AEW RAMPAGE RESULTS (9/29): Acclaimed & Billy Gunn vs. Hardys & Brother Zay, Kingston vs. Romero, Shida vs. Soho, WrestleDream hype

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
RECORDED AT THE 1STBANK CENTER IN BROOMFIELD, CO
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Taz

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

– The opening of Rampage aired as Excalibur welcomed us to the show. He was joined by Taz.

(1) THE ACCLAIMED (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & BILLY GUNN vs. THE HARDYS (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) & BROTHER ZAY – AEW World Trios Championship

Bowens and Zay kicked things off as Bowens got the early advantage. Zay took down Bowens with a headscissors until Bowens fired back by spiking Zay to the mat. Jeff was tagged in and came off the middle rope with a splash for two. Caster tagged Billy Gunn who got a nice reaction from the crowd. Matt tagged in for his team as they went back and forth with ‘Suck It’ and ‘Delete’ chants. Matt got the early advantage by ramming Billy’s face into the turnbuckles. Things broke down as all members of each team battled inside the ring. The Acclaimed hit Scissor Me Timbers for two. [c]

Caster nailed Zay with a dropkick, then tagged in Gunn. Gunn nailed Matt on the apron but was then rocked by Zay. Zay tagged in Jeff who took it to Gunn and The Acclaimed. Jeff attacked Bowens, the legal man, then went for a pin for two. Jeff came off the top rope on both Acclaimed members with Whisper in the Wind. Jeff hit Gunn with the Swanton Bomb for two as Bowens broke up the pin.

The Acclaimed took out Matt as Bowens and Zay each tagged in. Zay took out Gunn with a moonsault off the ropes to the outside. Inside the ring, the Acclaimed took out Zay and pinned him for the win.

WINNERS: The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn in 10:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A fine opener. After the match, it was announced that The Acclaimed would defend their AEW Trios Titles against TMDK of New Japan Pro Wrestling on the WrestleDream Zero Hour)

– Eddie Kingston was backstage talking about his upcoming match against Rocky Romero. Jay Lethal and his crew interrupted and said Kingston was unfit to be ROH Champ. Kingston laughed it off and walked away. [c]

– Andrade was backstage. He talked about his match against Juice Robinson on tomorrow’s Collision and said he’d see him in Seattle.

2) EDDIE KINGSTON vs. ROCKY ROMERO – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship

The crowd chanted for Eddie as the match kicked off. Rocky worked the arm in the early going, then hit Eddie with a dropkick. Rocky took Eddie down with a headscissors, then went through the ropes onto Eddie but was caught and taken down to the floor. [c]

Rocky hit a jumping knee to slow down Eddie. Rocky followed up with a series of shots, then a dropkick to cover Eddie for two. Eddie fired back with a clothesline but Rocky countered with a move off the top rope for a close count. Rocky hit a running clothesline in the corner but Eddie came right back to tap out Rocky for the win

WINNER: Eddie Kingston in 9:00

– After the match, Shibata appeared and faced off with Eddie in the center of the ring.

(Moynahan’s Take: This was okay but significantly affected by a long commercial break. If nothing else, it helped Eddie shift into his PPV match on Sunday.)

– A backstage promo with Aussie Open was shown. They talked about their PPV match with FTR this Sunday and said they’d take the AEW Tag Titles.

(3) THE RIGHTEOUS (Vincent & Dutch) vs. CALEB CRUSH & GUNNER

Dutch immediately attacked both opponents with a double clothesline. Dutch and Vincent attacked both men quickly as Dutch hit a sidewalk slam. Vincent hit a cutter for the win.

WINNERS: The Righteous in 1:30

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

– A video package aired showing the history between Ortiz and Mike Santana.[c]

– A video recap aired for the Christian Cage vs. Darby Allin at WrestleDream. Nick Wayne was then shown backstage talking about the match. Wayne directed his attention toward Luchasaurus and said he would face him at Zero Hour on Sunday.

– Excalibur ran down tomorrow’s Collision and Sunday’s WrestleDream.

– Renee was backstage with Zack Sabre Jr. who talked about his recent trip from Japan. Sabre questioned where Bryan Danielson was and said the two men would find out who the best wrestler in the world was. He ended by saying he’d see Danielson on Sunday.

(4) HIKARU SHIDA vs. RUBY SOHO – No. 1 Contender’s Match for the AEW Women’s World Championship

Shida took down Soho in the early going as the fans chanted her name. Soho took to the outside to regroup and slow things down. Soho took Shida down by the hair and hit a few shots across the head. Shida turned things around and struck Soho a number of times in the corner. Shida came off the middle ropes with a crossbody, then hit another series of punches on Soho in the corner. Shida hit a dropkick off the middle rope. [c]

Both women battled in the center of the ring as the fans chanted them on. Shida won the battle and finished things off with a jumping knee, then a brainbuster for two. Soho bailed on a spinning knee strike by Shida but Shida hit a missile dropkick off the steps on the outside. Shida picked up Soho and carried her up the ramp. Both women battled back and forth on the ramp as the ref counted them on the outside. Both made it back inside the ring to beat the count. Soho hit a suplex for two. Soho grabbed a kendo stick but the ref took it away. The ref was accidentally taken down by both women.

Soho hot Destination Unknown but the ref was out and couldn’t make the count. Soho took the kendo stick again but Shida took it and countered with a shot. Shida covered but the ref was still out until Aubrey came out. Soho kicked out in time. Shida missed a move off the top rope. Soho went to the top but Shida got the knees up and hit Falcon Arrow for two. Shida hit the spinning kick for the win.

WINNER: Hikaru Shida in 12:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A solid main event. With the win, Saraya defends her AEW Women’s title against Shida on the October 10th Dynamite.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Tonight’s show was a clear setup for this Sunday’s PPV, which is generally fine in theory but made for a rather boring show in execution. I’m not sure there is one match worth going out of your way to see but until next week, stay safe everyone!

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW Dynamite Ratings Report (9/28): Viewership down up against Republican Presidential Debate on Fox, comparison to year-ago

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Rampage results (9/29): Murphy’s review of Eddie Kingston vs. Rocky Romero for the NJPW Strong Openweight Title, Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed vs. The Hardys and Brother Zay for the AEW Trios Titles