{"id":127104,"date":"2021-09-20T19:56:49","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T00:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=127104"},"modified":"2021-09-20T19:56:49","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T00:56:49","slug":"aew-rampage-hits-misses-9-17-britt-baker-and-ruby-soho-go-too-meta-in-hype-promo-guevara-a-proper-next-miro-challenger-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/09\/20\/aew-rampage-hits-misses-9-17-britt-baker-and-ruby-soho-go-too-meta-in-hype-promo-guevara-a-proper-next-miro-challenger-more\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW RAMPAGE HITS &#038; MISSES 9\/17: Britt Baker and Ruby Soho go too meta in hype promo, Guevara a proper next Miro challenger, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-4039650749\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>Lucha Brothers Vs. Butcher and Blade: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another good opening match with an underwhelming build. I don\u2019t expect much for television matches, but would it hurt to show some quick highlights of the challengers\u2019 victories on Dark? That is primarily where they seem to have accrued their victories, as I don\u2019t remember seeing them on television as a tag team in a while.<\/p>\n<p>As far as the match itself, there was a bit too much disregard for rules, and it wasn\u2019t athletically exciting enough to allow me to ignore that. I also think doing a mask-related gimmick with the Lucha Brothers in every match just takes away its meaning when it happens in bigger matches.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match Angle: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t understand why Santana and Ortiz came out for the save. Apparently, they have history with the Lucha Brothers, but leave it to AEW to just drop that on its viewers with no build up or context of what happened outside their company.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, throughout this match we had babyface Chris Jericho praising the heels, claiming he would love to \u201chave drinks with\u201d Butcher and Blade if they won tonight. He even went so far as to scold Alex Abrahantes for trying to save his clients from being beat up after the match. After that, members of his own faction run in for the save, and we now suddenly need to get behind the babyfaces again. This was an extremely poor performance on commentary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Omega-Danielson Promo Package: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was simple, effective, and well done. Neither wrestlers are the best talkers in the business, but they did what they needed to here. Both came off as top-tier acts deserving to main event Grand Slam.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2802215362\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>Anna Jay vs. The Bunny: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I am really disappointed with AEW sticking women\u2019s matches in the middle of Rampage with long commercial breaks. It\u2019s become a pattern on this show, and it makes these \u201cHit\u201d or \u201cMiss\u201d ratings quite difficult to do. From what I saw, the match wasn\u2019t good. I appreciate Bunny trying to add psychology into the contest by working over Anna Jay\u2019s shoulder, but she targeted the wrong shoulder. Jay\u2019s opposite shoulder was the one heavily bandaged. I understand they don\u2019t want to risk re-injuring it, but if it\u2019s heavily bandaged, just work on another body part instead.<\/p>\n<p>The commentary in this match was also largely awful. From the banter leading up to babyface Jericho proclaiming, \u201cRicky Starks likes crazy chicks\u201d to Taz saying \u201ca lot of angry blonde girls in the ring,\u201d among other things. I really think AEW would benefit from some diversity at their announce desk. At least for women\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Hardy Segment: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While the Matt Hardy brand hasn\u2019t exactly been riveting television, just take a moment to appreciate the effort that is being put into AEW\u2019s lower mid-card. There is at least some story here that is easy enough to follow. Now, hair vs. hair may not be everyone\u2019s cup of tea, but for your lower mid-card involving two comedic characters with some credibility, it works fine.<\/p>\n<p>I think Matt Hardy is good in his current character, and this was a good way to get more heat. Helps to have a show like Rampage where such acts can get TV time to advance their stories, instead of shooting most angles on Dark and then expecting us to care for the TV match.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ruby Soho and Britt Baker Promo Battle: Minor HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I am probably in the minority here, but I didn\u2019t think this was a good segment. While I like the way these two wrestlers carry themselves, as well as the poise and confidence in the way they deliver their lines, I don\u2019t think resorting to meta zingers such as Soho\u2019s firing is an effective build for this feud. I also don\u2019t really care that Baker is \u201cbanging some dude in the back.\u201d How is that aspect of her personal life relevant in this instance? There\u2019s a time and a place for meta comments and AEW just does it so frequently that they are starting to lack any impact with me. This promo battle, to me, felt more like one of John Cena\u2019s self-indulgent promos that he delivers when he doesn\u2019t seem to respect his opponent too much. It pushes me to put my time toward reading pro-wrestling newsletters instead of watching the shows. I think both wrestlers are capable of putting together a feud based on an actual storyline instead of having to resort to zingers that pop the insider crowd.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1474368945\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>However, the crowd seemed to eat this up, and they were more into this than anything else on the show. Sometimes, you just need to respect what works for the majority. It\u2019s not always about me and my preferences. In fact, this show would probably have been a waste of an hour without this segment. For these reasons, I\u2019m classifying it as a \u201cminor HIT.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Event Promo: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was one of the better interviews I\u2019ve seen. Miro is a much better promo and more compelling personality than Kenny Omega, and I wouldn\u2019t mind if the company decided to swap championships overnight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Miro vs. Fuego Del Sol: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The length of this match did not do it any justice. Fuego did not stand a chance, and his hope spots in this match did not excite the crowd the same way they did in their first bout. Miro\u2019s usually great mannerisms in the ring weren\u2019t enough to save this match.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match Angle: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sami will be a fresh, believable, and compelling new opponent for Miro. I understand that AEW hasn\u2019t utilized Miro\u2019s recent feuds to their fullest potential, but I trust they will let both wrestlers really sink their teeth into a compelling rivalry here. There is already some built-in backstory here, with Sami wanting to avenge his friend.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Commentary: Major MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The commentary tonight felt like Monday Night Raw circa 2014 with Cole, Lawler, and JBL. Excalibur the straight play-by-play guy who is competent but devoid of personality, Taz is like Lawler back then who has no consistency to his character, and Jericho not only lacks consistency but was also extremely grating tonight. I found myself actually missing JBL\u2019s incessant \u201c9.99\u201d plugs. Ricky Starks spoke about as much as Mark Henry, so he doesn\u2019t get a grade. See above for specific examples of poor commentating.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall show: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was quite possibly the weakest episode of Rampage to date.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/09\/17\/9-17-aew-rampage-tv-report-lucha-bros-vs-butcher-blade-bunny-vs-anna-jay-miro-defends-against-el-fuego-del-sol\/\">9\/17 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Lucha Bros. vs. Butcher &amp; Blade, Bunny vs. Anna Jay, Miro defends against El Fuego del Sol<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2234937045\"><div id=\"pwtor-4171994512\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Lucha Brothers Vs. Butcher and Blade: MISS Another good opening match with an underwhelming build. I don\u2019t expect much for television matches, but would it hurt to show some quick highlights of the challengers\u2019 victories <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/09\/20\/aew-rampage-hits-misses-9-17-britt-baker-and-ruby-soho-go-too-meta-in-hype-promo-guevara-a-proper-next-miro-challenger-more\/\" title=\"AEW RAMPAGE HITS &#038; MISSES 9\/17: Britt Baker and Ruby Soho go too meta in hype promo, Guevara a proper next Miro challenger, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":123590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[6121,6558,6120],"class_list":["post-127104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists","tag-aew","tag-aew-rampage","tag-all-elite-wrestling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/07\/Britt-Baker.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127111,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127104\/revisions\/127111"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}