AEW Rampage Review - May 18, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kyle O'Reilly def. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is a terrific talent, but much like his tag team partner Shane Taylor, he never really wins on AEW TV, so it's tough to take him seriously against anyone of note. That includes O'Reilly, who has more direction at the moment as part of this program with House of Black and Adam Copeland. In fact, he'll be facing Malakai Black on Wednesday's Dynamite, so this gave him a win before then. The outcome was never in doubt, but they had a well-wrestled opener.

Rush def. Cody Chhun

This was the definition of a squash with Rush completely killing this dude pretty quickly. I'm glad they made Rush come off as a star that way (in addition to him going berserk afterward), but I don't understand why he's been directionless for so long. I know he was hurt at one point, but that was a while ago. Putting him over strong on Rampage is one thing, but actually pushing him on Dynamite is what matters.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Robyn Renegade

I'm glad Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa are doing something with each other outside of the title pictures, but I don't see a whole lot of people buzzing about their feud, probably because it's largely been relegated to Rampage and Collision. They're trading wins and Rosa has attempted to chase Purrazzo once or twice, but that's basic stuff. This was a simple showcase for Purrazzo and nothing more.

Brian Cage def. Anthony Bowens

I must have missed the setup for this match because I have no clue why this happened or why anyone should have cared about this as a main event. Cage just lost to Swerve Strickland on this week's Dynamite, so this gave him a rebound win, but why Bowens? The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are still over with the audience, but their act is beyond stale, at least in my opinion. This was a solid match, but it was not main event material.

Overall Show

Rampage is never a must-see show anyway, but putting right after Dynamite and Collision has been overkill. I realize that's what they have to do because of the NBA Playoffs (or whatever else is airing), but the scheduling has not been ideal and a majority of the shows have been total throwaway. That was the case with this edition of Rampage as it was an hour of wrestling that existed with very little of substance.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews