AEW Rampage Review - March 20, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed Addressed Bullet Club Gold

I already didn't care about The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn feuding with Bullet Club Gold (despite last week's well-done angle) and The Acclaimed's promos here didn't change my mind in the slightest. I appreciate Rampage starting off with mic work for a change, but this was weak. The Acclaimed are still over with the audience, but their shtick has grown tiresome with me, personally.

Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta def. The Don Callis Family (ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher and Powerhouse Hobbs) in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Wild Card Match

The Don Callis Family has practically no heat at the moment and this loss doesn't help matters, but I can't say I'm shocked Cassidy and Beretta will be a part of the tag title tournament. It gives Cassidy something to do for the time being, if nothing else. This was a quality contest and they made the most of the time they were given. It still blows my mind that Blackpool Combat Club aren't in the bracket at all coming off their win over FTR at Revolution, but perhaps there was an injury issue.

Katsuyori Shibata def. Kevin Matthews

Matthews usually wrestles as K.M., so it was weird that he went by his full name here (not like it matters either way). Obviously, this was all about Shibata and giving him a rare win on AEW TV before he faces Will Ospreay on next week's Dynamite. The crowd was quiet, but at least they kept this short and sweet with Shibata dominating Matthews. That outing against Ospreay is sure to a show-stealer.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Rocky Romero

This existed for the same reason the last match did: to give Takeshita a win before he loses next week on Dynamite. The only difference was that this was more competitive, even though the outcome was never in doubt. I'm looking forward to Takeshita vs. Swerve Strickland, but it's such a shame that there doesn't seem to be a plan in place for Takeshita right now. He's too talented to just be a stepping stone for other people right now.

AEW TBS Champion Julia Hart and Skye Blue def. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale in a Tag Team Street Fight

This was at least the third or fourth women's tag team Street Fight AEW has done on Rampage and it was certainly on par with those other ones in terms of how hardcore it was and what they were willing to do. We see this sort of stuff far too often in AEW for it to feel special, but I applaud the effort of all involved. I was slightly surprised to see the heels win since Nightingale should be next in line for a shot at the AEW TBS Championship, but at least it was Statlander who got pinned and not Nightingale.

Overall Show

Was this the first time Rampage has ever aired live after Dynamite on Wednesday night? I can't recall that happening before. I'd say it was essentially a third hour of Dynamite, but it definitely did not feel that way. It was basically a live version of your average edition of Rampage, just with an above-average main event. The rest of the hour was business as usual and not worth checking out, but make time for the tag team Street Fight.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews