This was a good episode of Rampage: solid matches that leave something to look forward to. The highlight of the show was the trios title match. The Hardys and Brother Zay put in a good effort in a failed attempt to win the championship. The low point was the squash match involving the Righteous.
Most of the matches were good to great but none were amazing. The show structure was good but the main event didn’t stand out above the other matches. The atmosphere was good but not great throughout. Most of the matches advanced storylines but not in an amazing way. Production was good but no theme to distinguish the show.
On tonight’s episode of AEW Rampage: the Hardys and Brother Zay challenge the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for the AEW Trios Championship. Eddie Kingston defends the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship against Rocky Romero. And Ruby Soho takes on Hikaru Shida with the winner getting a championship match against Saraya.
GREAT Isiah Kassidy and the Hardys vs. the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn (champions) for the AEW Trios Titles:
A little gimmick infringement by Brother Zay as he stole the scissor hand gesture from the Acclaimed. Later, Billy Gunn and Matt Hardy had a battle of catchphrases: “suck it” and “delete.” The Acclaimed hitting Scissor Me Timbers only got a two-count. Later, the championships almost changed hands after a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb from the Hardys. Despite a strong challenge, the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn successfully defended their titles.
Results: the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn via Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.5 Stars
Backstage, Jay Lethal challenged Eddie Kingston for the Ring of Honor World Championship.
GOOD Rocky Romero vs. Eddie Kingston (champion) for the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship:
Early in the match, Rocky Romero hit Eddie Kingston with two straight suicide dives. He attempted a third but Kingston countered and hit Romero with a vertical suplex. Romero had a couple of chances to pin Kingston but was unable to secure the pinfall. Finally, Eddie Kingston forced Romero to tap out and retain the Strong Openweight Championship. After the match, Shibata confronted Kingston in the ring.
Results: Eddie Kingston via Submission
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Aussie Open said every move of theirs has been to get another shot at FTR.
SQUASH – the Righteous won a quick and dominant victory ahead of their match with Better than You BayBay.
Nick Wayne challenged Luchasaurus to a match at Wrestledream – Zero Hour.
Jet lag won’t stop Zack Sabre from defeating Bryan Danielson at Wrestledream.
GOOD Ruby Soho vs Hikaru Shida:
These two battled it out with a title shot on the line. Shida had SOho reeling after a brainbuster but Soho dodged a Katana. Shida carried Soho to the ramp, where the two of them traded blows to the point of a near-double countout. However, an inadvertent blow to Paul Turner prevented both ladies from making a pinfall. In the finish, Hikaru Shida landed a Katana on Soho to win the match and earn a championship match with Sarayya.
Results: Hikaru Shida by Pinfall via Katana
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Overall…
This was a good episode of Rampage: solid matches that leave something to look forward to. The highlight of the show was the trios title match. The Hardys and Brother Zay put in a good effort in a failed attempt to win the championship. The low point was the squash match involving the Righteous.
Most of the matches were good to great but none were amazing. The show structure was good but the main event didn’t stand out above the other matches. The atmosphere was good but not great throughout. Most of the matches advanced storylines but not in an amazing way. Production was good but no theme to distinguish the show.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3/5 Stars
Photo Credit: AEW
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