AEW Rampage Review - May 19, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta) def. Bandido and Best Friends

Between his recent alliance with Orange Cassidy and teaming with Best Friends here, Bandido is apparently an unofficial member of their group now. Hey, whatever gets him on television, I suppose. This was an enjoyable opener with good work from all involved. Blackpool Combat Club have Anarchy in the Arena against The Elite coming up at Double or Nothing, so there was no way they were losing here, but at least the babyfaces were made to look competitive before losing.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill def. Danni Bee, Cargill def. Genesis

Jade vs. Bee was an open challenge and was over almost immediately. Mark Sterling called for more competition for Cargill, which brought out Genesis (another local loser). She was quickly beaten, too. Before a third title match could happen, Taya Valkyrie emerged, attacked out the next opponent on the stage and laid out Cargill in the ring. She challenged Cargill to a rematch for the TBS title at Double or Nothing. That would be fine if AEW actually bothered to follow up on their first match from a month ago. Their feud has been on ice since then, so I'm not sure how anyone can be expected to be invested.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn def. Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese, Josh Woods and Ari Daivari)

The commentators brought up The Acclaimed and Gunn winning that trios Battle Royale earlier this month and that they could be line for an eventual shot at the AEW World Trios Championship. Thus, it's clear they're being kept busy until the time comes for them to challenge for the titles, possibly at Double or Nothing. This was whatever, but at least the crowds are still into The Acclaimed despite the team spinning their wheels since losing the AEW World Tag Team Championship.

The Firm Attacked The Hardys and Isiah Kassidy

It was announced here that The Hardys and Kassidy will face Ethan Page and The Gunns at Double or Nothing, and if The Hardys and Kassidy win, they will gain control of Page's contract (a reversal of when Page controlled Matt Hardy's contract up until recently). This was a simple segment to establish the match and put heat on the heels, but it feels like an unnecessary addition to the pay-per-view considering the storyline seemed to culminate in the Firm Deletion matchup.

Adam Cole and Chris Jericho Brawled

Jericho called out Cole on commentary, which led to Cole interrupting him on the big screen and revealing he was in the arena all along (after Jericho ripped up the contract dictating he was banned from any arena he was in). The brawl was well done and the crowd was hot for it. An Unsanctioned match between the two was made official for Double or Nothing. That gives me hope it will be the blow-off and Cole can win decisively, allowing him to move on.

Dustin Rhodes def. Bishop Kaun

Kaun's a talented dude and I was happy to see him featured in the main event, but this didn't feel like a television main event whatsoever considering Kaun's just a lackey in The Mogul Embassy, even with Rhodes having ties to the city this emanated from. It was a well-worked match but not very exciting because the outcome was never in doubt. Worse yet, the Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee feud continues to drag on with no end in sight. It doesn't help that it's largely been relegated to Rampage and 

Overall Show

This was easily the most eventful edition of Rampage in some time with three matches being added to the Double or Nothing card. Granted, Cole vs. Jericho is the only one I actually care about, but it did make this a somewhat notable show for a change, nonetheless. None of the matches stood out in any significant way, but at least the in-ring action was average on the whole. Collision officially being announced this week means that Rampage will remain an afterthought going forward with all attention being on that show.

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