AEW RAMPAGE RESULTS (8/9): Darby vs. The Butcher, Wheeler Yuta vs. Rocky Romero, Nyla Rose vs. Saraya, Private Party

AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
AUGUST 9, 2024
RECORDED AT THE LAWRENCE JOEL VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM IN WINSTON-SALEM, NC
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) DARBY ALLIN vs. THE BUTCHER

Darby charged toward Butcher as the match kicked off but got a boot to the face for his efforts. Butcher continued being the aggressor in the early going as Darby was bleeding from the mouth. Darby rolled to the outside as Butcher followed. Darby tripped Butcher’s leg and caught him in the apron skirt. As he was all tied up, Butcher shoved Darby into the steel steps with one hand. Butcher missed a cross body against the barricade as Darby moved just in time.

Darby came off the top rope with a Coffin Drop onto Butcher on the outside. Butcher took his time getting back into the ring as Darby was waiting for him. Butcher pushed Darby back into the corner, then easily deflected him as Darby came off the top. Butcher hit a shotgun dropkick before slapping Darby across the face. Butcher whipped Darby hard into the turnbuckle as he once again rolled to the floor. [c]

Darby missed a dropkick off the ropes as Butcher caught him in a Cloverleaf. Butcher powered Darby through into a powerbomb for two. Darby was perched on the ropes and slapped Butcher across the face to no avail. Butcher responded with a huge slap of his own which drove Darby to the floor. Butcher followed to the outside and continued his onslaught. Darby hit a tope through the ropes which gave him some momentum.

Darby hit Butcher in the corner a number of times before being caught. Darby targeted the thumb of Butcher to break out but was caught in a powerbomb for two. Butcher perched Darby on the top rope but Darby bit him on the ear before hitting a Code Red. He followed up with a Coffin Drop for the win.

WINNER: Darby in 10:30

(Moynahan’s Take: These two pair up so well together; it’s a shame Butcher isn’t otherwise seen as a legitimate threat. A very fun match that could have just as easily been featured on a Dynamite. Butcher won’t get any credit here but he does his job well.)

– Don Callis and Rush were interviewed after last week’s Dynamite. Rush was ticked off after his team’s loss as Callis came in and questioned what happened. Callus said this isn’t what he signed up for and asked Rush if he was willing to be the best. Callus said he booked him in a match on Collision against Preston Vance, his former friend. Callus said he wanted Vance hurt and sent to the hospital. Before leaving, Callis said Rush would be on his own at Collision but he’d be watching. [c]

– The backstage brawl from after Dynamite was shown between Jeff Jarrett and Hangman Page. Jay Lethal was then shown addressing Page directly. He said he was tired of seeing Page disrupt the locker room and attack his friend, Jarret. Lethal then challenged Page to a match on Dynamite.

(2) WHEELER YUTA vs. ROCKY ROMERO

Bryan Danielson joined commentary for this match. The two locked up and immediately traded shops. They traded holds as each man took one another to the mat. Yuta landed a few chops across Rocky’s chest in the corner before Rocky fired some of his own in retaliation. Yuta sent Rocky to the floor as Yuta hit a tope through the ropes. [c]

Swerve was shown looking on backstage before facing Yuta on this week’s Dynamite. Yuta hit Rocky with a double chop across the chest. Both men were knocked to the mat as the ref counted them down. Rocky hit a few forearm shots which fired Yuta up. They traded chops back and forth. Yuta caught Rocky and reversed it into a pin for two. Yuta went to the top rope but Rocky got to his feet and caught him with right hand. The two fought on the ropes until Rocky caught Yuta with Sliced Bread for a close count.

Yuta caught Rocky when he went for another Sliced Bread. Yuta hit a nasty looking tombstone, then locked in Cattle Mutilation for the win.

WINNER: Yuta in 10:00

(Moynahan’s Take: Fun back-and-forth match that was meant to set Yuta up for his match against Swerve on Dynamite. Yuta needs to be built up after his long absence on the injury list, so my hopes are for a strong showing against Swerve, since he’ll clearly be taking the loss there.)

– Renee interviewed Willow backstage, and asked her about her frustration with Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway. Willow said Stokely was the reason for her and Statlander’s break, just as Ishii entered the frame. Ishii said Stokely’s name, which caused Willow to ask whether Ishii has plans for Wembley. The two walked off as Renee looked on with a smile.

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(3) PRIVATE PARTY (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) vs. DAVE DAWSON & ZANE DAWSON

Kassidy started things off and initially got his opponent to dance along with him until getting attacked. Private Party quickly turned things around and got the momentum back on their side. Quen was the legal man and tried picking up one of the Dawsons, who was too big and just fell right on Quen. The Dawsons had control as Quen tried again for a slam to no avail.

Quen tried a third time and successfully hit the slam. Quen tagged in a fired up Kassidy who hit Silly String for a two count. Kassidy got caught in the corner with a splash as the Dawsons tried to finish him off. Quen came in to help out Kassidy as they dropped one of the Dawson. They hit Gin and Juice for the win.

WINNERS: Private Party in 4:00

(Moynahan’s Take: Not officially your Rampage Squash of the week, but close enough. The commentary team didn’t seem to know which Dawson was which, so there’s no way I could try and figure that out.)

– Deonna Purrazzo was shown hyping up her Bullrope match with Thunder Rosa on tomorrow’s Collision. [c]

– Dustin Rhodes was backstage and talked about his recent ROH 6-man Title win with the Von Erichs. He then talked about Sammy Guevara recently asking him to trust him. Dustin said he felt great at 55 and wanted more. He said he wanted the ROH Tag Titles from Taven and Bennett. Taven and Bennett then entered the frame. They said a few words before hitting Dustin with a low blow and walking off.

(4) NYLA ROSE vs. SARAYA (w/Harley Cameron)

Saraya immediately attacked Rose from behind as she spilled to the floor. Rose was thrown into the steel steps before slowly making her way back into the ring. Rose pushed Saraya to the mat, then hit a running charge in the corner. Rose slammed Saraya to the mat as Schiavone mentioned Rose having the most all-time wins in the Women’s division. Saraya drove Rose into the corner then peppered her with elbow strikes. Saraya bailed to the floor. Rose slid toward the outside but Saraya caught her with the apron skirt. [c]

Saraya went for a sunset flip but Rose sat down into a pin for two. Rose hit a side suplex, then a senton as she built momentum. Rose went for a splash but Saraya got her knees up. Saraya hit the Night Cap but Rose kicked out at two. Rose blocked a suplex then hit Saraya with a thrust kick for a two count. Both women stood in the center of the ring and traded blows before both went down to the mat.

Cameron distracted the ref from the apron just as Rose went for a pin. Rose went to the outside to chase Cameron off as Saraya came up from behind. Rose hit Saraya with a slap across the face but was met with a thrust kick. Rose went back inside the ring and suplexed Saraya from the apron. Cameron tripped Rose’s leg from under her, then held it as Saraya fell on top of Rose and got the win.

WINNER: Saraya in 10:30

(Moynahan’s Take: Not much to write home about here. Sounds like they’re pushing Saraya trying to make her way onto the All In card, but don’t ask me what they have in mind. Somewhat related, whatever happened to Saraya’s brother?)

– After the match, the commentators ran down the Collision card, which includes a Swerve open challenge match.

FINAL THOUGHTS: You may be shocked to hear this, but this week’s episode was actually kinda good? Ok, well at least compared to Rampage standards of late. Yes, of course you could go out of your way to completely skip this show and not miss a thing, but it was a fine hour of pro wrestling with little to no fluff. If you don’t have an hour to kill, check out the first two matches and feel free to skip the rest. Until next week – stay safe everyone!

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW DYNAMITE HITS & MISSES (8/7): MJF vs. Kyle Fletcher, Swerve and Danielson exchange, Mariah May’s persona, Don Callis, missing Elite, Steamboat, more

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Rampage results (8/9): Murphy’s review of Darby Allin vs. The Butcher, Saraya vs. Nyla Rose, Wheeler Yuta vs. Rocky Romero, Private Party vs. The Dawsons