AEW RAMPAGE RESULTS (3/20): Best Friends vs. Fletcher & Hobbs, Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs. Statlander & Nightingale, Romero vs. Takeshita

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
MARCH 20, 2024
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA AT THE COCA-COLA COLISEUM
AIRED LIVE ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

– The opening of Rampage began with the ending of Dynamite’s I Quit Match between Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Excalibur was joined by Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard.

– Bullet Club Gold was shown hanging out by a pool gloating about their attack on The Acclaimed last week. Jay White pulled out Sting’s bat, which was now spray painted gold. White even mentioned breaking Darby Allin’s foot so he could no longer climb Mt. Everest.

– Renee welcomed the crowd to Rampage, then called out The Acclaimed to the stage. Max Caster began by admitting they should have known that Bullet Club Gold would have attacked them. He then said Billy Gunn was not there tonight since he wasn’t allowed to travel due to White’s attack. Caster asked the crowd how they felt about White, and they booed in response. Caster challenged White to leave AEW and go back to New Zealand or New Japan Pro Wrestling. Anthony Bowens got on the mic next to proclaim he was pissed off that Bullet Club Gold didn’t have the guts to show their face in the arena tonight. Bowens asked the crowd to flip off the Bang Bang Gang and said they never need Bullet Club Gold.

(Moynahan’s Take: Due to the awkward transition from Dynamite to Rampage, this segment felt like a time kill as the ringside was cleaned up. That said, at least it served a purpose to progress this storyline. I could be wrong but I swear I saw Juice Robinson in the background of the Bullet Club Gold segment.)

– Highlights were shown from Collision of The Infantry defeating House of Black in the first wild card match of the AEW Tag Title Tournament.

(1) BEST FRIENDS (Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta w/Chuck Taylor) vs. DON CALLIS FAMILY (Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs w/Don Callis) – AEW Tag Team Championship Tournament Wildcard Match

Hobbs started things out with Cassidy as Cassidy quickly went for an Orange Punch but was met with a spine buster for a close count as Trent broke up the pin just in time. Cassidy flew to the outside but Hobbs caught him and drove Cassidy into the apron repeatedly. Hobbs missed a charge in the corner that sent him to the outside. Trent tagged in and took Fletcher down with a double knee strike, then sent him to the floor. Trent flew off the top with a senton on both Fletcher and Hobbs.Back inside the ring, Trent chopped away at Hobbs. Fletcher ran in but was caught in a German suplex. Trent tried for a swinging DDT but Fletcher put on the brakes. Hobbs and Fletcher hit a pendulum bomb on Trent. [c]

Trent sent Hobbs to the outside before he tagged in Cassidy who flew off the ropes onto Fletcher. Cassidy hit a spinning DDT that spiked Fletcher to the mat. Cassidy went for a pin that Hobbs broke up in time. Hobbs and Cassidy were the legal men. Hobbs rocked Cassidy across the jaw, then locked in a backbreaker. Trent nailed Hobbs with a stiff right hand to free Cassidy. Trent then kicked Hobbs to give Cassidy the chance to roll him up for two.

Fletcher measured Cassidy in the corner, then turned his attention to Trent. Fletcher was hit with a Stundog Millionaire by Cassidy, then a half-and-half by Trent. Hobbs ran back into the ring and hit a double shoulder tackle to even things back up. Hobbs threw Cassidy hard into the LED boards wrapped around the ring apron. Hobbs attempted a powerbomb on the outside but Trent broke it up to allow Cassidy to hit the Beach Break. Fletcher and Cassidy were the legal men back inside the ring as Fletcher hit a spinning tombstone for two.

Fletcher was bleeding from the mouth as he hit a running kick to the face of Cassidy. Cassidy was propped on the top turnbuckle as Trent attacked Fletcher from behind. Trent hit a suplex off the top, as Cassidy followed up with a diving DDT. Cassidy hit Orange Punch on Fletcher for the win. [c]

WINNERS: Best Friends in 10:00

(Moynahan’s Take: My goodness what action. I’m not quite sure if they had to cram a longer match into these ten minutes, but no matter the reason, this was a fun match that could have gone either way. I’m not a fan of having the Don Callis Family team lose in the first round, but losing to Orange Cassidy shouldn’t hurt in the long run.)

(2) KATSUYORI SHIBATA vs. KEVIN MATTHEWS

Shibata and Matthews immediately traded strikes, with Shibata easily taking the advantage. Shibata hit his patented running dropkick in the corner, then dropped Matthews for two. Matthews hit a running clothesline that rocked Shibata. Matthews picked up Shibata, but Shibata turned things into a submission. Shibata released, then hit the PK for the win.

WINNERS: Shibata in 1:30

(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK. A good primer for Shibata in advance of his Dynamite match next week against Will Ospreay.)

– Adam Copeland and many others were backstage celebrating his TNT Championship win.

(3) KONOSUKE TAKESHITA (w/Don Callis) vs. ROCKY ROMERO

Takeshita threw Rocky down to the mat as the match got underway. Takeshita then placed Rocky on the top rope, then patted his head in a show of disrespect. Rocky caught Takeshita with a quick right hand as Takeshita wound up for one of his own. Rocky hit a hurricanrana which took Takeshita into the corner. Rocky followed up with a series of running clotheslines until Takeshita caught him with a boot to the face. Takeshita followed up with a running dropkick to Rocky’s face that took him outside. [c]

Rocky took flight through the ropes to take out Takeshita, then hit a second one. He tried for a third but Takeshita caught him in mid-air. Takeshita went to strike Rocky but hit the ring post. As the two made their way back inside the ring, Rocky hit a running sliced bread for a two count. Rocky snapped Takeshita’s arm back, then locked in an arm breaker. Callus got to the apron to distract the ref as Rocky broke the hold. That allowed Takeshita to attack him from behind. Rocky got caught by Takeshita in the Blue Thunder Bomb that Rocky somehow kicked out of.

Rocky went for a backslide pin for two. He followed up with a jumping knee, then a back heel kick to the face. Takeshita followed up with a stiff clothesline, then hit a rolling elbow strike. Takeshita hit a Falcon Arrow for the win. [c]

WINNER: Takeshita in 9:30

(Moynahan’s Take: I’m pleasantly surprised this match got so much time, considering the overall time constraints. While I’m not so cure Takeshita should be going that long with someone like Rocky, who is great but simply isn’t seen as a big deal to AEW fans, this is a match worth checking out.)

– Mark Henry introduced tonight’s main event via a video package hyping up both teams. Henry then announced that it was “time for the main event.”

(4) KRIS STATLANDER & WILLOW NIGHTINGALE (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. JULIA HART & SKYE BLUE – Street Fight

Stokely joined commentary for this match. All four women started things off by attacking one another on the outside. Hart and Blue brought kendo sticks as Statlander and Willow had chairs. They fought into the ring as Hart dropped Statlander across a chair. Hart set the chair up and sat Statlander on it. Statlander moved and dropped Hart’s face across the chair. Willow followed up by kicking Hart across the face. The chair was wrapped around Hart’s body as Statlander hit a backbreaker on Hart. Statlander went for a pin but Hart kicked out. Willow took out a table from under the ring.

Blue threw Willow into the barricade, then went inside the ring to attack Statlander. Hart took out a metal spike as Blue held Statlander. Statlander moved in time as Hart hit Blue in the face with the spike. [c]

All four women were down on the mat as we came back from the commercial break. Willow and Blue were on the outside as Statlander took it to Hart in the ring. Willow cleared the announce table before climbing on top with Blue. Blue fought off Willow and hit Code Blue right on the announce table, which didn’t break. Statlander rammed Hart’s face into the steel steps on the other side of the ring.

Blue emptied a bag of thumb tacks inside the ring as Statlander brought in a bag of her own and added to the pile. Blue picked up Statlander and dropped her with a powerbomb across the tacks for a two count. Blue picked up a handful of tacks and jammed them in Statlander’s mouth before hitting a superkick for another close count. Blue climbed to the top rope but Willow got back to her feet in time and drove Blue through two tables that were set up on the floor.

Back inside the ring, Hart piled up multiple chairs but Statlander dropped Hart on them, then climbed to the top. Statlander missed a 450 splash as Hart moved, then locked in Heartless for the tap out victory.

WINNERS: Julia Hart & Skye Blue in 15:00

(Moynahan’s Take: This wasn’t my cup of tea but was admittedly fun in spots. The crowd was super hot at times as well, so it clearly worked well in the arena. Thumbtacks and tables still seem to work, but there’s been just too much on AEW TV for my taste.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Can Rampage be live and follow Dynamite every week? Please? While it felt a bit rushed at times, it was well worth the action we were given. While I’m not a fan of a three-hour block, I could see some benefit of tacking on a unique third hour that still makes Dynamite feel special and more must-see. Really no harm in checking out this entire episode, even the fun squash match from Shibata. Until next week, stay safe everyone!