3/11 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Darby vs. Quen, Hayter vs. Martinez, Keith Lee vs. Q.T. Marshall, Strickland vs. Nese

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
MARCH 11, 2021
RECORDED AT THE HERTZ ARENA IN ESTERO, FL
AIRED 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) DARBY ALLIN (w/Sting) vs. MARQ QUEN (w/Isiah Kassidy)

Darby and Quen were already in the ring as the show began. Clips from Dynamite were shown with Jeff Hardy’s debut. Darby had Quen in a headlock early on. Darby drove Quen to the outside as Kassidy defended Quen from Sting and Darby. Quen attacked Darby by ramming him into the steel steps.

Back inside the ring, Quen took back control, and slowed things down to his advantage. Quen rammed Darby hard into the turnbuckle, then threw a number of body shots to Darby’s midsection. Quen locked in an abdominal stretch, and used the ropes to his advantage until Darby was able to hip toss Quen to get out of the hold. Quen was on the apron, which allowed Darby to yank his arm down hard against the top rope. [c]

The two were battling on the top rope until Darby hit a superplex, then covered for a two count. Darby transitioned into an arm bar but Quen rolled out of it. Quen charged Darby into the corner and followed up with a backflip into a knee drop for a close count. Quen hit Darby hard in the back with double knees, then hit a backflip DDT for another two count.

Quen picked up Darby for a suplex but Darby turned it into a Scorpion Death Drop. Both men were down on the mat as the ref counted. Darby went for a coffin drop but Kassidy distracted him. Sting pulled Kassidy down, then threw him into the time keeper’s section. With Darby on the floor, Quen flew off the top with a 450 splash.

Quen rolled back into the ring as the ref continued his count on Darby, who was still on the outside. Darby barely beat the count as he made it back into the ring. Quen went for a cover and could only manage two. Quen went back to the top for a shooting star press but Darby caught him in an armbar for the tap out win.

WINNER: Darby Allin in 11:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A surprisingly slow match for much of the encounter until the last few minutes picked up with some big time moves.)

– Andrade el Idolo and his crew made their way to ringside until the Hardy Boyz music hit. Matt and Jeff came out to a huge pop and were decked out in their classic gear. Andrade and team scattered as the Hardy Boys and Sting and Darby had a staredown.

– Dan Lambert was backstage with Men of the Year. Lambert referenced Larry Zybysko and Bruno Samartino when talking about Wardlow. Ethan Page said Scorpio Sky would be defending his TNT title as well as his winning streak, Sky ended by saying he was the face of TNT.

– House of Black cut a promo together backstage. Excalibur commented that he wasn’t quite sure if they were speaking to PAC, Penta, or someone else.

(2) MERCEDES MARTINEZ vs. JAMIE HAYTER (w/Dr. Britt Baker & Rebel)

Martinez and Hayter were already in the ring as the bell rang. The two locked up, with Martinez taking Hayter to the mat. The two worked the mat until ending in a standoff. Martinez caught Hayter in the corner and delivered a number of shots to the face. The two hit dual shoulder tackles in the center of the ring. Martinez took Hayter down with a clothesline, then picked her up and landed a series of elbows to the face. [c]

Martinez took Hayter down with a number of double underhook suplexes, then covered for a close count. Martinez picked Hayter up again but Hayter blocked a suplex attempt. Hayter hit Martinez with a backbreaker, then covered for a two count. Hayter hit a huge elbow strike on Martinez, which knocked her down to the mat. Martinez came right back with a suplex on Hayter into the corner.

Martinez perched Hayter on the top rope, then came from behind and hit a German suplex which got a nice crowd reaction. As Rebel distracted the ref, Baker knocked Martinez off the top rope. Hayter came from behind and nailed Martinez with a clothesline, then covered for the win.

WINNER: Jamie Hayter in 9:30

– After the match, Thunder Rosa hit the ring with a chair to help Martinez.

(Moynahan’s Take: Another slower match, but I thought the two paced this much better than the opener. Hayter was the right person to win here as it ultimately furthers the feud between Baker and Rosa.)

– Hikaru Shida was backstage discussing her feud with Serena Deeb. Shida said she missed Deeb so much and hasn’t forgotten about her attack. Shida said her recent attack on Deeb wasn’t enough and she needed more.

(3) KEITH LEE vs. Q.T. MARSHALL (w/Aaron Solow & Nick Comoroto)

Lee nailed Marshall with a big headbutt to start the match, then picked Marshall up with one arm. Marshall poked Lee in the eye to stop his momentum, then mocked him to the crowd. Lee slapped Marshall down hard to the mat in retaliation. Lee followed it up by tossing Marshall far across the ring. Marshall rolled to the apron, then yanked Lee’s neck across the top rope.

Marshall came off the top rope with a missile dropkick. Marshall landed a few right hands to the face of Lee, who shook off the offense. Lee nailed Marshall down hard with a huge clothesline. Lee picked Marshall up but was distracted by Comoroto. Marshall took advantage by kicking Lee in the back of the head. Marshall called for the Diamond Cutter but couldn’t get Lee down due to his size. Lee hit a shoulder tackle on Marshall, then hit him with a powerslam for the win.

WINNER: Keith Lee in 4:30

– After the match, Solow hit the ring to attack Lee but Lee threw him down to the mat. Comoroto came in and stared Lee down. Lee nailed Comoroto with a series of rights. Comoroto fired back but Lee hit a back elbow, then hit Comoroto with a powerbomb to the delight of the crowd. Lee then turned to Solow and threw him over the top rope onto Marshall and Comoroto. Powerhouse Hobbs, who was at commentary for this match, hit the ring with Ricky Starks. Hobbs hit Lee with a huge spinebuster to take him out.

(Moynahan’s Take: A fine match, with a much better post-match beatdown of Lee by Hobbs. I’m glad they’re going to this feud after getting a taste of things at Revolution.)

– Mark Henry was backstage on split screen with Tony Nese and Swerve Strickland. Nese said he deserved an introduction to AEW that Swerve ended up receiving. Swerve said the two had history, and that he’d whoop his ass on Friday;s yet again. Henry said it was “time for the main event.”

(4) SHANE “SWERVE” STRICKLAND vs. TONY NESE

Nese was visibly upset by the crowd reaction for Strickland. The two locked up, with Strickland getting the upper hand. Strickland used his speed to take Nese down to the mat, then went for a single leg crab but Nese got to the ropes. Strickland took Nese down with a headscissors, then hit him with a dropkick to the side of the face. Nese pulled the ropes down as Strickland saw it coming and flew over the top and landed on his feet. Strickland kicked Nese hard to the face with a heel kick. Nese baited Strickland in and used the apron skirt to cover Strickland’s face. [c]

Nese had Strickland in a body scissors but Strickland tried fighting his way out of it. The two fought to their feet as Strickland knocked Nese down with a hard right. Strickland was caught with an uppercut to the face. Nese followed up by dropping Strickland’s throat across the top rope. Strickland evaded a follow up attempt by Nese, then nailed him with a right hand. Strickland chopped Nese to the mat, then hit a running elbow strike. Strickland came off the middle ropes with an uppercut to the back of Nese’s head.

Strickland hit a brainbuster for a close two count. Nese hit Strickland with a double knee to the stomach, but could only manage a two count. Nese caught Strickland with a spinning heel kick to the face, then came off the top with a 450 splash for a two count. The two went toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Nese went to the apron but was caught with a kick to the face. Still on the apron, Strickland hit Nese with a foot stomp to the stomach. Back in the ring, Strickland got a close two count.

Strickland kicked Nese on the side of the head, then came off the top with a double stomp to the face for the win.

WINNER: Shane “Swerve” Strickland in 13:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A great showing by both men. I came away very impressed by Strickland, who I’ve heard a lot about but never saw much of his work. Nese also looked good, and while his gimmick is rather bland, you can’t discount his ability.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A rather lackluster episode of Rampage this week, especially after such a huge post-Revolution Dynamite. With that said, the in-ring work was solid, with the main event between Swerve and Nese standing out as the match of the night in my view. I was somewhat surprised by the opener between Darby and Quen, who worked at a much slower pace than I would have imagined. While no matches were announced for next week, it’s important to note that the start time has been pushed back to 11:30 pm ET. Until next week, stay safe everyone!