It’s Saturday, and you know what that means…it’s time to recap Rampage! Once again, on top of the Rampage Report, we’ll also get a lil Side of SmackDown! We’ll touch on highlights from that show after our regularly scheduled programming.
Since the format of the blog is still kinda fluid, we’re going to try something different and add ratings to the end of segments! Nothing too specific, more of an overall judgment. I mean, who am I, Meltzer? Reader, I am not.
Opening Contest: Bryan Danielson vs Matt Sydal
His lordship William Regal joined commentary for this match, a spinoff from last week’s really good battle between Danielson and Jon Moxley and Dante Martin and Sydal. It wasn’t terribly long, but it was fun to watch, as the started out with traditional wrist locks and takedowns before Danielson escalated things with some rougher moves. Sydal countered with his unique moveset, and there were enough close calls that I legitimately thought Sydal might steal a win before the pay per premium live event on Sunday!
It was not to be, as Danielson was able to catch Sydal with the trapped elbow strikes that the Blackpool Combat Club are becoming known for. He followed with a choke hold and Sydal took a lil nap.
That was a great opening match! I don’t know that you need chemistry when you’re in the ring with Bryan Danielson, but these two definitely put on a show. So that’s +1 if we’re keeping score.
A video package reminding us of the birth of HOOKhausen was next. It’s a go home show, we got a lot of these.
Match #2: The Young Bucks (as the Hardy Boys) w/GANGREL(!) and Brandon Cutler (as Lita) vs Taylor Rust and John Crews
The Young Bucks took Matt Hardy’s criticism literally, and came out in Hardy cosplay, complete with the Hardy theme music and their former managers, fake Lita and actual Gangrel. Nick as Jeff and Matt as…Matt, it was basically a squash. BUT it was a funny squash, and the “Hardys” really pulled off the moveset of the Hardys quite well.
A Swanton from Nick led to a pinfall, and Gangrel celebrated with the guys afterward, only for them to turn on him! The Bucks were ready to hit BTE, but the Hardys sauntered to the ring to help their former mentor. The Bucks escaped, but Brandon Cutler wasn’t so lucky. Cutler ended up eating a Swanton Bomb, Twist of Fate, AND a great looking Impaler DDT.
That segment was apparently made just for me, as I could not stop laughing. Obviously, that got us to 2!
Darby was filming in the darkest area of the arena, and he accused Kyle O’Reilly of injuring Sting, his father. Allin then challenged O’Reilly to a match at Double or Nothing. If he were to not accept, Darby promised to make Sunday night a living hell for Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and all of the Undisputed Elite.
Match #3: Max Caster w/ The Gunn Club and a wheelchair-bound Anthony Bowens vs Dante Martin
The intro to this was spectacular, as Caster came in with a rap to address the already-in-ring Martin. The Gunn boys both tried to use Bowens’s catchphrase, but neither remembered that they were in Las Vegas. Bowens then did the job right, and the whole group did their new Scissor Me Daddy gesture that I find hilarious (your mileage may vary).
The match itself was good, if not spectacular. It was set up similarly to the opening contest, with Caster focused on slowing Martin down, and Martin doing the airborne offense people love to see.
Ref Aubrey ejected Caster’s crew, and once it was a solo battle Martin gained momentum. A springboard nosedive ended things and got Martin the W, but it was a good watch. Another +1, bringing us to 3 overall!
A couple video packages followed - a really nice looking one for Samoa Joe and Adam Cole, who face off in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament finals on Sunday. The second was a recap of the interminable TNT championship storyline, focused on Sammy Guevara and Frankie Kazarian smashing the belt with a sledge hammer last week.
Dan Lambert, Scorpio Sky, and Ethan Page were in the ring next to present Sky with a new TNT championship belt. Lambert first ran down the fans, as is tradition, and then revealed the purple and gold belt with an 8 and a 24 on the sides - Scorpio Sky is a HUGE Kobe Bryant fan.
We then saw a feed on the big screen of Sammy, Tay Conti, and Kaz walking into Lambert’s American Top Team facility and stealing some UFC belts. They planned on holding those hostage to get a match at Double or Nothing against Paige Van Zant and the Men of the Year.
Nope, nope to this whole thing. I already complained about it on the wrap-up yesterday, so I won’t dwell. But this does get a -1, so we’re back down to 2 overall.
