AEW Rampage Review - February 2, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Top Flight def. Private Party

This was a rematch from a few weeks ago on Dynamite. I like how they've turned it into a feud as it's given both teams some much-needed direction. Unsurprisingly, they produced a really nice match. Top Flight avenging the loss was logical in setting up a rubber matchup, and Private Party again exhibited heel tendencies afterward. I assume we'll get their full-blown heel turn either during or after that third encounter.

AEW World Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks and Big Bill def. The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match

This episode emanated from New Orleans, so Starks was clearly a fan favorite with this crowd. I just couldn't care less about Dark Order, so this really didn't need to be as long or as competitive as it was. At least Starks and Bill went over decisively as they should have ahead of their AEW World Tag Team Championship defense against Darby Allin and Sting on Wednesday's Dynamite.

Willow Nightingale def. Queen Aminata

Aminata has had a lot of televised matches at this point and has lost every single one, this being no exception. As I've said several times, Aminata has potential and has been very impressive thus far, but she needs to start winning some matches in order to be taken seriously and establish credibility. On the bright side, this was a very good match. There wasn't much progression with the storyline involving Nightingale, Kris Statlander and Stokley Hathaway.

Hechicero, Mascara Dorada, Mistico and Volador Jr. def. “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal

It's cool that AEW now has a working relationship with CMLL, and putting the CMLL stars over here was done in part to make them look like a threat before they face Blackpool Combat Club on Dynamite next week. I'm not sure how much of AEW's audience will care about CMLL guys being brought in when there's already plenty of people on the AEW roster not being used at the moment, but this was a very fun main event with the CMLL stars having solid showings.

Overall Show

This was a slight step down from recent Rampage shows but still enjoyable for what it was. I'm digging what we're getting from Top Flight and Private Party, Nightingale and Aminata made the most of their time, the tag champs were showcased, and the main event was fun (albeit predictable). I've seen episodes that were far more inconsequential, but it's not as if this one was really worth seeking out unless you're a big CMLL enthusiast.

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