ALL ELITE WRESTLING RAMPAGE PREVIEW 1/7 (Spoiler-Free): Adam Cole vs. Jake Atlas, 2point0 & Garcia vs. Kingston and Santana & Ortiz in no-DQ, Hook vs. Solo, Baker & Hayter vs. Riho & Soho

ALL ELITE WRESTLING RAMPAGE PRIMER
JANUARY 7, 2022
NEWARK, N.J. AT THE PRUDENTIAL CENTER
AIRS ON TNT NETWORK, 10:00 p.m. EDT, 9:00 p.m. CDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, Ricky Starks (various combinations)

Match Results and Key Segments from Last Week

• Darby Allin defeated Anthony Bowens of the Acclaimed.
• Anna Jay & Tay Conti defeated Penelope Ford & The Bunny in a Street Fight.
• Cody Rhodes defeated “All Ego” Ethan Page to retain the TNT Championship.

Arena

Tonight’s episode of Rampage was recorded following this week’s episode of Dynamite in the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Four matches were set up and announced.

TONIGHT at 10/9c on @tntdrama, we have a HUGE card of matches for #AEWRampage!
・@AdamColePro v @JakeAtlasReal
・@730hook v @AaronSoloAEW
・@realrubysoho/@riho_gtmv v @RealBrittBaker/@jmehytr
・No DQ: @MadKing1981/@Ortiz_Powerful/@Santana_Proud v @GarciaWrestling/#2point0 pic.twitter.com/3XNktxJ0Cy

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 7, 2022

Battle of the Belts

Battle of the Belts comes out way tomorrow night on TNT at 8:00 p.m. EST. Cody Rhodes defends the TNT Championship against former champion Sammy Guevara. Rhodes took the title from Guevara on the Christmas night edition of Rampage. Dr. Britt Baker defends the AEW Women’s World Championship against Riho. It was reported here at the Torch that a change has been made due to “medical issue,” but that issue has not been made specific.

Last minute changes to first AEW Battle of the Belts expected to be announced:https://t.co/S4wlTCMHj8

— Pro Wrestling Torch (@PWTorch) January 7, 2022

Adam Cole vs. Jake Atlas

Jake Atlas, recently released by WWE, recently signed with AEW after a “try-out” match on Dark. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, Adam Cole talked about him in a backstage segment alongside Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. He called him one of the best young stars in the business but reminded him he’s the one everyone was talking about. He went so far as to say he’ll buy him a “one-way ticket back to Orlando” (referring to sending back to NXT of course). The match was announced later in the evening.

https://twitter.com/jakeatlasreal/status/1478463104426156034?s=21

Frank’s Analysis: There are some spoilers out there about this, and I’ve seen them, so it’s hard to talk about this. If I’m going back in time before I knew about what happened, I was looking forward to this. I still am. One thing I want to say. I appreciate Tony tweeting about signing Jake, but I felt like the tweet was about making him look like a great guy for signing him instead of Jake signing with the company. Maybe it’s better if the AEW twitter account does this instead of Tony personally. People can seek through things, and I like Tony.

No-DQ: 2point0 (Jeff Parker & Matt Lee) and Danny Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston and Santana & Ortiz

Tonight, we get yet another chapter in the story between 2point0 and Danny Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston and Santana & Ortiz as they square off in a no-DQ Trios match. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, Chris Jericho appeared and took issue with 2point0 taking him out several weeks ago. They came out and Jericho made a bunch of bad, out-of-date jokes. At any rate, Danny Garcia came out to attack Jericho (who was grabbing his bat) along with 2point0 until Kingston and Santana & Ortiz came out for the save.

On the New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite, 2point0 and Garcia defeated Kingston and Santana & Ortiz. Garcia did a post-match attack on Santana. Jericho returned, cleared the ring, and had a stare down with Kingston.

Frank’s Analysis: I’m not going to lie. I’m done with this feud. It’s been fine, but it’s time to move on. I’m ready for Santana & Ortiz to do something more substantial. I’m glad Jurassic Express won the tag titles Wednesday night, but how about we line these guys up as challengers and even win. I have no desire to see Jurassic Express hold the titles for a long time, knowing there are better options. That’s not a knock on Jungle Boy. I’m just ready to see him as a singles act.

Hook vs. Aaron Solo

Hook has his third televised match tonight as he takes on Aaron Solo of The Factory, run by Q.T. Marshall. Speaking of whom, he cut a promo backstage on Dynamite talking about how Hook learned at his school. He said all Hook did was show up late, leave early, eat chips, and stretch guys which surprised him because his dad (Taz) is such a great guy. Solo, playing on Taz’s catch phrase, said “Hook, stretch me if you can, survive if I let you.”

.@730HOOK may be all that and a bag of chips, but @AaronSoloAEW looks to make a meal of the rookie on #AEWRampage pic.twitter.com/T2XSsyWefn

— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) January 6, 2022

Frank’s Analysis: There’s not much to say here, as it’s Friday, and it’s time to “send Hook!” It was cool to have Marshall talk about how he learned at his school. I appreciate backgrounds given to matches even if they are low on the card.

AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter vs. Riho & Ruby Soho

Ruby Soho lost in the TBS Championship finals this past Wednesday, coming up short to inaugural champion Jade Cargill. After the match, Soho was being interviewed by Tony Schiavone. You guessed it; she was interrupted by Britt Baker. She called out Soho for losing a championship match again, just like a Grand Slam where she challenged but came up short for the world championship. Soho came back saying Baker can’t win a match without the help of Jamie Hayter and Rebel. This led to an attack by Baker on Soho. Riho came in for the save.

Tomorrow night, as of now, Baker is set to defend the world title against Riho at the Battle of the Belts special. Riho won a Black Friday Deal match back around Thanksgiving to earn the shot. Baker has never defeated Riho.

Frank’s Analysis: I’m curious what’s next for Ruby, who got called out for losing “the big one.” I don’t have a good feeling, but we’ll see. I worry she’ll be relegated to Dark & Dark Elevation, which on the other hand may not be the worst thing in the world. Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, Mercedes Martinez, Hiarku Shida, and others need TV time. As far as tonight’s match, my guess is they booked Riho and Soho to win this to create drama that Baker could lose tomorrow at Battle of the Belts

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!