AEW Rampage Review - July 14, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes def. Jericho Appreciation Society ("Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker)

Lee's been getting some shine recently on Dynamite and I've been hopeful that it's leading to a renewed push for him. Granted, both were tag team matches, but neither were with Rhodes. They work well together, but they really don't need to be teaming regularly going forward. Lee should be back on his own. That said, this was a well-worked match. I'm just not sure what purpose it was supposed to serve.

Taya Valkyrie def. Izzy McQueen

This was a total squash win for Valkyrie. Seriously, it was over within seconds. Post-match, she was confronted by Toni Storm and Saraya, and that led to Storm granting her an AEW Women's World Championship opportunity at Battle of the Belts VII. Yes, Valkyrie is Canadian and will be the babyface in front of that crowd, but she just turned heel, so it's a weird dynamic. I have no doubt it will be a good match, but Storm acknowledging Valkyrie's recent losses and proceeding to hand her another isn't ideal.

Lance Archer def. Trent Beretta

Every six months or so, AEW will dust off Archer for a short-lived singles push. It happened last year when he challenged Adam Page for the AEW World Championship, again that fall when he took part in the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament, and now again so he can challenge Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship. Him beating one of Cassidy's best friends (pun intended) here set that up. This was fine, but who can possibly care about Archer at this point?

Konosuke Takeshita def. Mentallo

Don Callis got some mic time beforehand to take shots at Kenny Omega. He and Takeshita get great heat, but you'd think Takeshita would be getting more focus ahead of an eventual singles match with Omega. Currently, he just feels like another guy in this Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite feud. Hopefully that changes coming out of Blood and Guts. This was a quick and simple showcase for him and I appreciated his intensity.

Willow Nightingale def. ROH Women's World Champion Athena in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Semifinal Match (Non-Title)

This match was supposed to happen last week on Collision, but Nightingale wasn't cleared in time. Well, now we know why Athena wasn't given an automatic bye to the finals: Nightingale was always going to go over. Nonetheless, they had a really good match. It wasn't on the level of their original encounter on ROH TV earlier this year, but they made the most of their time and the crowd was into the action. With this being Athena's first singles loss in a long time, this should set up Nightingale for another opportunity at the ROH Women's World Championship at Death Before Dishonor.

Overall Show

The last-minute build for Battle of the Belts VII tomorrow night has been beyond lazy. Luchasaurus vs. Shawn Spears was already announced, but Cassidy vs. Archer and Storm vs. Valkyrie came together quickly on this show. I suppose those developments made this a more eventful edition of Rampage than usual, along with the main event. Takeshita's squash was fine, but the opener felt like a waste of time.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews