{"id":145236,"date":"2022-08-27T12:44:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T17:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=145236"},"modified":"2022-08-26T22:54:22","modified_gmt":"2022-08-27T03:54:22","slug":"aew-rampage-hits-misses-8-26-backstage-promos-miss-brief-cm-punk-segment-effective-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/08\/27\/aew-rampage-hits-misses-8-26-backstage-promos-miss-brief-cm-punk-segment-effective-more\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW RAMPAGE HITS &#038; MISSES 8\/26: Backstage promos miss, brief CM Punk segment effective, more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2884770361\" 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>Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10) defeated House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King) to advance in the AEW Trios Championship Tournament: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A decent opening contest, but nothing special. It served more as a means to an end than anything else.<\/p>\n<p>I was expecting a Miro interference, and we got one. While the finish may disappoint some, I\u2019m okay with it. The Miro-House of Black story is more compelling to me than the Trios title tournament right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match: NARROW MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the match, the heels beat down Miro, but Sting and Darby Allin came out for the save. Does this set up a Trios match between these guys at All Out? At this stage, it would be the only way to get them all on the PPV. Quite ironic to see Miro team with Darby and Sting after eviscerating Darby in front of Sting just last year. However, I think he has a lot of potential as a babyface.<\/p>\n<p>Every commentator trying to mock Tony Schiavone kind of ruined this moment for me. While I don\u2019t like how Tony Schiavone yells \u201cIT\u2019S STING\u201d even for minor appearances, I don\u2019t support poking fun at it on television. Just have a private conversation with him and ask him to reserve that call for special moments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hook and 2point0 backstage Interview: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hook is a man of few words as always, but we still don\u2019t know which member of 2point0 is going to challenge him. It\u2019s been two weeks of promos now with no progression in the story.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1936234250\" 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>Ryan Nemeth Entrance Promo: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ryan\u2019s delivery was a little awkward, and he went through several low-hanging fruit methods of generating heat that the crowd just didn\u2019t seem ready to react to. I think this was just to facilitate more cheers for the Wardlow squash to follow. Serviceable work for its purpose, I suppose.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wardlow defeated Ryan Nemeth to retain the TNT Title: IT HAPPENED<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Quick squash. Powerbomb symphony.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Andrade Family Office Backstage Interview: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This feels like an alliance formed out of convenience after they dumped Matt Hardy. Toss in the fact that they are barely on TV, it\u2019s difficult to care if Andrade ever ditches Private Party.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, I barely had enough time to process who Dragon Lee is, let alone the emotional impact of Andrade and Rush turning on him. The angle was so quick, right before Dynamite went off the air. Apparently, Rush is Dragon Lee\u2019s brother? Shouldn\u2019t that turn have had more build then? At the very least, do it when we\u2019ve seen the two together on AEW television enough times.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Ashton Day: IT HAPPENED<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1926415261\" 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>Quick squash. Hobbs looked solid.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the match, they showed Ricky Starks having been beaten down by the Factory backstage. I suppose this is good continuity from last week when Hobbs threatened the Factory to take care of business, so thumbs up for that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jade Cargill and the Baddies Backstage Interview: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So much happened here, yet it felt like nothing. Cargill dismissed her crew, told Athena to \u201ccome get these hands,\u201d then got attacked by Athena for a two-second brawl that got broken up.<\/p>\n<p>I guess this keeps the rivalry rolling, but a singles championship story really should have more layers than this. I\u2019m not invested in this feud at all right now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tay Melo and Sammy Guevara defeated Ruby Soho and Ortiz: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An \u201cokay\u201d match with some interference by Anna JAS. I don\u2019t really mind the interference as much as others, but Ortiz bleeding for just a few seconds before the finish was completely unnecessary. Unless it was hard way, can we please go one week without blood on an AEW show?<\/p>\n<p>Sammy possibly misses out on a feature PPV singles match due to backstage tensions with Eddie Kingston. I was happy to hear Eddie admit fault, and hey, if they can put together a PPV main event with one week\u2019s notice, I\u2019m sure they can slot this match back in if both are willing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CM Punk Backstage Injury: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Although we didn\u2019t learn anything new here, Punk\u2019s performance was convincing. It wasn\u2019t long enough to feel like a waste of time either.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Event Promo: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finally, a main event worthy of headlining a television show. Yes, the ROH titles swarming around AEW television have a counterproductive effective on championship prestige. And yes, Dustin Rhodes hardly gets television time. However, he has enough talent to make his sporadic appearances matter. In addition, if you\u2019re going to have an ROH World Title match, I want to see it headlining shows instead of whatever nonsense they were doing with Jonathan Gresham.<\/p>\n<p>The promo work was well structured, serious, and somewhat compelling. My only gripe is that I wouldn\u2019t have Wheeler Yuta accompanying Claudio to the ring. I understand he needs TV time, but after his star-making performance months ago, his TV appearances need to matter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Claudio Castagnoli defeated Dustin Rhodes to retain the ROH World Championship: 50-50<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Not a bad match, and the commentary of William Regal and Caprice Coleman certainly added to it. However, I was expecting a little more. Yes, I understand Dustin Rhodes is over 50, but I wasn\u2019t asking for something on the level of Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. When the match was announced, my mind went back to Cesaro vs. William Regal in NXT all those years ago, toward the tail end of Regal\u2019s career. Regal was arguably more beat up back then compared to either of these two right now. So, I expected this match to be similarly worked; high psychology with a few tweaks to accommodate the fact that Claudio isn\u2019t a heel. In the end though, we didn\u2019t even come close to that.<\/p>\n<p>I was ready to appreciate the match on its own terms, but the finish just completely took the wind out of me. For one, Arn Anderson\u2019s involvement was very confusing. Considering we barely see Dustin and Arn on television anymore, the gestures didn\u2019t mean much to me. In addition, a (potentially worked) botched spot and sudden finish just gave this match a whimper of an ending.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Commentary: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ross, Schiavone, Excalibur, and Chris Jericho tonight. Jericho was tolerable, and I liked Caprice Coleman and William Regal in the main event, so the commentary was decent overall.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Show: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I thought this show would at least be a \u201cMINOR HIT\u201d considering the potential of the main event, but I was left underwhelmed. I\u2019m not the biggest critic of interference, but you can\u2019t have all three competitive matches in one show involve either a run-in or too much attention paid to someone not in the match.<\/p>\n<p>The build to All Out has been disappointing, and this is far from the first AEW PPV with a lackluster build. Not all of it is Tony Khan\u2019s fault, but there are minor controllable aspects of storytelling that I think he devalues in favor of live crowd pops and social media reactions.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/08\/26\/aew-rampage-tv-report-7\/\">8\/26 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Castagnoli vs. Rhodes ROH World Championship, CM Punk speaks, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1781502338\"><div id=\"pwtor-2572472772\"><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>Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10) defeated House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King) to advance in the AEW Trios Championship Tournament: MINOR HIT A decent opening contest, but nothing <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/08\/27\/aew-rampage-hits-misses-8-26-backstage-promos-miss-brief-cm-punk-segment-effective-more\/\" title=\"AEW RAMPAGE HITS &#038; MISSES 8\/26: Backstage promos miss, brief CM Punk segment effective, more\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":126356,"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-145236","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\/09\/Screen-Shot-2021-09-07-at-4.22.26-PM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145236","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=145236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145237,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145236\/revisions\/145237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}