5/13 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Sky vs. Kazarian for TNT Title, Death Triangle vs. Butcher & Blade & Marq Quen, Ruby vs. Riho, Spears vs. Boulder

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
MAY 13, 2022
RECORDED AT THE UBS ARENA ELMONT, NY
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Taz, and 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 and Chris Jericho.

(1) DEATH TRIANGLE (Pac & Penta Oscuro & Rey Fenix) vs. THE BUTCHER & THE BLADE & MARQ QUEN

Penta and Blade kicked things off. Penta caught Blade with a kick to the face, then nailed him in the midsection before he tagged in Pac. Pac held Blade for Penta as he flew off the top and onto Blade. PAC knocked Butcher off the apron, then continued to work on Blade. Butcher pulled Pac outside the ring and caught him with a clothesline against the apron.

Jericho named Butcher and Blade as the Sports Entertainers of the Week for some reason. Pac came off the top with a missile dropkick on the Butcher who rolled out of the ring to collect himself. Quen tagged in but Pac quickly hip tossed him and tagged in Fenix. Quen swept Fenix’s leg, then hit him with a step-up hurricanrana. Quen countered Fenix with a dropkick, then played to the crowd. Fenix countered Quen, then caught him in the face with a boot and came off the top with a tornillo and a stomp to the stomach. Quen nailed Fenix from behind as he flew from the ropes into the barrier on the outside. [c]

Blade threw Pac and Penta to the outside as Quen came off the top and landed on both men. Inside the ring, Butcher nailed Fenix with a huge clothesline for a two count. Fenix took Blade down with a hurricanrana, but Blade cut him off from making the tag. Fenix nailed Blade with a kick to the face as we saw Kyle O’Reilly in the crowd scouting Fenix for their upcoming match. Penta finally tagged in and took out each competitor.

Pac tagged back in and threw Quen up high in the air, then hit a snap German suplex. Quen’s legs were draped on the ropes as Pac went for the cover. Pac hit another German suplex on Quen, then hit him with a running elbow. Penta and Fenix hit the Fear Factor, then Pac hit Black Arrow on Quen for the win.

WINNERS: Death Triangle in 10:00

After the match, the lights went out as House of Black appeared in the ring when they came back on. House of Black and Death Triangle starred one another down until the lights went out again and the House of Black were gone.

(Moynahan’s Take: Good opener, which shouldn’t be surprising considering the talent in the ring. The lights off, lights on thing is getting a bit old by now, but as long as they keep it to only the House of Black, I guess I can manage.)

(2) SHAWN SPEARS vs. BEAR BOULDER

Spears threw up the “10” sign as Boulder picked Spears up over his head. Spears got out of it but Boulder caught him again and hit a powerslam. Boulder missed a follow up charge in the corner, and Spears followed it up by wailing away with a series of lefts to his face. Boulder picked Spears up again and put him in the corner this time. Spears thumbed Boulder in the eyes, then picked him up and walked around the ring until slamming him to the mat and getting the pin with a C4.

WINNER: Shawn Spears in 1:30

– After the match, Spears grabbed a chair and hit Boulder a few times before speaking directly into the camera to Wardlow.

(Moynahan’s Take: This was fine for what it was, a way to boost Spears in advance of his upcoming match with Wardlow.)

– Lexy Nair was backstage with Mark Sterling and Tony Nese to discuss the Buy-In match during Double or Nothing. Sterling said he had no interest in the match since he wasn’t an active wrestler. Nese said it was fine since he beat Danhausen in record time and HOOK ruined it.

(3) RUBY SOHO vs. RIHO – Owen Hart Cup Tournament Qualifier

Riho was noticeably turned off by Soho’s theme music before the two shook hands to start the match. The two exchanged holds early on before Soho took Riho down with a shoulder block. Soho kicked Riho in the midsection, but missed a follow up kick. The two countered one another’s moves as Riho ended the back-and-forth with a double stomp to Soho’s stomach. Soho hit a back elbow, then drove Riho face-first into the turnbuckle. Soho and Riho again went back-and-forth until Riho locked in a leg lock.Soho finally made it to the ropes for a break. [c]

Soho knocked Riho in the face as she was perched on the top rope. Both women battled on the top until Riho knocked Soho down. Riho came off with a cross body but Soho turned it into a pin for two. Soho went for her finish but Riho turned it into a crucifix bomb for two. Soho nailed Riho with a back drop driver for two. Soho followed up with a stiff kick and again got two. Soho finally hit Bladderunner for the win.

WINNER: Ruby Soho in 8:30

(Moynahan’s Take: Really good match that was unfortunately dampened by a long commercial break. Soho moves on to face the winner of Red Velvet and Shida’s replacement.)

– Billy Gunn was backstage with his sons and The Acclaimed. He said they could be one of the greatest factions of all time but needs things like hand gestures. The Gunn Club basically did the DX sign as one option but Billy didn’t like it. They then tried saying Bill’s old “We’ve got two words…” slogan before Billy cut them off again. Billy said he used his sway in the company to get them a match on Elevation, and they all got super excited.

(Moynahan’s Take: This was kind of funny in spots but I have no idea why The Acclaimed are excited to wrestle on Elevation all of a sudden.)

– Tony Schiavone announced Jade Cargil and her Baddies, Red Velvet and Kiera Hogan, as they made their way to the ring. Schiavone announced that Sida was injured and officially out of the Owen Hart Tournament. Jade questioned what happened to Sterling, since he was on crutches, but then stopped and said that no one cared. Sterling said Red Velvet would get a bye in the tournament until Schiacvone corrected him. Kris Statlander’s music hit as she made her way out. Excalibur announced that Statlander would replace Shida and the two would face off next week on Rampage.

– Mark Henry was backstage on split screen with tonight’s main event’s competitors. Ethan Page asked Sky why he gave Kazarian a title shot, and Sky said he gave Kazarian his word. Sky told Lambert and Page to settle down and asked them to take the night off as he faced Kazarian 1-1. Henry announced that it was “time for the main event.”

– Excalibur ran down this week’s Wild Card Wednesday Dynamite card.

(4) SCORPIO SKY vs. FRANKIE KAZARIAN – TNT Championship

Sammy Gievara and Tay Conti were shown sitting in the front row before the match. The crowd chanted “SCU” as both men shook hands and locked up. Kazarian and Sky traded exchanges until they ended in a stalemate. Kazarian took Sky down with a hip toss, then locked in an arm bar. Sky countered into a rollup for a pin attempt but Kazarian kept the arm bard locked in. The two again went back and forth until butting heads in the center of the ring.

Sky sent Kazarian into the ropes and caught him in the stomach with a right hand. Kazarian battered away at Sky and hit a suplex for a two count. Kazarian was sent to the outside, and Sky followed with a tope over the top. [c]

The even battle continued as we came back from commercial break. Kazarian flew into the ring and rolled Sky up for a two count. Sky had Kazarian on his shoulders and set up the TKO but Kazarian countered into a pin attempt. Kazarian bounced off the ropes with a springboard leg drop for two. Kazarian tried locking in the chicken wing but Sky countered into a jawbreaker. Kazarian missed a leg drop but Kazarian flipped him into the ring and hit a cutter. Sky evaded the chicken wing a few more times until Kazarian locked it in.

Sky tried pushing off the ropes but Kazarian kept it locked. Lambert ran down to the ring to distract the ref, which allowed Page to hit Kazarian from behind with the title. Sky covered but Kazarian kicked out after a close two count. The commentators mentioned how Sky must not be happy about this at all. Sky hit TKO on Kazarian for the win.

WINNER: Scorpio Sky in 10:30

– After the match, Sky asked Page if he hit Kazarian behind his back. Sky looked ticked off at Page but then hit Kazarian with the title to knock him out. Lambert said he loves it when a plan comes together, then goaded Sammy to hit the ring, which he did.

(Moynahan’s Take: A strong main event with a very good story being told of former friends and partners countering nearly all of one another’s moves. The end with Sky finally turning on Kazarian and apparently remaining full heel was odd after the last few weeks of shows have told us otherwise. Add that into the ongoing feud with a fully heel Sammy, and I’m just utterly confused at the booking here.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A strong Rampage with a good opener, great Women’s match, and really good main event. That said, the ending was just so confusing after weeks of being told Sky was a face. It wouldn’t bother me too much if the whole Sammy and Tay duo didn’t also turn heel in the process. This just didn’t land for me at all. Let’s hope next week ends off on a better note. Until then, stay safe everyone!