This was one of the better Rampages in a while. Top to bottom the matches were all good. The highlight of the show was the triple threat match for the AAA Mega Championship. Great action throughout and creative offense by all involved. Lowpoint of the show was the match for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title. The match was decent but it didn't compare to the other matches on the card.
The matches were all good but outside of the opening match, none quite reached the level of great or above. The show structure was good but the best match came at the start of the show and was significantly better than the main event. The atmosphere was pretty good but wasn't fantastic all throughout. Storytelling was fine with Daniel Garcia set to be the next challenger for the ROH Pure Championship but many of the other matches involved titles from other promotions so it's unclear what comes next for a lot of them. Production was good but no special theme.
It’s championship Friday on AEW Rampage! El Hijo Del Vikingo defends the AAA Mega Championship against Dralistico and Komander. Will he continue his impressive title reign? Zack Sabre Jr. defends the NJPW TV Title against Action Andretti. Will Andretti be able to take down Sabre? Emi Sakura challenges Willow NIghtingale for the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. How will Nightingale’s first title defense go? And in the main event, Katsuyori Shibata defends the ROH Pure Championship against Lee Moriarty.
GREAT El Hijo Del Vikingo (Champion) vs Komander vs Dralistico for the AAA Mega Championship:
Dralistico nearly pinned Komander and got upset at what the crowd was chanting at him after the kick out. Once the champion got back in the ring, he hit Dralistico with a beautiful hurricanrana and followed it up with a phoenix splash. Amazingly, Komander ran all the way across the top rope to flip onto his opponents on the other side of the ring. At the end of the match, Hijo Del Vikingo had Komander and Dralistico arranged on a table. The champion delivered a 630 senton but Dralistico moved, leaving Komander as the sole recipient of Hijo’s move. Dralistico thought he had an easy chance to finish off Hijo, who hurt his back on the senton, but the champion countered and pinned Dralistico.
Results: Hijo Del Vikingo by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Jeff Jarrett and company are confronted by Mark Briscoe and Aubrey Edwards. Karen Jarrett and Aubrey have heat from the pay-per-view.
GOOD Action Andretti vs Zack Sabre (Champion) for the NJPW World Television Championship:
Sabre was focused on manipulating Andretti’s wrist early in the match. Action Andretti got some space finally to start some of his high-flying offense but the champion regained momentum and again targeted the limbs of Andretti. Later, Action Andretti countered Sabre’s submission attempts with a hurricanrana off the turnbuckle. The defining moment came when Zack Sabre countered a move by Andretti from the top rope by putting him in an arm bar. The reigning champion wrapped up both of Andretti’s arms to prevent a rope break which forced Action Andretti to submit.
Results: Zack Sabre by Submission
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GOOD Emi Sakura vs Willow Nightingale (Champion) for the NJPW Strong Women’s World Champion:
Sakura took the early advantage as she drew the champ out of the ring and cross-bodied her into the barricade. Back in the ring, Willow nearly pinned Emi Sakura after a cannonball in the corner. In the finish, Willow Nightingale pinned Sakura after a powerbomb to retain the title.
Results: Willow Nightingale by Pinfall via Powerbomb
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
GOOD Lee Moriarty vs Katsuyori Shibata (Champion) for the Ring of Honor Pure Championship:
Moriarty used his first rope break relatively quickly to break an arm hold by Shibata. Lee Moriarty got in some offense with an elbow strike and a dropkick. After this, Moriarty used his second rope break after Shibata had him in a figure four leg lock. He used his last rope break before Katsuyori Shibata had used one. To finish the match, Shibata put Lee Moriarty in a sleeper hold and finished him off with a kick to the face. After the match, former ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia came to the ring, hinting that he wants the title back.
Results: Katsuyori Shibata by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall…
This was one of the better Rampages in a while. Top to bottom the matches were all good. The highlight of the show was the triple threat match for the AAA Mega Championship. Great action throughout and creative offense by all involved. Lowpoint of the show was the match for the NJPW Strong Women’s Title. The match was decent but it didn’t compare to the other matches on the card.
The matches were all good but outside of the opening match, none quite reached the level of great or above. The show structure was good but the best match came at the start of the show and was significantly better than the main event. The atmosphere was pretty good but wasn’t fantastic all throughout. Storytelling was fine with Daniel Garcia set to be the next challenger for the ROH Pure Championship but many of the other matches involved titles from other promotions so it’s unclear what comes next for a lot of them. Production was good but no special theme.
Matches: 0.5/1 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. 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: AEW
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