This was a good episode of Rampage that had some good matches. The highlight of the night was the main event between Douki and Jack Perry. Douki got over with the crowd and Jungle Boy built momentum ahead of his title match at Forbidden Door. The low point of the night was the match between Skye Blue and Anna Joy. A fine match but not a ton of story there.
The matches were all good but not a ton of storytelling to them so that hurts the overall score. The show structure was very good but the promos felt rushed. The atmosphere was good throughout but not always great. A couple of stories were advanced but some matches didn't have much story to them. Production was good, with no theme to the show.
On tonight’s episode of AEW Rampage: the Owen Hart Tournament begins as Skye Blue takes on Anna Jay. Who will advance to the next round? MJF appears for the first time ever on Rampage. What does the AEW World Champion have to say that brings him to Friday nights? And in six-man tag team action, Chaos takes on the team of Swerve Strickland and United Empire.
GOOD Chaos vs Swerve Strickland and United Empire:
This match started chaotically as all eight men started brawling in the ring and Will Ospreay shook his genitals in the face of Yoh. Jeff Cobb later displayed impressive athleticism when he hit Rocky Romero with a standing moonsault. Yoh went for a pin after a bodyslam but Swerve Strickland broke it up with a kick to the face. In the finish, Ospreay made the pin after hitting Yoh with a Hidden Blade.
Results: Swerve Strickland and United Empire by Pinfall via Hidden Blade
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Adam Cole and MJF:
Ever the heel, MJF took the wind out of the crowd’s sail by playing his music before the crowd could yell “Bay Bay.” MJF told Cole that got Adam Cole a match at Forbidden Door with Tom Lawlor as a thanks for convincing him to wrestle Tanahashi. As he said this, Lawlor and Royce Isaacs attacked Cole from behind. Not to worry MJF came to Cole’s defense…eventually. He had to remove his watch and his scarf before he got to the ring.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
GOOD the Acclaimed:
After rapping about current events, the Acclaimed quickly took out a trio of jobbers. Then, Harley Cameron rapped for them in which she implied Anthony Bowens was into her (he and the crowd told her she was mistaken). QT Marshall then entered to trash talk the acclaimed while the wrestler formally known as John Morrison attacked Billy Gunn.
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
ABOVE AVERAGE Skye Blue vs Anna Jay:
These ladies traded hip attacks early on but Anna Jay took the advantage after she drove Blue out of the ring. Jay followed up with a DDT outside the ring. Skye Blue took back the momentum despite a distraction from Cool Hands Ang. Anna Jay nearly won on a Queen Slayer but Skye Blue broke out of it. This led to the finish as Skye Blue hit Code Blue to advance in the Owen Hart Tournament.
Results: Skye Blue by Pinfall via Code Blue
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
GOOD Douki vs Jack Perry:
Douki hit a suicide dive but lost momentum as Jungle Boy slammed him onto the ring apron. Later, Jungle Boy hit Douki with a tiger driver but grew frustrated when Douki kicked out. Perry tried a table spot but it backfired when Douki leg dropped him through the table. Despite a valiant effort, Jack Perry won the match after submitting Douki. After the match, IWGP Champion Sanada entered the ring to confront the man set to challenge him on Sunday.
Results: Jungle Boy Jack Perry by Submission
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall…
This was a good episode of Rampage that had some good matches. The highlight of the night was the main event between Douki and Jack Perry. Douki got over with the crowd and Jungle Boy built momentum ahead of his title match at Forbidden Door. The low point of the night was the match between Skye Blue and Anna Joy. A fine match but not a ton of story there.
The matches were all good but not a ton of storytelling to them so that hurts the overall score. The show structure was very good but the promos felt rushed. The atmosphere was good throughout but not always great. A couple of stories were advanced but some matches didn’t have much story to them. Production was good, with no theme to the show.
Matches: 0.25/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 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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