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AEW Rampage - 2/3/2023


The Natural

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Elite vs Ethan Hardy Isiah. Which will absolutely be entertaining, and probably make me laugh out loud at least a couple of times. Saraya (boo) teaming with Toni Storm (yay) as part of the endlessly fascinating "does this division belong to AEW Originals or ex-WWE newcomers? " storyline that I love so much. Swerve vs Pillman Jr. (rather than Dustin or recovered - from - the - cinderblock - attack Keith Lee). Roooosh vs Christopher Daniels. To warm up Rush before Bryan or something? Rampage seems to be getting more YouTube - ish while Dynamite has been on a run of PPV-level matches. 

That probably sounds like a complaint, but if you know me at all you'll understand that I'm actually stoked that Rampage is getting weirder and more random. Who  can say where our next semi-random totally great Hayter vs Emi type of matchup might come from? 

Likewise, I am already extraordinary stoked for Rush vs Dragon and Hayter vs Bunny next week on Dynamite. Predictably great is also great. 

I'm kinda stoked for Ibushi vs Takeshita and Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks even though neither has really even been hinted at yet. I think those matches are close to inevitable this year.

Basically, this is me thinking about pro wrestling:

 

giphy.gift

Edited by Gordlow
Dude
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I'm back in Austin and my house still has no power, going on 57 hours and the power company has no estimate on when it will be restored. While I will likely be moving with my wife and cats to a friend's house this evening so we don't freeze, they don't have cable so I will have to try and catch this one on YouTube or illegal streaming later on. Based on the announced matches, nothing seems like Can't Miss at least.

edit to add: I'm currently at my office charging up all the electronics and external battery packs, and also using the shower. 

Edited by JLowe
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Here we go!  Let's watch a... QUESTIONABLE... RAMPAGE!  On paper.  Oh MAN, Ethan Page is fucking great.  Being a total jackass but making his team become a great heel faction, BRINGING THE HEAT!  The Elite get to wrestle 100 percent babyface and THAT is fun.  Matt Hardy is wrestling his ass off tonight.  I love how this morphs from Southern Heel showcase to total Elite match.  JESUS!  I've never seen anybody take a DDT like Kassidy did.  Jesus,  KAssidy is FUCKING GREAT in this.  That match was completely fucking awesome!  YOUNG BUCKS! YOUNG BUCKS!  KENNY!  I hope Ethan Page is the overlord over Isaiah Kassidy and Matt Hardy forever.  I just love the dynamic,  Hardy and Kassidy wrestle as faces AND heels depending on if they are being browbeaten, meanwhile Page just CONCENTRATES the heel heat.  I think we are working towards Ethan Page and Jeff Jarrett morphing into one perfect HEAT MACHINE.   So much for this being a questionable episode.  Brian Pillman Jr is OVER in Ohio!  Oh, Pillman is getting some stuff in.  I figured Swerve was killing him.  That was about as good as Pillman has looked in AEW which means is pretty good.  Shane Strickland is a miracle worker.  EVIL TONI STORM!   EVIL SARAYA!  THE RENEGADE TWINS!  Saraya is fucking GREAT beating the hell out of Charlett on the apron.  Okay, the Renegade Twins are going to match frickin TONI STORM in terms of STIFFNESS and this match is going to minor league RULE.  Storm and Saraya are a GREAT tag team.  WE NEED TITLES, TK!  WE HIRED YOU FOR A REASON!  I assume the Renegade Twins are signed.  That was fun.  Rush gives Christopher a wad of offense from the beginning, with Daniels assuming the technico role and RUSH assuming the rudo role.  OH GOD!  in picture in picture, RUSH CHALLENGES THE MANHOOD OF HIS OPPONENT and punches him right in the face.  /and then begins beating the life out of Daniels.  Preston Vance is great CHEATING on the outside.  Christopher Daniels makes a comeback that ends with his beautiful moonsault going awry.  Rush gave a lot in that match.  I can't wait for RUSH versus AmDRAG.  Well, that episode was a zillion times better than it looked going in.  AEW RULES THE MOTHERFUCK"ING WORLD!

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Get well DEAN! Get electricity, John! I marked out for a bunch of non-actual-wrestling stuff today: TONY SAID "STOKED!" and he even emphasised it by pausing for a moment beforehand! DUSTIN ran in for the save, brandishing a TURNBUCKLE! The Mad King/HoB story kind of makes sense now. Corrupting the realest and least corruptible guy! I like it. RENEGADE TWINS!! I AGREE WITH JR! (About Emi vs Hayter). Rush using fat wads of cash to fan himself in picture in picture. Maybe the first time I have marked out more for the extracurriculars than for the in-ring action while watching an AEW show.

 

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I'm guessing Rush wouldn't get that reference.

Edited by Gordlow
Android autocorrect is TERRIBLE
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1 hour ago, Jamal said:

I'm not big on this whole homegrown Vs outsiders thing but I can get behind the heel team of Toni and Saraya. They were bringing suitable amounts of evil to the poor Renegades. 

The concept is a bit trite, but they're playing the cards as well as they can and the work of the 5 main wrestlers will carry the day. Toni and Saraya were indeed awesome heels as expected, but I think Britt and Jaime as true babyfaces is really gonna blow the roof off. You have Ruby and Shida lurking in the background already, and if they can weave a couple more women a side, we'd have the makings of very nice blood and guts match this summer.

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The opener was fun. For some reason Ethan Page and Kenny Omega in the same ring was very intriguing to me. The Elite really made sure the match was over, with THREE match ending moves to a, well, midcarder. Taking no chances there.

Giving that much time for Brian Pillman Jr sure was a decision someone made. The real question here is that why was Dustin going through Leyla Hirsch's locker prior to saving Pillman? Unless he was told to clear it out, saw the turnbuckle and someone told him Pillman's in deep shit and Dustin grabbed the buckle and went to make the save?

Renegade Twins getting their asses handed to them again, and still being so unsymphatetic that people didn't mind, despite hating Saraya and Storm. It's time to question your life choices there, twins.

Main event was a decent use of a veteran that can still go. I didn't see properly which denomination the bills were, but I choose to believe MJF gave Rush a briefcase full of $1's. $2's would have be even better, but I think that's what the rest of the briefcases are filled with, in case he has to pay up.

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  • Did more listening than watching for the first match as I was making coffee and eating breakfast but I did like the following dynamic: When Kassidy was in, the Elite were heels. When Hardy was in, they were tweeners. When Page was in, they were faces. That was subtle but cute.
  • Pillman vs Swerve had its moments. Pillman had some fire early but he always seems like he's confused at which way he should be running next. The legsnap thing was wonderful. Pillman dropping the leg selling was the absolute shits. You can do that sometimes, but this was not the time to do it, especially since the story of the match was Swerve going back to the leg. Oh man, that was bad. Anyway, bring on the weirdness that will be Dustin vs Swerve. Dustin/Pillman/Anderson vs Team Mogul wouldn't be a bad way to draw it out too. Presumably Keith Lee's coming back to save everyone for the PPV.
  • It's interesting that after protecting Saraya for her first few months, she's just in a JTTS tag on Rampage. The spraypaint thing is obviously pretty bad but now I kind of want to have them turn Rayne since she has experience being a Beautiful Person.
  • Best part of the main was easily during the commercial break as LFI kept running interference on the ref so that they could switch off on the cheating. Well-oiled machine. Great stuff.
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13 hours ago, Gordlow said:

The Mad King/HoB story kind of makes sense now. Corrupting the realest and least corruptible guy! 

Thanks for explaining that one. I see a House of Black promo come on, and I just completely tune out. This one i was trying to figure out whether or not that was actually Malakai's voice. Sounded like somebody doing an impression.  Also, this is at least the second time they've shown a clip of one of the other members, Brody King in this case, cutting a promo directly into the camera while there's an alternate narration happening over it. It's  quick and forgettable, but awkward editing none the less.   

Two weeks in a row this show sorta kinda overperforms. That opening six man was so fun. Everyone looked fantastic. The Ethan Page, Matt Hardy, Isiah Cassidy trio is proving to be a neat combo. Kenny Omega and the Bucks continue to make everybody they work look their best. Maybe Lexi Nair is getting better under Renee's beautiful learning tree. The Mansury production shot this Starks promo kinda poorly. Close in on pretty Ricky. Why all the space? The promo staging in AEW has always been suspect. Here's an idea, ya don't need a TV screen behind you, and eliminate the clutter. Focus on the faces. Don't have guys/gals looking the side and the interviewer - look into that camera damn you!  Swerve-Pillman was a solid piece of enhancement business.  I'm not a fan of the pile on that Pillman seems to receive regularly, but he clearly need to improve a ot of his game, his fundamentals in particular. Maybe a performance center setting is the best thing for him? Or a heel tag team with Father/Son Anderson. We'll see. Yeah, Evil Toni and Saraya is a breath of minty fresh air! Dig the Renegades, of course. Yeah, I'm with @Dean, rarely would I advocate for more title belts, especially around a booker who has to shoehorn everyone of them into his PPVs, but the Women's Tag titles could really be used nicely. I'm totally okay with the non-split screen version of the Mark Henry Main Event intro, but please at least give us 'Seems like there's been enough talk' before 'It's time for the Main Event' followed by a little more time with Mark's big warm generous smile. Christopher Daniels looked really good here with the lunatic heel/shooting star ROOSH! The Fallen Angel probably has enough AEW duties, but I think they're missing out not having him in the player/coach role for a heel trio. I suspect the new ROH might invite such a scenario. Super fun show again this week. 

Edited by HarryArchieGus
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3 hours ago, Matt D said:
  • Pillman vs Swerve had its moments. Pillman had some fire early but he always seems like he's confused at which way he should be running next. The legsnap thing was wonderful. Pillman dropping the leg selling was the absolute shits. You can do that sometimes, but this was not the time to do it, especially since the story of the match was Swerve going back to the leg. Oh man, that was bad.

I will say that I liked the very finish, where Pillman can see the stomp coming but he can't move because of his leg. He conveyed that very clearly, without overacting, and without commentary having to explicitly point it out.

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That was an episode of Rampage that happened and will easily be forgotten.

Opener was ok, the dynamics of the Page/Hardy/Cassidy team being the best part. I’m pretty tired of the super predictable “every member of both teams will hit a big move alternating until everyone is down on the mat”. Wednesday should be a fun spot fest.

Pillman Jr. is just bad. His pedestrian mid-80s offense is fine and in character. The problem is that you can see him trying to remember his next step in the match layout, disrupting any kind of flow and requiring a lot of standing around by his opponent. Plus, his moves where he is being reversed are delivered so lightly, like in his head he’s like “this kick to the body is going to be caught and spun around, so my job is just to put my foot out there to be caught” and rather than deliver something that looks like a kick he just kind of sticks his foot out to be caught. Swerve and his strange style was also a bad dance partner.

I think the homegrown vs. the intruders is the best way to salvage the poor reception for Saraya and the fans basically willing Hayter and Baker (to a lesser extent) to be faces. I also think Toni Storm is a great heel. The spray paint was a huge mistake and hopefully they abandon that, it’s just too copycat. I hope Ruby Soho tells both teams she’s not there for their nonsense, she’s there for herself and the belt.

Main was solid, I was surprised Rush gave Daniels as much as he did, didn’t exactly build him up as the badass who is going to injure Danielson on Wednesday. The ringside cable choke needs to be dropped IMO, at least it was saved for PiP.

 

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2 hours ago, JLowe said:

.

I think the homegrown vs. the intruders is the best way to salvage the poor reception for Saraya and the fans basically willing Hayter and Baker (to a lesser extent) to be faces. I also think Toni Storm is a great heel. The spray paint was a huge mistake and hopefully they abandon that, it’s just too copycat. I hope Ruby Soho tells both teams she’s not there for their nonsense, she’s there for herself and the belt.

 

 

Me and @Gordlow both expect one of briefcases to be a ringer full of MJF's tighty whities https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iTT8tIVTkE

15 hours ago, Shartnado said:

 

Main event was a decent use of a veteran that can still go. I didn't see properly which denomination the bills were, but I choose to believe MJF gave Rush a briefcase full of $1's. $2's would have be even better, but I think that's what the rest of the briefcases are filled with, in case he has to pay up.

That match was pure smash mouth wrestling SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME THE WORLD WAS GONNA ROLL ME IM NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED! SHE WAS LOOKING KINDA DUMB WITH HER FINGERS AND HER THUMB IN THE SHAPE OF AN L ON HER FORHEAD!

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