4/22 AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT: Moxley vs. Daniels, Vikingo vs. Dralistico, more

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
APRIL 22, 2023
RECORDED AT THE PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER IN PITTSBURGH, PA
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Chris Jericho, and Tony Schiavone

Ring announcer: Dasha Gonzalez

– The opening of Rampage aired, and JR welcomed us to the show. He was joined by Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.

(1) JON MOXLEY vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

Moxley and Daniels were in the ring as the show kicked off. Daniels went for an early cover as Moxley quickly kicked out and synched in a headlock. Moxley rocked Daniels to the mat until Daniels took him down with a drop toe hold. The two traded chops as Daniels got the upper hand. Daniels dumped Moxley outside, then hit him with a clothesline off the apron. Moxley fought back and dropped Daniels across the steel steps. [c]

Both men were inside the ring as we came back from break. Moxley scratched away at the back of Daniels, then attempted a superplex off the top. Daniels fought him off, then hit a diving crossbody for two. Daniels fired away at Moxley but was stopped in his tracks after Moxley poked him in the eyes. Moxley locked in a choke, then nailed Daniels with a huge lariat. Moxley followed up with a piledriver for two, then immediately put on the bulldog choke. Daniels got to his feet and reversed a Death Rider attempt. Daniels hit a flatliner off the middle rope.

Daniels hit Angel’s Wings but did not capitalize on the pin right away. By the time he covered, he could only get two. Moxley bit Daniels, then locked in a sleeper. Daniels reversed but Moxley was ready for him and locked in the bulldog choke again. Daniels tried fighting out again but Moxley changed his grip and got the tap out.

WINNER: Jon Moxley in 9:30

(Moynahan’s Take: A really nice opener, with both men getting some solid offense in. After the match, Moxley showed respect to Daniels by shaking his hand, which is a nice tie into the respect BCC has shown for hard-fought matches.)

– Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill were interviewed to discuss Cargill’s upcoming TBS title match against Taya Valkyrie on Dynamite. Sterling announced Taya could not use her version of Jaded during the match.

– Hook, The Hardys, and Isiah Kassidy came out for a promo. Kassidy took the mic to introduce Jeff, who said it was great to be back and he has worked so hard to get here. The crowd chanted “welcome back.” Jeff said he was ready to retire from screwing up and he was in AEW to end on an extremely high note. Matt took the mic next to talk about The Firm Deletion match. Stokely Hathaway interrupted from backstage and demanded an answer on what exactly was included in The Firm Deletion match. Matt refused to reveal details before the Firm attacked from behind as Stokely continued to look on from backstage. The Firm dragged Kassidy to the back.

– A video package aired showing clips from this week’s Dynamite attack from Jericho and The Outcasts on Adam Cole and Britt Baker. New footage included Cole grieving with Baker backstage as a Dr. tended to her. Cole will appear on this week’s Dynamite. [c]

– A video aired with Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes talking about Swerve’s recent attack on Lee. They said they’d be in action on next week’s Rampage.

(2) JULIA HART vs. KIERA HOGAN

Hogan hit a right hand across Hart’s jaw in the early going, then followed up with a leg drop across the back for a two count. Hart hit a thrust kick to rock Hogan to the mat. Hogan landed a few right hands, then a chop. Hogan knocked Hart down with a series of elbow strikes, then a kick across the face. Hogan hit a windup dropkick in the corner, then covered for two. Hart hit a jawbreaker, then a neck breaker. She followed up with a standing moonsault press for two. Hart went for her finisher but Hogan reversed for a close count. Hart drove Hogan face-first to the mat then locked in Hartless for the win.

WINNER: Julia Hart in 3:00

– After the match, Anna Jay hit the ring and attacked Hart. They battled back and forth until multiple refs separated the two.

(Moynahan’s Take: A nice little 3-minute match. I like seeing more in-ring action for Hart who continues to work on her character. The post-match brawl was a nice touch to further this feud.)

– Christopher Daniels was interviewed backstage. He said he wasn’t here for respect, he was here for victories and championships. Claudio and Wheeler appeared and were about to attack him but Moxley cut them off and said Daniels was cool. Daniels told Moxley he must have some honor left in him, which ticked Moxley off. Moxley attacked Daniels and threw him against a wall of metal lockers.

(Moynahan’s Take: So much for that respect thing I called out earlier.)

(3) FTR & JEFF JARRETT & JAY LETHAL (w/Satnam Singh & Sonjay Dutt) vs. ARI DAIVARI & TONY NESE & SLIM J & JOSH WOODS

Dax and Slim J kicked things off. Slim J took Dax to the corner and fired away with a number of right hands. Dax fired right back with a huge chop across the chest. Dax hit a snap leg drop then covered for a quick kick out. Mark Briscoe was shown watching backstage. Slim J took down Cash who had tagged in. Cash caught Slim J in midair and hit a powerslam. Lethal tagged in, then quickly tagged in Jarret for the double team assistance. The two went for their strut but Nese, Woods, and Daivari hit the ring to break things up. FTR helped get rid of them then all four men strutted across the ring. [c]

Woods had Cash on the mat in a headlock. Cash was able to get to his feet but Woods initially cut him off from making a tag. Cash was close to tagging out yet again but was cut off by Daivari who tagged in. Cash finally made the leaping tag to Dax who took out each member of the opposing team. All eight men hit the ring as the team of FTR and Lethal and Jarret took control. Sterling got on the apron and was pulled in by Dax. Dax and Jarrett double teamed Sterling, but Jarrett accidentally hit Dax after Sterling moved out of the way. Dax and Jarrett argued until Jarrett hit the Stroke, and Dax begrudgingly covered for the win.

WINNERS: FTR & Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal in 9:00

(Moynahan’s Take: This was fine but if this is your follow up FTR angle after winning the tag titles, call me when you have something more interesting going on.)

– A video package aired showing Orange Cassidy’s recent winning streak defending the International Championship. It was announced that Cassidy’ next opponent will be Bandido on this week’s Dynamite. [c]

– Mark Henry was shown backstage introducing a video package for tonight’s main event. Henry announced that it was “time for the main event.”

– Dax vs. Jeff Jarrett was announced for this week’s Dynamite. Tony Khan will also make an announcement on the show. Kenny Omega and Takeshita will also face Butcher and Blade.

(4) EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO vs. DRALISTICO – AAA Mega Championship

Dralistico took out Vikingo from over the top rope before the bell rang. After the match mugged off, Vikingo missed a huge senton on the outside as he splashed right down on the entrance ramp. Dralistico hit a springboard senton for a close count. Both men traded chops to the chest, then forearms to the face. Dralistico connected with a running elbow strike but Vikingo retaliated with a reverse hurricanrana. Dralistico nailed a destroyer off the ropes as the crowd cheered them on. [c]

Dralistico hit a moonsault onto Vikingo on the outside. Both men went back into the ring as Dralistico hit a springboard codebreaker for another close count. Vikingo hit an overhand chop but Dralistico fired right back. Both men battled in the corner and climbed to the top rope. They traded shots as the crowd continued to cheer them on. Vikingo knocked Dralistico to the apron, then hit him with a Canadian Destroyer. Both men were slow to get up.

Rush and the rest of LFI tried interfering but were caught by the ref and thrown out. Dralistico went for a rollup but Vikingo was able to kick out, then nail a corkscrew kick. Vikingo came off the top with a diving foot stomp for two. Vikingo tried for a springboard move but Dralistico cut him off, then hit a diving hurricanrana to the outside. Dralistico thought he tapped out Vikingo and started to celebrate, which allowed Vikingo to fire a back heel kick across his face. Vikingo came off the top with the 630 senton for the win.

WINNER: El Hijo del Vikingo in 12:00

– LFI came back to the ring to attack Vikingo.

(Moynahan’s Take: Wow wow wow. Go watch this one.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A solid hour of professional wrestling. Go out of your way to watch the main event. The only negative to this one was the commercial break, which I cant’ blame them for, it’s simply a match I wish was shown in its entirety; perhaps on PPV? The rest of the show was solid but not necessarily a must-watch. I am intrigued to hear what Tony Khan has to say on Dynamite, although it didn’t seem as hyped up as the London announcement so I’m not expecting huge news.

CATCH-UP: HEYDORN’S AEW DYNAMITE RECEIPT 4/20: Too many layers in Adam Cole angle with Chris Jericho