By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 125)
Taped December 27, 2023 in Orlando, Florida at Addition Financial Arena
Aired December 29, 2023 on TNT
The Rampage opening aired and pyro shot off from the stage… Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were on commentary for the final edition of Rampage for 2023…
Chris Jericho made his way to the ring as a video package recapped the events from this past Wednesday’s Dynamite involving Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Sting, Darby Allin, The Don Callis Family, Big Bill and Ricky Starks.
Jericho talked about how Guevara quit the Don Callis Family and how they had attacked him, which led to Jericho helping him, with Sting and Allin helping them. He hyped the eight-man tag team match at Worlds End and said that this was the first time that he was teaming with Sting. He said that after their “No Holds Barred” match earlier this year, Sting called him and said, “I don’t like you but I respect you. If you ever need anything, I have your back.” He added that Sting was a man of his word that he had Sting’s back too. Jericho said that before the match, he had some things to work out with Sammy Guevara and called him to the ring.
Sammy Guevara came out and Jericho said that Orlando loved him and he was a big fan. He added that they had a great match at Arthur Ashe Stadium in September but instead of celebrating together, Guevara turned on him and joined the Don Callis Family. Jericho said he wanted to know why, face-to-face and man-to man.
Guevara said it was hard being in Jericho’s shadow as Jericho has done it all. He added that somewhere along the line he started blaming Jericho as the reason Guevara wasn’t where he wanted to be. Guevara said that he felt like he needed more that Jericho was holding him back, but in reality, he was holding himself back. He said it’s time he stops blaming others, look inward, bust his ass and become the man he knows he is.
Guevara said that he and Tay Melo just had the baby and he was out with a concussion so he had a lot of time to reflect and now he knows he is the man he needs to be. He said he should have been the good friend that Jericho was to him and apologized.
Jericho accepted his apology and offered his own apology. He said he knows he can be controlling and can push in a different direction but has been a fan of Guevara’s from the start. He said he had him in the Inner Circle, the Jericho Appreciation Society and is with him now. Jericho said he helped him because he knew that Callis was a manipulative son of a bitch who leeches on young talent that doubts themselves. Jericho said that Guevara is not that guy, he has always believed in him and always will.
Jericho said that after the eight-man tag team match, he still has a guaranteed AEW Tag Team Title Match. He asked Guevara to reunite “Le Sex Gods” and be his partner. Guevara hesitated but eventually embraced Jericho…
Don’s Take: A good segment, but more importantly, a needed segment. Too many times we’ll see a babyface or heel turn with no explanation. In this case, since Guevara had turned on Jericho only three months ago, they needed to have the Jericho character ask why and have the two resolve their differences. My guard is up for an eventual swerve when they challenge for the Tag Team Titles. I hope I’m wrong because it wouldn’t make much sense given the beating Guevara took on Wednesday night.
A video recapped FTR’s altercation with the House of Black after saving Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard this past Saturday on Collision…
Renee Paquette interviewed Garcia and Menard on the backstage set. Paquette noted that it was a bumpy road but that Garcia was able to score three points over Brody King in the Continental Classic. Menard said it was the biggest win of Garcia’s career and couldn’t understand why the House of Black did what they did. Garcia said he was tired of guys coming in and thinking they could run over them. He said it may not be today, tomorrow or next week, but they would get their revenge.
1. Ruby Soho (w/Saraya, Harley Cameron) vs. Marina Shafir (w/Nyla Rose). The two locked up and exchanged several reversals in the corner before Soho took Shafir down with a hair pull. Soho escaped to the outside and was confronted by Rose. Back in the ring, Shafir took her down with a leg sweep and followed up with a series of kicks. Cameron distracted Harley which gave Soho the advantage. With Shafir on the outside, Cameron and Saraya approached her but were run off by Rose. The show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, Soho had the advantage, but Shafir retaliated with a clothesline and a kick to the chest. She followed up with a back breaker and a take down, followed by a choke hold and another kick for near fall.
Saraya jumped up on the apron and was pulled down by Rose. Cameron jumped on Rose’s back, but Rose flipped her over and then chased Saraya over the barricade and into the crowd. With Shafir distracted, Soho landed a kick for a near fall. Soho missed a dive off the top rope and Shafir followed up with a kick and an attempted choke hold. Cameron distracted the referee and Shafir allowing Soho to roll her up for the win.
Ruby Soho defeated Marina Shafir in about 5:00.
Don’s Take: As Shafir is someone who hasn’t been featured prominently in quite some time, the overbooked finish seemed unnecessary and didn’t advance whatever story they’re trying to tell with Saraya, Soho, and now Cameron. On a side note, I’m glad they found a role for Cameron, who has potential. I’m not sure this is a good fit, but anything is better than QTV.
Don Callis was backstage with Powerhouse Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, Big Bill, and Ricky Starks. Each took turns hyping the eight-man tag team match at Worlds End. [C]
After the break, Renee Paquette interviewed Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander. Willow requested the time and wanted to clear the air with Statlander about the rumor Stokely Hathaway had been spreading. Both proclaimed mutual respect until Hathaway entered the area. He asked Nightingale why it took her so long to save Statlander on Dynamite. This led to Hathaway making a match between the two at Worlds End.
