By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Rampage (Episode 66)
Taped November 9, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts at Agganis Arena
Aired November 11, 2022 on TNT
The Rampage opening video aired… Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone were on commentary…
Christian Cage and Luchasaurus made their entrance. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry followed. Cage boasted about their wins over Perry and said they were done with him until Perry decided to stick his nose in last week’s AEW All-Atlantic Championship match.
Perry said Christian and Luchasaurus have cost him everything. He said Luchasaurus wasted three years of his life that he will never get back. Perry said Cage and Luchasaurus have stacked the odds against him. He said he was going to take that power away from them. Perry said he wanted to face Luchasaurus in a steel cage match.
Cage questioned whether Perry was overrated in the first place. He said that since Perry wouldn’t go away, they were going to have to put him down for good. Cage accepted the cage match for Luchasaurus. Cage brought up Perry’s parents. “Just like your father, you’re all looks…” Cage said before Perry grabbed him by the throat.
Luchasaurus hit Perry with an uppercut. Cage set up a chair while Luchasaurus worked over Perry. Luchasaurus chokeslammed Perry onto the chair. “Spine versus steel, steel wins,” Ross said on commentary. Cage taunted the fallen Perry…
Backstage, Lexi Nair interviewed “Death Triangle” Pac, Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Alex Abrahantes. Pac said they need to be smart and take every opportunity that comes their way. He said they must defend the AEW Trios Titles by any means necessary and tapped his own title belt with his ring bell hammer…
1. Brian Cage (w/Prince Nana) vs. Dante Martin in an AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament first-round match. Excalibur said the Ricky Starks vs. Lance Archer tournament match that was scheduled for this show had been postponed to next week due to Archer attacking Starks on AEW Dynamite. Cage caught Martin going for an early dive and ended up suplexing him at ringside heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Cage dominated Martin and picked up a near fall coming out of the break. Cage set up for his Drill Claw finisher, but Martin countered into a DDT. Martin threw rapid fire forearm shots to the head of Cage. Martin caught Cage with a kick and followed up with a crossbody block that led to a two count. Martin went to the apron for a move, but Cage cut him off.
Cage brought Martin back inside the ring and set up for a suplex, which Martin avoided. Cage ended up on the floor. Martin ran and leapt into a springboard dive onto Cage and then rolled him back inside the ring. Martin went up top and performed a top rope splash for a good near fall.
A short time later, Martin put Cage down with a kick. Martin went for a 450 splash and rolled through when Cage avoided it. Cage put Martin down with a clothesline and picked up a near fall shortly thereafter. Cage put Martin on his back and slammed him down with Weapon X before scoring the pin…
Brian Cage defeated Dante Martin in 7:10 to advance to the semifinals of the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament.
Powell’s POV: An entertaining match with Martin performing his usual flashy offense before taking the loss. It would be nice if we’d get to a point where Martin doesn’t just look good in defeat in his Dynamite and Rampage matches. That said, I suppose Cage needed this win after taking recent losses in TNT and ROH TV Title matches. By the way, I’m filling in for Colin McGuire, who is attending his sister’s wedding this weekend.
Lee Moriarty and Stokely Hathaway were interviewed by Nair in the backstage area. Moriarty spoke about his confidence soaring after facing Jon Moxley. He said he wanted some gold. Hook walked into the picture with the FTW Title belt over his shoulder while eating chips. Hook sized up Moriarty and walked away… [C]
Powell’s POV: Was that the buildup to Hook’s usual pay-per-view pre-show match?
A House of Black vignette aired…
2. Bandido vs. Rush (w/Jose) in AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament first-round match. Ross said Rush would have been in a star in any decade that he has worked in throughout his career. Rush attacked Bandido before the bell and ran him into the barricade a few times. Rush pulled out an extension cord and whipped Bandido with it. Rush rolled Bandido inside the ring.
The referee checked on Bandido and called for the bell to start the match. Rush teased hitting his Bull’s Horns finisher, but he stopped short and kicked Bandido instead. Rush struck his pose in the ring. [C] Rush continued to dominate and performed a clunky move off the top rope. “What the hell was that?” Ross asked. One of the other broadcast team members said he improvised and it worked out for him.
Bandido came back and pressed Rush over his head before slamming him to the mat. Bandido covered Rush for a two count. Rush came back with suplexes, but Bandido caught him with a crucifix bomb. Bandido hit leg lariat. Both men stayed down. The fans and Jose applauded.
Bandido played to the crowd and then chopped Rush in the corner. Rush came right back and performed a piledriver for a near fall. Ross said it didn’t look like Rush got all of the piledriver. Jose slipped a chair to Rush, which distracted the referee. Jose tried to pull Bandido’s mask off while the referee was caught up with Rush.
Jon Silver made his entrance and punched out Jose at ringside. Bandido rolled up a distracted Rush and pinned him…
Bandido defeated Rush in 9:45 to advance to the semifinals of the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament.
Powell’s POV: There were some rough moments, but there was more good than bad. The distraction finish was disappointing. Why not give Bandido a clean win?
Footage aired from earlier in the day of Jake Hager interrupting a conversation between Claudio Castagnoli and Renee Paquette. Hager went for a handshake while saying they go way back. Hager said Castagnoli is an incredible wrestler and an even better sports entertainer. Hager told him to think about sports entertaining again. Hager stopped Castagnoli from responding and told him to think about it…
3. Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero, Marina Shafir) vs. Kayla Sparks. Rose’s entrance was televised. The match was billed as an open challenge. Rose dominated and won the match with her version of Jaded…
Nyla Rose beat Kayla Sparks in 0:45.
After the match, Jade Cargill headed to the ring with Kiera Hogan and Leila Grey. Hogan and Grey entered the ring and were taken out by Rose. Cargill entered the ring and ended up clearing Rose with a big boot to the head. Cargill left the ring and went after Rose and her crew, but security and referees stepped in…
Powell’s POV: A quick squash followed by Cargill getting the better of Rose, who still managed to walk out with the TBS Championship belt. Does anyone care about the story of Rose stealing the belt? Whatever happened to the car that Rose stole from Cargill?
Excalibur hyped the AEW All-Atlantic Championship as the main event… [C] Mark Henry hosted his usual split-screen segment with the participants in the main event and their sidekicks…
Excalibur went into speed reading mode while pushing the following segments for AEW Dynamite: promos from Jon Moxley and MJF, Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, a promo from Samoa Joe, Ethan Page vs. Bandido in a semifinal tournament match, Tony Schiavone interviewing Britt Baker and Saraya, The Acclaimed’s music video, Interim AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm vs. The Bunny in an eliminator match, Death Triangle vs. Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and AR Fox for the AEW Trios Titles… Excalibur read through the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view lineup…
Ring announcer Justin Roberts handled the introductions for the main event…
4. Orange Cassidy (w/Trent Beretta, Chuck Taylor, Danhausen) vs. Lee Johnson (w/QT Marshall, Cole Karter, Nick Comoroto) for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. Cassidy put his hands in his pockets and did the light kicks early.
Karter climbed onto the apron and Cassidy knocked him off, but that allowed Johnson to take offensive control momentarily. Marshall climbed onto the apron and was pulled down by Best Friends. While the referee was distracted, Comoroto pulled Cassidy off the apron and tossed him over the barricade. [C]
Marshall performed a piledriver on Danhausen on the ring steps during the PIP break. Beretta helped Danhausen to the back. Coming out of the break, Comoroto ran Taylor into the ring post. Cassidy sent Johnson to ringside and then performed a moonsault onto The Factory members.
A short time later, Johnson distracted the referee while Comoroto pressed Cassidy over his head. Beretta returned and ran down the ramp and speared Comoroto. Taylor performed a dive from the ring onto Factory members and then hugged Beretta.
In the ring, Cassidy went for the Orange Punch, but Johnson ducked it and rolled Cassidy into a pin and used the ropes for leverage, but Cassidy kicked out. Cassidy came back moments later with Beach Break and scored the pin…
Orange Cassidy defeated Lee Johnson in roughly 9:00 to retain the AEW All-Atlantic Championship.
After the match, Karter ran in and ate an Orange Punch from Cassidy. Best Friends and Cassidy had a group hug. Marshall thought about entering the ring, but the babyfaces spotted him, so he backed down. Karter got to his feet and was given a group hug by the babyfaces. Karter played to the crowd. Best Friends hoisted up Karter and then Cassidy powerbombed him…
Excalibur hyped previously listed segments for Dynamite…
Powell’s POV: Cassidy is an AEW star, but this still didn’t feel like a strong main event simply because Lee Johnson wasn’t been built up to feel like a credible challenger. The crowd still had fun with the Cassidy and Best Friends act, and The Factory did a nice job of playing the fall guys. Overall, the two tournament matches made Rampage feel a little more meaningful than usual. I will be back later tonight with our weekly same night audio reviews of Rampage and WWE Smackdown for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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