Rampage
Date: August 16, 2024
Venue: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard
It’s another great supplementary show that may not feel particularly important, but often features pretty strong in-ring action. That’s usually a strength of AEW and should work well again here. We’ll probably get some build-up to All In too, as it’s only a little over a week until the show. Let’s get started.
Opening sequence.
Conglomerate vs. Outrunner/Butcher
Kyle O’Reilly is on commentary and Erica Leigh is here with the non-Conglomeration. Briscoe and Butcher go at it, with Briscoe swinging and hitting with a shoulder. Magnum comes in and gets knocked down just as quickly, so it’s Floyd’s turn, with Ishii helping with a double hip throw. Floyd’s forearm strikes on Ishii don’t seem to be a good idea, as Floyd is put in the wrong corner where he takes turns getting pummeled.
Briscoe is thrown to the floor where Butcher drops him on the railing as we take an early break. Back in, Briscoe fights out of a chinlock and hits a suplex on Floyd, allowing Ishii to tag back in. Everything breaks down and Briscoe loads up the chair for the step-up dive, but is interrupted by Butcher. Not that it matters, as Briscoe fights back and hits the dive anyway, allowing the Jay Driller to pin Magnum at 9:49.
Reviews: B-. Pretty entertaining opener and it needed to be. The people involved work well together and Briscoe is always entertaining. This was a good example of a match that was never meant to be serious and was just there to get popular wrestlers in the ring. As a nice popcorn match, it worked well.
Nyla Rose vs Erica Leigh
The Outrunners are here with a terrified Leigh. A powerslam into a backsplash crushes Leigh, but Rose stops for a pose with Truth Magnum. Rose’s running back elbow sets up the Beast Bomb, which takes out Leigh at 1:19. Exactly what it should have been.
Here are the Outcasts for a chat. Harley Cameron tries to improvise Happy Birthday for Saraya’s birthday tomorrow, but Saraya is not in the mood. Cameron: “WELL, I AM NOT EITHER!” Saraya: “Let’s recap the last year of my life, shall we?” Cameron: “WE WILL!” Saraya won the AEW Women’s Title at All In last year (Cameron: “WIN!”) and then began her career as a no-problem icon (Cameron: “NO PROBLEMS!” Saraya: “You’re screaming in my ear!”). Then Saraya lost friends (Cameron: “Loser!” Saraya: “I’m not a loser.”) and the title.
Saraya: “Then I did shows for her like Dinner And A Movie.” Cameron: “Now it’s streaming on the TBS app!” Saraya: “Oh my god.” She’s not even on All In this year, but Toni Storm interrupts. Storm is ready to fight a monster of her own creation in Mariah May, but she’ll never forget what she and Saraya went through together. Saraya can face her on Dynamite and if she wins, she can have it all. Saraya: “I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!” Storm: “Honey, you’re going to need a bigger foot!” That was hilarious and one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in AEW.
We see the Young Bucks escape from the Acclaimed with the Tag Team Titles at Dynamite. The Acclaimed are not happy.
Kip Sabian vs Nick Wayne
Mother Wayne and Killswitch are on Nick. They trade headlocks at first until Sabian is ready for a leapfrog and punches him in the face. Sabian sends him to the floor for the Arabian Moonsault, but a distraction by Mother allows Nick to post. We take a break and come back as Sabian jumps into a cutter and Nick gets a double underhook DDT for two. Back up and Sabian catches him up top in a torture rack, but Mother provides a distraction so Killswitch can land an unfair blow. Wayne’s World takes out Sabian at 8:15.
Reviews: C+. The wrestling was good and while it wasn’t exactly a top story, it was at least something that had been building for a few weeks. I’m not sure how important Sabian is after what feels like years of doing nothing, but Nick being a jerk to him for a few weeks is better than nothing.
Scorpio Sky is not allowed to enter Private Party’s club, but Private Party comes out and says let him in.
Kyle Fletcher/Rush vs KM/Rhett Titus
Don Callis is here with Fletcher and Rush. KM jumps Fletcher but gets caught by a quick Michinoku Driver. Titus comes in and Rush slams him into the corner with a half-and-half suplex. The Bull’s Horns ends in a total squash at 1:55.
After the break, Callis says this was just a taste of what the family can do. Rush wants something bigger, which Callis likes. Fletcher isn’t sure what he’s doing now, but Callis says they should focus on the future instead of the past.
Top Flight vs. MxM Collection
Leila Grey is here with Top Flight and Lio Rush on commentary. Dante wrist-pulls Mansoor down to start, but Mansoor is back on his feet with a hip throw into a classy pose. An armbar puts Mansoor back down before it’s Mason vs. Darius. A loud smack in the corner gets Darius in trouble and a running hip attack makes it worse, leaving us with a double collection pose. Everything breaks down and Top Flight sends them outside for the stereo dives (with ATC from Grey).
We take a break and come back as Mansoor scores two with an atomic drop and a spinebuster. However, Mason and Grey get on the apron for a pose and Mansoor is distracted enough to get knocked down with a superkick. Dante comes back with a high crossbody and sets up a double airplane spin for Mason. A tornado DDT gets Mansoor two, but Mason is back in the ring with a spinning boss man slam. The Collection lands a chokeslam/German suplex combination (that’s new) for two on Dante, but Darius pulls Mansoor out. Back in the ring and Darius takes Mansoor down and sets up a frog splash that gets Dante the pin at 13:37.
Reviews: B-. This was another fun match where the Collection was entertaining as always and Top Flight got a win. I could definitely see Top Flight making a serious push for the top of the division and the signing of Grey could be a good sign for them. They have the talent and if they stay healthy it’s definitely worth a shot.
Results
Conglomerate b. Outrunners/Butcher – Jay Driller to Magnum
Nyla Rose née Erica Leigh – Beast Bomb
Kyle Fletcher/Rush b. KM/Rhett Titus – Bull Horns for Titus
Top Flight b. MxM Collection – Frog Splash for Mansoor
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