SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
JANUARY 27, 2023
RECORDED AT THE RUPP ARENA IN LEXINGTON, KY
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho
Ring announcer: Dasha Gonzalez
– The opening of Rampage aired, and JR welcomed us to the show. He was joined by Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho.
(1) HANGMAN PAGE vs. WHEELER YUTA
Yuta started right from the top of the show with a shotgun dropkick onto Page. Yuta locked in an octopus stretch in the middle of the ring. Yuta continued his ground work approach with a leg lock as Page slapped him across the face to try and get out of it. Page finally got to the ropes for the break. Page and Yuta traded blows in the corner as Yuta maintained the upper hand. Page fired back out of the corner with an elbow strike. Page laid in a number of chops but Yuta fired back with his own.
Yuta was rocked by an elbow, then a sliding clothesline for two. Page caught Yuta in a foreman’s carry and threw him like a sack of potatoes. Page followed up with a clothesline onto Yuta on the apron. Yuta flew through the ropes onto Page. Yuta tried for it a second time but Page caught him and threw him down hard against the apron. Page hit a pop-up Liger Bomb for a close two count. [c]
Yuta nailed Page with a dropkick off the middle ropes as J.R. talked up both competitors. Yuta hit an enziguri and followed it up with a running elbow strike. Yuta hit another elbow in the corner, then a running bulldog for a two count. Both men fought to the top rope and Page hit an avalanche DVD for two. Page hit a few German suplexes which seemed to take the breath out of Yuta. Page tried for a third but Yuta blocked Page’s grip, and reversed into one of his own. Yuta followed it up with another, then a third. Yuta tried for a fourth but Page got to the ropes for the break. Yuta caught a boot by Page, then wrapped his leg in the ropes. Yuta and Page were both on the apron.
Yuta threw Page into the post, then hit a release German suplex on the floor. Yuta went to the top with Page still on the floor. He hit a cross body off the top, then threw Page back into the ring. Yuta went back to the top but Page got his knees up as Yuta went for a slash. Yuta kicked out of the follow up pin attempt but was met with a clothesline by Page. Page set up for the Buckshot Lariat but Yuta countered into an Olympic Slam. Yuta went back to the top and hit the splash but Page kicked out. Page blocked the hammer and anvil elbows but fired back with a rolling elbow. Yuta continued to fight back but was caught with the Buckshot. Page didn’t immediately cover, and hit Yuta with the Death Rider for the win.
WINNER: Hangman Page in 15:00
(Moynahan’s Take: What a great opener. The crowd was a little quiet here but both men worked their asses off, and Yuta especially looked great here.)
– Action Andretti and Ricky Starks were shown after their recent match on Dynamite. They said there’d be no way they lost last week without the help of the baseball bat from JAS. Starks said he could beat Jericho again and said he’d do whatever he needed to face him again. [c]
– Eddie Kingston was backstage and said House of Black was right, the real Kingston had to come out now and that Ortiz was just in the way. He said he feels House of Black and is ready to go home.
(2) JEFF JARRETT & SATNAM SINGH & JAY LETHAL (w/Sonjay Dutt) vs. BEST FRIENDS & DANHAUSEN (w/Orange Cassidy)
Lethal attacked Taylor from behind as the match kicked off. Taylor took Lethal down with a few arm drags, then tagged in Trent. The two best friends double teamed Lethal before Taylor hit the apron. Jarrett tagged in and took it to Trent in the corner. Taylor tagged back in but quickly tagged Danhausen.
All three Best Friends triple teamed Jarrett, then posed for the crowd. Best Friends then took down Lethal and ran to the apron and knocked Singh off the apron. Singh got into the ring and squared off with Trent who tried to fire a few chops at Singh to no avail. Trent was unable to whip Singh into the ropes and was instead thrown over the top. [c]
Trent rolled Lethal up for a two count. Taylor tagged in and took out Lethal and Jarrett. Taylor hit a high knee on Lethal, then locked in a submission but Jarrett broke it up. Jarrett tagged in but Taylor took out both he and Lethal before dumping Lethal to the outside. Taylor went for the figure four on Jarrett. Lethal tried dropping an elbow on Taylor but Taylor moved in time. Singh tagged in, as did Danhausen, which got the crowd going.
Danhausen went for some body shots but they had no effect on Singh. Danhausen ducked a move by Singh, which rattled him. Cassidy helped from the outside by taking out Dutt. Danhausen was about to use Jarrett’s guitar but the ref took it away. Jarrett came in and hit Danhausen with the Golden Globe award from last week, which allowed Singh to get the pin.
WINNERS: Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh & Jay Lethal in 10:00
(Moynahan’s Take: A fine trios match. Two takeaways for me: Jarrett and Lethal seemingly always get heel heat and Danhausen is definitely over.)
– Renee was backstage with Ruby Soho. Britt Baker interrupted. The two admitted they didn’t get along but Baker said Soho needed to pick a side in their feud against Saraya and Toni Storm.
(3) POWERHOUSE HOBBS vs. TONY MUDD
Hobbs nailed Mudd with a huge clothesline right from the bell. He followed up with a nasty right elbow, then a charge into the corner. Hobbs hit a number of running clotheslines, then threw Mudd across the ring. Hobbs threw Mudd down to the mat, then covered for the win.
WINNER: Powerhouse Hobbs in 1:00
(Moynahan’s Take: Your Rampage Squash of the Week. A good showing by Hobbs.)
– A video package on Top Flight was shown. They talked about their recent win against the Young Bucks last week. They challenged The Elite to a Trios Title match with their partner AR Fox.
– Renee was backstage with Dustin Rhodes. Dustin said thank you to the fans for all of their prayers after his mother passed away. He said he was glad to be back as Swerve interrupted. Swerve said he might just have to take out another old man, just like he did with Billy Gunn. Swerve mentioned Dustin’s dad, which ticked him off. The two stepped to one another as officials broke them apart.
Mark Henry introduced a video package previewing tonight’s main event. Henry announced that it was “time for the main event.”
– Lexy Nair was backstage with Jade Cargill and Leila Gray. Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet interrupted. Velvet challenged Cargill to a TBS title match on Dynamite and said she’d make her 49-1.
(4) JAMIE HAYTER vs. EMI SAKURA – AEW Women’s Championship Eliminator Match
Both women traded chops in the early going. Hayter got the upper hand until Sakura pulled the ropes and sent Hayter to the outside. Both women battled on the outside as Sakura whipped Hayter between the apron and barricade. They made their way back inside as Sakura threw Hayter across the ring by the hair. Sakura hit a cross body as Hayter was perched against the corner. Sakura locked in a surfboard. [c]
Both women once again traded chops until Sakura took Hayter down with one final shot. Hayter came right back and hit three exploders on Sakura. Hayter hit a running back elbow in the corner, then hit the Hate Breaker across the knee. Sakura kicked out of the follow up pin attempt. Sakura hit a stalling backbreaker for two.
Hayter hit the running clothesline for a very close count. Hayter planted Sakura but missed a follow up moonsault. Sakura rolled up Hayter for a pin but Hayter kicked out. Sakura followed up with a tiger driver for another two count. Sakura went to the top and hit her own moonsault for two. Hayter nailed Sakura with a huge clothesline. She went for a follow up but Sakura hit a ripcord. Hayter came right back with another big clothesline, then hit Hayter-ade for three.
WINNER: Jamie Hayter in 12:00
(Moynahan’s Take: Great main event, with both women working very hard and the crowd showing respect for Sakura as the match went on. Hayter was not surprisingly super over with this crowd, even after a long night of action.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Tonight’s episode of Rampage flew by, with little to no out of the ring fluff. It’ll end up not being much of a memorable one in my view, but it was yet another fine night of action. Go out of your way to watch the opener as well as the Trios match for a little bit of fun. The main event was a solid match as well, so you really can’t go wrong with anything here. Until next week, stay safe everyone!
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