SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 5, 2021
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI AT THE CHAIFETZ ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Taz, and Ricky Starks.
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– The opening of Rampage aired. Excalibur welcomed us with, “It’s Friday night, and you know what that means!” Excalibur was joined by Taz and Ricky Starks.
(1) BRYAN DANIELSON vs. ANTHONY BOWENS (w/Max Caster)
Bowens and Caster made their way to the ring after Danielson’s entrance. Caster ran down Danielson, and even mentioned how his father-in-law (Johnny Ace) “ends careers.”
Bowens took Danielson down early as Caster jaw-jacked from the apron. Danielson caught Bowens’ arm and hit him with a hard elbow, but Bowens came right back and took down Danielson again, then mocked him. The two locked up, with Bowens again getting the upper hand. Bowens knocked Danielson to the mat, then kicked him in the stomach and chest. Danielson came right back with an explosive kick to the chest of Bowens.
Danielson and Bowens traded chops in the corner, then worked their way to the center of the ring. Danielson blocked a suplex attempt, then rolled Bowens into an attempted arm lock. With Bowens on the apron, Danielson charged in and kicked him hard across the spine. Danielson went to the apron and went for a running kick, but Bowens caught him and drove him into the ring apron. Still outside, Caster took out Danielson with a clothesline. [c]
Danielson and Bowens went at it mid-ring, with Danielson hitting a running clothesline. With Bowens on his knees, Danielson hit him hard with a series of kicks to the chest, then one to the head. Danielson went for a cover and got a two count. Danielson hit a high boot in the corner but missed a second. Bowens hit Danielson with a swinging DDT, which he calls the Arrival.
Danielson evaded Bowens, then drop kicked Caster on the outside. Danielson dumped Bowens to the outside as well, then climbed to the top and flew onto both members of the Acclaimed. Back inside, Danielson hit a missile dropkick off the top rope. Danielson stomped away at the face of Bowens, then locked in the LeBell Lock for the tap out victory.
WINNER: Bryan Danielson in 9:00.
(Moynahan’s Take: A very good opener. With Danielson involved, that seems like an obvious statement, but I must say this may be the best match I’ve seen Bowens in thus far. Danielson stays strong as he goes into Full Gear, while Bowens gets a solid singles match up.)
– Highlights from the end of this past Dynamite aired. Tony Schiavone was then shown backstage with FTR, MJF, and Andrade el Idolo, which was said to be taped after Dynamite. MJF told Andrade that he gets the FTR for the next two weeks, then was handed an envelope of money and left. Dax Hardwood then mentioned PAC, and said that he would be there Wednesday night if PAC is looking for him.
– C.M. Punk made his way to the ring as we went to break. [c]
CM Punk & Eddie Kingston meet face to face
– Back from the break, C.M. Punk was still in the ring. Punk invited Kingston to the ring. Kingston’s music hit but then stopped as the crowd booed. Punk said maybe he just needed to speak more for Kingston to interrupt him like last time. On que, Kingston appeared and walked down to the ring.
Kingston said, “you wanted an apology, right?” Punk said he knows it’s condescending when someone asks for an apology, but Kingston interrupted him. Kingston mocked Punk, then said he would apologize. He said he’d apologize for being home sick, thinking he had COVID and didn’t want to get anyone sick. Kingston said he had the world’s smallest violin playing for Punk’s little ass.
The two spoke over one another as Punk tried getting the crowd more invested. Kingston said he knew who Punk used to be, saying Punk, Samoa Joe, Homicide, Amazing Red were ones that inspired him and were his heroes. He then called Punk a narcissistic bitch who had judged him. He said he came to this locker room to be free, but Punk judged him. Punk said he heard Kingston lumping a lot of baggage onto him, but he mentioned a lot of names and the collective may have judged Kingston, but it was Kingston who fell short of the mark.
Punk said he wasn’t wrong for seeing greatness in him 15 years ago, then called him a bum, which riled up Kingston, as well as the crowd. Kingston asked Punk if a bum would main event Full Gear or make it “the only professional wrestling company in the world today.” Kingston said no one wanted Punk here to begin with. Excalibur called this “15 years of tension.” Kingston then challenged Punk to fight him at Full Gear.
Punk said he didn’t expect to leave tonight without fighting Kingston, then said he figured they’d fight on Elevation or Dark, “something more your speed.” The two went face-to-face looking like they’d come to blows. Punk asked the crowd if they wanted the match, and they obliged. Before Punk left, Kingston said he only cared about beating Punk up, and when he did, he wanted him to quit. Punk went off and the two went at it. Multiple referees ran down to try and break them up.
As the two continued to brawl, Excalibur said Tony Kahn made the match official for Full Gear.
(Moynahan’s Take: This was hit and miss for me. The two were on their game for sure, and I really am amped up for this match. That said, the reason behind the build for this one came off a little manufactured to me. Okay, so maybe I’m nitpicking here, but we learned a lot from this conversation that seemed to come out of left field.)
– Tony Schiavone was backstage with Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and Jungle Boy. Cage said the Super Klique didn’t look so tough this past week. Jungle Boy then took the mic, officially challenging the Super Klique to a 6-man tag, fall count anywhere match. [c]
(2) RED VELVET vs. THE BUNNY – TBS Championship Tournament
Red Velvet flew down to the ring and immediately attacked the Bunny. Velvet hit a leg lariat to take down Bunny, who rolled to the outside. Velvet followed and nailed Bunny with a clothesline. Jade Cargill, who will face the winner of this match, was shown watching ringside. Bunny took back the advantage, and slammed Velvet’s face hard into the steel steps.
Bunny and Velvet finally made their way back inside the ring. Bunny hit a dropkick from behind on Velvet, then covered for a two count. Velvet fought back and hit Bunny with a stunner for a close two count. Bunny rolled Velvet up for her own close count, then hit a DVD for another close pin attempt. Bunny had Velvet hooked in a move, but Velvet reversed and hit the Final Slice for the win.
WINNER: Red Velvet in 3:30
– After the match, Cargill looked as if she was ready to jump the guardrail but thought better of it.
(Moynahan’s Take: A quick but solid match. I think the right person won here, and it makes storyline sense to have Cargill and Velvet face off after their earlier feud during the Shaq and Cody tag team match awhile back.)
– Mark Henry was split-screen with John Silver and Alex Reynolds on one side, and Adam Cole and the Young Bucks on the other. Silver said he beat them last week dressed as Bambi and mentioned how Cole was injured from his recent con-chair-to to the face. Cole told Silver he would find out that he’s not someone to mess with.
– Next weeks’ Dynamite card was shown. It will include PAC vs. Dax Harwood, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Rebel vs. Tay Conti, Anna Jay, and Thunder Rosa, Matt Sydal and Lee Moriarty vs. Lio Rush and Dante Martin, Bryan Danielson vs. Rocky Romero, and the Full Gear contract signing between Kenny Omega and Hangman Adam Page.
– The Full Gear card was then run down.
(3) ADAM COLE (w/The Young Bucks) vs. JOHN SILVER
The crowd chanted “Budge” as the match kicked off. Silver did Cole’s “Bay Bay” chant but replaced it with “Budge!” Cole attacked Silver for mocking him. Silver fought back, and proceeded to throw Cole around the ring a few times until Cole threw him to the apron. Cole nailed Silver with a kick to the face then joined him on the apron.
Cole threw Silver over his shoulder hard down onto the apron. The two went to the floor, and Cole locked in a camel clutch as the Bucks gave a kiss on either side of his cheeks. [c]
Back from the break, Silver was shown trying to make his comeback. Silver hit a series of kicks, then caught Cole with a sit-down powerbomb for a two count. The two traded shots in the middle of the ring until Silver got the upper hand. Cole caught Silver with a kick which only seemed to fire Silver up. Cole came right back, however, and got another close count on Silver.
Silver caught Cole with a stiff clothesline, then nailed him with a release German suplex and a pump kick to the side of the head. Matt Jackson was able to drape Cole’s leg across the rope in time for the ref to break the count. Dark Order members ran down to ringside to even the odds. As the two teams squared off outside, Cole went for a low blow on Silver, but Silver caught him and hit a spinning Liger Bomb for a very close count. The crowd was fired up at this point.
Both men got to their feet, and Silver hoisted Cole on the top rope. Cole pushed Silver off onto the mat, then went for the Panama Sunrise. Silver blocked it and hit a series of elbow strikes until Cole nailed him with a thrust kick, then a running kick to the face and pinned Silver for the win.
WINNER: Adam Cole in 10:30
(Moynahan’s Take: A great, great main event. After the commercial break, these two really put things into high gear and had the crowd on the edge of their seats. Cole and Silver worked very well together, and I’d love to see them again down the line.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Another enjoyable episode of Rampage, and a rare non-PPV week live episode at that. I think this episode did a good job of moving things along toward the Full Gear PPV, including announcing some new matches, while also providing fresh matchups for the crowd in St. Louis tonight. Go out of your way to watch the opening match as well as the main event. While I didn’t give the Punk/Kingston face off the highest of praise, I definitely recommend watching that segment as well. Until then, stay safe everyone!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.