The Natural Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends vs. Dralistico vs.Komander. NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Action Andretti. Ring of Honour Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Lee Moriarty. NJPW Strong Women's Champion Willow Nightingale defends against Emi Sakura. Best top to bottom Rampage ever? It's up there. Most looking forward to Zack Sabre Jr and Katsuyori Shibata in action. Edited June 1, 2023 by The Natural 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 This is better than just about any Battle of the Belts, kind of surprising they aren't calling it that. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 One of the huge positives about AEW's roster is that you can put on a card like this, with none of their real main stars, and it looks amazing. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 This feels like a big test for Andretti. He comported himself ok in the Fight Without Honor with the Kingdom but Bennett is the guy to lead you through a match like that, and it probably wasn't all that dissimilar to something he's might have encountered on the indies. If he's up against ZSJ, it feels like Regal putting a Disney Tapings guy through his paces. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.K.o.S. Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Normally when they have 4 matches on Rampage, one of them is a squash. I wonder if that holds true here. They're all matches that I'd like to see get time, but 3 of them could be squashes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 30 minutes ago, S.K.o.S. said: Normally when they have 4 matches on Rampage, one of them is a squash. I wonder if that holds true here. They're all matches that I'd like to see get time, but 3 of them could be squashes. Keep the entrances short/cut/edited and you could have all of the matches last 5-7 minutes minimum with the longest getting 15ish. Still leaves some time for promos. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 2 hours ago, JLowe said: This is better than just about any Battle of the Belts, kind of surprising they aren't calling it that. This is what BOTB should have been 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordi the former AEW fan Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 (edited) This is pertmuch exactly my kind of show. I love it when AEW give us something like this. Just good to great, fun, interesting pro wrestling match-ups with a ton of variety. AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends vs. Dralistico vs.Komander Very likely to be the really, really good and exciting kind of spot fest. I had long been waiting and hoping for Vikingo to show up in AEW and he has NOT disappointed in the least. It's almost as fun seeing everyone else mark out for him as it is watching him. And it ain't exactly like Komander and Dralistico are chopped liver. It would be enough for this to be merely spectacular, but there is a real chance that they'll give us some kind of little story as well. Like if Vai, Yngwie, and Satriani were jamming and decided to play Cause We've Ended as Lovers with intense emotion (while also outdoing each other pyrotechnically). NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Action Andretti. I totally agree with Matt here. This very much has the feel of a flashy young gun being put into a situation where we will all learn something about him. If he can hang, technically, with ZSJ then I feel like he's gonna earn some respect. Likening it to a young wrestler being thrown in there with Regal (or Finlay) seems really apt. I'm pulling for the kid to put up a good showing. Ring of Honour Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Lee Moriarty.I It weirds me out to think that Shibata vs Orange was over half a year ago, and the G1 grappling match with ZSJ was over a year prior to that! Time f'n flies. Like always, I'm on tenterhooks. I love watching Shibata fight but I'll never not be scared. Unlike Andretti, I don't feel like Tiga Style has anything to prove. i feel like this is more a chance for him to shine. Just. PLEASE. Don't headbutt Shibata. NJPW Strong Women's Champion Willow Nightingale defends against Emi Sakura. Oh. Hell. Yeah. If I were booking, this would be the main event. Possibly, I am higher on Emi than many of you. I think we are all equally high on Willow, and rightly so. I can't help but wish that our dearly missed old friend could be watching and commenting on this one with us. Though, I can guess what he would likely say. Edited June 2, 2023 by Gordlow 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 (edited) It's wild that AEW now has FOUR promotions to pull title matches from. It wasn't that long ago when Cody was ill and they had to pull interim TNT title shenanigans in order to have all title matches on a BotB show. Shit, how long before Garcia defends the PWG belt on a random broadcast just because they can? Edited June 2, 2023 by Technico Support 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 It would amuse me to see a big goofy co-co butt battle with somebody where all of them are completely fake mat stomping, and have him still coming off looking like Shibata. Also amuses that none of these belts are official AEW titles on an AEW show haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikoBaltimore Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 9 hours ago, Gordlow said: This is pertmuch exactly my kind of show. I love it when AEW give us something like this. Just good to great, fun, interesting pro wrestling match-ups with a ton of variety. AAA Mega Heavyweight Champion El Hijo del Vikingo defends vs. Dralistico vs.Komander Very likely to be the really, really good and exciting kind of spot fest. I had long been waiting and hoping for Vikingo to show up in AEW and he has NOT disappointed in the least. It's almost as fun seeing everyone else mark out for him as it is watching him. And it ain't exactly like Komander and Dralistico are chopped liver. It would be enough for this to be merely spectacular, but there is a real chance that they'll give us some kind of little story as well. Like if Vai, Yngwie, and Satriani were jamming and decided to play Cause We've Ended as Lovers with intense emotion (while also outdoing each other pyrotechnically). NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Action Andretti. I totally agree with Matt here. This very much has the feel of a flashy young gun being put into a situation where we will all learn something about him. If he can hang, technically, with ZSJ then I feel like he's gonna earn some respect. Likening it to a young wrestler being thrown in there with Regal (or Finlay) seems really apt. I'm pulling for the kid to put up a good showing. Ring of Honour Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata defends against Lee Moriarty.I It weirds me out to think that Shibata vs Orange was over half a year ago, and the G1 grappling match with ZSJ was over a year prior to that! Time f'n flies. Like always, I'm on tenterhooks. I love watching Shibata fight but I'll never not be scared. Unlike Andretti, I don't feel like Tiga Style has anything to prove. i feel like this is more a chance for him to shine. Just. PLEASE. Don't headbutt Shibata. NJPW Strong Women's Champion Willow Nightingale defends against Emi Sakura. Oh. Hell. Yeah. If I were booking, this would be the main event. Possibly, I am higher on Emi than many of you. I think we are all equally high on Willow, and rightly so. I can't help but wish that our dearly missed old friend could be watching and commenting on this one with us. Though, I can guess what he would likely say. I hereby proclaim this song as the unofficial official theme of tonight's Rampage. I'm just happy after some rough patches to see you excited about an AEW show like this. First thought seeing the lineup was "Ooh, Gordlow will be pleased". El Hijo del Vikingo defends vs. Dralistico vs.Komander? Man, I can already envision Dean responding with a hearty "Holy shit~!" That's gonna be so, so fun. ZSJ seeing how far Action's limbs can bend backwards is not a matchup I thought I'd see but I'm here for it. Shibata against Moriarty I actually did envision happening one day and I'm super excited to see this. And Willow against Emi is a wonderful combination of two people I incredibly adore who will beat the tar out of each other for our amusement. Shit, if I had a circle of folks available to watch this tonight I'd text them to put it on. I don't care about ratings but I would be thrilled if this did pretty well. With such a wacky lineup it's just too good and wacky to do us wrong. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) After a really -- really -- shitty week on my end, I needed this. Opener suffered from Vikingo groveling on the floor too much while the other two went round and round the ring. They could have used the extra time for the other matches; this is lucha from three guys who can do anything aerially, just do a total super sprint. It was still solid though. I brought up in the Discord that they could have put a time limit with judges raising up signs with points like an old-schoolly Olympics competition to see who'd win based on highspots, with with no idea that there was a Pure match at the top of the card where they pretty much do a variation of that. Also Kommander needs camo gear. I also said that it feels like Jarrett is booking his own matches and posited that Aubrey gets five minutes alone with Karen while Jeff/Satnam/Jay are above the ring in a cage. It feels very much like something Tony would sign off on. Continuing the hilarity we get MORE RULES for ZSJ/Andretti. ZSJ is such a wizard on the mat, always a delight to watch him work; Andretti is growing and this was a fine sit under the learning tree. God Sabre Jr. rules. We go back to regular wrestling for Willow vs. Emi! Willow's music sounds like the Night Court theme! It too rules! They proceed to have a kiiiiiiler Joshi Hoss Match. The PnP felt like it cut in worse than even the last match though. No matter, both gals lay into each other and play to the back row and it's the shit. Willow's Doctor-Liger-Bomb after having to beat down Emi just extra enough... excellent. Lots of Kobashi chopping from Willow too. Back to The Rules! They only got ten minutes (and three rope breaks) but Tony is still contractually obligated to throw in another goddamned PnP. Did catch Andrade in the Collision commercial this time though. The opening matwork in this is level to or possibly scalps the stuff in the ZSJ/Andretti tag but has the added benefit of Tiga Style being willing to try and kick your head off as bad as Shibata does. A rushed war of attrition and the finish is so final it hurts you sitting there in the chair. Great great stuff. Methinks JR had a boner through the whole thing with how he was coming off. EDIT: AxB mentioned that the beginning of Shibata's theme sounds just like "No Scrubs" by TLC. Try to unhear THAT now, haha. Edited June 3, 2023 by Curt McGirt 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamBroken Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 4 good solid matches all around. Loved Andretti's burst of offense towards the end before falling victim to ZSJ's submission game. Emi always rules. I'm here for Garcia vs Shibata! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 When a Vikingo match is the low one on the totem pole you know it’s a hell of an hour of wrestling! Hell of a Lady Hoss fight! I want willow v Hosslander and Hoss Hayter! (And those two against each other!) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zendragon Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 And JR did seem especially enthusiastic about everything tonight 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordi the former AEW fan Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) I kind of want to poke fun at JR for being unable to pronounce "Vikingo" but I am being honest, I also mispronounce that name in my head every time I read it. If the match had a story it was a very basic one. Something like: See Spot. See Spot. See Spot... But for sure those spots were entertaining. I'm not trying to act like I didn't enjoy it. Action vs ZSJ was exactly the (underdog with) speed vs technique battle we were all expecting. ZSJ is right up there among the best and most interesting pro wrestlers in the world now. It's always fun to see how different guys try to solve the puzzle that he presents. If I were to offer a word of advice to young Action, it would be: Maybe, when your left arm is being worked over like that, grab the arm and grimace once in a while, maybe show that it's painful to use the arm, even when you are on offence. Stuff like that will impress people who are playing close attention, and if you do a good job of it we'll start saying you're a really good pro wrestler. My only issue with Emi vs Willow was that too much of the stiffness and violence was in picture in picture or lost entirely during commercial. I completely enjoyed everything we got to see of both of the last two matches. That was some darn fine pro wrestling. Moriarty and Shibata matched up really well, in my opinion. ZSJ vs Rocky is up for free on YouTube right now, by the way. NJPW Strong channel, I believe. Hopefully that's available everywhere. Edit: Here you go: Edited June 3, 2023 by Gordlow 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 I recall that being loved a lot when it happened. I actually have a little issue with ZSJ in last night's match! I caught him scooting his body over to take the Arabian Moonsault. I mean everybody is guilty of doing this but he seems more the type to roll away at the last second and let the kid eat shit on the mat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouHaveUntil5 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) Andretti kept up way better than I expected him to. Great match. My favorite moment on the show was JR and Tony talking about how much they love pure wrestling and the second that Tony said something about “no gaga” they put up a graphic advertising a Danhausen shirt. Edited June 3, 2023 by RefMattyD570 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 No time today. I'm only through the first match, and I had to watch it with the five year old who has never seen any wrestling. But it was lucha and energetic and I could establish pretty quickly that there was the champion, the good guy, and the bad guy, and she popped for all of Vikingo's stuff and the Komander rope walk and was glad that the champion won since she has firm feelings about being champion. Let's not do that again anytime soon though. I'll get to the rest later. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 Some people were making fun of AEW for having a Night of Champions where none of the belts are AEW belts, but this show was what makes AEW great. They bring in the best from around the world (except those caught in the WWE universe of course, which is hermetically sealed to where there is no other wrestling), their wrestlers go and fight and win titles in other companies around the world. We get 4 different styles of matches and every single one of them was fucking great in its own way. Opening was a lucha spot fest in the best ways with a very lucha friendly crowd. Dralistico is a good guy to have because he’s the heel luchador right now, which they needed, and he’s a decent base. I liked him and Vikingo brawling outside while Komander was setting up his rope run senton. I didn’t expect anything but crazy spots out of this one and that is what I got. Andretti looked fine keeping up with ZSJ’s mat work and arm holds. The wrist stuff was great and the announcers did an excellent job of getting that over, so it felt like a big moment when Andretti was finally able to escape and free his wrist. After that, it was a style clash that mostly worked. Some of Sabre’s moves looked nasty and I was convinced he might legit dislocate a shoulder or elbow. Softening up the arm was also a sign that Sabre was going to wrestle his match, because normal strategy would be to take out the legs of a speedy flyer. The finishing submission build was a solid ending and gave Andretti a little rub. I would like to see a lot more ZSJ matches against AEW/ROH guys. Willow-Emi was even better than I was expecting. It was an excellent idea to have Emi be Willow’s first big title defense on AEW TV, because she was able to guide her through that kind of big match story. The Babe with Power meeting a powerful veteran who could match her, and who had a lot of tricks, managing to make a large, strong woman like Willow into an underdog. The finishing run starting with the pounce, and the battle for the Doctor Bomb. Loved this match. Willow has top babyface potential. Main had a lot more payoff for those who’ve been keeping up with ROH and Lee’s pure rules battles with Romero. Taiga showed he belonged and went toe to toe with The Wrestler, lots of reversals and painful submissions and stiff striking. Maybe they could’ve had Shibata use a rope break, that would have been a big victory for Taiga in and of itself. Finishing run starting with Shibata slapping on a sleeper as a reversal and ending with a heavy PK was fun. Garcia-Shibata at Death before Dishonor? On the other hand, Jarrett’s booking went from Memphis fun to Memphis bullshit and he’s on a short leash with me again. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 Funny you mention WWE being hermetically sealed because last night they equated the entire WWWF/WWF/WWE head titles with those of NWA and JCP. They might've even threw Verne in there but I didn't catch it if so. Remembered who Emi reminds me of: Devil Masami. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLowe Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 2 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: Funny you mention WWE being hermetically sealed because last night they equated the entire WWWF/WWF/WWE head titles with those of NWA and JCP. They might've even threw Verne in there but I didn't catch it if so. Remembered who Emi reminds me of: Devil Masami. Yeah but Vince owns those promotions tapes and title histories at this point. They’re not competition, they’re like how the Romans took the Greek gods to legitimize themselves. Speaking of that I was thinking how awesome it could be if Willow wore some Aja face paint in a big match. She should work on a spinning back fist, that would fucking rule. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 (edited) Yeah that's the psychology behind it, but as soon as I saw Sting and Flair back to back I was all "WTF?!" Then the hits just kept coming. It was jarring. I'll take some Aja cosplay for Halloween or any other time. You know she hits hard so using the backfist could be a death move, even stronger than King's because you know he wants to use it to sell the hand as broken. EDIT: Oh and the sleeper into the PK was done about as perfectly as that combo has. It can look real shite sometimes but this one was its own death move(s). Edited June 3, 2023 by Curt McGirt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryArchieGus Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 What a terrific show! Best Rampage in very long time. The timing and production was vastly improved from what's become the norm. Even commentary, er Jim, was much better than usual. Loved everything on this show. Andretti looks like a dweeb and has terrible babyface gestures, but he's coming along. A heel turn and removal of a few silly offensive maneuvers and he's gonna have a great 2024(?). Katsuyori Shibata is such a treat every time out. Also, tho not terribly familiar with her act, Karen Jarrett seems like a very special talent. Dralistico, tho not as spectacular as his thrilling opponents, looked really good in that opening. Loved the creepy gear. I'm patiently awaiting Zach Sabre Jr.'s full time Elite employment and lengthy title run. He's such a true star. Rampage! Who knew it could be so good! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octopus Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Matt D said: No time today. I'm only through the first match, and I had to watch it with the five year old who has never seen any wrestling. But it was lucha and energetic and I could establish pretty quickly that there was the champion, the good guy, and the bad guy, and she popped for all of Vikingo's stuff and the Komander rope walk and was glad that the champion won since she has firm feelings about being champion. Let's not do that again anytime soon though. I'll get to the rest later. I would love to get more thoughts on wrestling from your 5 year old. Maybe she can join in on the All Japan matches. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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