AEW Rampage Review - May 24, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pac def. Rocky Romero

Romero wrestles a ton in AEW yet never wins when it matters most. Yes, he's very talented, but it's care to about his matches when all he does it lose. And, yes, his matches are well wrestled, but almost every match in AEW is. At any rate, this was a nice little sprint from him and Pac. Pac said afterward that The Lucha Brothers will face The Gunns on Saturday's Collision ahead of the Unified World Trios Championship match at Double or Nothing.

Hook and Katsuyori Shibata Attacked FTW Champion Chris Jericho and Big Bill

Jericho addressed defending the FTW Championship in a three-way match at Double or Nothing when Shibata showed up and attacked Bill on the ramp while Hook choked Jericho from behind the barricade. This was simple stuff to further the feud between these guys, but no matter how much television time they devote to it, I still can't bring myself to give a shit about any of it, including the belt itself.

Samoa Joe def. Dom Kubrick

Kubrick was some random enhancement dude who Joe squashed quickly and decisively. In other words, this was exactly what it needed to be. Joe faced off with Hook and Shibata last week on Dynamite, which makes me worried he might be involved in the FTW Championship nonsense post-Double or Nothing. Yeah, no thanks. You'd think he want a rematch with Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, but apparently not.

Rush def. Isiah Kassidy

Rush destroyed his last opponent and this should have been just as short, but I guess the idea that Rush taking his time putting Kassidy away backfired and that's why it was a competitive contest. Whatever. I like Kassidy, but Rush should have beaten him with ease if they're to make him look like a killer. I'd hoping these wins amount to something soon and aren't just a setup for him to lose to a bigger star.

AEW TBS Champion Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander def. Anna Jay and Alex Windsor

What a random match to do before Nightingale defends the AEW TBS Championship against Mercedes Mone at Double or Nothing. It only existed to set up the post-match angle with Nightingale and Mone, but running that angle on Rampage where a lot less people will see it compared to Dynamite was questionable. The match itself was decent, but not worthy of the main event spot. We haven't seen much of Statlander as of late and I assume that's by design because she'll be revealed as Mone's attacker from a month or two ago, possibly as soon as Saturday.

Overall Show

Unlike the last few weeks, this edition of Rampage didn't air after Dynamite or Collision. It was back on a Friday night, albeit four hours earlier than usual. Hey, I'm not complaining as that's a more convenient time slot for me, personally. It was your typical throwaway show from Rampage that did nothing to move the needle for Double or Nothing, though I suppose Mone's quick appearance at the end was notable.

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