AEW Rampage Review - June 7, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Penta El Zero Miedo def. The Butcher

The timing of this match was interesting in that it was reported yesterday that Penta's AEW contract is up later this year and WWE would have interest. I honestly don't expect him to end up there, but admittedly, it'd be pretty cool to see him in that environment (provided he's booked properly). At any rate, this was a good match from him and Butcher, but I have no idea what purpose this was supposed to serve.

The Acclaimed def. Hunter Grey and Parviz

From a storyline standpoint, was this the match The Acclaimed were scheduled to have on Wednesday's Dynamite before their segment got cut by The Young Bucks? Thankfully, it was kept short and sweet. I'm glad The Acclaimed seem to be cutting back on some of the comedy crap ahead of an inevitable match with the Bucks in an attempt to be taken more seriously. This was a step in the right direction.

The Gates of Agony def. Private Party

I was excited to see Private Party back in action a few months ago, but whatever momentum they had amounted to absolutely nothing and they've barely been around lately. What a shame. They popped up backstage in a segment with Chris Jericho on Dynamite, so I assume the idea behind their loss here was to tease that they could be joining the Learning Tree nonsense. That'd be pretty bad. This was a decent match, though.

Unified World Trios Champions Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson and The Gunns) def. Caleb Crush, Chris Wilde and Tyler Payne

Jay White told Robinson afterward that he's officially one-quarter of the Unified World Trios Champions, so while I don't know if AEW will officially recognize him as such (a la the Freebird Rule), I'll consider it official for now. This was a standard showcase for Bang Bang Gang following Robinson's return. I hate the dumb name, but I still dig the group. Maybe Robinson and The Gunns can defend the trios titles while White returns to the singles ranks?

Artist of Stardom Champion Mina Shirakawa def. Serena Deeb

Deeb got her shot against Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Double or Nothing and was unsuccessful, so to the back of the line she goes. I was actually surprised to see her in the Rampage main event, but maybe I shouldn't have been considering this was technically the biggest bout on the entire episode. It was well wrestled and gave Shirakawa before she faces Storm at Forbidden Door.

Overall Show

I loathe that Rampage has resorted to the five-match format recently. It doesn't happen every week, but it simply sends the message that Rampage is throwaway television. Three matches would make more sense instead of this squash match nonsense. The only thing worth a damn on this show was Shirakawa vs. Deeb. The outcome was never in doubt, but it was an an enjoyable outing while it lasted.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews