AEW Friday Night Rampage

[Guest]

A desperate Kenny needs a win, so the super elite take out Christian,  then he challenges the guy he has always beaten until now to defend his title against at all out….

[Chili]

Don't think Christian pinning Omega is a bad turn in getting Hangman over at the end. It also plays into that weird idea we have where we want almost bulletproof heels for the faces to eventually conquer, but all like 'literally NO ONE can pin them'. I thought that and was wrong tbh. The match was awesome and as Omega didn't look cheap losing either. He's not as indestructible as Hogan in 1997 felt, and they did the Luger win the middle. This is that. Christian gets the Luger bit, but they have another title to sidebar it with... Unless it ends all WCW with Hangman turning heel and the Elite help him win, I still can't see them fluffing the landing on this still. Losing the Impact title is fine, losing the AAA belt is fine. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Chili

[MPDTT]

My 6 month old son woke me up at 10 to 3 this morning for a feed, so I chose to watch Rampage live.......I love AEW. Can't wait to watch wrestling with my boy, the way my dad did with me.

[DavidB6937]

2 hours ago, MPDTT said:

My 6 month old son woke me up at 10 to 3 this morning for a feed, so I chose to watch Rampage live.......I love AEW. Can't wait to watch wrestling with my boy, the way my dad did with me.

Bet you've already got his first watch picked out too. Bless.

Yeah my kids woke up at like 6am this morning and while I'm not usually impressed, it did mean I was done with Rampage and Smackdown before I even needed to do anything else today so I'll let them off.

[WyattSheepMask]

I don’t want to sound too harsh on the show as it’s the first episode of a new thing and all that, but the 4 man booth has to be stopped immediately and Jericho is one to go. He did alright once with Schiavone at the start of the pandemic and he’s been riding that ever since with diminishing results. The amount of times he goes to say something that he thinks is either funny or clever, only to get to the punchline and realise he has nothing and then stutter out whatever he can muster just to finish, get lost man. 
I like Mark Henry (who doesn’t) and like I said it could just be first show teething problems, but he didn’t add anything that you couldn’t have got from it just being Excalibur and Taz.

Opening your new show with a match for someone else’s belt as well - I know there will be a healthy majority who watch Dynamite will also watch this, but for any new fans (if there is such a thing) what does that say about your product. 
The match itself was perfectly decent, and as a result I’m certainly more interested in the match at All Out, assuming it still goes ahead, to see how they can differentiate the two.

Jamie Hayter’s return went down like a fart in a lift which is a shame for her as she’s completely transformed her look over the last 18 months. I think she only appeared twice for AEW before which was right back at the start of Dynamite, so going for a surprise return was never going to work because the crowd either isn’t invested in her or just plain doesn’t know her. As she’s changed her look, give her the vignette treatment and have her do the run in another time, this didn’t need the post-match angle.

A decent hours worth of TV though, but it all hangs on next week

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by WyattSheepMask

[Merzbow]

Jamie Hayter is fucking jacked these days and they hid everything? Glad to see her back tho, she was lightyears ahead of her mate Bea back in the early days of AEW and I was surprised not to see her become a pretty dominant heel in the division.

[rollthedice]

 

1 hour ago, WyattSheepMask said:

I don’t want to sound too harsh on the show as it’s the first episode of a new thing and all that, but the 4 man booth has to be stopped immediately and Jericho is one to go. He did alright once with Schiavone at the start of the pandemic and he’s been riding that ever since with diminishing results. The amount of times he goes to say something that he thinks is either funny or clever, only to get to the punchline and realise he has nothing and then stutter out whatever he can muster just to finish, get lost man. 
 

 

Totally agree about Jericho. Him shouting and stuttering his way through the show is just offensive to the ears. 

If they absolutley have to have more than two guys on commentary then get rid of Jericho and replace Henry with either Wight or Schiavone.

Personally, I'd be happy with just Excalibur and Taz. They're great on Dark but would be more serious with this being on TV - perfect.

[CavemanLynn]

It feels like a weird reaction to another hour of quality wrestling from the best wrestling company on telly at the moment, but meh, great, MORE wrestling. There's no doubt that a show with Omega, Christian, Miro, and Britt Baker on home turf was going to be very entertaining, but the whole thing felt half baked and, bizarrely for a show with a supposedly significant title change on it, inconsequential.

Taz and Excalibur should be the only guys in the Rampage booth. If Jericho wants to squawk at the top of his lungs, and Menry wants to play at commentary after walking away from a company with a PC where he could actually practise, then stick them on the YT shows and leave the TV to the guys with proven chemistry. Jericho was trying way too hard, but at least knew to throw to one of the others if he was losing his thread, but Henry was sloooow when he wasn't enthused but choked when he wasn't. Him then having to run from the booth to get backstage was also awkward - just coz that's what you're doing doesn't mean you have to tell everyone, I don't care how much fun you're having.

Having the Impact title switch hands on a two week build on a non-Impact show was a bad call. Not only were there half a dozen solid contenders on Impact itself, but you had everyone emphasising that Kenny had the AEW belt which was the real prize. The only rep from Impact was Scott D'Amore, with the belt switching from an AEW guy to an AEW guy after failed interference from two AEW guys. The whole thing felt like a corporate talent agreement than an emotional wrestling storyline. You can't fault the match, that was great work from both.

Miro doing HHH vs Kaientai every match is brilliant fun, and Miro's whole persona is absolute fire, but he needs a direction now. A nice post angle, although not following either BTE, Dark or Sammy's vlog, I knew it was a big deal rather than feeling it.

Red Velvet hasn't looked as good as she did in the Shaq match since. To be this far on from that and still be this green doesn't say much for the Nightmare Factory/Rhodes Academy. As ever, when Britt gets to do something characterful rather than cuing up another move, she shines and tells a great story,and the home town win was a great way to finish the first Rampage with a bang. The Jamie Hayter debut was a complete balls up though. Here's someone you haven't seen in two years, who looks totally different anyway, who's not wearing anything distinctive, and who isn't going to do anything distinctive. If I hadn't heard about the debut beforehand, I honestly would've thought they've had another fan run-in at a live event. However, I do like the combo that Britt now has backing her up. Great pair of names too - Hayter and Rebel.

Side note, and like a lot of others, this might just be the downer from the Page loss, but it feels like the wheels are wobbling since they went on the road with fans back. I'd like to be put right, but Andrade vs Death Triangle is the only character angle in mind at the moment. The Page comeback is on pause again. The Bucks have beaten everyone. Mox's NJPW side hustle and paternity mean Eddie Kingston seems to be doing nothing. The AEW vs Elite vibe that seemed to be building has been reduced to Kaz beating up Brandon Cutler if needs be. Miro's squashing scrubs waiting for an actual challenger. Britt is keeping herself afloat with solid promo work to mask the damp squib of the start of her reign. OC is spinning his wheels having fun but pointless midcard filler. Darby and Sting are stuck with two skinny-fat (sorry, Trips) scrubs. Brian Cage vs Team Taz should be a big deal with personal stakes, but it's Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks can't stop himself wittering on about charisma. It's starting to feel a little rudderless.

[The King Of Swing]

39 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

Jamie Hayter is fucking jacked these days and they hid everything? Glad to see her back tho, she was lightyears ahead of her mate Bea back in the early days of AEW and I was surprised not to see her become a pretty dominant heel in the division.

She was doing really well in Stardom before the pandemic, holding both the Goddess (tag) and the SWA titles.

Guessing she was in the same situation as Bea, with Stardom taking priority at the time.

Doesn't look like Stardom have any interest in dealing with non Japanese wrestlers for the foreseeable so AEW did well to snap her up while they could. 

 

 

[Mr Butternut Squash]

It's a testament to what a white hot, efficient show this was that the commentary didn't completely spoil it for me. Jesus fucking Christ. How the hell did the straight forward two man booth fall out of fashion anyway? And can Chris Jericho fuck off and go on tour already.

Fair play though, the roof blew off the building when Christian got that three count. Kenny dropping a fall still feels like an unnecessary bump in the road but it was a fantastic match that drew me in, and I was happy for Christian in the end. Still, they'll have done well to maintain this reaction for Christian heading to All Out.

What a lovely moment for Fuego too. I'd never heard of the guy but it didn't matter, they still got it to resonate with me. Just simple, effective storytelling that played out like a treat. Fuego's lips quivering set me off. These genuine, emotional moments are what makes AEW the best. Also, Miro as their own Brock Lesnar is the perfect role for him. It'll will be electric when he's facing someone with credibility. And yes, it's time to get Miro a proper feud with some meat on it now. Just in time for All Out.

The main was a puzzling mess psychology wise, and it completely buried the babyface Red Velvet. Britt is such a superstar though that it barely matters. I nearly passed out for second, thinking Becky Lynch was All Elite. If only! I remember Hayter making quite an impression early doors, as the gobby Brit getting in the faces of fans. Good stuff. They badly needed some more characters on the women's side.

Apart from the shrieking idiot I thought this was a perfect slice of wrestling. A thrill ride without a wasted moment. I know it won't always be this good, but an hour is just perfect for me. Absolutely baffled by the people already wanting a second hour!

Edited August 14, 2021 by Mr Butternut Squash

[AndyUK]

Flew by and was a perfect follow on from Smackdown. Always better to leave people wanting more. Crowd were fantastic.

Be interesting to see if Omega loses to Andrade in AAA tonight as that'll make it clear what they were starting with the Christian match. 

[WyattSheepMask]

Why the hell didn’t they send Jamie out there in her new gear?

[The King Of Swing]

Hell of a change. 

Sending her out there like a big reveal was definitely an odd choice. Barely wrestled for AEW in it's early days and looks completely different now, no fucker there was going to have a clue who she is. 

She should have come out and just rag dolled the hell out of Velvet.

Edit. 

Getting Stardom vibes from the new ring gear. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by The King Of Swing

[Guest]

In a world before nxt we didn’t have it fed to us who everyone was for a year before wrestlers made “surprise” debuts, and bar PAC no one runs about in their gear 24/7. I don’t get why it’s really an issue? 

[DavidB6937]

5 minutes ago, Louch said:

In a world before nxt we didn’t have it fed to us who everyone was for a year before wrestlers made “surprise” debuts, and bar PAC no one runs about in their gear 24/7. I don’t get why it’s really an issue? 

Because it was an unnecessary non-reaction. It was confusing. Half of Twitter thought it was Becky Lynch. It just made for a shit ending.

And to be honest, it was a poor call in a time where everyone's expecting big debuts. We're not in the world you're talking about now. These moments need to be judged a lot better.