AEW Rampage Review - June 21, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Private Party def. Komander and Metalik

I assume Komander was hurt recently because he was featured quite a bit on AEW TV and ROH TV for about a year up until April. He and Komander made for a nice team, but this was all about giving Private Party a much-needed victory before they face Chris Jericho and Big Bill on Collision. Speaking of whom, they emerged afterward to brawl with Private Party. I have no expectations of this mini push for Private Party being anything other than short-lived.

Rey Fenix def. Turbo Floyd

The brackets for the men's and women's Owen Hart Cup were revealed on Wednesday's Dynamite and Fenix will battle Jay White in the first round. Fenix is obviously tremendously talented, but he really has no business being in the tournament. There's no doubt he'll lose to White next week on Dynamite, but this served as a simple showcase for him before then.

Lio Rush def. Action Andretti to Qualify for the AEW TNT Championship Ladder Match at Forbidden Door

Reportedly, Rush will be sticking around in AEW for the foreseeable future and that's awesome news. His last AEW run was cut short before his storyline with Dante Martin could amount to anything, so hopefully we get a real resolution this time (before Rush inevitably leaves again because it happens everywhere he wrestles). This was a fun match that simultaneously got Rush into the Ladder match at Forbidden Door and furthered his angle with Andretti and Top Flight by showing them respect.

Shingo Takagi def. AR Fox

I always forget Fox is on the roster, which is a shame because he's a super skilled competitor. He was dropped as Swerve Strickland's tag team partner last summer and he's barely been featured on AEW TV since. He scored some offense against Takagi, but this was essentially a squash for Takagi ahead of his men's Owen Hart Cup quarterfinal match with Bryan Danielson at Forbidden Door.

Willow Nightingale def. Serena Deeb in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match

The outcome of this contest was clear as soon as Kris Statlander advanced in the first round on Dynamite. Nothing against Deeb, but she's officially back in enhancement mode after failing to beat Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Double or Nothing. Despite that, this was a well-worked main event and I'm looking forward to Statlander vs. Nightingale in the next round.

Overall Show

No matter how short some of the matches are, I maintain that the five-match format is excessive, but this was an above-average show by Rampage standards, nonetheless. We got three squashes per usual, and while that's too many, at least they all served a purpose. Plus, the other two matches were enjoyable for what they were and it helped that they had stakes, so it was an easy hour of wrestling to digest.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews