AEW Rampage Review - November 25, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH/IWGP/AAA World Tag Team Champions FTR def. Top Flight (IWGP and AAA World Tag Team Championships Were Not Defended)

The ROH World Tag Team Championship isn't defended often because Ring of Honor is still without a proper platform, but this was still a cool attraction for Rampage and both teams delivered. Their styles meshed exceptionally well and Top Flight looked good in defeat. I heard coming out of this show when it was taped on Wednesday that Dante Martin may have been hurt, but hopefully it was just a scare and nothing serious. That would be a third injury for Top Flight in under two years.

ROH World Champion Chris Jericho Accepted Claudio Castagnoli's Final Battle Challenge

I was digging Jericho's run as ROH World Champion for a while when he was defending regularly against former world champs, and although he's had some great matches, he feels like he's spinning his wheels at this point until Tony Khan is ready to put the belt on Daniel Garcia. That said, I'd have no issue with Castagnoli regaining the gold instead at Final Battle, especially if Castagnoli has to join Jericho Appreciation Society if he loses. Will he and Jake Hager reform their team and bond over Hager's stupid hat? Ugh. This was fine in setting up the Final Battle main event, but admittedly, I'm disappointed they're going back to this bout at the pay-per-view. Jericho vs. Castagnoli should have happened at Full Gear so we could get a fresher match at this upcoming event.

Darby Allin def. Anthony Henry

Excalibur went over the history these two have from the independent scene, and although they had a well-wrestled match, the issue is that Henry hasn't been positioned as anyone important any time he's popped up on AEW TV. He couldn't be taken seriously as a threat to Allin (who just won a tag team match at Full Gear), so this didn't need to last as long as it did. There was no indication given as to what's next for Allin.

Hikaru Shida def. Queen Aminata

I can't remember the last time Shida had a showcase match on AEW TV. I know she unsuccessfully challenged Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship on Dynamite last month, but that's about it. That said, I'm happy she's seemingly back on television for a feud with The Bunny and Penelope Ford. It'll be hard to care because The Bunny and Ford mean nothing currently, but it's better than nothing and I appreciate the effort. Aminata is impressive, but at a minute long, this was a total squash for Shida.

Rush, The Butcher and The Blade def. The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds and Preston "10" Vance)

I still don't understand Butcher and Blade's association with Rush since I thought The Andrade Family Office ended months ago. Then again, they were only involved in this thing so Rush had partners to take on Dark Order. The match was decent but mostly served as a backdrop for Vance's heel turn, which should have happened a while ago. He went so far as to unmask afterward and throw it down in front of -1 on the stage as well. Dark Order is practically dead in the water, so I hope Vance can still salvage his career by aligning with Rush and getting a makeover.

Overall Show

This show aired in the afternoon instead of its usual time slot due to the holiday. If you didn't think you'd miss much (which is typically the case with Rampage these days), you were probably surprised by the ending we got. It was an overdue development and it made Rampage more eventful than it normally is. I also enjoyed FTR vs. Top Flight in the opener, so although the middle dragged, there was enough happening to make this a surprisingly worthwhile episode.

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