AEW Rampage Review - October 7, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Blackpool Combat Club (AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta) def. Rush and Private Party

I'm amazed Private Party are still technically under contract to Andrade El Idolo in storyline. They've barely interacted in recent months, but I realize they're trying to tell a story with Matt Hardy trying to win Private Party back as babyfaces. Can't they just be on their own again like they were when AEW started and they had momentum? Nonetheless, this had enjoyable action as you'd expect, and although it wasn't an overly important win for Blackpool Combat Club, it's always a treat to see them team up and it had been a while.

Tony Nese and Josh Woods def. Varsity Blonds

This was a Dark or Elevation main event if I'd ever seen one (and I've seen them all). Seriously, what purpose was this supposed to serve? And who was supposed to care? It was a total squash and Varsity Blonds have obviously never meant less. Between The Acclaimed attacking Mark Sterling on Wednesday's Dynamite and Sterling's alliance with Woods and Nese, I assume we're getting Acclaimed vs. Woods and Nese soon and I truly couldn't care less.

Jericho Appreciation Society (Tay Melo and Anna Jay) def. Madison Rayne and Skye Blue

Melo and Jay started out as a heel duo two years before becoming babyfaces last year and are now heel again. That said, this is probably the worst version of them yet. They're not bad in the ring or anything alone those lines, but from a character standpoint, they simply aren't interesting at all. The setup for this match with Rayne and Blue was lazy and there wasn't much to this at all. It only existed to give the heels a victory.

AEW World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Death Triangle (AEW All-Atlantic Champion Pac and The Lucha Brothers) def. The Dark Order (Preston "10" Vance, John Silver and Alex Reynolds)

The original main event on this show was supposed to see Andrade face Vance in a Career vs. Mask match, but the backstage brawl that transpired before Wednesday's Dynamite caused this main event to be changed. I thought Dark Order still had a chance of becoming the champions given this show marked the two-year anniversary of Brodie Lee's final match, but Death Triangle retained the titles, regardless. This was longer than I thought it would be and the first half definitely dragged, but the second half was fun and it was a strong effort from everyone involved.

Overall Show

Rampage remains a completely inconsequential show. Andrade vs. Vance was the only match I've looked forward to on this show in several weeks (solely for its stakes) and it had to be scrapped for embarrassing reasons. Yes, we got an AEW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship defense instead, but it had a flat ending and those belts have been props since they were introduced. The opener was entertaining, but this was a very forgettable show on the whole.

SEE MORE: Rampage Reviews