AEW Rampage Review - May 11, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Trent Beretta def. Dalton Castle by Referee Stoppage

Beretta is fresh off a loss to Orange Cassidy on Wednesday's Dynamite, so this served as a rebound win for him to get him back on track. I don't know that it did much to boost his credibility since Castle rarely ever appears on AEW TV, but it's better than nothing, I suppose. It was a quality contest and having him win by referee stoppage was a nice touch. Do we get the Beretta vs. Cassidy rematch at Double or Nothing?

"Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith def. JD Drake

I'm all for Keith racking up more wins on AEW TV and not just on ROH TV, but this was incredibly random. To my knowledge, there was no setup and no reason for fans to care because Keith has largely been booked as an enhancement talent prior to this point. It didn't help that there was one bad botch in the middle of this match, but it was decent otherwise. I imagine this existed to give Keith a win before he loses to someone more important next week.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Lady Frost

Rosa picked up a showcase win right before this show on Collision, so it only made sense for Purrazzo to pick up a victory of her own here. Frost (who is largely relegated to ROH TV) is slightly more established than Robyn Renegade and thus this was more competitive, which I had no problem with. Post-match, Rosa attempted to chase Purrazzo through the crowd to further that feud.

Pac def. Johnny TV

This would've been a match I would've been much more excited for a few years ago before Johnny was turned into a joke in Ring of Honor. Then again, his last run in WWE (where he was booked like a complete clown alongside The Miz) didn't help, either. That said, this was still a fun main event between two talented performers. I'm really looking forward to Pac vs. Jay White, which was teased afterward.

Overall Show

The edition of Collision that preceded this show was better than usual, but Rampage wasn't really worth tuning into. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Pac vs. Johnny TV for what it was, but it wasn't worth sitting through three hours of wrestling for. It was your average offering of Rampage in that it wasn't awful but not eventful, either. I truly hope AEW doesn't get any ideas about making three straight hours of wrestling a permanent fixture.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews