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AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
MARCH 4, 2021
ORLANDO, FL AT THE ADDITION FINANCIAL ARENA
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho
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, Ricky Starks, and Chris Jericho.
(1) SAMMY GUEVARA vs. ANDRADE EL IDOLO vs. DARBY ALLIN – TNT Championship Triple Threat Match
All three men were already in the ring as Justin Roberts introduced each. The crowd was electric as things kicked off. Guevara and Allin teamed up early to take on Andrade. Andrade bailed to the outside but the two followed him out, then back into the ring. Jericho on commentary mentioned that no factions could be present at ringside. Allin hit a Code Red but Guevara broke up the pin attempt.
Allin and Guevara locked up as Andrade rolled out of the ring. The crowd chanted back-and-forth for each man. Guevara nailed Allin with a dropkick to the face, then bowed to the crowd. Guevara perched Allin on the top rope but Allin pushed him off. Guevara came right back with a rising knee, then kicked Allin across the face. Guevara went back up for a superplex but Andrade came from behind and powerbombed Guevara, who then suplexed Allin at the same time. This got a great reaction from the crowd. Andrade draped Allin across the top rope, then whipped him across the back with his belt. [c]
After the commercial break, Andrade was still in control over both competitors. Andrade hit Guevara with a series of snap suplexes, with the last one smashing him hard into the turnbuckle. Allin slapped Andrade across the face but Andrade caught Allin as he charged in, then slammed him hard to the mat. With both men down, Andrade went to the top. He came off, landed on his feet, but hit a standing moonsault on Guevara for a close count.
All three men slowly got to their feet and traded blows with one another. Andrade slapped Allin down hard, but Allin fired back, with the help of Guevara. Guevara nailed Andrade with a thrust kick. Allin pushed Guevara to the outside, which left himself alone with Andrade. Andrade slammed Allin to the mat, then climbed to the top rope. Allin popped up and pushed Andrade off the top rope. Allin took his own belt off and used it against Andrade as he hung upside down in the ropes. Guevara flew off the opposite ropes and hit a Cost-to-Cost dropkick as the crowd chanted “this is awesome.”
Allin flew through the ropes and took Andrade out, then went back inside to face off against Guevara. the two traded pin attempts for a series of close counts. Andrade made his way back in and took Allin out with a pump kick. Andrade then drove Guevara to the mat with a close count until Allin broke up the pin. The crowd was super into this.
Andrade hit Allin hard with a back elbow but Allin hit a stunner, then Guevara hit the GTH on Andrade. Allin threw Guevara outside, then hit the Coffin Drop on Andrade. Guevara flew off the top with a senton to break the pin, then covered Andrade for the win.
WINNER: Sammy Guevara in 14:30
(Moynahan’s Take: An absolutely incredible match here – go out of your way to catch this one if you didn’t see it live. All three men worked well together, told a good story, and went all out. The crowd ate this up as well, and that’s why I love live Rampage episodes. What a great way to kick off Revolution weekend.)
– Pac, Penta, and Alex Abrahantes were in the ring. Abrahantes said the House of Black recently lost them, and said they would add some fuel to the fire this Sunday. He added that while they are down one Lucha Brother, there are still three of them. The House of Black then appeared on screen. The lights went out in the arena, and the three members of House of Black were in the ring. Abrahantes said they have their own monster as Erick Redbeard made his way to the ring. Security hit the ring to try and keep things separated but Redbeard wanted to fight and took out a number of the security members.
(Moynahan’s Take: Eh, the crowd popped for Redbeard but I’m not digging him in AEW.)
– Scorpio Sky and Dan Lambert were backstage. Lambert congratulated Sammy Guevara for retaining his title, even though he still hasn’t faced off against Sky. Lambert said he spoke to Tony Kahn and next week it’ll be Sky vs. Guevara for the TNT Title on Dynamite. Lambert also said that in return, he told Kahn he would bring Paige VanZant to Dynamite so she could sign her AEW contract.
(2) KEITH LEE vs. J.D. DRAKE
The crowd was very into Lee before the two men even locked up. Drake slapped Lee a few times to no avail. Lee slapped back and knocked Drake down. Lee took Drake down with a shoulder block. [c]
Drake clotheslined Lee, but Lee fired back with a headbutt. Drake chopped Lee, then hit him with a dropkick to the face. Drake followed up with a cannonball in the corner, then went to the top and hit a moonsault. Lee kicked out at one to the surprise of the commentary team. Drake jumped off the top rope but Lee caught him and pressed Drake over his head, then power slammed him and covered for the win.
