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AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
JULY 19, 2024
RECORDED AT THE SIMMONS BANK ARENA IN NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– The opening of Rampage aired as Excalibur welcomed us to the show. He was joined by Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard.
(1) THE CONGLOMERATION (Kyle O’Reilly & Orange Cassidy) & TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. THE UNDISPUTED KINGDOM (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett & Roderick Strong)
O’Reilly started things off against Strong, as the two tied up in the early going. Both men traded holds with neither really gaining an advantage. Cassidy and Taven tagged in next. Cassidy threw Taven down to the mat with two arm drags, then kipped up as Taven backed into his opponents’ corner.
Ishii made the tag and immediately took it to each member of the Undisputed. Taven and Bennett double teamed Ishii but were unable to suplex him. The Conglomeration triple teamed Bennett and Taven by triple suplexing them. All three continued their assault by focusing their attack on Bennett. Cassidy hit a dropkick as Ishii went for the pin and got a two count. [c]
Ishii continued his offensive attack on Bennett as Taven tried to break things up. Ishii was having none of it until Strong hit him with a dropkick to slow him down. Bennett made the tag to Strong who immediately hit Ishii with a back breaker. Strong backed Ishii into his corner and slapped him across the chest a number of times. Taven tagged in to continue the onslaught. Taven pushed Cassidy off the apron which allowed Ishii to hit him with a back suplex. O’Reilly came in as Cassidy flew through the ropes onto Strong.
O’Reilly and Taven went at it in the ring as Cassidy flew off the top onto Bennett before then going through the ropes onto Strong. Ishii covered Taven inside the ring for two. Cassidy hit a Stundog as the Conglomeration took back the advantage. Undisputed quickly turned things around and singled out Ishii. They triple teamed him before covering for a two count.
Strong and Ishii were the lone men in the ring. Ishii took a few shots but fired back at Strong before tagging Cassidy. Cassidy dumped Taven and Bennett to the outside but was double teamed by them quickly thereafter. [c]
Cassidy was still being singled out by the Undisputed as they traded turns going on the attack. Cassidy pushed Bennett into Taven which allowed him to tag Ishii. Ishii quickly suplexed Strong and Bennett before turning his attention to Taven who was perched on the top rope. Ishii hit an avalanche brainbuster for two. Strong and O’Reilly met in the middle of the ring and immediately went at it.
Taven took out O’Reilly as Ishii took out Bennett. Cassidy came off the top to roll up Taven but Bennett broke things up. Cassidy hit Bennett with a DDT before he and O’Reilly took Bennett out. Strong then git Ishii with a clothesline, and then hit the Orange Punch on Taven for the win.
WINNERS: The Conglomeration in 18:00
– After the match, Don Callis hit the ring and tried to talk to Cassidy before Kyle Fletcher attacked him from behind. Mark Bricoe’s music hit as he made his way to the ring to take out Fletcher. String attacked Briscoe from behind as the Undisputed Kingdom stood strong in the ring.
(Moynahan’s Take: Wow, an 18 minute match to kick off Rampage? That probably hasn’t happened since the first few shows, right? A nice start to the show, but it could only mean we are in for a number of squash matches.)
– Saraya was backstage with Harley Cameron. Saraya said the locker room was scared of her and was trying to keep her off the All In show. She said all roads were leading to Wembley and she didn’t care who she had to step on to get there.
(2) BIG BILL & CHRIS JERICHO vs. THE OUTRUNNERS (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd)
Big Bill was the legal man as Jericho seemed to have no plans to get into the ring at all. Bill had no problem taking down both Magnum or Floyd. Bill was hit with a double dropkick which had no effect. Jericho was on his phone as Bill continued taking care of both Floyd and Magnum. Bill had Floyd in the corner as he kicked away at him. Magnum tried to nail Bill to no effect. Bill squashed both men in opposing corners before hitting Floyd with a chokeslam. Jericho finally asked for the tag as he continued to wear his FTW title. Jericho covered Floyd with his foot for the win.
WINNERS: Big Bill & Chris Jericho in 4:00
– After the match, as Jericho and Big Bill made their way up the ramp. Minoru Suzuki’s music hit as he made his way to the ring for his match. [c]
(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK!)
(3) MINORU SUZUKI vs. THE BUTCHER
Butcher had made his way to the ring during the break. The two met in the center of the ring and immediately went at it. Butcher drove Suzuki to the corner then asked him to face him back in the center. Suzuki obliged and immediately went on the attack. He hit a running kick to Butcher in the corner but couldn’t hit a running knee strike as Butcher caught him. Butcher focused on the leg of Suzuki before striking him across the back.
Butcher hit Suzuki with a series of chops, but was laughed off by Suzuki. Butcher hit a suplex into a pin for two. Suzuki hit a few body shots but was quickly cut off. Suzuki turned things into a sleeper, then hit a stalling piledriver for the win.
WINNER: Minoru Suzuki in 3:00
(Moynahan’s Take: Quick match, with Butcher getting in a good deal of offense before Suzuki quickly turned things around in his favor.)
– The Conglomeration was backstage, as Briscoe introduced Ishii into the group. He said no one in their group was allowed to be a ‘sh*t head’ before saying the word of the day was ‘mis-combobulation.’ He then focused on Roderick Strong who he will face at ROH Death Before Dishonor next week. He mentioned before they meet next week, Ishii would face Strong on tomorrow’s Collision.
(4) KRIS STATLANDER (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. SYDNI WINNELL
Statlander quickly nailed Winnell with a spinning clothesline right as the bell rang. Statlander continued the onslaught as she stomped away at Winnell in the corner. Statlander hit a snap suplex before being hit with an elbow strike in retaliation. It didn’t last long as Statlander cut off Winnell and hit her tombstone finish for the win.
WINNER: Kris Statlander in 1:30
(Moynahan’s Take: YOUR SECOND RAMPAGE SQUASH OF THE WEEK!)
(5) THE LUCHA BROTHERS (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. PRIVATE PARTY (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
Kassidy and Fenix started things off quickly. The two traded shots before Kassidy nailed Fenix with a kick to the face and a hurricanrana take down. Kassidy drove Fenix into his own corner and tagged in Quen who rolled Fenix up for two. Penta made the tag but Quen cut him off and went for a suplex from the apron into the ring. Penta countered and kicked Quen in the back of the head.
Quen was sent to the floor after another kick to the head. Penta was about to fly through the ropes but Kassidy cut him off. Fenix, Kassidy, and Penta went at it in the ring and quickly took one another out. [c]
Fenix and Penta double teamed Kassidy who was able to hit Silly String to counter. Private Party double teamed Fenix before Quen took out Penta on the outside. Kassidy covered Fenix for two. Private Party hit Gin and Juice on Fenix for two as Penta broke things up by hitting a destroyer.
Fenix countered Quen for a two count as Penta made the tag and Lucha Bros took out Kassidy before hitting a double thrust kick on Quen. Penta and Fenix hit Fear Factor for the win.
WINNERS: The Lucha Brothers in 10:00
(Moynahan’s Take: A fine main event, with the right team going over. I feel like we keep seeing Penta and Fenix on Rampage, which is nice, but can we please actually use them in something more valuable?)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Tonight may have been similar to last week where not a ton of storylines were progressed, but it felt like a much better show overall. Something about that nearly 20-minute match to kick off the show set a nice tone for the rest of the hour. We’re always going to get one to two squash matches, but we’ll also always get at least one to two solid matches, and this episode was no different. Go out of your way to check out the opener and the main event if nothing else. Until next week – stay safe everyone!
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