This was a decent episode of AEW Rampage. Most of the matches were good…most of them. The main event between Takeshita and Bandido was the highlight of the show. The lowlight was easily the six-man tag match between Mark Briscoe’s team and Jeff Jarrett’s team. Several of the participants have no business wrestling.
Despite that, most of the matches in this episode were pretty good but none reached the level of amazing. The show structure was hurt by the mixed-tag match. The atmosphere was good throughout but not great. A few stories were advanced but not every match had a ton of storytelling. Production was good but no theme.
Tonight on AEW Rampage: Chaos takes on United Empire in six-man tag team action. Who will come out on top? Speaking of six-man tag team action, Jeff and Karen Jarrett plus Jay Lethal take on the team of Aubrey Edwards, Mark, and Papa Briscoe. Taya Valkyrie goes against Trish Adora. Will Valkyrie get path on the victory path? And Konosuke Takeshita takes on Bandido in the main event.
GOOD Kyle Fletcher, Will OSpreay, and Jeff Cobb vs Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, and Trent Beretta:
The smaller Romero had trouble moving the hulking Jeff Cobb but got help from his teammates. Later, Trent Beretta hit a trio of suplexes on Kyle Fletcher. However, Fletcher then countered a corner move and turned it into a brainbuster. A flurry of offense finished off the match as each team traded blows. Fletcher then hit Rocky Romero with a tombstone piledriver and WIll Ospreay landed a Hidden Blade to score the win for United Empire.
Results: United Empire by Pinfall via Hidden Blade
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
SQUASH – Taya Valkyrie toyed with Trish Adora in this match, easily defeating her. Other than some brief offense, this match was all Valkyrie.
The Hardys called out the Gunn boys and said they are a stepping stone to the AEW tag titles.
AVERAGE Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and Jay Lethal vs Mark Briscoe, Papa Briscoe, and Aubrey Edwards:
Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe started this match, going back and forth before Jeff Jarrett tagged in. In other news, Karen Jarrett’s time in the ring lasted about five seconds before she tagged herself out. Papa Briscoe came back in eventually and landed some very slow clotheslines and hit a very slow spear. Aubrey Edwards and Karen Jarrett finished up this match, as Aubrey submitted Jarrett with a figure four leglock.
Results: Mark Briscoe, Papa Briscoe, and Aubrey Edwards by Submission via Figure Four
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2 Stars
Taya Valkyrie challenged Kris Statlander for the TBS title backstage. Valkyrie insisted Statlander only won the title because Valkyrie weakened Jade Cargill.
GREAT Bandido vs Takeshita:
Early in this match, Takeshita took Bandido into the crowd but lost momentum when they got back to the ring. Bandido showed off impressive strength by holding Takeshitga in a standing suplex for almost ten seconds. Sensing trouble for his client, Don Callis approached the ring which distracted Bandido. This gave Takeshita time to recover and he countered a springboard move with a knee. Bandido took back control with a DDT but Konosuke Takeshita rolled out of the ring. Not deterred, Bandido climbed the turnbuckle and jumped onto Takeshita. Despite a bodyslam and a frog splash, Takeshita still kicked out. After some great back and forth, Konosuke Takeshita finally picked up the win with a knee strike to the face of Bandido.
Results: Konosuke Takeshita by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Overall…
This was a decent episode of AEW Rampage. Most of the matches were good…most of them. The main event between Takeshita and Bandido was the highlight of the show. The lowlight was easily the six-man tag match between Mark Briscoe’s team and Jeff Jarrett’s team. Several of the participants have no business wrestling.
Despite that, most of the matches in this episode were pretty good but none reached the level of amazing. The show structure was hurt by the mixed-tag match. The atmosphere was good throughout but not great. A few stories were advanced but not every match had a ton of storytelling. Production was good but no theme.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3/5 Stars
Photo Credit: AEW
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