The main event interview between Mark Henry, Kris Statlander, and Ruby Soho followed. Ruby gave an impassioned speech about how she needed to win the tournament, but Statlander countered that she had been at AEW since the beginning, and what has she gotten? Her friends turned on her, she blew out her knee, and she’s not a championship contender. It is SHE who needs the win.
Well, it looks like there’s been enough talk. It’s time…for the main event!
Kris Statlander vs Ruby Soho, winner faces Britt Baker DMD in Owen finals at Double or Nothing
This was another really good match and to AEW’s credit, they gave the women time to work and to really shine. The crowd was split at the beginning, and Statlander really owned most of the match as she displayed her power advantage over Soho.
Ruby ended up victorious after avoiding several near falls, but the last one she kicked out of was ultimately to her detriment. I don’t know if the crowd just got behind Statlander because she was dominating the match near the end, or if that last kick out was after the three count and the crowd hated that Statlander wasn’t given the win. But Soho got a quick rollup after attacking Kris’s knee and shoulder while she was going for a submission, and that was that. Britt Baker came out after the win to…not talk, despite having a microphone. Ruby was getting booed pretty badly, and tried to talk her way out of it and to deliver a solid speech to Baker to end the show.
The fan reaction and weird finish took away from the match quite a bit, so I’m gonna call this one a wash. It wasn’t bad, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Here’s the problem - that match was good, but the end of the show didn’t do anybody any favors. The miscount turned the crowd against Ruby, and she wasn’t really able to talk her way out of it. She sounded kinda desperate there, basically saying that she thought Statlander should have won and Ruby did what she had to do. So now Ruby, who hasn’t gotten a solid push since she showed up in AEW, has to go into the PPV with one of the most over wrestlers the company has in Baker, and she’s either going to win and get booed, or lose and the whole tournament does nothing. Baker doesn’t need the win. They could have reversed the plan, just went with the ref’s count and pushed Statlander to the moon. Now the best we can hope for is that the crowd at Double or Nothing just happens to be full of Ruby Soho fans.
So, overall, Rampage was a good go home show and added a little more to Double or Nothing. As an ardent supporter of women’s wrestling, I’m a little worried about the Owen finals, but I will remain positive and optimistic. We had four good matches, one bad segment, and one lousy ending, but that leaves us at what, plus two? That’s good, that means it’s two points over mediocre! Watch for the matches, skip most of the videos to save time, and please give me your thoughts as to what happened at the end there!
As for our Side of SmackDown…well, with Roman Reigns taking a little time off and Randy Orton injured, there were a lot of things set up for the future tonight. Shinsuke Nakamura and Riddle formed an alliance, and they’ll be fighting the Usos on Raw for the opportunity to…fight the Usos. I do not support championship contender matches, they seem silly and like they’re giving away the match we could build up for a pay per premium live event.
Jinder Mahal and Shanki teased a breakup, as Shanki’s new love of dancing to his own theme music cost him and Mahal a match against Los Lotharios.
Kevin Owens and Sammy Zayn reunited for the KO show, although that broke down because they should never be friends on TV.
The entire women’s locker room decided to attack Ronda Rousey and Raquel Rodriguez, because they don’t have anything else to do since the women’s tag team championships are…well, not being defended. Aaliyah locked Shotzi in the locker room, the Rousey vs Raquel match turned into a tag match against Natalya and Shayna Baszler…so at least they’re using some of the women on TV!
It looks like Ricochet and GUNTHER might be building to a thing, which should be fun. Ricky and Drew Gulak teamed up and lost to GUNTHER and Ludwig, but that’ll happen. Maybe Ricochet can get some wins again if he drops that cursed strap.
In the main, the New Day teamed up with Drew McIntyre to face Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch. The good guys won, and Drew was nice enough to tag Xavier Woods in to get the Backwoods on Butch after he hit the Claymore. Woodsy deserves to get the pin after all the beatings he’s eaten.
And that’s it! You’re all caught up. Tomorrow I’ll write a full predictions and preview post for Double or Nothing, and I’d love it if you shared your thoughts and predictions as well. It’s nice to know you’re out there, picking up what I’m putting down.
I appreciate you stopping by, and would love it if you drop your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also follow me on Twitter at @ElOsoPequeno, where I try to remember to post whenever I update the blog. I recap Raw, Dynamite, and Rampage weekly, and recap anything else I happen to watch. There’s also a weekly wrap up on Fridays, and I’ll do predictions before any big AEW or WWE pay per premium live events.
Have a Good One!
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