AEW Rampage Review - January 5, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Mark Briscoe and The Hardys def. Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade

With Private Party reuniting on Dynamite, The Hardys have already moved on to another partner, and honestly, them with Briscoe is a fun pairing. Granted, I don't need to see them challenging for the AEW World Trios Championship, but it worked for this match. This was a nice opener with the obvious outcome, though The Hardys are certainly the slowest they've ever been. Maybe this teased heel turn will freshen them up a bit.

Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale def. Notorious Mimi and Kennedi Hardcastle

On one hand, I'm happy Statlander and Nightingale are getting consistent television time despite not challenging for championships right now. On the other hand, their ongoing story with Stokley Hathaway hasn't been very interesting. I assume he'll end up managing one of them, but I don't think either of them would work well as a heel. Perhaps they'll feud with whoever he ends up managing? This was a simple showcase for the babyfaces.

Hikaru Shida def. Anna Jay

I'm honestly shocked Jay is still with the Jericho Appreciation Society rejects. She gains nothing from being aligned with them, but then again, I don't know what else she'd be doing with Tay Conti out on maternity leave and her boyfriend Jack Perry being M.I.A. at the moment. This was serviceable, but it didn't really accomplish anything with Shida continuing to spin her wheels. Jay doing anything with The Outcasts also doesn't intrigue me in the slightest.

ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta def. AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Komander in a Pure Rules Match (AAA World Cruiseweight Championship Was Not Defended)

For the second straight week, the ROH Pure Championship has been defended in the main event of Rampage. Although that's on-brand for Rampage, it doesn't make this show remotely more exciting, especially when there was zero chance of a title change. Komander is a skilled wrestler and makes the most of every opportunity he gets, but this probably should have been saved for ROH TV. If nothing else, this was a well-wrestled main event.

Overall Show

The most notable aspect of Rampage this week was that we got two women's matches instead of one, and both involved non-title stories. That's refreshing, but now the work begins to get the masses to care about said stories. I'm also curious where this possible heel turn for The Hardys is headed. This was an adequate episode, but you missed virtually nothing if you didn't tune in. In other words, par for the course with Rampage.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews