AEW Rampage Review - June 16, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb and Kyle Fletcher) def. CHAOS (Rocky Romero and Best Friends)

Ospreay just made his highly anticipated return to AEW at the end of Wednesday's Dynamite ahead of his big rematch with Kenny Omega at Forbidden Door. This was designed to serve as a reminder of what United Empire can do and these three members of CHAOS were easy opponents for them to beat. This was the fun, fast-paced encounter you'd expect from these six stars. An Ospreay singles showing would've been preferrable, but this was still a treat.

Taya Valkyrie def. Trish Adora

While we haven't seen Valkyrie in action since Double or Nothing where she failed to beat Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship, we've seen her watching Kris Statlander's matches from backstage, so it's clear she's being built up for another opportunity at the title, this time as a heel. She showed heel tendencies in this match and I'm glad because it's the role she's best in. This was a straightforward showcase for her. Adora was just another enhancement talent here despite being impressive in her own right. Valkyrie and Statlander interacting backstage a little bit later on was key.

Aubrey Edwards, Mark Briscoe and Papa Briscoe def. Karen Jarrett, Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal

I'm surprised they rushed into this match considering they set it up only a week ago. Then again, I'm perfectly content with this feud being over as quickly as possible. I had no interest in seeing this match, so while I wasn't necessarily entertained by it, at least it was passable and didn't overstay its welcome. Here's hoping this was merely a one-off for Edwards as a "wrestler" and there aren't any other matches in her future.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Bandido

I can't remember the last meaningful singles win Bandido scored on AEW TV, so I don't know how viewers were supposed to take him seriously against the guy who's currently feuding with Kenny Omega. Bandido had a few close nearfalls, but the outcome was never in doubt. Despite that, this was a top-notch main event. They had excellent chemistry together and Bandido scored enough offense to where he looked credible in defeat.

Overall Show

This was a step up last week's abysmal edition. It opened strong and closed strong with two quality matches, so it ended up being an enjoyable episode. I also appreciated that we got real build for an eventual Statlander vs. Valkyrie match. I just wish it could have aired on Dynamite or Collision so more people could have seen it. The mixed tag team match was whatever, but that was my only complaint from this show.

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