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AEW RAMPAGE HITS & MISSES
Hangman Page and Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) defeated Orange Cassidy and Best Friends (Trent Beretta and Chucky T) to advance in the AEW Trios Championship Tournament: SPOTTY HIT
Spotty and entertaining. More spot-festy than an average Young Bucks match. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea. The right team won.
Eddie Kingston and Ishii Video Promo: HIT
Good stuff here. About as good a job as you can do to hype up a pre-show match.
Rey Fenix defeated Blake Christian: HIT
A two-minute, crowd-pleasing squash. This may have been just an exhibition to showcase Fenix’s high-flying in anticipation of the ladder match.
The announcers sold the reason for this match as Rey Fenix wanting to regain some confidence after his loss on Wednesday. Why can’t other wrestlers have confidence-regaining matches two nights later then?
2point0 and Hook backstage Interview: MINOR HIT
Nice performance by 2point0 and Hook here. They still aren’t being very specific on which member will challenge Hook, but the internet tells me it’s Angelo Parker.
Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo defeated Ortiz and Ruby Soho to retain the AAA Mixed-Tag titles: MINOR HIT
A serviceable but forgettable match. A rematch from the previous week with the only difference being that the titles were on the line this time.
Hangman Page, Dark Order, and Don Callis backstage Interview: CONFUSING
Callis is still very smarmy and heelish, accusing Hangman of stabbing his friends in the back. After two-three weeks of presenting a returning Omega as a babyface, I don’t understand the dynamic here.
Jade Cargill and Athena Sit-Down Interview with Mark Henry: MINOR HIT
Good intensity by Athena, but I generally don’t like it when sit-down interviews occur with the same cadence as ordinary backstage interviews.
Swerve in Our Glory and Acclaimed backstage Interview: MINOR HIT
I thought this was effective, for what it was. I’m not sure about the “Timon and Pumba” line though.
FTR, Wardlow, and Motor City Machine Guns Promo: HIT
Dax Harwood’s as great as always. Motor City Machine Guns’s part of the promo was more 50-50. I like that they used their home city to generate heat in Chicago, but why should I care how respected they are backstage?
Main Event Promo: HIT
Good performance from QT Marshall and Ricky Starks. Starks trapped the factory in a room so QT would have no backup for the match. This led right into a brawl between the two and they fought to the ring to begin their match.
Some may not like how quickly QT was able to get to Starks. It’s valid to argue that there should be more distance between two wrestlers about to compete in the main event.
Ricky Starks defeated QT Marshall: HIT
This would have been underwhelming on a taped show, but the live crowd really added to the ambience. Starks looked good going into the PPV, and QT is a great foil for rising babyfaces.
The Factory managed to free themselves regardless. It didn’t factor much into the finish, but it certainly made them all look incompetent.
Post-Match: NARROW MISS
After the match, Powerhouse Hobbs came out to brawl with Starks. This had good intensity, and would have been fine on its own, but then Danielson also came out for a stare down with Chris Jericho. That brought it down a notch for me. Both Danielson and Jericho had enough time on Dynamite to hype their match. This moment should have been reserved for Hobbs and Starks.
Commentary: MINOR HIT
Ross, Excalibur, and Chris Jericho tonight. Not much to say here.
Overall Show: MINOR HIT
They took time to hype up some matches that didn’t get enough spotlight on Dynamite. There was plenty to like on this show, especially if you enjoy comedic spot fests, but nothing I suggest you go out of your way to see.
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