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AEW RAMPAGE TV REPORT
JULY 1, 2022
RECORDED AT THE LITTLE CAESARS ARENA, DETROIT, MICH.
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur, Jim Ross, and Tony Schiavone
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– The opening of Rampage aired. JR welcomed us, and was joined by Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.
(1) 20-MAN ROYAL RAMPAGE – WINNER RECEIVES INTERIM AEW WORLD TITLE MATCH
The rules, according to Tony Khan himself, include a new wrestler entering every minute in an alternating ring until all 20 wrestlers have entered, with 10 wrestlers in each ring. Each ring has a winner, and each winner will then fight under battle royal rules to determine who gets a shot at the AEW Interim World Title.
Participants included Frankie Kazarian, John Silver, Rush, Orange Cassidy, “Hangman” Adam Page, Konosuke Takeshita, Penta Oscuro, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin, Dustin Rhodes, The Butcher, The Blade, Max Caster, Tony Nese, Matt Hardy, Dante Martin, and Brody King.
Page and Hobbs started off in one ring, while Darby and Nese started in the other. Darby took the early advantage as Hobbs overpowered Page in the opposing ring. Nese nailed Darby and took him to the mat. Ricky Starks was out next, and entered the ring with Page and Hobbs. Page and Starks took it to one another until Page was met with a big boot by Hobbs, then a spear by Starks. In the other ring, Darby took down Nese with a springboard off the ropes, then threw Nese out. The Butcher entered next and immediately went after Darby on the outside. Butcher slammed Darby against the metal barrier.
John Silver entered next and helped out Page in ring one. Silver attacked Hobbs and Starks. Page helped out Silver by double suplexing Hobbs. The two face off until hugging one another to the delight of the crowd. Page faked throwing Silver out, and Silver returned the favor. Max Caster was out next and joined the ring with Darby and Butcher. Rush came out next for his in-ring AEW debut. Blade was out next.
Each ring slowed down a bit as the entrants kept on coming. Penta was out next and faced off with Rush in the aisle. Penta hit a slingblade, then kicked Rush’s legs out from under him. Penta came off the top but Rush drop kicked him in mid air. Silver was dumped out by Hobbs. Swerve was next and quickly took down Butcher, then Caster, Darby, and Caster. Swerve eliminated Caster as the next entrant came out. Keith Lee entered the ring with Page, Hobbs, and others. Swerve, in the opposite ring, was taking note of his tag team partner Lee. Starks and Hobbs attacked Lee from behind. [c]
During the commercial break, Matt Hardy entered the match. Dustin Rhodes was next as we came back from the break. Dustin powerslammed Starks but was clotheslined by Hobbs. Penta and Rush went at it in the first ring and battled to the apron. Rush hit Penta with a low blow but Penta pulled Rush down and they were both eliminated. Andrade took Penta down with a chair on the outside as Frankie Kazarian came out next.
Butcher and Blade dumped out Matt Hardy as Dante Martin entered the match. Dante quickly went after Starks and was about to eliminate him until Hobbs made the save. Takeshita came out next and immediately went after Swerve. Takeshita took down Darby, then took both Darby and Swerve down with a double German suplex which popped the crowd. Blade eliminated Kazarian as Brody King entered.
King and Dustin went at it in the corner, with King gaining the upper hand. The last entrant, Orange Cassidy, entered the match. King eliminated Dante with a huge chop to the chest. Cassidy took down both Blade and Butcher as Takeshita came up from behind and took Cassidy down with a chop. Cassidy tried to hit a spinning DDT but Takeshita reversed it. Dustin was eliminated. Butcher and Blade tried double teaming Takeshita, and were able to eliminate him after a quick fight.
Cassidy was eliminated by Swerve as Hobbs was eliminated by Lee in the other ring. Starks quicklys took Lee out of the match. In the other ring, Butcher and Blade eliminated Swerve. Page pulled the rope down and took out Starks but was quickly taken out by King, who won his ring.
Darby quickly took out Butcher and Blade to win his ring. King quickly moved over to Darby’s ring to attack him as the final two entrants. King threw Darby from one ring to the other as the crowd chanted his name. King hit a cannonball senton in the corner. King took Darby to the apron with a sleeper hold, and simply dropped him to the floor as Darby passed out.
WINNER: Brody King in 25:00
(Moynahan’s Take: A fun Rampage Rumble, with good use of the two-ring concept. If we get Blood and Guts each year, I would imagine we end up seeing more of these matches on the following Rampage, which is a solid idea. A good, yet random win, by King, who officially faces Moxley for the Interim Title on this week’s Dynamite.)
– Alex Marvez was backstage with Hook, who asked him what was next for him. HOOK, who was eating chips, didn’t answer. Marvez said he thought Hook was a go with the flow type of guy, but HOOK quickly stood up and corrected him as he walked off.
(2) THE YOUNG BUCKS (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. BISHAMON (Yoshi-Hashi & Hirooki Goto) – Tag Team Eliminator
Nick and Goto started things off. Nick got the early upper advantage until Goto fired back with a shoulder tackle take down. Hashi tagged in and helped Goto take down both Matt and Nick. Hashi and Nick were the legal men unti Matt tagged in. Hashi took Nick down, but was caught in a northern lights suplex trifecta by Matt. Goto came in and was caught by Matt, who then hit them both with a suplex. Nick flew over the ropes and took out both Goto and Hashi. [c]
Goto tagged in and took out Matt with a big leg lariat in the corner, then followed up with a running bulldog for a two count. Matt hit Goto with a closed fist, then blind tagged Nick. Matt and Nick double teamed Goto as Nick hit a running knee for a close count, which was broken up by Hashi. Goto took out Matt and drove Nick into the corner. Hashi hit Nick in the corner, then he and Goto took Nick out with a double team move for a close count. Goto and Hashi kept the double team on until Matt pulled Hashi to the outside. Inside the ring, Nick was taken out with a huge clothesline. Matt came in and took Goto out with a superkick, but was caught with a clothesline by Hashi. All four men were down.
Goto hit Nick with a knee to the back of the neck as the crowd cheered him on to tag Hashi. Hashi did tag in and hit Nick with a chop, then a superkick. Goto came back and hit another knee to the back of Nick for a close count. Goto and Hashi went for a double team on Nick but Matt made the save and they both took Goto out. The Bucks hit Hashi with the BTE Trigger. Goto was in the other ring, and Nick springboarded from ring one to two to take him out. Nick and Matt then hit the Meltzer Driver on Hashi for the win
WINNERS: Young Bucks in 10:30
(Moynahan’s Take: It was kind of odd seeing the Bucks in the middle match of Rampage. That said, this was another solid match, which should be no surprise. It’d be nice if we continue to see NJPW stars on Dynamite and Rampage more often.)
– Jonathan Gresham announced that he and Lee Moriarity will face Tully Blanchard’s team on next week’s Rampage. Gresham added that we would get used to hearing his name on TV moving forward.
– Mark Henry was backstage on split screen with Toni Storm and Nyla Rose, who was with Marina Shafir. Rose said Storm was encroaching on her territory here in AEW. Storm said her momentum wasn’t going to stop until she was AEW Women’s Champion. Henry announced that it was “time for the main event.”
(3) TONI STORM vs. NYLA ROSE (w/Marina Shafir)
Storm took an early advantage over Rose, who fired back with a stiff clothesline which took Storm to the mat. Rose followed up with a suplex but Storm fought right back with a series of strikes. Shafir pulled Storm out of the ring as Rose distracted the ref. [c]
Storm hit the hip attack on Rose in the corner, but Shafir quickly tried pulling Rose to the outside. Rose was driven outside, and Storm hit a double DDT on both Rose and Shafir. Back inside the ring, Storm came off the top with a cross body but Rose kicked out of the pin attempt. Rose hit a body block for a close count.
Rose went for Beast Bomb but Storm reversed. Rose countered right back and got a close pin. The two face off in the center of the ring and battled back and forth. Storm pulled Rose out of the corner, who fell back and pulled the turnbuckle pad off in the process. Rose missed a move off the top and Storm followed up with a German suplex for a near count. Shafir distracted from the apron but was taken out by Storm. Storm hit Rose and a DDT for the win.
WINNER: Toni Storm in 11:00
– After the match, Shafir attacked Storm until Thunder Rosa ran down and assisted Storm. Rosa took out Rose and Shafir as Storm got back to her feet to assist.
(Moynahan’s Take: A good main event, which gave nice attention to the women’s division, including building Storm back up after her recent title match loss at Forbidden Door.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: What an easy 60 minutes of Rampage this week. As mentioned, the Royal Rampage was a fun concept that I’d like to see happen at least once a year. It wasn’t overbooked, and made very good use of the double rings. The Young Bucks match was also, not surprisingly, very good, with the last few minutes really hitting a great pace. I’m hopeful we’ll be seeing NJPW stars more frequently when they’re not working cards in Japan. I also hope it means AEW stars will start popping up more frequently in Japan. Looks like we already have one match set for next week’s show, which will include Gresham and Moriarity vs. Tully Blanchard Enterprises. Until next week, stay safe everyone!
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