WINNER: Keith Lee in 7:00
– After the match, the WIngmen hit the ring. Lee picked up Cezar Bononi and powerbombed him. Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs left the announced booth as Lee launched Peter Avalon over the top rope onto the Wingmen. As Hobbs and Starks walked toward the ring, Orange Cassidy’s music hit and he made his way out.
(Moynahan’s Take: A good strong man match, with Drake getting some solid offense in on Lee. A good post-match build for the Revolution Ladder Match as well.)
– Exclusive footage from Dynamite was shown of C.M. Punk being attended to after being bloodied by MJF. Punk gave an intense promo right to the camera, saying MJF wasn’t ready for the old Punk. Punk said he would beat MJF so bad his own mother wouldn’t recognize him. Punk said he would become a monster on March 6 “because I’m C.M. Punk, and I’m better than you.”
– Tony Schiavone was backstage with Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill. Sterling said he added a contract stipulation making sure Tay Conti couldn’t touch Cargill within a specific time frame before Revolution on Sunday. Anna Jay came up from the side as a distraction as Conti appeared from behind and took out Cargill with a kick. Conti said she was outside the time frame so she was able to knock down Cargill without repercussion.
(3) SERENA DEEB vs. LEILA GREY – Serena Deeb 5-Minute Rookie Challenge
Grey ducked to the outside to kill time. Grey tried getting back into the ring but Deeb caught her by the feet and yanked her hard to the floor. Deeb rolled Grey back inside, then hit a neckbreaker across the middle rope. Deeb locked in a front choke for the quick tap out.
WINNER: Serena Deeb in 1:00
– After the match, Deeb locked Grey in the Serenity Lock as Hikaru Shida’s music hit and she ran to the ring with a kendo stick to take out Deeb. Deeb tried running away but Shida continued to nail Deeb with the kendo stick.
(Moynahan’s Take: Great post-match return from Shida, and damn were those kendo stick shots stiff!)
– Tony Schiavone was backstage with Eddie Kingston to talk about his match with Chris Jericho at Revolution. Kingston said he can’t wait for the match but he’s not interested in doing a promo about it. Kingston said Jericho will regret trying to rile him up. Kingston said Jericho will have to shake his hand after he beats him on Sunday.
– Mark Henry was backstage with members of tonight’s main event on split screen. Henry said Page was in last year’s ladder match, which was won by his current tag partner, Scorpio Sky. Page said he, not Christian, was the hall of fame talent. Cage said he made the ladder match famous and has the most experience in matches like this than anyone in AEW. Henry announced that it was “time for the main event.”
(4) ETHAN PAGE vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE – “Face of the Revolution” Qualifying Match
The two traded reversals early on until Cage threw Page to the outside, then followed it up with a baseball slide to the face. [c]
Page had control, and threw Cage to the outside. Cage blocked Page’s attempt, then face-planted him into the steel steps. Back inside the ring, Cage wailed away on Page with a series of punches in the corner. Cage hit a sunset flip for a close two count. Cage hit a reverse DDT for another close count. Page, out of nowhere, hit a cutter on Cage for a two count. Cage came right back and yanked Page across the top rope.
Page took Cage down with a shoulder tackle but could only get a two count. Page setup for his finish but Cage countered and hit a spear. Cage went for his finisher but Page countered and sent Cage shoulder-first into the ringpost. Page went for Ego’s Edge but Cage got out of it and hit Killswitch for the win.
WINNER: Christian Cage in 9:00
– After the match, Jurassic Express’s music hit as they came down to celebrate with Cage. The Young Bucks and ReDragon came out next looking to fight. ReDragon and the Bucks each took one of the tag belts and then looked at one another until Jungle Boy took them out with a splash over the top rope.
(Moynahan’s Take: Cage becomes the final entrant for Sunday’s Face of the Revolution ladder match. This was a fine match, and while I’m fine with Cage winning, I more so appreciate the fact that the last match before the PPV was logically booked to finish out the card.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: What a great episode of Rampage. Between the lively crowd, the continued build for Sunday’s Revolution, and even the debuts (Erick Redbeard) and returns (Shida), this show did a great job of building for the PPV while also looking beyond. This is the type of show that Rampage should be built for, specifically when it comes to serving as the last stop before a big PPV event. Now, the only thing left to do is watch Revolution in two days! Until next week, stay safe everyone!
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