AEW Rampage Review - September 8, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Penta El Zero Miedo def. Jay Lethal in a Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I don't think there was any doubt surrounding the outcome, but it was one of those matches I didn't think we'd ever get five years ago (Lethal was a Ring of Honor staple and Penta primarily competed in Lucha Underground and IMPACT), so I enjoyed it for what it was. Lethal's heel group is hard to take seriously, but at least he always delivers in the ring. I'm down for seeing more of Penta in singles competition.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara Agreed to Face Each Other on Dynamite: Grand Slam

The story is that despite beating Aussie Open on Wednesday's Dynamite, they still have issues to work through and want to face each other on the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite before they set their sights on tag team gold. So, it's not as if their partnership is officially over. This will probably be dragged out, but I'd rather they cut to chase and have them feud already. Jericho vs. Guevara is a nice addition to Grand Slam, though, and reportedly, they could use some more big matches for that show based on the low ticket sales.

Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida and Skye Blue def. The Bunny, Anna Jay and Taya Valkyrie

I'm begging AEW to do something more meaningful with Blue that isn't a tag team match or losing to a member of The Outcasts. She's far from the best wrestler in the division, but she gets so much television time without actually doing anything of note. She's over with most crowds, so why not put her in an actual feud? At any rate, this was your usual showcase for the women. It got them on the show and was fine but accomplished nothing other than tease tension between Baker and Shida, which has been going on for a while now.

The Young Bucks def. "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker

Menard and Parker had Jake Hager in their corner, are still aligned with Daniel Garcia, and were favored by Jericho on commentary. Is Jericho Appreciation Society over or not? I like the duo of Menard and Parker and the group got them a lot of television time in the last year and a half, but they need to be built up with credibility-boosting wins. There wasn't much to this match and felt more like an excuse to give Young Bucks a rebound victory following their losses at All In and All Out.

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe def. Jeff Hardy in a Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarterfinal Match (Non-Title)

I loved the feud these two had on SmackDown in late 2018 and thus I was excited to see them rekindle that rivalry for one night only here. They're obviously older and would've had a better bout 10 to 15 years ago, but this was still a solid main event with the expected outcome. The Hardys need to win more matches on television so it actually means something when someone beats them in tag team or singles matches. Joe will now face Penta in a semifinal match on Saturday's Collision.

Overall Show

The tournament matches made this show more important than your average edition of Rampage and they were enjoyable to boot. Jericho vs. Guevara being announced for Grand Slam was also notable. The Bucks match and the six-woman tag team match were fairly forgettable but not bad. I don't know about next week's episode, but the Grand Slam edition of Rampage should also be worth checking out much like the last two years.

SEE MORE: Dynamite Reviews