Once again from the triple hitter at the Now Arena in Chicago, Illinois we have another edition of Rampage. After that horrible ending from Dynamite especially with the situation with Daffney, I lost a bit of enthusiasm for wrestling in general. So I really needed a better show, especially considering this was their go home show before the All Out PPV on Sunday.
Malakai Black vs Lee Johnson
I was expecting this match to end the show but it was a nice warm up in the sense that Malakai is super over. He has that natural charisma and talent that make people respect him, despite whatever deeds he may attempt to pull.
This match wasn’t bad as Malakai had hinted that he intended to make Lee suffer. And again that translated to Lee getting more offense and time in, although Malakai mostly dominated. It was a different affair than what Lee was used to as he mostly was on defense against a guy who has a more shoot style that makes his matches very realistic, which is why he gets the biggest pops.
Malakai’s kicks look great and his shots also. They do more wrestling holds with standing switches and roll ups for counters, which makes me happy since it’s far more authentic. Also, I liked how Lee tried to sell during the match as well as getting different type of experience against Malakai.
Of course, Lee really wasn’t expected to stand much of a chance and eventually Malakai knocked him out with his kick finisher. Just before Malakai attempted to give Lee a chair and a free hit. There was a hint that Malakai attempted to turn Lee towards “the dark side” by bending the rules a bit in getting his revenge.
In a bit of a post-match, Dustin came out to defend/check up on Lee with Malakai rolling out. Later Dustin would do a nice little promo and it was announced that he would be facing Malakai on the upcoming Dynamite.
Quick comment here is that I was surprised they didn’t add Dustin vs Malakai for the PPV. But I’m guessing the number of matches is at the point where more would probably put the show around the 4 hour mark and they’re probably going to aim for 3. Since Malakai is facing Dustin on Dynamite, that makes me suspicious of when Cody will return. Jericho did bring up Cody’s absence so it’s pretty apparent he won’t be gone too long. I still think they might wait for a big return match. Since the next major PPV is at Full Gear, which seems to have been pulled from November, it’s hard to say when/if Cody will get that opportunity.
Miro Interview
Miro gave a promo for All Out when he faces Eddie Kingston. Kingston had the line of the night with “Redeem Deeze Nutz” which trended on Twitter. Miro rolled out of the ring before they could do a brawl and slugged Kingston on the head with the title but eventually gets a DDT on the head to finish up the segment.
At this stage, I don’t think Kingston will be the one to dethrone Miro. But this on paper is one of Miro’s biggest challenges in AEW in terms of matches. My bet is for Lana/CJ Perry to make her AEW appearance at All Out and help give Miro the win. If Miro does win in that fashion, I’m wondering if Jon Moxley will be next for a title shot since Kingston and Moxley are kayfabe tight.
Rebel & Jaime Hayter & Rebel vs Kris Statlander
Really weird match. Rebel mostly was in the corner and Hayter got a bunch of offense against Statlander. I really like Hayter. She might be my favorite wrestler in the women’s division. There’s an intangible that I like about her. Mostly, they were trying to advertise Statlander’s strength/size/power especially when she hit an impressive move in having Rebel on her shoulders and catching Hayter, leading to a big double slam.
Hayter would roll away outside and Britt would watch with Hayter as Rebel, of course, would eat the pinfall. Rebel looked better here than she usually has. Post-match of course happened with the trio ganging up on Statlander. Red Velvet made the save but she got no pop. Right now, AEW is really trying to push Red Velvet as a face but no one is buying her. I read that her opponent on Elevation got a bigger pop than Red Velvet while she got the booes. Better turn Velvet heel.
Main point her imo beyond trying to sell Statlander as possibly being the one beating Britt (she’s not) is showing Jamie Hayter without having her eat a loss.
Daniel Garcia vs Darby Allin
Before the match started, Mark Henry did another pre-match screen-by-screen interview with Darby and Garcia who had 2.0 by his side. Garcia is being pushed huge right now even if he’s eating losses. They really see a bright future for him and have him working the main event week after week.
Match wasn’t bad with CM Punk coming out for commentary and getting a huge pre-match ovation with his entrance music. Darby and Garcia are very young both still in their 20s. I can see AEW positioning them as having main event feuds for title matches in 2-3 years as long as both stay healthy.
2.0 kept interfering with Sting trying to keep them at bay. Darby would win with 2.0 rushing to put more of a beat down upon him. Sting focused on Garcia while 2.0 worked over Darby. Naturally, that lead to CM Punk making his way down. He distracted 2.0 who fell into the trap of Darby knocking them out with a major suicide dive but getting up immediately to confront CM Punk.
Final Thoughts
This show didn’t feel as bad as Wednesday. Some of their best talent showed up for this show. The post-match beat downs didn’t bother me since it was their go home show, but none of them felt like overkill compared to that shitty multi-person run in with Orange Cassidy and Hardy’s group. Also, since there wasn’t any Kenny Omega and Bucks, the show didn’t feel like it got dragged down. So I liked it.
Less overall goofiness, more wrestling, less talk in general. This was a decent go home show before the PPV. And it just makes me believe you have to eliminate The Elite from the title picture and get them off TV along with Orange Cassidy. This show felt like wrestling. The matches weren’t bad, weren’t exceedingly great but they served some purpose.
I’m surprised by how much CM Punk is being used though. But it’s actually good because I’m certain Tony Khan is paying him pretty big and he’s not doing anything crazy just yet. And I wouldn’t say he’s being overexposed. Right now, he needs that exposure because he’s getting back into the game and they’re pretty much setting him up as the face of the company while Chris Jericho, Cody Rhodes, etc. are taking a break.
The commentary also flowed a lot better this week. I enjoyed CM Punk on commentary. He wasn’t overwhelming and made me want to check out the PPV with his match against Darby Allin. Also, his involvement against 2.0 suggest that 2.0 and Daniel Garcia are going to interfere in the PPV, leading to a 6 man tag match down the line. So early on, CM Punk is going to be facing some young talent to give them the rub, the experience and exposure while still beating them and slowly move forward towards the higher echelon people. I honestly have no problem with that because he’s on a mission that he clearly defined from the start. As long as his matches stay serious, no goofy sketches and stupid shenanigans, he should be able to stay highly relevant.
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