SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
JANUARY 14, 2021
RECORDED AT THE PNC ARENA IN RALEIGH, N.C.
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho, and Ricky Starks
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– The opening of Rampage aired. Excalibur welcomed us with, “It’s Friday night, and you know what that means!” Excalibur was joined by Taz, Chris Jericho, and Ricky Starks.
(1) ADAM COLE (w/ReDragon & Young Bucks & Britt Baker) vs. TRENT BARRETA (w/Best Friends)
Trent moved out of the way of a pump kick attempt by Cole, and the two traded a series of forearms. Trent got the early offensive advantage, and nailed Cole in the face with a running dropkick, which landed Cole to the outside. Trent came to the outside but Cole swept his legs out from under him while Trent was still on the apron. Inside the ring, Cole hit a neckbreaker to regain the advantage.
Cole hit another neckbreaker, which looked very similar to a Rude Awakening. Trent tried battling back but Cole hit him with a pump kick. Trent rolled to the outside, and Cole followed and tried for a Panama Sunrise but Trent countered it. Trent charged in hard toward Cole but crashed into the metal barricade. [c]
Trent and Cole were battling back and forth in the center of the ring, with Trent getting the upper hand. Cole missed an enziguri, which allowed Trent to hit a German suplex. Trent hit a swinging DDT for a close two count. Both men went to the top and Trent hit an avalanche brainbuster but was unable to get the pinfall. Cole hit a backstabber, then went to the corner to set up for a superkick.
Trent baited Cole to come back out from the corner, then hit him with a move. Cole came right back with a brainbuster for a close two count. Both men went to the apron, and Trent hit Cole with a piledriver. Trent rolled Cole into the ring, then attempted the Strong Zero but Cole countered with a Destroyer for a two count. Cole went for his finish again but again Trent reversed. Trent nailed Cole with a huge clothesline. Cole fired back with two superkicks, then set up for Panama Sunrise for a third time. Trent countered it again and hit the Strong Zero but Cole was able to get his foot on the ropes before the three.
Both sides broke down on the outside as Statlander and Baker fought up the ramp. Inside the ring, CVole hit a low blow on Trent, then hit him with the running knee from the back for the win.
WINNER: Adam Cole in 11:30.
(Moynahan’s Take: Good opening match, and I wish they would have followed this pattern on Dynamite this week rather than a segment to open the show. I was surprised there wasn’t any interference from either team on the outside, but the end of match melee worked better in my opinion.)
– A feature on Thunder Rosa and Mercedez Martinez aired, including highlights from Martinez’s debut beatdown of Rosa, as well as words from each woman.
(2) ANDREW EVERETT vs. SHAWN SPEARS (w/Wardlow)
As Excalbiur mentioned on commentary, Wardlow did not look pleased being in Spears’ corner after what happened on Dynamite. Everett showed some speed and agility early on but Spears caught him in his C4 finish, and covered for the easy win.
WINNER: Shawn Spears in 1:00
– After the match, Spears got on the mic to tell us he was the guy that MJF sends to handle his business, speaking directly to C.M. Punk in the process. He raised his chair and said there was a reason he was called the Chairman. The crowd chanted Wardlow. He said he was going to expose Punk when they meet on Dynamite in five days.
(Moynahan’s Take: Well, I’m not sure this lasted the full minute, but Spears easily handled Everett here.)
– A rap video aired from The Acclaimed, which focused on Darby and Sting.
(Moynahan’s Take: This was a fun little video which gives The Acclaimed more character development. Bowens was dressed as Sting, which I haven’t seen done since the WCW days where literally everyone dressed like Sting.)
(3) Leyla Hirsch & Red Velvet & Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford & The Bunny & Nyla Rose
This match started right up without introductions. Rose threw Hirsch into her corner, then went to tease Statlander, which allowed Ford and Bunny to attack Hirsch. Statlander tagged in, as did the Bunny. Statlander nailed Bunny with a powerslam for a close two count. Statlander tagged in Velvet, then helped her double team Bunny before exiting. Velvet made a quick tag out to Hirsch, and the two proceeded to again double team Bunny.
Hirsch and Statlander had a miscommunication. While they were focused on one another, Velvet made a blind tag. Rose came from her corner and took out each woman. [c]
Rose chokeslammed Velvet, then went for a cover and got a two count. Rose missed a follow up senton attempt, which allowed Velvet to slowly crawl to her corner and tag in Statlander. Statlander took out Ford, who tagged in as the legal woman. Ford raked Statlander’s eyes, but missed a follow up. Statlander locked in her Spider Crab submission but Vickie distracted the ref before the tap out, which allowed Bunny to attack Statlander from behind. Bunny tagged in and Statlander hit her with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count.
Hirsch tagged herself in, and she and Statlander traded barbs. Hursch was rolled up from behind for the loss.
WINNERS: Penelope Ford & The Bunny & Nyla Rose in 7:00
(Moynahan’s Take: This was fine for what it was but it felt a bit rushed for time, and was this week’s victim of the longer mid-match commercial break.)
– Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page were backstage with Dan Lambert talking about Sammy Guevara’s recent Interim TNT Title win. Page asked where Cody was while Sky noted his undefeated streak again this week. Sky said Sammy and Cody could figure out the TNT Title, but no matter who won it, they wouldn’t have it for long.
– Ricky Starks addressed Jay Lethal while at the commentary booth. Lethal’s music played to cut off Starks and he made his way to the ramp. Starks said Team Taz has been making him sick to his stomach, then told Starks that he cared more about what he wears that day instead of defending his FTW title. Lethal then challenged Starks to an FTW title match, and suggested Starks had to run everything by Taz (who he called his Daddy) before accepting the challenge.
– Mark Henry was on split screen backstage with the competitors for tonight’s Tag Team Championship match. Silver and Reynolds mocked Christian’s old kazoo gimmick from his early run with Edge in WWE. Henry proclaimed “it’s time for the main event.”
(4) LUCHASAURUS & JUNGLE BOY (w/Christian Cage) vs. JOHN SILVER & ALEX REYNOLDS – TNT Tag Team Championship Match
Jungle Boy and Reynolds kicked things off. Jungle Boy used the ropes to take Reynolds down with an armdrag, then followed up with a dropkick. Luchasaurus tagged in and hit Reynolds with a big overhand chop. Luchasaurus made a quick tag back to Jungle Boy who hit a senton off the shoulders of Luchasaurus onto Reynolds. Reynolds kicked out at two, then went for his own backslide pin attempt on Jungle Boy.
Silver tagged in and took Jungle Boy down with a boot. Jungle Boy flipped Silver to the apron, but Silver nailed Jungle Boy with a kick to the face, then hit Luchasaurus with a somersault on the outside. Jungle Boy went to the outside and got Silver up in a suplex attempt, but Reynolds flew through the ropes to take out Jungle Boy. [c]
Jungle Boy rolled away from Silver to make the tag into Luchasaurus. Luchasaurus took both members of the Dark Order down with a double clothesline. Luchasaurus went for a chokeslam on Silver but Reynolds broke it up. Luchasaurus wasn’t deterred, however, and chokeslammed Silver right onto Reynolds. Jungle Boy tagged in, but Silver hit Luchasaurus with a superkick, then pulled down the ropes to send Luchasaurus to the outside. Reynolds tagged in and went to the top rope. Silver Picked Jungle Boy up onto his shoulders. Jungle Boy escaped, and pushed Silver into the turnbuckle to knock Reynolds down.
All four men were in the corner, with Reynolds and Jungle Boy on the top rope. They all ended in a huge suplex/powerbomb spot that got a huge crowd reaction. The match broke down from here with all four men in the ring. Silver and Reynolds double teamed Jungle Boy with multiple moves that ended in a very close two count that riled up the crowd. Jungle Boy made a comeback but hitting Reynolds with a huge clothesline, then hit Silver with a hurricanrana off the apron.
Jungle Boy jumped off the back of Luchasaurus to hit a destroyer on Reynolds for a two count. Luchasaurus took out Silver on the apron. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus then hit Reynolds with a double team finish, which looked a bit sloppy, and covered for the win.
WINNERS: Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy in 12:30
(Moynahan’s Take: This was easily the best match of the night, and honestly between Dynamite and Rampage, the best match of the week. All four men worked their tails off to send the crowd home happy after a long night of action.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: After a down episode of Dynamite in my opinion, tonight’s Rampage ended with a solid tag team match that ended AEW’s week on a high note. The Cole and Trent match was also a much better decision to kick off the show than Dynamite’s opening segment. Can you tell I wasn’t a fan of Dynamite this week? That aside, I also enjoyed the storyline progressions tonight that furthered a number of feuds, including Statlander/Hirsch, Acclaimed/Sting and Darby, Page/Sky and Cody/Sammy, and Spears/MJF/Wardlow/Punk. No matches for next week were announced, but I imagine we will know more on Dynamite. Until next week, stay safe everyone!
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