CM Punk vs Powerhouse Hobbs
It was CM Punk’s second match since his return to the ring, and his first match on television in seven years. The story of the match was around the power of Hobbs and using it to his advantage against his smaller opponent.
The match wasn’t perfect and at times felt a little clunky, but there was nothing offensive and for a TV match it served its purpose.
I thought Punk looked good again in the ring and is only going to get better the more he wrestles and finds himself back into complete ring shape. It was Hobbs most profiled match and he stood up to the occasion playing a great foil for Punk to try and overcome.
Punk would hit the GTS and get the win, keeping his record clean with no defeats. Taz and Starks were on commentary for the night and during this match they continued to further the feud with Punk. I’m sure we will eventually get a match between Ricky Starks and CM Punk which I think will be a lot of fun. Good stuff, nice beginning to Rampage.
The SuperKliq vs Christian Cage & Jurassic Express
This was a great trios match and probably the match of the night for me. The match had high expectations going into it and I feel they delivered.
There was a lot of fast paced offense as you would expect with a match featuring the Bucks and Jurassic Express. Luchasaurus looked great as the dominant monster and had some impressive big man spots, and Jungle Boy once again played the role perfect as the underdog babyface with Christian playing the veteran.
The exchange between Adam Cole and Jungle Boy were well done and they continued to build towards their match, a match that would later be made official for Dynamite next week. But the match made you want to see different combinations of the participants in future matches such as Christian against Cole or a Matt Jackson.
The SuperKliq would get the win and the match next week Jungle Boy and Adam Cole has the potential to be off the charts when they step in the ring for the first time against each other.
Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs Men of the Year
The match itself was good but nothing great. The big talking point to come out of it was the angle post-match. I enjoyed how they brought up the history between Scorpio Sky and Jericho with Sky being the first man to pin Chris Jericho in AEW. It added another element to the match.
Ethan Page had a really good performance and I though this chemistry with Jericho was strong. A singles match between the two at some point is something I wouldn’t object to and with their Canadians backgrounds, I think they could have some fun with back-and-forth promos.
Men of the Year got the win after Dan Lambert interfered and gave them the odds. As the match ended and Hager and Jericho looked like they were going to get some revenge on Lambert, American Top Team would appear in the crowd and make their way ringside, as they surrounded the ring before charging in and attacking Jericho and Hager.
The highlights were Paige VanZant delivering brutal body shots to Chris Jericho and Jorge Masvidal hitting Jericho in the head with a flying knee. The physically with the MMA fighters suggests that they have been cleared to physical work in AEW and I assume it’s going to lead to some kind of match against The Inner Circle and possibly something with Jericho and Masvidal.
Lucha Bros & Santana & Ortiz vs Hardy Family Office
The HFO team featured The Butcher, The Blade and Private Party. Some will enjoy this match and others won’t, it depends on your taste of wrestling. It was action from the start with a lot of spots packed in.
Santana & Ortiz came out with a Baseball Furies inspired look which was cool.
I liked the match. I think at this point of the night the crowd is started to feel tired after sitting through a Dynamite and Elevation taping already, so rather than having a slower match which would’ve taken the crowd out of it, they had a fast-paced match like something you might see on an independent card.
Each team looked good and at one point we got an Orange Cassidy appearance for a big pop to take out Jack Evans on the outside. Lucha Bros & Santana & Ortiz were victorious and it’s only a matter of time before we get them continuing their rivalry and competing for the belts.
Anna Jay vs Penelope Ford
The match was short which was probably the right decision being this late into the taping, unfortunately that meant they didn’t really have the time to get much going. The main objective of the match was to give Ford a win as she used the brass knuckles that The Bunny threw to her, and it keeps the feud going with it most likely leading to an eventual tag team match with Anna Jay teaming with Tay Conti.
Post-match, Ford and Bunny beat down on Jay, but Conti comes in for the save only to get attacked too. The HFO come out and stand strong only for Orange Cassidy, Kris Statlander and Dark Order to run out for the save. It looks like for a moment that Dark Order are back on the same page, but it all breaks down again as the descension continues with Evil Uno and Stu Grayson walking out on their teammates.
Other Moments
Sammy Guevara and Fuego del Sol came out for one of Sammy’s cue card segments. It didn’t last long though as Miro immediately came out to destroy both poor Fuego once again and Sammy, much to the entertainment of Ricky Starks and Taz. It was a short segment that puts some heat on their TNT Title match for Dynamite next week.
Andrade talks about how he didn’t like Chavo interfering in his match and that when he fights Pac again, he will defeat him on his own.
It looked like Matt Hardy was going to challenge Orange Cassidy to a hair vs hair match, but instead Hardy throws an unexpected Jack Evans under the bus and we are getting Cassidy vs Evans in a hair vs hair match. Jack Evans was really amusing here.
Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki
The match wasn’t bad, but we’ve seen better lights out matches in the past. This felt more like a dark match at the end of the show to send the crowd home happy, although a very intense and violent dark match.
All four men worked hard, and Eddie Kingston felt like a huge star with the reactions he received from the New York crowd. ROH and TNA veteran, Homicide, would make his debut at one point in the match, lending a helping hand to his friends in Mox and Kingston.
Kingston would get the win by pinning Archer, Mox and Suzuki continued brawling for a bit after the bell before Mox would head back into the ring and celebrate with Eddie and Homicide as AEW Grand Slam week comes to an end.