‘AEW: Rampage’ Review (Feb 10th 2023)
It’s Monday so you know what that means, it’s time for our weekly review of AEW: Rampage! This week’s show comes from El Paso County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas and features Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross on commentary. Now let’s get to the review…
Match #1: The Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta) def. The Butcher, The Blade & Kip Sabian
The following was courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Sabian and Yuta started the match for their respective sides. Yuta grabbed a blind tag and Claudio press slammed Kip! The Butcher tagged in and grabbed a side headlock on Claudio. Claudio blasted Butcher with European Uppercuts. Mox tagged in and peppered Butcher with kicks. Yuta grabbed a tag but Butcher back body dropped Yuta and then walloped Yuta with a running crossbody. Sabian tagged in and rocked Yuta with a stunner and followed up with a cannonball senton in the corner. Butcher and Blade nailed Yuta with stereo headbutts. Moxley tagged in and bit down on Kip’s forehead. Moxley suplexed Sabian twice. Moxley transitioned to a double wristlock on Sabian. Kip scored a knee strike on Moxley. While the ref was distracted the Butcher and the Blade double teamed Moxley. Sabian crashed onto Moxley with a moonsault. Moxley rallied back with a powerbomb on Sabian off the ropes. Claudio and Blade tagged in for their teams. Claudio took down Blade with a dropkick. Claudio used a short arm lariat on the Blade. Sabian jumped on Claudio’s back but Claudio countered with the Giant Swing. The Blade attempted to roll up Claudio from behind. Claudio countered by transitioning to the sharpshooter. Butcher ran in with a sliding elbow on Claudio. Moxley jumped in and wiped-out Butcher with a cutter. Claudio hoisted up Blade and planted him with the Alp Amare Waterslide for a near fall. Sabian jumped off the ropes but Mox defended with a cutter. Claudio nearly decapitated Blade with a European Uppercut and then scored the pin!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Ruby Soho def. Marina Shafir
The following was courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Ruby baited Marina in with kicks to the face. Ruby had her No Future blocked by Marina. Marina headbutted Ruby between the shoulder blades. Ruby fired back with Destination Unknown and then pinned Marina! Saraya and Toni Storm walked to the ring! Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. tackled Saraya. Jamie Hayter joined the fray to even up the odds while Ruby watched them brawl outside the ring.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #3: “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry def. Ryan Nemeth
The following was courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Nemeth DDT’ed Jack Perry but Perry came back with a thrust kick. Jack nailed Nemeth with a running elbow to the back of the head and scored the pin!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #4: All-Atlantic Championship Match – Orange Cassidy def. Lee Moriarty
The following was courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Moriarty stole Cassidy’s sunglasses but Cassidy took them back. Moriarty rag dolled Orange Cassidy. Orange Cassidy took down Moriarty with a dropkick. Cassidy closed the distance and then bounced Moriarty’s head off the turnbuckle pad. Moriarty blasted Orange with a thrust kick. Orange was looking for Beach Break on the apron but Lee countered, planting Cassidy hard on the ring apron! Moriarty worked over Cassidy’s arm. Moriarty was searching for the Border City Stretch but Orange grabbed the bottom rope. Stokely Hathaway was about to club Orange with his cast but Danhausen put a curse on Hathaway. Orange spiked Lee with a diving DDT! Lee dodged the Orange Punch and fired back with a lariat. The momentum shifted when Orange landed the Beach Break out of nowhere. Cassidy connected with the Orange Punch! Lee came back with the Border City Stretch but Orange countered, cradling Lee and pinning him!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
A good but not great episode of Rampage this time around. This episode was really all about the opening and closing matches with the two in-between little more than filler, especially that Jungle Boy match – what was that all about? Good to see Nemeth get buried but seemed like a waste of Jack Perry’s time IMHO. The main event would’ve been better if not for all the shenanigans, which seem to be de rigour for any match involving the Best Friends – they have so many enemies on the roster it’s like the entire heel locker room want a shot at them, even in the middle of OTHER matches!