AEW RAMPAGE RESULTS (2/2): Moynahan’s report on Top Flight vs. Private Party, Starks & Big Bill vs. Dark Order for AEW Tag Team Titles, Willow vs. Aminata

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
FEBRUARY 2, 2024
RECORDED AT THE UNO LAKEFRONT ARENA IN NEW ORLEANS, LA.
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

Ring announcer: Bobby Cruise

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

(1) TOP FLIGHT (Darius Martin & Dante Martin w/Action Andretti) vs. PRIVATE PARTY (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)

The crowd chanted for Private Party as the bell rang and the match kicked off. Quen and Dante locked up and the two traded moves. Dante got the early upper hand before tagging Darius. Dante made a quick tag back into the ring as he and Darius double teamed Quen. Top Flight kept the quick tags up as Darius tagged back in. Quen countered a double team move with a drop kick on both Darius and Dante. Kassidy made the tag and rolled to the outside before getting elevated to the apron by Dante. Kassidy took on both Top Flight members alone from the apron before hitting a moonsault on Dante on the floor.

Kassidy took a large crown from a fan and wore it back inside the ring as the crowd got behind him. Private Party double teamed Dante as they drove Darius face-first into the mat. Quen and Darius went at it from there as Action Andretti got on the apron and jaw-jacked with Quen. Dante rolled up Quen for two. [c]

Private Party was in control throughout the commercial break. Darius mounted a comeback as he hit a Pele kick on Kassidy. Darius crawled to his corner and finally tagged Dante. Kassidy missed a splash in the corner as Dante came off the top with a crossbody for two. Top Flight double teamed Kassidy who held his own and took on both opponents. Darius caught Kassidy with a thrust kick until Private Party hit Silly String.

Quen hit a shooting star press off the top but Darius broke up the follow up pin. Darius hit a Spanish Fly in the center of the ring, then flew through the ropes to take out Kassidy. Inside the ring, Dante slammed Quen to the mat and covered for the win.

WINNERS: Top Flight in 10:00

– After the match, Private Party refused to shake the hands of Top Flight.

(Moynahan’s Take: A much better match than their first one a few weeks ago. Both teams looked smooth here and Private Party seemed to get over with the crowd.)

– Renee was backstage with Sammy Guevara, who welcomed him back. Sammy said the recent tag title loss was hard to take. He said things weren’t about just him anymore since he became a father. He said the Don Callis Family took things away from him and now things are personal. He challenged Powerhouse Hobbs, and said he was coming for him. [c]

– Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and the Jarretts were backstage as Jay Lethal arrived. They argued a bit about working out as Karen mentioned narrowing down their new team name. Jeff got angry at Lethal for being too nice and told him they needed to get back to being ruthless. Before leaving, Jeff said he would run the meeting next week and tell them all when and where.

(2) RICKY STARKS & BIG BILL vs. DARK ORDER (Alex Reynolds & John Silver w/Evil Uno) – AEW Tag Team Title Eliminator Match

Darby Allin joined commentary for this match. Starks received a strong hometown reaction. Dark Order jumped Starks before the bell as Evil Uno tried to grab Bill’s leg from the outside. Reynolds maintained the advantage on Starks after he and Silver jumped them from behind. Silver made the tag and powerbombed Starks across the knees of Reynolds for a two count.

Starks fired away at Silver before being hit with a German suplex for two. Dark Order tried double teaming Starks who rolled into his corner to tag in Bill. Bill took out both Reynolds and Silver by himself before dumping Silver to the outside. Bill fired away at Reynolds before dropping Uno off the apron. Reynolds sent Bill to the outside, then went for a tope but got caught. Silver ran off the apron to take out Bill. Still on the outside, Reynolds hit a running boot to Bill’s face before he and Silver threw Bill into the ring post.

Back inside the ring, Reynolds continued to kick away at Bill which seemed to fire him up. Bill caught Reynolds with a huge Bossman slam. Starks tagged in, as did Silver, and the two went at it in the center of the ring. Starks had the advantage before playing to the crowd. Starks hit a running splash in the corner as Reynolds attacked him from behind, Starks countered and walked the top rope before taking out Reynolds. Uno grabbed Starks’s leg from the outside but Starks quickly hit him with a spear. Silver fired away with a number of kicks but Starks came right back and hit Roshambo for the win.

WINNERS: Ricky Starks & Big Bill in 10:00

(Moynahan’s Take: While the outcome was never really in doubt, these two teams worked well together. The crowd got behind Starks and Bill which makes me think these two could make a solid face team down the road; but not just yet.)

– Renee was backstage with Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs. She asked them about Sammy returning and Callis said he was sick of hearing about Sammy. He said Hobbs was the one hunting Sammy, not the other way around. Hobbs said he also had a family he had to take care of, and told him that he better hope Hobbs doesn’t see Sammy first.

(3) WILLOW NIGHTINGALE (w/Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway) vs. QUEEN AMINATA

Willow took Aminata to the mat in the early going, then shook her backside in her face. Willow followed things up with a shoulder tackle before Aminata hit an inside cradle for a quick count. Willow slammed Aminata down, then hit a running crossbody for two. Willow hit a short-arm clothesline before hitting a second. Willow tried for a third but Aminata countered. Willow climbed to the middle rope and hit a shotgun dropkick that drove Aminata to the floor. Willow attempted a move off the apron but Aminata swept her legs out from under her. [c]

Aminata hit a running kick to the face of Willow, then covered for two. Aminata missed a hip attack which allowed Willow to hit a running senton in the corner. Willow followed up with a DVD for two, then hit her Dr. Bomb finish for the win.

WINNER: Willow Nightingale in 8:00

(Moynahan’s Take: How many times do we have to see Aminata lose and yet hear the announcers tell us she is the real deal? That said, this was fine.)

– Renee was backstage with Orange Cassidy and Best Friends. Orange said he knew Roderick Strong and The Kingdom were going to interrupt them, and they did seconds later. Orange challenged Undisputed Kingdom to a match but Adam Cole suggested it be a three-on-three with The Kingdom and Strong vs. Rocky Romero, Trent, and Orange Cassidy. They said it’d happen on next week’s Rampage. [c]

– Renee was backstage with Willow, Statlander, and Hathaway. Willow said she was feeling great before Ruby Soho, Harley Cameron, and Saraya arrived. Cameron bit Hathaway as the rest of them bickered. Willow challenged two of them to face them in a match next week.

(4) MISTICO & VOLADOR JR. & HECHICERO & MASCARA DORADA vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & MATT SYDAL & MATT MENARD & ANGELO PARKER

Dorada and Sydal started things off as Excalibur told us he was the youngest for his team at 22 years old. Dorada quickly took Sydal down which riled up Sydal. Menard made the tag, as did Volador. Volador hit Menard with a thrust kick before each man made another tag. Mistico and Daniels were next and Mistico hit a handspring elbow, then a springboard crossbody. Mistico stayed on the attack and flew off the ropes to take Daniels to the outside. Mistico whipped Daniels into the corner before tagging out. Daniels was double and triple teamed but each member of the CMLL team. Dorada hit a running shooting star and covered for a pin before Sydal broke it up.

Dorada kept the offense on Daniels in the corner by chopping him across the chest. Daniels kicked Dorada, then planted him to the mat. Menard and Parker came in and double teamed their opponents before getting some help from Sydal. Sydal and Dorada were the legal men, with Sydal locking a crossbow on Dorada. [c]

Parker and Sydal double teamed Dorada who countered and took out both men. Dorada hit Parker with a corkscrew kick as Daniels and Hechicero each tagged in. Hechicero tripped Daniels before hitting Sydal with a running knee. Hechicero locked in a sleeper on Daniels as he had Daniels against the ropes. Hechicero came off the ropes and took down Daniels as Sydal entered the ring and took Hechicero down. Things broke down from here until Daniels and Hechicero were back as the only ones in the ring. Daniels locked in a submission before things broke down even more.

Volador and Mistico faced off with Menard and Parker. Volador hit a tope as Mistico came off the top onto Menard. Sydal went to follow up but was taken down by Dorada. Dorada then went over the top and took out the pile. Inside the ring, Daniels and Hechicero were the last two standing. Daniels missed his finish as Hechicero locked in a rolling pin for the win.

WINNERS: Mistico & Volador Jr. & Hechicero & Mascara Dorada in 12:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A fun one to watch but a challenging one to report; there was so much action here and I’m sure I won’t do this one justice. That usually means it’s worth going out of your way to check it out yourself.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: A much better crowd over last week, both in size and reaction. That said, that’s not saying too much for a Rampage. I enjoyed the simple but effective build for next week’s Rampage where we’ll see Best Friends vs. Undisputed Kingdom and presumably Willow and Statlander vs. Soho and Saraya. There’s no reason things like this can’t be set up more often from show to show, and it should help give live fans more reason to buy tickets in advance. Go out of your way to watch the main event, and actually, most everything else was solid as well. Until next week, stay safe everyone!