AEW Rampage 2/23/2024

AEW Rampage 2/23/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/aew-rampage-2162024.html 

Private Party and Matt Sydal vs Komander, Penta El Zero Meido and Bryan Keith vs Top Flight and Action Andretti

AA and Sydal talk trash. Sydal headlock takeovers him and cross over to do it again. AA flips out of a snapmare, Sydal headscissors him and AA flips out. AA walks up the buckles and does an armdrag on the way down. He dropkicks Matt and headflips up. AA bottom rope springboard splashes Sydal.

Sydal jumping spin kicks Darius then Darius dropkicks him. Bryan running face kicks Darius. Zay hits forearms on Bryan  then headscissors him into a Quen enzugiri. Quen springboard splashes Bryan for 2. Penta shoves his hands in Quen's face then Quen piefaces him. Penta piefces him then Dante tags himself in. Everyone in this starts pounding on each other. Dante jumping knees Kom and kicks him in the gut. Kom headscissors him.

Kom superkicks him then walks the top rope, flips into the top rope and armdrags Dante. Dante flips over Kom off the bottom rope then Pena hits slingblades on Date. Penta superkicks Dante then AA springboards into a Penta superkick. Darius is thrown into the rails outside Kom jumps off Penta's back and forearms AA then Bryan ushigoroshi's AA. 

We go to PiP break and return. Zay slingshot swantons onto AA. AA handspring double back elbows Private Party. Dante forearms Quen and springboard crossbodies him. Darius takes a forearm from Bryan and slides through the ropes with a bulldog. Bryan knees Darius out. AA forearms Bryan on the floor then Zay hits a tope con hilo on 3 people outside. Kom surfboards Sydal on the apron and Dante tope con hilos over them onto his own partners and Bryan in a stupid spot.

Sydal meteora's Kom off the buckles onto the apron then Penta package piledrivers Sydal on the apron. Zay springboard cutters Penta on the top rope and find a hat to wear. Quen walks up the buckles and tope con hilos with Zay's help. Penta is on the top and counters a gin and juice with a canadian destroyer in a great spot. Bryan jumping headbutts Quen then Penta throws up Kom into a tornillo on the outside.

Sydal gets kicked from Penta off a springboard then takes a package piledriver. Penta gets win here.

I thought Sydal should have stayed down after the package piledriver on the apron. I thought Dante diving onto his own partners along with Bryan was dumb. Otherwise, it was what you would want with fast paced dives and chaos. The gin and juice canadian destroyer counter was a fantastic spot.

Renee interviews Saraya and Harley Cameron. Renee says Ruby and Angelo are off on the path. Saraya flips out and says she doesn't give a sh!t. Harley cools her down and tells her to breathe. Saraya said her family is wrestling royalty in the UK. She said her brother Zodiac Zack Knight has become All Elite. She says he's scary and said she was going to set Ruby up with him but she messed it up. Harley says he's hot and said Saraya's whole family is hot including Saraya. Saraya sprays her with water and says she's about to be fixed. This wasn't exactly the best way to introduce Zack Knight.

The Young Bucks vs Jonny Lyons and Cappuccino Jones

What a name here in Cappuccino Jones. The Bucks are wrestling in black suits this time and one of them is wearing a hat. Lyons is clubbed on then takes a running back elbow. Lyons is thrown by the head and we get a big Cappuccino chant.

Jones is booted and clubbed on. Jones then takes a ddt. Jones takes a lariat + enzugiri in the corner then takes a spinning lariat. We get another Cappuccino chant in a funny moment and Jones takes a Meltzer driver from the top. Jones is pinned. They say the Meltzer driver is now called the Tony Khan driver

Jones has a goofy name and the crowd loved it. Jones took a big spinning lariat here in this quick squash. He probably earned himself another booking as it's rare for jobbers to get over cold like he did.

The Bucks complain about the ref Paul Turner not calling Nick by his full name. Nick says it's disrespectful and says he will get a fine next time. Nick asks Tony Schiavone to join them. Nick said he interviewed them last week and Nick said he tripped and fell into him. He apologizes and Matt gives him a $25 Amazon gift card and says they are sorry. Matt said he's also sorry they can't get Darby and Sting's blood stains out of their $5,000 suits. Tony asks if they will rescind the fine on him and they say no.

The Bucks say they will beat Darby up for talking trash. They say they will pin him Sting to the mat and say goodbye to one of the most legendary careers of all time. The Bucks say they can be called father time because they are undefeated and say they are coming for him. They then say let's have a great show and ask for an AEW chant.

The Bucks' new gimmick sucks. Like Kenny, they just can't be serious. Everything has be ironic and goofy and that's what this was. It's a shame too because this is Sting's last program and he deserves better.

Tony Schiavone interviews Sammy Guevara in the ring. He says Don has it out for Sammy. Sammy said it's a mix of emotions as he got in the ring with his childhood hero Jeff Hardy last week. He's mad at Hobbs for putting him through a table. He says Hobbs has superstar potential and doesn't need Don sucking the life out of his career. He then tells Hobbs to get out here.

Don Callis comes out and calls Sammy Mr. Mom. He said all he has done in the last 6 months is reproduce. He said Sammy used to be a great athlete and has become weak. He calls him a pathetic little cuck. Hobbs attacks Sammy but gets superkicked. Sammy then corkscrew dives him. Sammy grabs a chair and nails Hobbs with it. Sammy hits him in the gut with it then chairs his back. Hobbs hits a big lariat and flips Sammy. Hobbs spinebusters him twice then hits a world's strongest slam. Don then stomps Sammy after. 

Skye Blue does a promo. She said she had the match won and would have gotten it if it weren't for Stokeley. Julia Hart comes in. She says she will dig 3 graves - for Willow, Statlander and Stokeley. Skye said she wants whoever has the balls to step up and fight her out of the trio.

Anna Jay vs Mariah May

 

They lock up and roll on the ropes. May double chops her. May trips her then takes a running headhunter. May forearms her and bangs her head off the buckles. May double chops her and Anna chops back. We go to PiP break and return.

May high kicks her from the apron then Anna iconoclasms her for 2. May backslides her for 2 then hits a big knee to the face. Anna gets on her back with a choke and May backs her up in the buckles. May double chops her then does a handstand hurricanrana on the ropes.

May misses a hip attack and takes a backcracker from the reverse ddt position. Anna puts her in a choke and May bites her way out. May cradle shocks her and gets the win.

I don't like Anna doing yet another job here. It wasn't great or anything but they kept it moving and ended it before it got boring.

Renee interviews Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker. They said their date went well. Parker said he had a great time. Renee said Saraya wasn't happy. Ruby said it's weird Saraya wanted to hook her with up Saraya's brother. Ruby says Saraya told her she needed her when Ruby said Saraya's the one who needed her. Ruby said she found something that was real in the space that Saraya left. Ruby then said let's do something out there next week and shove it in Saraya's face.

Jake Hager vs Roderick Strong

Jake comes out with a blue bull mascot named Hornsby. Strong throws a shirt at him. We get a chant for the mascot. Strong shoves Jake in the back then chops him. Jake gets mad and Strong stalls outside. Strong boots Jake in the corner then Jake catches his chop and throws him.

Jake chops him in the corner then Strong goes out again. Jake chases him and hits Strong. Jake throws Strong in then is kicked when he tries to get in. Jake big boots Strong then throws him across the ring. Jake then hits a big lariat on Strong for 2. Jake kneels on Strong's throat.

We go to PiP break and return. Jake takes boots in the corner then Strong olympic slams him. Hornsby hits the steps to hype up Jake and Taven/Bennett back him up. Hornsby shoots confetti at them then Orange Cassidy comes down the ramp. Strong/Taven/Bennett are distracted by OC. OC throws Jake his purple hat.

OC pushes Kingdom into each other and Jake puts his hat on. Jake lariats Strong and hits an overhead belly to belly. Jake hits a vader bomb on Strong for 2. Jake hits a doctor bomb on Strong for 2 then ankle locks him. OC is thrown into the ring and Jake breaks the hold. Jake hits Taven and Bennett then takes a jumping knee. Strong then picks up the win.

Look, I know Strong has a PPV match with OC coming up but Hager doesn't get a lot of wins. This might have been a good shot to give him a rare win if it wasn't for Strong having a PPV match as they had the mascot and OC out there. Sadly, it didn't happen. It was just average and nothing special.

Overall thoughts: The three-way opener had some high and low lights. The Bucks' match and segment after sucked like usual with them making it in a joke. May/Anna was average and the main was as well.  I think I would put this at a little below average here.