AEW Rampage Review - August 2, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Wheeler Yuta def. The Butcher

Butcher has had a lot of singles opportunities with The Blade being out injured. He's looked good on every occasion yet I can't recall a match he's won on his own. This was no exception, but he and Yuta had a quality contest in the time they were allotted. Yuta recently lost the ROH Pure Championship, so this felt like it existed to reestablish him on AEW programming.

Brian Cage def. Manny Lo

The singles showcases for Cage continue. He and The Gates of Agony will have the occasional dominant squash in six-man tag team action, and then there are weeks where Cage will fly solo. I'd actually prefer to see him fly solo, but I long gave up on the idea of AEW doing anything of importance with him. The best thing I can say about this is that it was kept short and sweet with Cage destroying this dude in under a minute.

Nyla Rose def. Harley Cameron

Cameron said during her entrance that Saraya refused to compete, so she was on her own again. I don't know why Saraya didn't appear, or if I'm totally forgetting that The Outcasts started a feud with Rose. Either way, this felt like total throwaway. From an in-ring standpoint, there was nothing wrong with it, but putting Rose in a program with The Outcasts (as a way to keep them all busy) doesn't sound overly interesting.

Bryan Keith def. Jackson Drake

It was pretty silly for this to last as long as it did. I realize this was designed to make Keith look like a threat before he faces Katsuyori Shibata on Wednesday's Dynamite, but that match makes more sense for Rampage than Dynamite. I have no issue with Keith racking up wins and I'm glad he's at least being featured regularly on television, but this Learning Tree crap he's involved in continues to be insufferable.

MxM Collection def. Private Party

In the span of a week, MxM Collection have debuted in Ring of Honor, wrestled on Collision and now competed on Rampage. They've officially signed AEW/ROH deals, so it looks like we'll be seeing a whole lot of them going forward. They've already proven to be a nice fit for the AEW/ROH roster and this was a solid main event between them and Private Party. I've given up on AEW doing anything notable with Private Party, but I'm glad MxM Collection are off to a great start.

Overall Show

Putting three consecutive squashes in the middle is always a poor idea and they aren't all that effective. The opening and closing matches were decent yet not worth seeking out. In other words, it was your average edition of Rampage. The show is largely inconsequential every week and this was no exception, but if nothing else, there was fine hype for upcoming matches on Collision and Dynamite.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews