‘AEW: Rampage’ Review (May 5th 2023)
It’s Monday so you know what that means, it’s time for our weekly review of AEW: Rampage! This week’s show features Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross on commentary. Now let’s get to the review…
Match #1: The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) & El Hijo del Vikingo def. QTV (Aaron Solo, Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall)
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
QT Marshall and El Hijo del Vikingo began the match for their respective teams. Vikingo connected with a springboard dropkick. He followed up with an implosion hurracarana! Vikingo nailed QT with a Phoenix Splash for a near fall. Rey Fenix and Solo tagged in, and Fenix took down his opponent with an arm drag. Fenix connected with a heel kick. He tried for a knee bar, but Aaron Solo crawled over to Hobbs and tagged him in. Hobbs walked into a thrust kick from Penta El Zero Miedo, but Hobbs trucked right through him. Hobbs proceeded to take out Fenix and Vikingo. Hobbs used a delayed vertical suplex on Penta El Zero Miedo and then dumped him out of the ring. QT Marshall rammed Penta headfirst into the steel ring post. Marshall slid a table out from beneath the ring. Hobbs and QT set up the table on the arena floor. Penta wiped out Solo and QT with Sling Blades. The Lucha Bros and El Hijo del Vikingo flew over the top rope with triple topes on the opposition. Vikingo smashed Solo with a shooting star press and then the Lucha Bros used tandem offense on Solo, however, Hobbs was there to break up the pin attempt. Solo attempted a cross body press but Vikingo caught him and planted him. Penta used a Canadian Destroyer on QT. Rey Fenix rocked Hobbs with a cutter. Vikingo impaled QT with a Destroyer off the ropes and onto the apron! Vikingo displayed his power with a German Suplex on Solo! After an assisted stuffed piledriver, Penta El Zero Miedo pinned Aaron Solo.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #2: Jade Cargill vs. Gia Scott
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
Jade booted Gia Scott. Jade followed up with a pump kick and then made short work of her opponent with the Jaded finisher. It didn’t take long for the TBS champion to pin Gia Scott.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Mark Briscoe def. Preston Vance
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
The Briscoe family was sitting ringside to support Chicken. Mark Briscoe used his redneck Kungfu on Vance. Briscoe nailed Preston with a Blockbuster off the apron. Briscoe did a somersault outside the ring, but Preston dodged it! Briscoe crashed hard onto a steel chair. Preston Vance capitalized by whipping Briscoe into the guardrail over and over. Back in the ring, Vance hit a German Suplex on Chicken. Briscoe landed a solid shot on the jaw of Vance. Briscoe and Vance traded forearms. Vance changed strategies with a knee to the sternum. Briscoe rallied back with a lariat, taking Vance off his feet. Mark was looking for the Jay Driller, but Preston fought out of it. Preston pulled a steel chair out from under the ring. He thought twice and ditched it. Vance speared Briscoe from the apron into the ring for a near fall. Jose the Assistant slid the chair into the ring, but Ref Paul Turner stopped it with his foot. Mark used a steel chair as a launch pad and hurled his body over the top rope and down onto Vance on the arena floor. Mark brought Vance toward the center of the ring, spiked Vance with the Jay Driller, and then pinned Vance!
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #4: The Firm Deletion Match – HOOK, Isiah Kassidy, Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy def. Big Bill, Ethan Page, Lee Moriarty & Stokely Hathaway
The following is courtesy of allelitewrestling.com:
This match took place at The Hardy Compound. The Firm pulled up to the compound in an SUV. Ethan Page smashed the mailbox with a baseball bat. The gates opened up. Big Bill caught out Kassidy. Page threw dirt in Matt’s eyes. Big Bill whipped Jeff into a tree. Matt Hardy hit a snap suplex on Page on the lawn for a near fall. Jeff Hardy grabbed a branch and used it on Big Bill! Maxell and Wolfie drove their Powerwheels golf cart toward Hathaway but luckily Hathaway got out of their way. All the men brawled towards the barn, where a wrestling ring was set up. Page set up a table in the ring and then powerslammed Matt through it. Ethan Page yelled at Matt Hardy and said Hardy lied to him and embarrassed him. Big Bill waffled Matt with a steel chair. Hathaway was tased by Matt Hardy’s father-in-law, and then the Hardy kids jumped on Hathaway. Isiah Kassidy connected with a Swan Dive on all the opposition off the Deletion Dome! Maxell smashed Hathaway with a swanton off the top rope. Hook sent Lee crashing through a table after a T-bone suplex. Ethan Page was surrounded in the ring. Matt Hardy told Ethan it was all his fault. “Delete!” said Matt and then nailed him with the Twist of Fate. Jeff finished off Ethan with a swanton bomb and then Matt pinned Ethan.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 4/5
By far one of the most entertaining episodes of Rampage in a while, with a fun main event that [hopefully] puts an end to this particular storyline and two other fantastic matches, including one of Preston Vance’s best in a long time, this was better than a lot of the Rampage’s we’ve had in 2023. I’d be up for more interesting episodes like this going forward… after all, who the hell thought – before actually seeing the match – that something like Mark Briscoe versus Preston Vance would end up being SO good. Leet’s have more “experimentation” like this please Tony Khan!
