AEW Rampage: Grand Slam Review - September 23, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Darby Allin and Sting def. House of Black (Brody King and Buddy Matthews) in a No Disqualification Match

It was wise to have this open the episode while the crowd was still somewhat hot/awake (this was taped immediately after Wednesday's Dynamite in the same venue). Unfortunately, they didn't sound like they were into most of what we saw until the end. It was a fun brawl, but we see this sort of stuff all the time in AEW and, for me, they've lost their luster. The Great Muta showing up and saving Sting was an awesome touch given their history and I'm happy the audience appreciated that. House of Black have eaten defeat quite a bit lately, so let's move them on from this feud and onto something where they can win.

FTW Champion Hook and Action Bronson def. Jericho Appreciation Society ("Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker)

Bronson helped Hook fend off the former 2point0 goofs on the All Out pre-show. Needless to say, he's a rapper and not a formal wrestler, so it shouldn't have been shocking that he didn't look amazing out there. That said, I give him credit because he performed well. This was decent while it lasted and was pretty predictable, but there's nothing wrong with that in this case. I'm awaiting Hook's first real challenge because he hasn't defeated many top talents yet.

AEW TNT Champion Wardlow and ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. Tony Nese and Josh Woods

Was it really wise to do three tag team matches in a row? Thankfully, this was exactly what it should have been: a total squash. Joe and Wardlow wasted no time dismantling Nese and Woods and winning decisively. Post-match, they took their time destroying Mark Sterling, which the crowd ate up (and so did I). I was left wondering if there will be more to come between Wardlow and Joe or if this was merely a one-off.

"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry def. AEW Trios World Champion Rey Fenix

It's worth noting that Perry was back to being called "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry here after only going by Jungle Boy in his recent Dynamite match with Jay Lethal (at least from what I could tell). That's a positive development. The match itself was excellent. Perry having strong showings and beating established names is going to help him maintain momentum in Christian Cage's absence. Speaking of Cage, he showed up afterward and distracted Perry so Luchasaurus could attack him. The rematch between Cage and Perry won't happen for a while obviously, but maybe we get Perry vs. Luchsaurus on the sooner side.

Sammy Guevara def. Eddie Kingston by Disqualification

We were supposed to get this match at All Out before Kingston and Guevara had their backstage altercation, causing it to be bumped back a few weeks to this show. I'm glad we got it and they had a quality contest, but as I've said before, I truly find it difficult to care about anything involving Guevara at this point after the awful year he's had from a character standpoint. He's obviously excellent in the ring, but his act with Tay Melo and his association with Jericho Appreciation Society is just the worst. I also wasn't a fan of Kingston winning only for the referees to reverse the decision when Kingston wouldn't release his submission on Guevara afterward (technically making it a disqualification, right?). That was lame, but I suppose it was one way of keeping their program alive for a little longer.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill def. Diamante

I was stoked to see Diamante finally resurface on AEW TV last week. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time she appeared on either Dynamite or Rampage. It's been at least a year or two, which is ridiculous given her skillset. It was cool to see her in action in New York, but this was never going to be anything than a straightforward showcase for Diamante. Cargill has been built up like a star, but I'm ready for whatever's next for her. She feels like she's spinning her wheels at this point.

​"Hangman" Adam Page Won the Grand Slam Golden Ticket Battle Royale to Earn an AEW World Championship Opportunity on the October 18th Edition of Dynamite

Page has had a weird last few months on AEW TV (and I'm not even counting the behind-the-scenes drama with CM Punk). He lost the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing, failed to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door, failed to win the AEW Trios World Championship at All Out, and failed to advance in the tournament for the vacant AEW World Championship. In other words, he desperately needed this win and I was content with the outcome, especially since Page vs. Jon Moxley is (surprisingly) a fresh match. The rest of this was your basic Battle Royal and the fact it was filled with undercard jobbers didn't add any excitement.

Ricky Starks def. Powerhouse Hobbs in a Lights Out Match

I hate Lights Out matches in AEW because it's basically the company's way of having a heel lose without the win mattering for the babyface. A loss is a loss, and with the power rankings not being updated lately, who cares if Hobbs loses clean to Starks? As long as it doesn't become consistent. Nonetheless, this was fairly tame compared to most Lights Out matches in AEW history and they didn't have a ton of time, either, but it was entertaining enough.

Overall Show

I've complained quite a bit about Rampage in recent months because the show has largely not been interesting, but this was an exception because it was a special two-hour Grand Slam show. Much like last year's installment, you can expect it to be one of the best Rampage shows all year. The crowd was clearly exhausted and the matches suffered, but on the whole, there was plenty of great action (not to mention Great Muta's cameo) that made the two hours worthwhile.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews