AEW Rampage Review - June 30, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli def. Komander by Referee Stoppage

Komander has yet to score a single meaningful win on AEW TV since being signed a few months ago. Thus, I don't know how anyone could buy into the idea of Komander taking the title here. Don't get me wrong, they had a hell of a sprint and worked really well together, but I wish there was more of a reason as to why this happened. Plus, I hate how Castagnoli has had zero direction in Ring of Honor beyond what he's been doing in AEW with Blackpool Combat Club. The referee stoppage finish with Castagnoli knocking out Komander was a nice touch, though.

Shawn Spears def. The Blade

The only reason this existed was because Spears is Canadian and this episode emanated from Canada. That's literally it. AEW dusted Spears off for the first time in months for this match and I assume he'll be back on the shelf after this. Spears is obviously a good worker, but it's virtually impossible to care about him at this point. Did it really need to take him that long to beat The Blade of all people?

QT Marshall and Johnny TV def. Matt Hardy and Brother Zay

Brother Zay is what Isiah Kassidy seems to be going by for now, while Johnny TV is the new name for John Hennigan a.k.a. John Morrison a.k.a Johnny Mundo, etc. I absolutely hate his pairing with Marshall because it automatically conditions fans to not give a shit. The gimmick sucks and did nothing to benefit Powerhouse Hobbs in the time Marshall was associated with him. This was a perfectly solid tag team match, but it felt like Rampage fodder and I can't say about whatever comes next. You could just feel the apathy from the crowd during this. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn made the save for Hardy and Kassidy afterward.

Hikaru Shida def. Taya Valkyrie in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match

I'm glad Valkyrie has been getting some consistent television time despite her Double or Nothing loss last month, but she's done a lot of losing and hasn't when it has mattered most. In other words, I'm worried we won't be seeing much of her going forward after this. On the bright side, she and Shida had a quality contest. Shida has hardly been seen on AEW TV this year, but it made sense for her to move on considering she advanced to the quarterfinals last year but was pulled for a reason I can't remember.

Overall Show

AEW has done nothing to convince me is going to be more important with Collision now being a thing. Despite an entertaining opener, this was another inconsequential episode. The Spears match was a waste, the QTV crap is awful, and Shida vs. Valkyrie was well wrestled but not main event worthy. Hell, I don't think most people care about the ROH World Championship being defended in a random match, either. They have their own show for that stuff. I legitimately do not know what purpose this program serves at this point.

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