matches for Dynamite next week which include the 8 man tag that was already announced (Cody/PAC/Lucha Bros v FTR/Malakai/Andrade) plus Danielson vs. Cabana and Punk vs. QT. ALSO, next week on Rampage, EDDIE KINGSTON VS DANIEL GARCIA!!!

ITS TIME FOR THE MAIN EVENT. Mark Henry does the pre-match split screen interview and IT IS TIME. 

3) Adam Cole & Bobby Fish vs. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) 

Now, we all know how I feel about the Undisputed Era callbacks and Bob Fish in general, but this match rocked. These guys just can’t go wrong in a spot on the card like this. The time restraint helps it not get too lost in itself like the trios match from Full Gear and instead we just get a suuuuper great TV tag. Truly, no complaints from me here. Cole and Luchasaurus get the hot tags and the finishing run is awesome. The Bucks try to get involved and Christian brings a chair down and needless to say, puts a stop to that. This was a blast. Jungle Boy pins Bobby Fish for the win.

Match rating - ***1/4

Thanks for reading y'all, make sure to follow @ThePWTruth and @UpAndOverPod on Twitter! Until next time <3

AEW: Rampage Review - November 12th, 2021

AEW: Rampage

November 12th, 2021

Minneapolis, MN - Target Center

Commentators: Excalibur, Tazz, & Ricky Starks

I KNOW this is hella out of order, but the completionist in me can't not go back and cover it. This is the Rampage the night before Full Gear in the same arena. Let's get into it!

1) Bobby Fish vs. Jungle Boy

"He's an ego HOG." -Ricky Starks 

"Ego Hog.. that's a t-shirt." -Chris Jericho

It's unfortunate that we got to enjoy a week of no Bobby Fish on TV only for him to re-emerge in a more prominent form than before. Jungle Boy is good at working from underneath, though so that saves this. Fish works him over for a while before JB floors him with a lariat that sends Fish onto the crown of his 60-year old head. Exploder suplex into the ropes stops the momentum of JB and gets Fish a two count. It doesn't do much, though, and JB has Fish in position for the snare trap. JB pounds on Fish's neck until he can lock it in. Good finish to a fine match.

Match rating - **1/2

Adam Cole runs down post-match and he & Fish try to give Jungle Boy a conchairto. Christian & Luchasaurus make the save. Christian hits an unprettier on Fish and taunt Cole and the Young Bucks who also emerged on the ramp.

Miro/Danielson video pack hyping their match tomorrow night.

Backstage, Hangman Page walks up during a Super Kliq promo. Cole gets in his face when Page asks to speak to The Bucks alone. The Bucks tell Cole to calm down and Page & The Bucks get their moment. Page says he's sorry for screwing them out of their tag title shot forever ago, but the way he sees it -- they're even. Because they cost him a shot at the World Title in July. Page, however, says, if the Bucks interfere tomorrow on the PPV, he will ruin them. Good shit.

2) Jade Cargill vs. Santana Garrett

Red Velvet is at ringside to hype the match with Jade coming up in the TBS Title Tournament. Simple squash, but a very solid one. Santana is always suffice in these type of matches. Jade wins and she gets into it with Red Velvet after Velvet smashes a cake into Mark Sterling's face. Nice little brawl honestly, hell yea. 

Match rating - **

"Look at Eddie... on screen.." -$Big Money Mike$

Punk/Eddie video package airs ahead of their classic. 

3) Dante Martin vs. Ariya Daivari 

The AEW debut of Daivari here! Hometown boys getting a chance to shine here. I had no idea Dante was from Minnesota. This was your vintage 2021 Dante Martin sprint so yes, it fucking rocked. God, this dude is so awesome. Dante wins, but nice showing for Daivari in his debut, even if this is a one time appearance.

Match rating - **3/4

Post-match, Ricky Starks sends Powerhouse Hobbs & Hook to the ring to offer Dante Martin a contract to join Team Taz. That’s interesting. Dante truly is the hottest young talent in AEW right now so it makes sense that so many people want to associate with him, but lord knows this could get messy quick.

4) Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor, Kris Statlander, & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Matt Hardy (w/ The HFO) - Lumberjack Match 

The pre-match interviews hosted by Mark Henry were awesome. Orange really showed a bit more than he normally does, saying that he’s tired of dealing with Hardy and after tonight it’s over. This energy comes across in the match itself as Orange CHARGES Matt with some forearm strikes early that rule. A highlight of this was the fire from Orange, the negative was almost everything else. The lumberjack stip I’m fine with because it’s something different, but this whole thing was just… a cluster. I’ve seen worse however and Orange is always a blast so that was the saving grace, plus Chuckie T and Yuta getting dives was awesome. Yeah, actually writing back, idk why I complained, this was fun, the outcome sucks though because it looks like this feud is gonna continue… just have Orange shave Matt’s head already and end this motherfucker!

Match rating - **1/4

AEW: Rampage Review - November 5th, 2021

AEW: Rampage 

November 5th, 2021

St Louis, Missouri 

Commentators - Excalibur, Ricky Starks, & Taz

1) Bryan Danielson vs. Anthony Bowens

What an awesome fucking surprise to open the show. This stems from Top Flight fucking with Tony Khan so he is essentially feeding them to our king, the American Dragon. Great showing for Bowens here though as he is on top for a good portion of the match. The Danielson comeback rules and he forces Bowens to tap. So fun.

Match rating - **3/4

Andrade and FTR backstage from Wednesday apparently. FTR asks where PAC was last week and refer to him as a British bitch. They say they will see him on Wednesday. 

CM Punk comes out to confront Eddie Kingston. This is one of those segments that is just so sick that words can’t do it justice. Kingston comes out and basically refuses to apologize and brings up old IWA Mid South beef. King says people don’t know the real Punk, but he does. He says Punk is a lowlife scumbag and did nothing but judge him back in the day. Punk said he didn’t judge him, he held him to a standard. Shit gets heated. Punk calls Eddie a bum who fell short of that standard. Eddie says no one really wants Punk here anymore and that he should quit and leave again for 7 years. This leads to a headbutt from Punk to Kingston leading to an AWESOME brawl. Punk faces Kingston on November 13th at Full Gear and they just put asses is in the seats with this segment, holy moly. Best thing Punk has been involved in since returning and one of the best in ring segments in the history of AEW. 

2) The Bunny vs. Red Velvet - TBS Title Eliminator Tournament Match

Well, this wasn’t nearly as offensive as I anticipated. In fact, they held it together very well and delivered a match that went on without any real hiccups. For that reason, I can’t complain. It’s not anything special or great, but it damn sure is suffice. Velvet gets the win with THE LAST SLICE. 

Match rating - **

In between these matches, they proceed to announce the most awesome Dynamite line up in a while with so many fresh, sleeper matches. PAC faces Dax Harwood, Rosa/Tay/Anna Jay vs. Britt/Rebel/Hayter in trios action pLUS DANIELSON VS ROCKY ROMERO. What da fuck. That women’s trios match!!! Rocky/Danielson?!? PAC and Dax is gonna rock too. I’m so excited! And how could I forget? Sydal/Moriarty vs. Dante/Lio Rush!!!

3) Adam Cole vs. John Silver 

Nice little side bar feud here that has developed out of the Jurassic Express/Elite story. Naturally, this is a blast. They’re restricted on time so this stays right in the groove that it needs to be for it to be super enjoyable. You get The Dark Order coming down late in the match to confront the Young Bucks when they put Cole’s foot on the ropes to save him from a three count. This leads to an awesome near fall for Silver off a spinning sit out powerbomb. I bit on the possibility of Silver upsetting Cole and so did everyone in the crowd, who chanted “holy shit” and “this is awesome” immediately after. Cole comes back, though, and a bunch of superkicks and the last shot finishes off Silver.

Match rating - ***

AEW: Rampage Review - October 29th, 2021

AEW Rampage 

October 29th, 2021

Boston, Massachusetts 

Commentators - Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, & Ricky Starks

After a less satisfying Dynamite than normal. (Sorta, can’t say I didn’t love that main event and Shida/Deeb.) AEW brings us another stellar hour of pro wrestling in the form of this week’s episode of Rampage on TNT.

1) Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Kingston - AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Match

He’s done it. Again. Danielson is on the run of a lifetime. A run cementing himself as one of, if not the greatest of all time. As if we had forgotten, and as if he needed to prove himself any further than he has in the past 20 years. I don’t know if it’s all in our heads or what but… fuck what am I even saying. It’s not all in our heads.. these matches he’s putting on are god damn phenomenal. The build up to this via promos backstage on Dark and Dynamite really brought the heat this needed to feel like more than just another Danielson dream match. Not to mention the high stakes of it being a semi final contest in the World Title Eliminator Tournament. This is the first time these two have touched in the ring in like 10 years or more, and it’s truly a spectacle. It’s honestly just pro wrestling 101. Both guys know their character. They know who they are as performers and they accentuate those things to tell this story. Danielson is becoming more and more cocky like he used to be back in the day and it’s so sick to see. After years of being either a full blown face or full blown heel, our king is a full blown tweener and it rules. The same could borderline be said for Eddie. This match just touched so many amazing notes. It was brutal, it was inspired, and the finish was the icing on the cake to the violence we saw from bell to bell. Danielson’s bruised and scarred chest that had turned a purple-ish red by the end of this thing tells you everything you need to know. The best way I can put into words what made this so special is what I said to Mike afterwards. This didn’t feel like a good match, it felt like a true battle. A competition. A fight. One in which you FELT the struggle through your screen. And the finish furthers that story with Eddie passing out and after the ref calls for the bell, Danielson just collapses as well. This was a fucking war and they had me on the edge of my seat. Just fantastic stuff and god knows they probably left so much on the table for future meetings. I want to scream just thinking about it.

Match rating - ****1/4

Backstage, Tony Schiavone tries to interview CM Punk, but they are interrupted by Eddie Kingston yelling about how he didn’t lose and never submitted. He & Punk get into it a little bit verbally. GOD YES GIVE ME THIS GIVE ME THIS GIVEM E THIS. I need this match at Full Gear and a feud in the process. 

2) Dante Martin (w/ Lio Rush) vs. Matt Sydal 

These matches truly remind me a lot of the Sydal/Ospreay matches from circa 2015. Sydal has his moments, but the truth is he is one of the best juniors of all time. He really just excels at making young guys look fantastic and showing that there’s much more to the junior style than flips. This may be my favorite of their series of matches simply because of the story that is told and how well they pull it off. PLUS, Dante gets a huge victory, defeating his.. former? mentor. Great stuff.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Britt Baker (c) vs. Abadon - Trick or Treat No DQ Match for the AEW Women’s Title

I can’t lie to ya… I enjoyed the hell out of this. After a show with a perfect wrestling match and a fun juniors match with a nice story.. we needed something to spice shit up. I love garbage wrestling, though so I may be biased, but damn this rocked. The Abadon character can be a little much, but having her here on the HALLOWEEN edition of Rampage was perfect placement and a nice treat. Plus, we got to see the Hardcore Legend Britt Baker DMD return to what got her the nickname as she took a brutal thumbtack spot among other things here. Britt retains after a blast of a little hardcore match. I had fun and that’s what matters hell yeah.

Match rating - ***1/4

AEW: Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki - Rampage: The Buy In Review - October 15th, 2021

Minoru Suzuki’s US excursion has been quite the adventure. Truthfully, I have been surprised a couple of times by the amount of effort put into some of the matches. Not that I ever thought they’d be bad, but Suzuki can be known, even in Japan, for sticking to a simple formula that he knows works. The same can be said for a lot of NJPW guys like Nakamura who is probably the worst offender in that category. 

Suzuki’s excursion began with his match with Moxley on Dynamite which was fine, but was pretty much as bare bones as it gets. It didn’t rub me wrong, I wasn’t even upset, I was just like okay, we’ll get to see Suzuki run his usual match with the top guys in AEW and the Indies that’ll be cool. Having him over is a W in itself, whether he’s having the high quality, over the top must see matches that he’s known for or not.

Then, I witnessed him live and in person against Homicide at GCW’s Get Lost A lot and my opinion on this excursion began to change. That match felt like one of his higher end contests. Maybe the atmosphere helped it, but the effort put forth in the ring cannot be ignored. Suzuki & Homicide went all out, no pun intended, and tore the house down. 

Now, we have this. Suzuki vs. Danielson on AEW soil. This is a dream match many of us have had in our brains for years. A dream match we never thought we’d see, but a dream match both competitors wanted as well. This led me to believe this would deliver, but then again, it’s a YouTube match. Not PPV, not TV… YouTube. 

Will these guys have the match they’re fully capable of or will they save something for a bigger match? Will this be able to live up to the huge hype even though it’s on a YouTube pre show? Will the big fight feel that we all anticipate be there? These are some of the questions I had in mind heading into this. 

The entrances begin and the atmosphere is immediately off the charts. Despite some of the fans being marks for themselves, this match had everyone fully invested and garnered “holy shit” chants before the bell even sounded. My third question was answered. Big fight feel? Check. 

The feeling out process begins and it’s a little tough for them early. I think so, at least. This crowd wasn’t your typical AEW big match audience. I think that threw myself and maybe even Suzuki & Danielson off as they navigated through the opening minutes of this match, trying to figure out what clicked. After 5-7 minutes, though, they found what clicked and dove into a rhythm that was everything we all longed for and more.

In the early going, I worried the weird atmosphere was going to hinder my enjoyment of this, those thoughts went out the window when these two found their groove and proceeded to pound the shit out of each other for 12 minutes. What a fucking battle we witnessed here.

I was gripping Mike’s couch and screeching as Danielson hit his fighting spirit power up deep down the stretch. The facial expressions these two threw at one another throughout the contest may have popped me just as much, though. Two true masters of their craft here in every single possible way. 

Just seeing these two interact and react to one another was unbelievable. The chemistry and the feel was everything… I just can’t even find the words. These two went at it like it may be the only time they ever get to, but god I hope it isn’t. I need this rematch because with a tightened up opening few minutes and a few extra minutes added onto the end, this would’ve been a five star contest every day of the week. 

That’s not to downplay the significance of how amazing this was, though. It is undoubtedly one of my favorite matches of the year and something I will watch over and over and over. Seeing Danielson have his first true gritty, violent match since returning to the outside-WWE pro wrestling world was a sight to behold. I can’t think of a better first opponent for him for this than Suzuki. This was just phenomenal. I also have to mention all the piledriver / choke counters and the ultimate finish with Bryan’s running knee that looked the best it’s looked in a long time .. wow. 

Match rating - ****1/2

AEW: Rampage Review - October 8th, 2021

AEW: Rampage 

October 8th, 2021

Philadelphia, PA

Commentary - Excalibur, Taz, & Chris Jericho 

Show opens with Mark Henry hosting a split screen interview with Punk & Garcia before their match which is kicking off the show.

1) CM Punk vs. Daniel Garcia

Wow.. I did not expect this to be my favorite Punk match since his return but it honestly was. Sure, I rated Punk/Darby a quarter star higher, but there’s more factors there than just personal enjoyment. This felt like classic TV Punk. It reminded me of his Raw matches in 2012 or so. Good story, so superbly paced. Honestly just all the things that make Punk so good except in compact TV form although this came close to feeling like a PPV match at times. It was just a blast. Punk got his leg/knee worked over and made Garcia look amazing while he was in peril. Some neat reversals and things here. Punk mounts a comeback and busts out the piledriver before locking in the Anaconda Vice which forces Dan to tap. Awesome showing for him even in defeat. 

Match rating - ***3/4

Matt Sydal is backstage with Lio Rush & Dante Martin. Sydal doesn’t like the idea of Dante partnering up with Lio. Lio offers to give Sydal something to show what he could do for Dante.. a match against CM Punk next week. AH LETS GO. GOT ME FEELIN LIKE IM WATCHIN 2004 IWA MS. Punk vs. Sydal on Rampage next week, it’s official.

2) The Lucha Bros (Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) vs. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster)

Caster manages to not say anything too offensive and stupid in his opening rap here so that’s nice. I really want to love The Acclaimed, but I still have a sour taste from much of the shit Caster has said. None the less, this match is fine. They do stuff for a little less than 10 minutes and it’s fun. There’s never really any disbelief or true suspense on the outcome, but it’s still a blast of a tag match and easy viewing. Lucha Bros retain.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Jade Cargill vs. Skye Blue 

SKYE BLUE!! She gets squashed by Jade here. They’re building Jade towards the TBS title clearly as she beats down Skye after the match only for Thunder Rosa to make the big save. Weird to be building the TBS title on a show that’s staying on TNT but is what it is. I’ve sat through way more insulting things in my years of WWE viewing so I’m not even gonna begin to complain. 

4) Ricky Starks (c) vs. Brian Cage - FTW Title Match/Philly Street Fight 

If AEW has ever ran a feud that I am absolutely tired of, it’s this one. Maybe even the Team Taz angle as a whole.. it’s just.. flat. Best part about this is it being a Philly Street Fight in Philly. They do plunder stuff and it’s at least enjoyable in that regard. Starks pin Cage with help AGAIN. Please let this be over now.

Match rating - **1/2

AEW: Rampage Review - October 1st, 2021

AEW Rampage

October 1st, 2021

Rochester, New York 

1) Bryan Danielson vs. Nick Jackson 

Oh, yes. The streak of Danielson TV epics is officially ON. I mean, kicking it off with a five star match against Kenny Omega on Dynamite the other week should have 100% been my confirmation, but this.. this fully locked it into my brain what we are in for. This match, almost moreso than the Omega match, felt like old school Danielson. The Omega match saw Bryan lean into his old ways much more than he has in his recent WWE tenure, however, it was more of a transition between his WWE style and the old style he used to work. In a way, we watched it develop before our eyes, I think. Another reason that match is GOATed. Anyways, yeah. We got a “I HAVE UNTIL 5”, we got a cattle mutilation, and BY GOD WE GOT THE AMERICAN DRAGON. Working his magic and pulling out arguably the best Nick Jackson singles match of all time. Not that Nick was ever bad in singles, he’s better than his brother in the role for sure, but all his good singles matches rely on his agility and cool ideas for spots. Which is fine. The Bucks can structure almost better than anyone and Nick specifically can execute it without a hitch. This, however, was its own animal. We saw an easily understood and believable story of Nick trying to work that signature Bucks style and Danielson forcing him to wrestle. The suplex spots on the apron and the floor ruled. Nick got the shit kicked & chopped out of him. It was just fucking great. Also, being the PWG nerd that I am, this has a lot of backstory for me considering the only other time these two have met was in a tag match in the 2009 DDT4 tournament where Danielson & Roderick Strong absolutely mutilated the Young Bucks. A story the Bucks told in detail in their book, and even touched on before this match by changing their bio to “Revenge for PWG” before the show. So yes. This was fantastic. Danielson taps Nick out with cattle mutilation for the win.

Match rating - ****

2) Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill vs. Nyla Rose - No Disqualification #1 Contender’s Match for the Women’s Title 

This was one I had hopes for. There’s things I like about all these women. Rosa is the only one who’s the full package, but Nyla & Jade both have a huge upside and a number of positives that can be honed & crafted in a way that they will be huge stars. Jade, in particular, is going to be a megastar. She already has the look and feel and presentation, she just needs more reps. In the ring, her flaws come out when it’s more than just a squash. The stip here was able to hide some of that awkwardness, but it was still there. Nyla is hit or miss, but she was okay here. It’s hard to mess up these style matches unless you just utterly fuck a bunch of stuff up, which they didn’t so yeah it was fine. Jade wins and is up next for Britt?! Seems a little soon for me, but this definitely keeps her strong. I still think a Rosa pinning Nyla finish would’ve been my way to go because then you can build towards a big Rosa/Britt rematch on PPV while still keeping Jade strong. We’ll see what happens, though. 

Match rating - **1/2

3) Orange Cassidy vs. Jack Evans - Hair vs. Hair Match 

What an interesting main event pairing. If you had told me about this 2-3 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s just so random. A lot of people thought this sucked, I thought it was just fine. This is the B show and truthfully even though stock on Evans isn’t high, this is a pretty well built little match as the HFO/Cassidy tensions have been boiling for a minute. The match is nothing special, but it is what it is and it’s fine in that regard. Orange wins and we got a showdown between HFO and the Best Friends before he shaves Jack’s head as Matt decides to surrender and tells Jack he’s sorry as he does so, lmao. Perfectly fine, fun closer to this show. 

Match rating - **1/2

Final thoughts: Two fun little matches that accentuated the plunder and lightheartedness of wrestling that we all love and one of the best matches in Rampage history. This show is a pretty easy recommendation and seeing that Danielson/Nick Jackson match made my Friday night a lot better. I was battling a sinus infection last week along with allergies so I felt like absolute shit, but this show helped me escape for a lil bit. WRESTLING!