AEW Rampage Review - 8/13
On Aug. 13, All Elite Wrestling premiered their new weekly show, AEW Rampage, with an hour full of championship matches. Although it wasn’t their first dip into Friday night programming, having previously aired an episode of AEW Dynamite in the 10 p.m.-12 a.m. time slot weeks ago, the premiere was a must-win for the company, and they set themselves up for success by scheduling three title defenses for the one-hour show.
To kick off the show, Kenny Omega defended the Impact World Championship, a title he won due to AEW’s partnership with Impact Wrestling, against the man who will challenge for his AEW World Championship at All Out, Christian Cage. AEW is no stranger to sanctioning defenses of championships from other promotions on their shows, but this bout marked the first instance of an Impact Wrestling championship being competed for on AEW programming. The crowd was noticeably hot for this match, as they were behind Christian all the way. Both competitors’ offenses looked on-point here, and the match excelled at giving the fans a long-awaited matchup without feeling like it would spoil the excitement of their upcoming pay-per-view matchup less than one month away.
A former champion in Impact Wrestling during their TNA days, Christian Cage will likely return to the company for the first time in 13 years after winning their marquee championship on Rampage. (Twitter/@IMPACTWrestling)
Omega took control of the match after hitting a low blow while Don Callis distracted the referee, prompting Omega’s cohorts from The Elite, The Young Bucks, to slide a chair into the ring for Omega to use. What looked like it might be another tired instance of The Elite using distractions and run-ins to win turned out to work in Christian’s favor, as he hit his Killswitch finisher to drive Omega’s head through the seat of the chair. Christian picked up the win, and in doing so became the Impact World Champion. This was a great decision for a number of reasons, and kicking off the premiere of Rampage with a title change and with one of AEW’s most protected stars taking a loss set the tone that Rampage will be an important piece of the company’s programming lineup.
Backstage, Mark Henry interviewed Christian who was flanked by Jurassic Express members Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus popping champagne in celebration. Christian praised Omega, saying he lived up to the hype, but concluded that this win gives him a mental edge over Omega heading into their big match on September 5. I’m excited to see how Christian and Omega run it back next month while keeping things fresh and exciting.
Fuego Del Sol, a regular competitor on AEW Dark who’s earned favor amongst AEW fans for his performances on that show and in the vlogs of friend Sammy Guevara, challenged Miro for the AEW TNT Championship. Fuego, not being officially signed to AEW, was also competing for a contract offer, which only seemed to further motivate his opponent. Fuego jumped the gun, attacking Miro before the bell even rang, and once it finally did Fuego capitalized with another high-impact move to catch Miro off-guard. The crowd was ready for the biggest upset of the year, but Miro was able to roll out of the ring before Fuego could cover him. Once he returned to the ring, though, Fuego’s Tornado DDT put him down, and the pin attempt resulted in an incredibly close two-count that had the fans on their feet. Miro was quickly able to turn the tide back in his favor, catching Fuego out of the air for a Samoan Drop, and it was all Miro from that point, as a Superkick leading into the Game Over submission gave Miro the decisive win. The match was brief but exhilarating, and Fuego was able to show out in his highest-profile match yet.
Although Miro ripped up Fuego’s potential contract after his win, Guevara hit the ramp alongside AEW President Tony Khan who had another contract in hand. Guevara told Fuego that there can be victory in defeat, and announced that Fuego would officially be signing with AEW. This was a great moment that could set up Fuego as an even more popular act going forward.
Despite his loss, Fuego Del Sol was awarded an AEW contract, as the company hopes his popularity online and on AEW Dark will translate to their television programming. (All Elite Wrestling)
Closing the show was a defense of the AEW Women’s World Championship by Britt Baker, who received a hero’s welcome in her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Her opponent, Red Velvet, conversely felt the boos from the decidedly pro-Baker crowd. Accordingly, Velvet worked as the heel in this match, targeting Baker’s previously-injured wrist throughout. The match was uneventful for most of the time, but picked up in the closing minutes when Velvet attempted to submit Baker with the latter’s own patented submission, the Lockjaw. Baker countered, however, herself attempting to secure the Lockjaw, and when Velvet threw strikes at Baker’s wrist, she responded by flipping to Velvet’s opposite side, and she found better luck there. She was able to apply the Lockjaw on Velvet and force a tap out to retain her championship.
Baker continued her attack after the match, and as she was about to stomp Velvet into her title belt, Kris Statlander ran in for the save. Statlander was intercepted by a hooded figure who soon revealed herself to be Jamie Hayter, an English competitor who previously appeared on Dynamite in 2019. Hayter assisted Baker in finishing her attack on Velvet to close the show.
All in all, this was an incredibly entertaining hour of wrestling. It was easy to guess that AEW would stack the deck in their favor for the premiere with a card full of high-stakes matches, but they still had to deliver, and they certainly did on Friday night. With next week’s episode being advertised as one of AEW’s biggest events to date, there is plenty reason to continue tuning in to Rampage going forward.
