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AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
APRIL 27, 2024
AT DAILY’S PLACE IN JACKSONVILLE, FL
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Menard
Ring announcer: Bobby Cruise
– We were welcomed to Rampage by Tony, Nigel, and Menard right from the end of Collision, with Chuck Taylor already in the parking lot awaiting his fight with Trent.
(1) CHUCK TAYLOR vs. TRENT BERETTA – Parking Lot Fight
Trent appeared and the two immediately went at it as a small crowd cheered on from the sidelines. Chuck ducked a charge in from Trent, which sent Trent right into a car. Trent came right back and slammed Chuck across a car hood before he opened the trunk of another car to grab a metal trash can.
Chuck was busted open but he was able to catch Trent and powerslam him across the hood of a car. Trent and Chuck fought to the top of a truck as Trent pushed Chuck into the truck bed and through a sheet of drywall. Trent continued to go on offense by slamming Chuck across the face with the trash can lid. He set Chuck on the hood of one car, then climbed to another and hit a flying elbow. [c]
Chuck ducked a flat screen TV thrown at him, then hit Trent with a suplex through a door which was perched against one of the cars. Chuck followed up by slingshotting Trent right into a truck bed door, which busted Trent open. Chuck revealed a row of light tubes before smashing Trent across the head with a metal dustpan. Chuck climbed on top of a truck bed but Trent quickly threw him off and on top of the light tubes.
Chuck tripped up the legs of Trent, then powerbombed him through a car windshield. Chuck covered for two. Both men found themselves on top of a car and traded blows before Trent hugged Chuck in desperation. Trent hit a low blow, then hit a piledriver on Chuck on the roof of the car. Trent locked in a submission for the win.
WINNER: Trent Beretta in 10:00
– After the match, Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander appeared as Trent blasted Chuck’s already injured ankle with a wrench against a car window.
– Don Callis was shown backstage looking on with intrigue at what he just witnessed. [c]
(Moynahan’s Take: A fun brawl but I couldn’t help thinking that this should have had so much more of a build. We’ve been told these two are best friends for five years, and yet this potential blood feud gets blown off in a gimmick match on Rampage? I don’t get it. I like the Don Callis tie-in at the end, which hopefully leads to something more for Trent.)
– Kyle O’Reily was interviewed backstage. He talked about wrestling at the upcoming Collision in Vancouver, his hometown, on May 11.
(2) THUNDER ROSA vs. DEONNA PURRAZZO
Both women started with an aggressive lock up which ended in a standoff. Thunder landed a stiff right hand, then mounted Deonna and blasted her with a number of rights. Deonna fired back with an arm breaker. Deonna continued focusing on the arm before she tied Thunder in the ropes and hit her with a sliding dropkick to send her to the outside. Thunder jumped off the middle rope but was caught by Deonna in a Boston crab.
Deonna played to the audience a bit too long on the outside as Thunder hit her with a dropkick through the ropes. Thunder hit her with a chop across the post but missed a second, which allowed Deonna to hit a pump kick. [c]
Thunder flew off the middle ropes and hit a shotgun dropkick successfully that time. She followed up with another running dropkick as Deonna laid against the bottom rope. Deonna nailed Thunder with a kick across the face before covering for two. Thunder countered Deonna with a roll through which ended in a double foot stomp across Deonna’s stomach. Deonna caught Thunder off the ropes and locked in the arm bar. Thunder countered with a choke but Deonna was able to break it.
Both women reversed a series of pin attempts before Thunder caught Deonna with one for the win.
WINNER: Thunder Rosa in 11:00
– After the match, Thunder was celebrating on the ramp as Deonna attacked her from behind. The two battled on the walkway in front of the fans before being broken up by security.
(Moynahan’s Take: I really enjoyed this and it looks like we haven’t seen the end between these two. I want to see more out of this from various feuds in the company; just two bad asses battling toe-to-toe with neither wanting to give an inch.)
– Highlights from Dynamite were shown of Will Ospreay’s win in the Gauntlet match to determine the number one contender to the International title. Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett were then interviewed. They wished Tony Khan a speedy recovery and told him to stay neck strong. Strong told Ospreay he would dismantle him at Double or Nothing.
(3) BIG BILL vs. TREVOR BLACKWELL
Bill attacked Blackwell right from the bell, then hit him with a running boot. He spoke to the camera and asked Chris Jericho to watch him. Bill went for a cover but picked up Blackwell as he asked Jericho to teach him. He went for another cover but picked Blackwell up again. Bill finished Blackwell off with a stalling chokeslam and finally picked up the three count.
WINNER: Big Bill in 1:30
– Chris Jericho was shown backstage clapping and liking what he just watched. [c]
(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK.)
(4) KATSUYORI SHIBATA & DANIEL GARCIA vs. SHANE TAYLOR & LEE MORIARTY
Shibata and Garcia immediately went on the attack as the match quickly spilled to the floor. Anthony Ogogo joined commentary for this match. Garcia and Shibata dismantled STP on the outside before getting back into the ring. Taylor got back into the ring as Shibata kicked away at him before Taylor caught a kick and nailed Shibata with a stiff left hand. Moriarity tagged in and immediately kicked away at Shibata in the corner. Moriarity kneed Shibata in the face, which sent him back into his corner to allow the tag to Garcia. Garcia went on the offense against Moriarity before getting slowed down by Taylor, who pulled him to the outside.
Taylor planted Garcia on his head as he writhed in pain on the floor. Inside the ring, Moriarity mocked Shibata by striking his sit down pose. Taylor and Moriarity cut off the ring from Garcia as they kept him in their corner. Garcia had a moment of offense before getting cut off again. Taylor hit a uranage, then a splash for a two count. [c]
STP continued to have the offensive advantage as we came back from the break. Garcia looked to have fought his way out of the corner as he crawled toward Shibata for the tag. Shibata came in on fire and took it to both members of STP. He nailed Moriarity with a stiff forearm as Garcia came back in to fend off Moriarity while Shibata battled with Taylor. Shibata hit his running kick to Taylor’s face, then hit a series of chops and punches. Garcia hit a running knee on Taylor before both men suplexed Taylor.
Taylor kicked out on the one count before reversing a second double suplex attempt. Moriarity came back in and hit a running clothesline on Shibata in the corner. Shibata no sold the offense before nailing Moriarity again with a stiff forearm. Moriarity held Shibata for Taylor to nail. but Shibata kicked Taylor in the face before Garcia came in to assist. Shibata and Garcia each applied a sleeper hold as the crowd cheered them on. Garcia hit Taylor with a back suplex as Shibata hit his PK on Moriarity for the win.
WINNER: Katsuyori Shibata & Daniel Garcia in 15:00
(Moynahan’s Take: Great main event to cap off three hours of live wrestling. I didn’t note this earlier but Garcia appeared in the same gear as Shibata which leads me to believe we could be seeing more of this pairing. I’d love to see that since it’d allow Garcia to lean back into his more serious character and hopefully get away from the silly dancing.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Another fun, live, Rampage, but one not without its flaws. As mentioned earlier, my main gripe was the Parking Lot Fight, which was in itself fine, but just felt like it skipped a few chapters of storytelling before giving us the end result. That said, the match is worth checking out, as is really everything on this show. Also mentioned tonight was yet another live Rampage next week, which will air right after Dynamite. How lucky am I? Until next week, stay safe everyone!
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: McGuire’s Mondays: Sure, AEW is good for pro wrestling… but how good?
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