AEW RAMPAGE RESULTS 5/20: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Bandido & Best Friends, The Acclaims & Gunn vs. Varsity Athlete & Ari Daivari, Cargill, Dustin

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
MAY 19, 2023
RECORDED AT THE MOODY CENTER IN AUSTIN, TEX.
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

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

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

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

(1) THE BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (Jon Moxley & Claudio Castignoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. BANDIDO & BEST FRIENDS (Trent Baretta & Chuck Taylor)

Bandido and Moxley kicked things off and Moxley did not waste time to go on the attack. Yuta and Trent made early tags as they faced off in the center of the ring. They battled back and forth as Trent hit a lariat to take Yuta to the outside. Chuck Taylor attacked Yuta on the outside as Claudio looked on from behind. Yuta hit a chop block on Taylor, then took him back inside the ring. Claudio tagged in and hit a stalling suplex. Moxley tagged in as BCC cut off the ring for Taylor. Taylor hit a high knee to Yuta’s face, and tagged Trent back in.

Trent and Moxley battled as Trent hit a series of suplexes that took Moxley down. Bandido and Best Friends hit stereo springboards to take out BCC on the outside. Inside the ring, Claudio pushed Moxley out of the way and hit Trent with a forearm. [c]

Trent caught Claudio with a backslide for two. Claudio made a quick tag to Moxley as he kept Trent away from his own corner. Trent hit a swinging DDT out of the corner on Moxley, then slowly made his way for the tag. Bandido came in, as did Claudio. Bandido flew off the top and then took Claudio down. Bandido followed it up with a springboard hurricanrana for two.

Bandido caught Yuta in a suplex, then Best Friends hit a double team move to take Yuta out. All three men hugged in the center of the ring to the delight of the crowd. Taylor hit a stuffed piledriver for a very close count. Taylor tied Yuta up for another pin but Moxley broke it up then took out Bandido. Trent took out Moxley but was taken out by Claudio. Taylor threw Claudio out but was rolled up for two by Yuta. Claudio nailed Taylor with an uppercut and Moxeky hit Death Rider. Yuta came off the top and got the pin.

WINNERS: BCC in 9:30

(Moynahan’s Take: Aside from still not being clear why Bandido is consistently teaming with Best Friends, this was a good opener. BCC’s win was inevitable as they head into the Anarchy in the Arena match with The Elite at Double or Nothing.)

– A video package aired with Kyle Fletcher talking about taking Orange Cassidy’s International Championship.

(2) JADE CARGILL (w/Mark Sterling and Leila Grey) vs. DANI BEE

Cargill struck Bee right from the bell, then hit a fall away slam. Cargill followed up with a pump kick, then covered for the easy win.

WINNER: Jade Cargill in 0:30

(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK.)

– After the match, Sterling got on the mic and said they knew Cargill would have an easy match, so they lined up more talent. Which brought out Genesis.

(3) JADE CARGILL vs. GENESIS

The two locked up and Cargill whipped Genesis into the ropes, then hit a spear. Cargill hit Jaded for the win.

WINNER: Jade Cargill in 0:30

– Sterling said Cargill was 59-0 and said it was time to bring out another opponent to snake it an even 60-0. Taya Valkyrie entered and took out the next opponent on the ramp. Taya entered the ring and knocked Grey off the apron, then nailed Cargill with a clothesline. She hit the Road to Valhalla on Cargill. Taya said she’d see Cargill at Double or Nothing.

(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR SECOND RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK. An okay segment with a good post-match storyline development.)

(4) THE ACCLAIMED (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & BILLY GUNN vs. THE VARSITY ATHLETES (Josh Woods & Tony Nese) & ARI DAIVARI

Bowens took down Woods with an armdrag and continued to work the arm before tagging Gunn in. Gunn mocked Woods’s mouthguard before knocking him down. Daivari tagged in and attempted to jaw jack. Gunn went for the Fameasser but Daivari ducked and tagged in Nese. Nese flexed his biceps, which led Gunn to remove his shirt and show off his own physique. [c]

Gunn was on the outside with Daivari as Caster took down Woods inside the ring. Bownes tagged in and took out both Woods and Nese. Bowens hit his own Famseasser on Nese but Woods broke up the pin attempt. Nese nailed Bowens with a spinning kick to the face but Bowens fired back and hit his double finish with Caster for the win.

WINNERS: The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn in 8:00

(Moynahan’s Take: Since I got called out on this week’s Fix by Todd and Wade for calling last week’s Acclaimed match “good,” I better be careful here. I kid. This felt quick but was fine for what it was.)

– The latest edition of QTV aired. QT said they signed them up for the Double or Nothing Blackjack Battle Royal. He then talked about Hobbs being promoted as part of AEW Collision.

(Moynahan’s Take: As said last week, the less said the better.)

– Tony Schiavone was in the ring and introduced The Hardys and Isiah Kassidy to the ring. Matt said it was official that the three of them would face The Gunns and Ethan Page at the PPV. If they won, Matt would be in charge of Page’s contract. Jeff said they were on their way to becoming AEW tag champs before Page interrupted. Page said he and Matt were finished and said he didn’t enjoy getting Swanton Bombed by Jeff. He said they could trust him now. He told them he was played for a fool and tried hugging Kassidy before forcing him to shake hands. The Gunns attacked from behind with chairs as Page held Kassidy who was then hit with the chairs. Page came off the ropes and nailed Kassidy as the chair was wrapped around his throat. He said they’d see them at Double or Nothing,

– Video aired of this week’s Dynamite showing Adam Cole attacking Chris Jericho. Jericho addressed Cole from the announce table and called him a coward. He called him a coward as Cole was shown on the big screen from outside the arena. Jericho said the ban was null and void and officially challenged him to an unsanctioned match at the PPV. Jericho ripped up the legal document, which led Cole to enter the building. [c]

Cole was shown entering through the crowd as Jericho looked nervous from the announce table. Cole jumped the barricade and he and Jericho fought on the ramp. Security ran down to break things up. Jericho broke free as the two continued to battle. The two were broken up again as Cole’s music played through the building.

– A short video package aired hyping tonight’s main event. Mark Henry announced that it was time for the main event.

(5) DUSTIN RHODES vs. BISHOP KAUN

Lee accompanied Dustin to the top of the ramp, then left. Kaun attacked Dustin from the bell and threw him hard into the corner. The two fought to the outside asn Dustin got the upperhand. Back inside the ring, Kaun fired back and choked Dustin across the bottom rope. Kaun missed a clothesline and Dustin nailed him with a stiff chop across the chest. Dustin was sent through the ropes right into the camera. Dustin was busted open. [c]

Dustin tried mourning a comeback but was cut off by Kaun. Dustin kicked out of a pin attempt and fired up in front of his hometown crowd. Dustin nailed a few right hands then a clothesline. Dustin hit a powerslam then fired a number of right hands in the corner. Kaun escaped but was hit with code re for two. Dustin hit a piledriver for another close count. Kaun got a pin attempt that Dustin barely kicked out of. Kaun hit a shotgun dropkick but was met with a bulldog by Dustin for the win.

WINNER: Dustin Rhodes in 9:00

– Brian Cage immediately hit the ring after the match and attacked Dustin. Swerve Strickland appeared as well. Keith Lee’s music hit as he made his way back out. Lee took out Kaun and Cage as he stared down Swerve. Lee got into the ring but was attacked by Kaun and Cage from behind. Kaun nailed Lee from behind with a chair and Cage hit an F-5 to take him out. Lee was set up in a chair as Swerve came off the top with a stomp.

(Moynahan’s Take: Not the most likely option for the main event, but having the hometown favorite Rhodes close out the show makes sense, at least for the local crowd. The post-match angle furthers a quite laborious feud between Lee and Swerve. Let’s hope it finally ends at Double or Nothing)

FINAL THOUGHTS: The first half of this show felt rushed as most of the matches were over before I knew it. On the flip side, the second half felt newsworthy, with a lot of progression made for some key storylines at Double or Nothing, All in all, a fine hour of pro wrestling. Go out of your way to watch the main event for the post-match beatdown and the owner with the BCC. Until next week, stay safe everyone!