AEW Rampage 12/13/2024

AEW Rampage 12/13/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/12/aew-rampage-1262024.html

Matt Cardona vs Bryan Keith

Matt's new nickname is "The Complete". I don't know what that means. Chris Jericho is on commentary here. The crowd chants "always ready" for Matt.

Matt and BK lock-up. They shove each other and BK does down. Matt blocks a kick and side headlocks him. Matt shoulders him over. Matt bangs BK's head off the buckles. Matt boots him out of the corner then flapjacks him.

Matt hits a corner lariat. BK slides out to recover and Matt dropkicks him through the ropes. Matt russian legsweeps BK into the rail. BK bites Matt on the apron then pushes him off of it into the steps. BK kneedrops Matt's neck.

BK snamares him and knee drops him for 2. BK chokes him with his leg over the middle rope. They trade chops. BK elbows him and facekicks him. BK cranks Matt's head. BK talks trash and takes a jawbreaker. Matt misses a dropkick. BK running boots him. BK facekicks him off the apron into the rails.

We go to PiP break and return. BK kicks Matt in the corner and bites his ear. Matt pulls BK down from the 2nd rope. Matt lariats him then bangs his head off the mat. Matt hits forearms in the corner and hits a broski boot for 2.

BK headbutts Matt. Matt 2nd rope dropkicks him. BK uranages him for 2. Matt pulls him down backwards for 2. BK gamengiri's him then Matt hits a leg lariat for the win.

Thoughts: It was an average but okay match here. Matt's not a super worker but he knows what he's doing and can hit his stuff clean. BK was fine and it was a face vs heel style match. There was no real story or anything in this one.

Matt stares down Jericho after and Jericho holds his title up at him.

Harley sings "The 12 Days of AEW" in an ad for their shop

Toni Storm vs Harley Cameron

This is Toni's return after a while. She's wearing her old gear. A lot of people didn't really understand the reason for doing this on Rampage.

HC headlocks her off the handshake. Toni side headlocks her. Toni shoulders her over then basement dropkicks her. Toni hits some slaps and a spin kick. Toni running boots her. Toni suplexes her.

Toni chops her in the corner and hits mounted punches. HC hits corner spears then foot chokes her. HC says, "we'll be right back if this idiot remembers who she is" and we go to PiP break. 

Toni backbreakers HC then shoulders her over. Toni lariats her over and thesz presses her. Toni then pounds on her. Toni fisherman suplexes her for 2. HC backdrops her then running knees her for 2. Toni hits a sky high for 2. Toni running hip attacks her in the corner. Toni hits a storm zero and wins.

Thoughts: This was the AEW special here. Instead of a shorter one with Toni getting to do some of her signature moves and get the easy win, they had a longer match here. Toni still won but going so long with Harley didn't get her off to a hot start.

We get some clips from the Continental Classic. I think Brody King talks over the clips. Brody tells Komander to bring the fight of his life because he will.

Deonna Purrazzo vs Shazza McKenzie

DP hits boots to the gut. Shaz backrolls her and knees her. DP lariats her. Matt Menard asks why Mox would put himself in a 4-way where he only has 25% chance of winning and Tony says it's all ego. DP hits a spear while Shaz is in the tree of woe. DP powerbombs her and submits her with an armbar.

Thoughts: It was a quick squash here. Deonna has new white gear that isn't really flattering to her and makes her look bigger than she is.

Alex Marvez interviews Kris Statlander. He asks where she goes from here. She says she hasn't stopped thinking about the Full Gear match. She says Mercedes Mone hasn't stopped talking about it. She says Mone is who she says she is. She says her next stop forward is to move forward. She says she will watch the TBS Title match on Dynamite and says the winner should know she has unfinished business with the TBS Title. 

Tony Schiavone interviews Don Callis, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher and Lance Archer in the ring. Don says he and his crew are in the money making business. Don puts over his crew. He said Will Ospreay called himself the best wrestle anyone has seen until he ran into Kyle Fletcher. He said Kyle put him down and Will will never be the same. Don says, "How does it feel, bruv?". He then talks about Kyle beating Okada and asks, "how does it feel, b!tch?".

Kyle gets on the mic. Kyle says being booed means nothing. He says he's 25 and will be the winner of The Continental Classic. He says winning this tournament is his destiny and hopes Mark Briscoe brings his redneck kung-fu tomorrow. Don says his family is the 1% and says there's no one in the back who is big or bad enough to get in the ring with them.

Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis then come out.

Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis vs The Don Callis Family (Lance Archer and Konosuke Takeshita)

KT = Konosuke Takeshita

KT stalls outside to start. Lance and Hobbs trade forearms. Lance knees him in the gut. Hobbs shoulders him over and hits corner punches. Mark hits corner punches on Lance. Mark corner lariats Lance then Hobbs does the same.

Lance takes a double shoulderblock then a double suplex. Lance hits mounted punches on Mark. We go to PiP break and return. Mark boots Lance out of the corner. Lance misses a corner charge. Lance knocks Hobb off the apron when Mark goes for the tag.

KT hits a suplex on Mark. Mark rolls him up for 2. Mark forearms him and tags in Hobbs. Hobbs lariats KT over then corner lariats him. KT boots him out of the corner. Hobbs lariats KT. KT no sells it and pumping knees him. Mark and Lance lariat each other at the same time. Mark enzugiri's him. Lance footpresses him down out of the corner.

We get a tower of doom spot with Hobbs stupidly causing his partner to get double superplexed. Hobbs takes a forearm and facekick then a Lance chokeslam for 2. Mark sends KT into the rails. Hobbs powerslams Lance. Hobbs spinebusters Lance and wins.

Thoughts: It was an okay main. I didn't like the tower of doom spot and I didn't like Lance losing. I would have had Mark Davis lose if the faces had to lose and I would have had KT lose if the heels had to lose. I don't know where Mark goes from here and I'm not sure AEW does either.

KT tries to attack Hobbs after. Hobbs spinebusters KT and holds the title over him.

Overall thoughts: It was pretty average. The opener was average. Toni Storm returned on this show for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, she was subjected to the AEW Special where she went a lot longer than she needed to with a jobber and didn't get that over because of it. Deonna's squash was short and the main was okay. I'd give it a 5 out of 10 here and I wouldn't recommend it.