AEW Rampage 9/23/2022

AEW Rampage 9/23/2022

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2022/09/aew-rampage-9162022.html

This is a 2 hour special with the rest of the matches from Arthur Ashe Stadium. 2 hours of wrestling at 10PM on a weekday is asking a lot, but more wrestling is a good thing.

No DQ - The House of Black vs Darby Allin and Sting

The HoB's are jumped from behind by the faces then Darby is gorilla pressed into the ring from the apron. Buddy is thrown out of the ring then Sting is thrown into the steps. 2 tables are set up next to each other outside. Darby is sat on the top rope and then falls out from a chop. Sting gets slammed and fights off a 2v1.

Sting splashes Buddy then Brod yaccidentally splashes Budy. Sting lariats Buddy and Darby top rope sunset bombs Brody. Darby goes for a tope on Buddy and takes a very hard shot when goes for the dive and then takes a bad fall on the floor. Sting goes up top and is pushed off through a table. Julia Hart comes in the ring with handcuffs and Sting gets cuffed. We go to a PiP break and Darby is thrown off of Buddy's back then lariated.

Brody cannonballs Darby in the corner. Darby crawls out and instead of them trying to win against Sting 2v1, the HoB goes for Darby. Darby is dragged up the apron onto the stage. Darby evades a 2v1 then HoB goes into a light holder. Darby climbs the light holder and coffin drops Buddy off of it. Brody knocks Darby down with a punch. Darby climbs the entrance thing and goes for a coffin drop but is caught. Brody sleepers him and both go off the stage onto tables.

Buddy gets Sting's back and Darby is bleeding from the back of the head. Sting is put in a chair and the lights go out as Buddy is about to hit him with a bat. The Great Muta comes out, of all people. Muta and Sting stare down then Muta points at Buddy. Muta hits a dragon screw on Buddy then green mists him. Julia Hart falls off the apron somehow and mostly misses the table, landing hard on the conrete. Sting reverse ddt's Buddy and picks up the win.

The HoB not trying to beat Sting 2v1 was a little silly, but it was cool to see Muta and it was a wild hardcore match. Lots of big spots here, blood and I think both Darby and Julia took floor bumps that they weren't supposed to take.

2point0 (Matt Menard and Angelo Parker) vs Hook and Action Bronson

The Action Bronson thing hasn't done well. Unless I missed something, they never really explained who he is or why we should care.

Bronson raps Hook's theme for their entrance. Hook takes a facekick early then shoulder throws Parker. Hook flips out of a hiptoss then gutwrench suplexes Parker. Bronson knocks of both opponents then splashes both in the corner at the same time. Hook northern lights suplexes Menard into an STF but Parker breaks it up. Hook then takes a running knee out of the backbreaker position.

Parker leg lariats Hook and Parker jumps off of Menard's back with an elbow drop. Menard and Hook lariat each other and Hook exploders Menard. Bronson running shoulders menard and lariats Parker. Bronson running powerslams Parker and pounces Parker hard with some serious speed. Hook release perfectplexes one of his opponents then puts Parker in the redrum. Bronson puts Menard in the redrum at the same time and they grab the win.

It was short and was what it should have been. Bronson got to look good and didn't expose himself and the faces won.

Mark Sterling is complaining about Wardlow in the ring with Woods and Nese. He said he isn't getting powerbombed tonight and they will make quick work of "Warjoe"

Wardlow and Samoa Joe vs Josh Woods and Tony Nese

Wardlow and Joe run down the ramp and the fight starts. osh and Wardlow trade shots and Woods germans him. Wardlow belly to belly suplexes Josh then overhead suplexes him. Wardlow spinebusters him and goes over the top with him on a lariat. Nese misses a top rope moonsault on a standing Joe, who just moves.

Nese brings down Joe's throat over the ropes then takes a corner uranage. Joe muscle busters Nese and picks up the quikc win.

Woods jumps Joe after then Joe takes a 2v1. Wardlow is hobbling in and lariats both. Wardlow goes for a powerbomb and Mark Sterling hits Wardlow with the title belt. Mark gets stuck between Joe and Wardlow then gets powerbombed three times.

Wardlow has really cooled down and they totally messed up his big push. It was a short squash as it should have been, but Wardlow should be in the main event here, not this nonsense.

Jungle Boy talks. He says Rey Fenix is one of the best wrestlers today and talks about trading tag titles with the Lucha Bros. He said he is looking forward to testing himself against Rey and promises a spectacle.

Jungle Boy vs Rey Fenix

JD headscissors him off the 2nd rope from behind early and dropkicks him. Rey flips off the top rope into an armdrag and they trade forearms. Rey hook kicks JB then baseball slides him out. They fight outside and someone is using a mexican airhorn from lucha libre. Rey pulls on both of JB's arms and JB armdrags him. They trade chops in the ring and JB lariats him. JB brainbusters him for 2. JB topes Rey then hits a superkick and a poisonrana. Rey comes back right up and rolls into a cutter on him.

they trade shots and JB snap hurricanranas him out of a double underhook. Rey  is dropkicked on the ropes and they fight on the apron. Rey rolls and dives off the apron and is caught with a superkick. Things slow down and they trade chops then forearms. Rye drops him on his knee then does a gori special into a cutter for 2. Rey gets off the ramp and does an outside 2nd rope twisting springboard crossbody for 2 to JB on the inside. JB 2nd rope powerbombs him the running forearms him.

Rey upkicks him and superkicks him then hits 2 of three amigos JB does a driver on him for 2. Rey top rope frogsplashes him for 2 and 2nd rope spin kicks him. Rey goes for something like a muscle buster and is rolled up for the JB win.

This went on way too long and really dragged during the chop and forearm sections.

 Christian's music hit and he came out in a sling after. Luchasaurus came up from behind and knocked him over. He then hit a burning hammer on him. Christian said NY always makes him smile by being loud and obnoxious, but says that's all that they ever do. He then told them to sit down like the b!tches they are while he conducts business.

CC accuses JB of injuring his arm and jumping him. He said JB will never outsmart or beat him and told him not to come back next week. CC tells Lucha to end him and Lucha chokeslams JB.

We see the JAS celebrating Jericho's ROH Title win. They say they will have a celebration on Dynamite. Daniel Garcia interrupts and says he has to tell him something but Jericho isn't interested. Alex Marvez then gets champagne poured on his head and a cigar put in his mouth.

Eddie Kingston vs Sammy Guevara

Sammy tells Eddie he's sorry then calls him a fat piece of sh!t. Eddie bites him then throws him into the steps outside. Eddie fish hooks him and hits headbutts outside.  Eddie is back body dropped off the apron to the floor then Sammy running kicks him from the apron. We go to PiP break and return with Sammy suplexing Eddie.

Eddie hits back elbows. Tay gets involved then Sammy double springboard cutters him for 2. Eddie hits a stiff lariat then hits machine gun chops. Sammy goes for another double springboard but is caught and backdropped.  Sammy hits pumping knees and a superkick then Eddie release half and half suplexes him. Eddie uraken's him 3 times then wins with the stretch plum. Eddie refused to break after and Jerry Lynn came down to break it. Security comes down and Edide beats them up.

I liked this one. They did a good job of putting over that they hated each other and Eddie was real stiff with him. It didn't go too long so Sammy didn't get too stupid either.

TBS Title - Jade Cargill (c) vs Diamante

Dia kicks her in the leg early then takes a big knee. Dia has her head banged off the buckle then Jade euro uppercuts her. Dia pounds on her in the corner. Jade pump kicks her then Dia baseball slides her out of the ring. Dia dives off the buckles onto her outside, gets caught and takes an F-5 on the apron. Jade hits her jade end and wins it to go to 38-0.

It was short and decent for what it was. It had sloppy moments as usual.

Trina slaps Diamante after and shakes hands with Jade.

Golden Ticket Battle Royale

Adam Page ended up winning this one to get a title shot by hitting a samurai driver on Rush on the apron. It wasn't as long as some of the others and they mostly kept things moving here. Page got jumped on his entrance by various heels. Page really has done nothing since he lost the title and I guess this is a way to get him back in the mix, but this was really out of nowhere and I don't know how much it will really do for him.

We get a split screen promo for Hobbs/Starks. Hobbs says this is the same Starks he beat in 4 minutes and said nothing has changed. Starks says he is better than a 4 minute match and promises it won't happen again. Starks says he will close the book of Hobbs tonight and make sure he puts his lights out.

Lights Out Match - Powerhouse Hobbs vs Ricky Starks

Jim Cornette mentioned what makes a lights out match a lights out match and they did it here by turning off the lights and saying anything goes from here. Starks gets a girl talking over clips of him wrecking stuff in his house.

They hockey fight to start and Starks running Thesz presses him and pounds on him. Starks slides under the bottom rope and lariats Hobbs on the floor then pushes him into the steps. He kisses some old ladies hand, who he's probably related to. Hobbs neckbreakers him over the knee then throws a table over his back.

We go to PiP break with weapons being put in the ring. Hobbs oklahoma stampede's him into a chair in the ropes then is pushed into a chair in the ropes. Starks tornado ddt's him and Hobbs low blows him. Starks low blows him then is back body dropped on the top edges of two sitting chairs. Hobbs running powerslams him on a chair and they fight on the ramp and stage. Starks runs into the entrance way on a failed spear then Hobbs pulls off an LED light.

Hobbs gets speared into a table in the ring after missing a shot with the LED light. Starks hits him with an LED light then roshambo's him partially on a chair to win.

It was a good hardcore match here. Nothing great, but we had some highlights including Starks getting back body dropped on chair edges and Hobbs going through a table.

Overall thoughts: It was a fun special with a bunch of different matches and variety. 2 hours on a weekday night is asking a lot though.