AEW Rampage Review - May 27, 2022

Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bryan Danielson def. Matt Sydal

I was worried when Danielson wasn't in action on Wednesday's Dynamite that he was still hurt after getting his leg stuck in the ring apron on Friday's Rampage. Thankfully, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary about the showing he had here. He talked a bit more about the accident and his status in our interview this week if you want to check that out. The match itself was great stuff. Danielson is always a blast to watch and Sydal can still hang with the best of them. This felt like a warm-up for Danielson to make sure he's good to go for Double or Nothing.

The Young Bucks def. Taylor Rust and Jon Cruz

Young Bucks vs. The Hardys sells itself on paper, but the build to their bout at Double or Nothing has left something to be desired. That's probably because most of it has transpired on Being The Elite and not as much on TV. That said, I thought this was an excellent go-home angle with Young Bucks leaning into the whole "Hardy Boyz cosplayers" stuff and bringing out Gangrel for good measure. Taylor Rust is, of course, the former Tyler Rust from WWE NXT, but he and Cruz were quickly squashed. The Hardys making the save for Gangrel afterward when Young Bucks attacked him was also well done.

Dante Martin def. Max Caster

This was a rematch from March 2021 when they originally collided on Dark (which I have no memory of whatsoever). Obviously, both guys have come a long way since then, but I don't know why we needed to get this match this week two days before a pay-per-view they're not a part of. This was a nice little match while it lasted, but again, not necessary. The Acclaimed and Gunn Club work well together, but I don't think everyone on the roster needs to be in a faction or an alliance of some sort.

Men of the Year Challenged Sammy Guevara, Frankie Kazarian and Tay Conti to a Six-Person Tag Team Match at Double or Nothing

This entire angle over the AEW TNT Championship has been by far the worst part of AEW programming for a while now. Literally no one involved is likable at this point. Scorpio Sky unveiled what felt like the millionth new design for the TNT title before Guevara, Conti and Kazarian were shown breaking into and vandalizing the American Top Team gym and stealing some of Dan Lambert's collectible championships. That led to Sky challenging Guevara, Conti and Kazarian to a six-person tag team match at Double or Nothing, where Men of the Year's partner will be Paige VanZant. That has no business being on the main card, so I hope it's relegated to The Buy In.

Ruby Soho def. Kris Statlander in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Semifinal Match

A majority of this match consisted of a commercial break, not to mention that they didn't have a ton of time to begin with. It was a well-worked main event, but the crowd clearly favored Statlander, who has been with AEW since their first year and has yet to hold gold of any kind. I thought they would be pulling for Soho, but apparently not. In fact, the crowd booed when she won as well as during her post-match promo. I agree with the outcome, but they definitely misjudged how the crowd was going to react. Hopefully the crowd will be behind her winning the whole tournament at Double or Nothing because she should really be beating Britt Baker considering she's lost whenever it has mattered most in AEW.

Overall Show

Despite again starting on the earlier side, I appreciated that this episode was live in Las Vegas. Gangrel's appearance and the outcome of the main event would have been spoiled ahead of time if it was taped after Dynamite. The show started strong with the first two matches, but it slowly lost steam after that. Martin vs. Caster was pointless, the TNT title stuff is terrible, and the reaction to Soho winning the main event was embarrassing. I was hoping for a hotter go-home show from Rampage than this.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews