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RAMPAGE!- 11/18/2022!


DEAN

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See? What do I always say? Every time there's a lame Dynamite, you get a baller Rampage, and this was that. I'm not sure which match to pick for the MOTW from this one. Ricky/Archer gave me the good feels of an old WWF or even IWA Japan/ECW crowd brawl before ending perfectly. Both guys had great chemistry. Then Taiga Style/HOOK had Hook having to deal with selling and an extended structure, which he was great at. Putting it together in pieces before our eyes is really cool. Athena is a beast and her vs. Mercedes is dope. THEN we get the Akiyama tag and shit Takeshita takes the reigns as insolent mean upstart right away. The teases of Akiyama coming in, the hostile eyes between him and King, the abuse they laid on a very valiant Ortiz, it was so good. And it ended intentionally abrupt. They knew how to poke you for the singles match. What a great show. 

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Dug Archer/Starks up until the finish which kind of sucked.

Hook/Lee was fun. Wish they stuck to the BattlArts style they started. First time catching Lee, and I kind of want to see more of him.

Athena/Rayne was a decent squash. Athena decking Aubrey post match was a nice heel move.

Eddie/Ortiz vs. Akiyama/Takeshita was nice and solid. Only wish they did more Akiyama/Kingston teases. It also felt wrong that Akiyama didn;t respond to that first cheapshot by forcefully tagging in and throwing Ortiz to his own corner while demanding Eddie to tag in so he could beat his ass. I know damn well Akiyama was around Tenryu long enough to know how to follow up moments like that.

Edited by Eivion
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That was a fun hour of wrestling!

Archer is one of the unsung hero's of AEW in that he seldom the focus but damned if I can think of a time when he hasn't stepped up and delivered when Coach Tony hasn't called his number. I'm guessing the story now is the Ricky Starks makes it to the finals but is too beat up and falls to Ethan Page.

They continue to put Madison Rayne on television, The Beautiful People where a fun act but not really great workers. Better than Johnny Ace's swimsuit models for sure but not better than the Trish/Lita/Molly/Victoria era before that. It almost like Vince bringing in someone from another promotion just to job them. (on a side not is the Ari Davari rich kid gimmick a rib on himself being a rich kid with a trustfund?) Aubrey leaned into that shot from the Thicc Goddess, and how bout that reaction! First ref bump I can recall in AEW. That reaction also shows how things can be effective when you don't over do them! Maybe take not on post match heat segments, dives, interrupted promos ect.  AND HERE COMES THE RAMPAGE OF HONOR WOMENS CHAMP!! 

HOOK HOOK HOOK! Fun match. Better use for a Lee style than a shoe horned main event ( I get Lee Moratiy and Lee Johnson confused) . I'll point out that JR did a good job of putting over Lee (although he could have mentioned that Hook had the less experience even though he has yet to learn how to lose) and JR had one of his better outing tonight, overall.

Not too much to add on the main event. eddie was trying so hard not to smile, got to be tough and stoic. Lard Lad threatens to turn a dream match into a nightmare. After that flying knee I'm convinced Matt D sits on a throne of lies! Ortiz was great and just enough between the mad king and jun to leave them wanting more!

And I am all about The House of Black acting like a reboot of The Devils!!! Maybe next they can torture Oliver Reed while wearing John Lennon Glasses!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC_Z4I62e5Y&ab_channel=ALittleDeadPodcast

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Taz, one word, one name.

Hook, one word, one name.

So the family has a gimmick.  What would the wife of Taz’ name be?  Just Wife?  Her?

Good baby face work from Starks though I question the Devils jersey.  I don’t watch hockey.  But if Starks is a two town hometown boy in Houston and NOLA it comes across as a bit inauthentic.  I’ve really come around on Archer.  He makes using the word “Hoss” not a pejorative.

Aubrey getting decked like it was last call at the bar was nutty great.  I haven’t read the thread yet.  But I’d imagine some folks might think that the previously untouched popular Aubrey getting physical should be saved for a bigger show.  But come on.  The regular shows need meat on the bone too.  Rampage is many things.  But WWE syndicated show it is not.  
 

I was surprised at the slow build to start the DDT vs Eddie/Ortiz.  Really liked where it went teasing off the Akiyama confrontation for as long as possible.  Feels like a set up for a one on one match to me.  I’m more of a Kobashi or Kawada guy myself.  But this was a good intro for Jun if they’ve got more in the plans for him.

I love you AEW (rampage).

 

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  • There was a moment at the start of Starks vs Archer where I thought they'd use it as an excuse to write Starks off, so I'm glad it wasn't that. Archer really went out of his way to help put over Starks here, I thought. He dominated a lot of it but he also sold for comebacks. I wish I knew what would put Starks over the top. We're all too self-aware and thinking about this in real time, and it doesn't feel as organic as it should. But on the other hand, if they book something right and the build and consistency and performances are there, he'll probably get there, or if not there, then somewhere, maybe even through another heel turn. It's almost a case that we all want him to succeed so much that it's getting in the way of him being a success. I though the finish was ok. Probably could have used one more move, some sort of exclamation point after the spear. Post-match will have him coming in vulnerable against Cage and they have to be careful not to do too much of that (Danielson's eye, Bowens' shoulder).
  • Hook vs Moriarty had a lot of little intricate bits, especially during the commercial break which were nice to see. This was the most Hook had ever sold and I think he did a good job with it. It was actually nice to have Jericho back on commentary because he pops for certain moves or spots (like the drop down, foot arm dislocater thing, which is a French Catch spot that we see now and again actually). This was a good match for Hook to have.
  • Repackaged Athena is awesome and they were marking for the forearms and kicks and everything else. Her hitting Aubrey was such an Oh Shit moment. I would have had her beat Storm at this point but I guess they'll have her beat Mercedes, which is a shame because I liked Mercedes as ROH champion but Athena just destroying a bunch of the up and coming women is as good a way to go as any I guess. That match will be just great at the ROH PPV at least.
  • I have a decent amount to say about the main but I'm going to save it for Monday on SC. Very glad that there's a singles match coming because it was such a tease overall. I thought Ortiz rose to the occasion. As for Takeshita, he's a lot like Page in that he has a ton of great physical tools that a good wrestler can make use of (their singles match is probably my least favorite AEW match of the year). I just don't want a bad wrestler trying to do structural stuff with him. He fit in very well to this sort of a tag though. No problems here. Ultimately, I think we won't fully be able to understand how good or not good this tag was until we see the singles. But I really want to see the singles now.
Edited by Matt D
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I said it when Athena was signed, if she can tap into her personality on UUDD then she’ll be a star. Cruel and petty playing those video games. She’ll let you have it when she’s winning  and will be mad when she’s not. Grade A+ wrestling personality!

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39 minutes ago, Octopus said:

The way people in the crowd gasped and stood up. Very great moment.

Aubrey was also the perfect choice, she’s incredibly over. At the Austin show in April, she got the third or fourth biggest pop when she was introduced.

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I thought the opener stunk, looked like an awkward, staged brawl and the spear looked terrible. To be fair, Starks was wrestling in slacks and slippers. I know he’s on the smaller side but I don’t think this underdog angle is going Ricky any favors, his whole character is the little dog that thinks he’s a pit bull and will scrap with anyone. I also don’t care for Archer at all and just don’t see what everyone else does.

Hook-Moriarty was eye opening, I’m guessing they train together with how smooth all of that went. Stiff, fun moves, Hook did a very good job selling and it was about as convincing a near-fall as one is going to get right now knowing Hook isn’t about to lose. I’m glad they’ve moved on from the squashes.

Athena killing Madison was fun, and as I said above taking out Aubrey Edwards is one of the most heelish things you can do in AEW. Mercedes save was a little disappointing TBH even though I know it’ll be an excellent match on the ROH PPV.

Main was fun and a huge tease. I understand why Matt D doesn’t like Takeshita and it’s exactly why I do love him. He’s a giant puppy who only knows how to go all-out and throw bombs. Ortiz is really putting it together lately and was excellent FIP. Glad we’re getting a singles match out of this, a tag felt like a big waste of a dream match and glad they held off on actual Kingston-Akiyama one on one.

Edited by JLowe
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