AEW Rampage Review - June 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bandido and ROH World Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers def. "All Ego" Ethan Page, Lee Moriarty and Big Bill

The Firm aren't still a thing, right? I'm not sure how they could be if Page has to work with The Hardys now. Speaking of which, Page shouldn't have been able to team with Bill and Moriarty if he's supposed to bee "under contract" to The Hardys. I'm sure it'll b a fun storyline, but the whole Matt Hardy/Page shtick feels played out after so many months. This was an enjoyable opener for what it was, even if the focus wasn't on Lucha Brothers and Bandido and they came off like afterthoughts when this was over.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Caleb Crush

Another lame QTV segment preceded this. Needless to say, the alliance with QT Marshall has done absolutely nothing to benefit Hobbs, who has been back to being directionless since losing the AEW TNT Championship to Wardlow two months ago. This was a straightforward squash as it should have been. I'm not convinced AEW has a more meaningful plan in mind for Hobbs come the Collision premiere, but I'd like to be wrong.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn def. Spanish Announce Project (Angelico, Serpentico and Luther)

One thing you can't say is that The Acclaimed haven't gotten consistent television time since they lost the AEW World Tag Team Championship earlier this year. Now, whether most of that television time has been significant is another story. This match was whatever and I have no desire Luther on any of the main shows, but it existed to give Acclaimed and Gunn another win and the crowd liked seeing them.

Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett vs. Mark Briscoe, Papa Briscoe and Aubrey Edwards Was Made Official

This segment started with Mark and Edwards confronting Lethal, Jeff and their cronies on the stage, and it ended with the six-person tag team match being made official for a later date. Mark was already feuding with the heels prior to Double or Nothing, while Karen and Edwards got into it backstage. Papa Briscoe being in a match is one thing because he's been a blast any time I've seen him on the show, but I have no interest in Edwards wrestling whatsoever. Maybe it will be cinematic, but I'd rather they not waste television time on this crap.

Skye Blue def. Nyla Rose, Mercedes Martinez and Britt Baker in an AEW Women's World Championship No. 1 Contender's Four-Way Match

I know Baker was supposed to be the favorite to win since she was easily the biggest star in the match, but I actually expected Rose to win since she's from Washington D.C., which is where the first-ever Dynamite was held and she's from there. Instead, they went with Blue, and although it's nice she finally won something of note, she has no chance against Toni Storm with the title on the line. She hasn't been built up remotely enough for me to care, but hopefully they can have fun with it. This was a solid main event.

Overall Show

Last week's Rampage was one of the best I've seen in recent memory, primarily from an in-ring standpoint, but the show was back to its usual substandard quality this week. The opener was the best thing on the entire episode (up until the finish, anyway) and everything else was throwaway. The main event was well wrestled and had stakes, but I wasn't a fan of the outcome. All in all, this was an edition of Rampage that can easily be skipped.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews