AEW Rampage Review - November 11, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Luchasaurus Attacked "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry

It was obvious a rematch between Luchasaurus and Perry was coming after Perry cost Luchasaurus the AEW All-Atlantic Championship recently on Dynamite. I liked the verbal exchange Perry had with Christian Cage in this segment as they set up Perry vs. Luchasaurus at Full Gear, this time in a Steel Cage match. Luchasaurus standing tall makes me think Perry is finally going over, which begs the question of what Cage will do until he's cleared to compete again.

Brian Cage def. Dante Martin in an AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I prefer Cage appearing on AEW TV than not at all, but he's largely felt like a stepping stone since returning. Thus, him winning here was a refreshing change. I like Martin and have always felt he has potential, but he's been so deemphasized this year that it was hard to take him seriously here. If nothing else, these two worked well together and had a nice match. Cage will face the winner of Lance Archer vs. Ricky Starks in the semifinals.

Bandido def. Rush in an AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I loved the decision to have these two meet in the opening round of the tourney given their history in Ring of Honor. Was it the smoothest encounter from start to finish? No, but it was a ton of fun on the whole. Bandido winning off a distraction from The Dark Order was lame, though. Why is Rush still feuding with Preston Vance? Can't Rush beat Vance already so they can unmask Vance and get it over with so both of them can move on?

Nyla Rose def. Kayla Sparks

This was referred to as an "open challenge" for the AEW TBS Championship belt Rose is still in possession of. Thankfully, this was over almost immediately and was a straightforward squash for Rose. The crowd was quiet for Rose but came alive when Jade Cargill came out afterward to collect her title (which she unfortunately wasn't able to retrieve). They'll face off for the championship at Full Gear.

AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy def. Lee Johnson

For those who may have missed it (and I assume that's a majority of the audience), Johnson has since turned heel and joined The Factory. Him getting a title shot was very random, and although I thought he and Cassidy had a quality contest here, this would have been better suited as a Dark main event. Nonetheless, the crowd was into it because Cassidy is super over. By the way, is the All-Atlantic Championship just another title in AEW at this point since Cassidy has yet to defend it overseas like Pac did?

Overall Show

Rampage has been live more often than not lately and still it feels like an inconsequential show. The All-Atlantic title defense didn't make this episode any more eventful because Johnson was hardly a threat to Cassidy, but the two tournament matches did help with that. The action in those matches was enjoyable and we also got the setup for Perry vs. Luchasaurus at Full Gear, so at least the show wasn't a total waste of time.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews