AEW Rampage Review - June 28, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Orange Cassidy def. The Outrunners in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match

With Cassidy facing Zack Sabre Jr. at Forbidden Door, this was supposed to serve as a last-minute momentum boost for him. I realize this was a Handicap match, but I would've been fine with it being even shorter because The Outrunners aren't a threat to anyone. In other words, it was essentially a squash and that's all it should have been. I have no doubt Cassidy and Sabre Jr. will deliver.

NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd and Roderick Strong def. The Infantry

Admittedly, I'm not too familiar with Kidd's work and haven't seen many (if any) of his matches, but I have heard of him and know he's been garnering some attention online with his promos. Kidd and Strong will be teaming up in a random four-way tag team match on the Forbidden Door pre-show, so this established them as a cohesive unit before then. It was a nice little match while it lasted.

El Phantasmo def. AR Fox to Qualify for the AEW TNT Championship Ladder Match at Forbidden Door

You had to know Phantasmo was winning here as soon as it was announced Fox was his opponent. I like Fox, but he went right back to being an enhancement talent as soon as Swerve Strickland dropped him last summer. This was a well-wrestled affair, but they weren't given enough time to get out of first gear. Phantasmo has virtually no chance of winning the TNT title on Sunday, but he'll be a welcome addition to the Ladder match, nonetheless.

Shingo Takagi def. Dalton Castle

It's unfortunate, but I've come to accept that Castle won't be utilized as anything other than a stepping stone in AEW. He can always be counted on to have a quality contest but never win when it matters most. That was exactly the case here as well. I'm actually surprised this lasted as long as it did, but ultimately, it was designed to be a showcase for Takagi before he faces Bryan Danielson at Forbidden Door.

Queen Aminata def. Skye Blue

What a weird match to put in the main event slot. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the women getting spotlighted, but unless I missed something, there was no reason for this match to even happen, and yet they got more time than anything else on the episode. Aminata winning made sense before she seemingly challenges Athena for the ROH Women's World Championship soon, but I don't think there was any mention of that here. Rather, Blue attacked Aminata afterward and Red Velvet (who's been aligned with Aminata as of late in Ring of Honor) made the save. Okay, then.

Overall Show

I've complained about this plenty of times already over the last month or so, but I continue to hate the five-match formula for Rampage. Most of the matches don't get much time or serve a purpose. For example, I understand why the Cassidy match happened, but my point is that it didn't need to happen. The TNT title Ladder match qualifier was the only thing worth noting from this episode.

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