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AEW RAMPAGE “WINTER IS COMING” TV REPORT
DECEMBER 15, 2023
RECORDED AT THE COLLEGE PARK CENTER IN ARLINGTON, TEX.
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, and Tony Schiavone
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– The opening of Rampage aired as Ian Riccoboni welcomed us to the show. He was joined by Chris Jericho and Tony Schiavone
(1) ORANGE CASSIDY (w/Danhausen) & ROSS VON ERICH & MARSHALL VON ERICH vs. JAKE HAGER & MATT MENARD & ANGELO PARKER
The Von Erichs came out to a nice crowd reaction. Ross started things off with Parker. Ross took the early advantage by focusing on Parker’s arm. Ross charged in with a high boot to Parker’s face before he tagged in his brother Marshall. Menard also tagged in and quickly kicked Marshall in the stomach to slow him down. Hager made the tag, as did Cassidy. Hager whipped Cassidy into the corner, who evaded the ropes and tried for a sunset flip on Hager. Cassidy hit a spinning DDT to take down Hager but was quickly met with a clothesline by Menard. Hager went for the cover for two. [c]
Hager came off the ropes but was met with a kick to the face by Cassidy. Marshall hit the ring and cleared the ring. Parker tried slowing Marshall down but Marshall kicked him off the turnbuckle to the floor. The Von Erichs double teamed Menard in the corner until Hager hit the ring and took them both down. Cassidy then hit the ring and stunned Hager as the Von Erichs took Hager out with double dropkicks. Marshall tossed Menard out as Parker came in from behind and rolled him up for two. Marshall turned the tables and rolled up Parker for the win.
WINNERS: Orange Cassidy & Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich in 9:00
– After the match, Hager, Parker, and Menard beat down the Von Erichs and Cassidy until Kevin Von Erich’s music hit and he made his way to the ring. The Von Erichs had the iron claw on Parker and Menard as Kevin got into the ring and put his own iron claw on Hager. Cassidy placed his sunglasses on Kevin as the crowd gave them a nice reaction.
(Moynahan’s Take: A fine match with a fun post-match melee. The Von Erichs got a nice reaction from the home crowd; let’s see how much more we get of them in AEW.)
– Mark Briscoe was interviewed backstage about his recent string of losses in the Continental Classic. Briscoe said it was just his rookie year as a singles wrestler after being in a tag team for decades. Jay Lethal and his crew arrived as Briscoe asked Letal where being with Jarrett and his crew ever got him. Lethal asked his crew to leave as Lethal and Briscoe spoke alone. They exchanged pleasantries and told one another they’d fight with honor in their upcoming Continental Classic match. [c]
(2) THE DON CALLIS FAMILY (Powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher) vs. HUNTER GREY & PAUL TITAN
Jericho mentioned in commentary that he was warned by Tony Khan not to attack Callis during this match. Fletcher and Hobbs attacked Titan and Grey before the bell. Fletcher started things off but quickly tagged in Hobbs who hit a spinebuster then a dangerous slam for the win.
WINNERS: The Don Callis Family in 0:30
(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK.)
– After the match, Callis took the mic and addressed the Golden Jets. He spoke about the Callis Family winning tag matches faster than any team in history, but that fans only wanted to talk about the Golden Jets. Callis said the only reason the Golden Jets were ever together was due to fear of the Don Callis Family. He said Omega and Jericho can run but they can’t hide since Callis has his own team in the tag team division. He then mentioned the “Don Callis Family Rules” which means any two of his members can face the Golden Jets or any team at any time.
– Ruby Soho was shown backstage talking about her recent loss. She was distraught as Saraya entered the picture who told Soho that she needed her. Soho told her to stop talking and said Saraya should try to do things on her own before walking off.
(3) ANNA JAY vs. RED VELVET
The two traded a few pin attempts in the early going to no avail. Velvet missed a dropkick but met Jay with a kick to the face. Jay raked Velvet’s eyes, then rammed her off the apron onto the floor. Jay used Velvet’s body as a bow and arrow as she pulled her around the ring post. [c]
Jay kept the momentum on until Velvet reversed a suplex attempt to take Jay down. Velvet hit a clothesline, then a back elbow, before landing a leg lariat. Velvet followed up with running knees into the back of Jay before missing a corkscrew kick. Jay planted Velvet to the mat who barely kicked out at two. Matt Menard made his way to the ring who inadvertently distracted Jay from getting rolled up for two.
Velvet ran into Menard to take him down, which allowed Jay to lock in Queen Slayer for the tap out win.
WINNER: Anna Jay in 9:00
(Moynahan’s Take: They started getting into a grove here just as Menard came down for seemingly no reason to muddy this one up.)
– A video package aired showing Samoa Joe’s recent storyline with MJF, Hangman Page, and the Devil. [c]
(4) TOP FLIGHT (Darius Martin & Dante Martin) & ACTION ANDRETTI vs. PENTA EL ZERO MIEDO & KOMANDER & EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO
Komander and Dante started things off as the commentary team reminded us how this match came together out of respect for one another a few weeks back. Komander and Dante worked in the corner as they traded positioning. Komander dove to the outside and landed on his feet as Dante flipped off the ropes and landed on his feet to the delight of the crowd. Vikingo and Andretti tagged in. Vikingo took Andretti down but he landed on his feet. The two men traded moves before ending in a stalemate.
Darius and Penta were in next. The two faced off as Penta slowly removed his glove. Darius told Penta to bring it as the two traded chops to the chest. Penta took Darius down with two sling blades as the match broke down from here. Penta and Komander flew through the ropes as Vikingo hit an in-sync moonsault off the ropes onto their opponents. [c]
Vikingo was in the ring alone against all three opponents. He was able to take down Top Flight before nailing Andretti with a kick to the back of the head. Penta tagged in and took it to all three opponents before Komander tagged in and hit a stalling senton, then a DDT on Andretti. Dante hit a knee strike on Komander as Vikingo hit the ring. Vikingo placed Dante in the ropes then followed up by running up the ropes and hitting a leg drop across Dante’s face.
Penta nailed Darius with a few thrust kicks to the face before landing a powerslam. Komander and Andretti hit the ring, with Komander planting Andretti face-first to the mat. Dante charged in and took Komander out with a running elbow. The two men fought on the apron as Penta came in and hit a Code Breaker on Dante. Komander hit a running hurricanrana off the apron on Dante. Darius caught Komander and hit a German suplex on the apron.
Dante monkey-flipped Vikingo on the apron as Penta charged over and nailed Dante with a Destroyer. Andretti and Penta were the first two men back in the ring. The two traded chops until the rest of the team members came in to add to the chop fest. The two teams then traded thrust kicks until all six men went down to the mat. Jericho hyped this match as something he hasn’t seen in all of his years in the business. Top Flight were sent to the outside but came back into the ring in time to hit stereos Spanish Flies on Vikingo and Penta. Komander got caught by Dante and spiked to the mat with the win.
WINNERS: Top Flight (Darius Martin & Dante Martin) & Action Andretti in 16:00
(Moynahan’s Take: There is no way to do this match justice. Please just go watch it and be amazed.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: An enjoyable night of pro wrestling. That’s really the big takeaway here. Go out of your way to watch the incredible main event. If you skip the rest, I won’t tell anyone. Until next week, stay safe everyone!
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