08th Aug2022

‘AEW: Rampage’ Review (Aug 5th 2022)

by Phil Wheat

It’s Monday morning, so you know what that means… it’s time for our review of Friday night’s episode of AEW: Rampage, which this week featured Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Jim Ross on commentary, so let’s get to the review!

Match #1: Jon Moxley def. Mance Warner

My Thoughts: This was a drag-down, knock-out fight. Mance Warner promised a fight and that’s what both men delivered. Moxley made Warner look badass, giving him room to show his stuff to the AEW crowd and fans not familiar with his time in MLW and on the indies. This match was also given plenty of time to tell its story, with small subtle actions from both men really giving this opener some depth.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #2: Konosuke Takeshita def. Ryan Nemeth

My Thoughts: With a title match on Saturday against Claudio Castagnoli, Konosuke Takeshita succinctly and definitively squashed Ryan Nemeth and did it whilst the audience supported him the entire way! I saw someone say that Kenny Omega should make a trios team with Kota Ibushi and Takeshita and damn if that isn’t one hell of an idea! Though I’d love to see Takeshita get that ROH belt too!

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #3: Madison Rayne def. Leila Grey

My Thoughts: Well it didn’t take long for the women’s coach to make her in-ring debut did it? It’s weird to see Rayne thrown into a feud with Jade Cargill and the baddies when Athena and Kris Statlander are doing the same. I do hope their feud hasn’t been dropped in favour of Rayne? This was a decent debut for Rayne, though I think she could’ve done with a more experienced opponent to show fans all her skills. As it is this was solid if a tad underwhelming and there looked to be a few botches too…

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #4: Street Fight – Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland def. Tony Nese & Josh Woods

My Thoughts: This was a decent main event that was let down a little by too many shenanigans from Mark Sterling – which made this into more of a comedy match than the badass street fight you’d expect from someone like Josh Woods. Swerve and Lee certainly have their tag team down to a fine art and that showed here, especially when you compare them to their opponents here.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

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