Don’s Take: I’m assuming this will be part of the Zero Hour pre-show, as I believe only two matches have been advertised to date. And God forbid we don’t cram as much as we can into that hour.
2. Wheeler Yuta vs. Matt Sydal for the ROH Pure Championship. The two exchanged chain and mat wrestling to start. Sydal rolled up Yuta for a near fall. Yuta chopped Sydal and Sydal followed up with a kick. Yuta swept the legs and attemped a near fall with his feet on the ropes but Sydal kicked out and rolled up Yuta for a near fall. Sydal hit a roundhouse kick, a leg sweep and a standing moonsault for a a near fall. The match judges (Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, and Sarah Stock) were shown as Yuta gained the advantage. The show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C].
Yuta maintained the advantage. Sydal ducked a clothesline and hit a spinning kick and regained the advantage with a series of kicks. Sydal hit an Air Raid Crash for a near fall. Sydal missed a top rope dive and Yuta countered with a kick of his own. The two exchanged strikes as Yuta hit a German suplex on Sydal for a near fall. Yuta hit an Angle Slam for a near fall.
Yuta grabbed a submission hold but Sydal reached the ropes for his first rope break. Yuta hit an open-handed strike but Sydal countered with a high knee and a roll-up for a close near fall. Yuta took Sydal with a series of elbow strikes into a Seat Belt roll-up for the win.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Matt Sydal to retain the ROH Pure Championship in 9:34.
After the match, Danhausen came out and appointed himself the fourth judge. He noted that Yuta had cheated so he was disqualifying him. Yuta attacked Danhausen and told him, “kiss my ass.” He continued the attack until Hook made the save and cleared Yuta from the ring…
Don’s Take: I like Yuta and I’m a fan of the Pure Rules matches, so this was fun for me. That said, is it strange to anyone else that in the Hook vs. Yuta match, the wrestler with the actual title isn’t defending that time but is challenging for a title that is technically not recognized as an actual title? If you can turn your brain off to that logic, you’ll enjoy which should be a good match.
A video recapped Samoa Joe and MJF losing the ROH Tag Team Titles to the Devil’s Henchmen on Dynamite, followed by Joe’s post-match attack. Both men hyped the title match at Worlds End. [C]
3. Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, and Trent Beretta vs. Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and Action Andretti. This is your weekly Rampage spot-fest match. Cassidy and Andretti started out with Cassidy quickly rolling Andretti up for a near fall with Andretti returning the favor. Cassidy followed up with a dropkick and moved Andretti to his corner. Cassidy and Beretta hit a double team move on Andretti and Beretta took over on offense.
Darius Martin tagged in and went back and forth with Beretta as the announcers ran down the Worlds End card. Of note, they’ve added another eight-man tag team match with Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, Mark Briscoe and Daniel Garcia meeting Brody King, Jay White, Jay Lethal and Rush.
Don’s Take: The losing competitors from the Continental Classic minus Andrade get thrown into a random eight-man tag team match with no build? The epitome of sloppy, which is a shame given the talent involved.
Dante regained the advantage and tagged in Darius. Eventually all six were in the ring while Cassidy, Romero and Beretta ended up on the floor. The Martin brothers and Andretti hit a triple dive on the floor as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break. [C]
Romero was squaring off with Andretti as the two exchanged blows. Romero tagged out to Beretta while Andretti tagged out to Dante who hit a flurry of fast-paced offense.
Dante hit a flying cross body for a near fall. Darius tagged in and the Martin Brothers hit several moves on Beretta with Dante covering for a near fall which was broken up by Cassidy. Darius picked Cassidy up for a suplex but was hit with a Stun Dog Millionaire. Dante dropkicked Cassidy who fell into a German Suplex by Darius. Romero attempted a “Sliced Bread” on Darius but be blocked it and Dante took him down.
Top Flight and Andretti then hit moves on Beretta with Andretti hitting a 450 springboard splash for a near fall broken up by Cassidy and Romero. A series of offense by both teams ensued that I can’t do justice to. There were also liberties taken with the legal team members of the match. In the end, Romero tagged in and was met with a takedown maneuver by Dante Martin for the win.
Dante Martin, Darius Martin, and Action Andretti defeated Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, and Trent Beretta in about 13:00.
The Martins and Andretti celebrated as the show went off the air…
Don’s Take: On the go-home show before a pay-per-view, they featured a match where the participants don’t play a role in any of the advertised matches. I will assume we will see all six in the battle royale during Zero Hour, but that’s hardly a major role. I would have gone with Yuta and Sydal as at least Yuta has a match at the event. But I’m not AEW’s core fan base so what do I know?
This was your standard edition of Rampage, except for the opening talking segment which is a rarity. For anyone griping about not getting their usual four matches, the promo was needed and not to worry, you’ll get your five hour marathon at the pay-per-view.
And on that note, since I’ll be at Worlds End live, it’s time to rest up for a long night ahead. As this is the last Rampage of 2023, I wish you all a Happy New Year and look forward to a great wrestling year ahead. Be safe out there this weekend and I’ll catch you all next week. Until then!
What is sloppy about the 8 man tag? They were in a tournament so couldn’t really book them in other feuds
I have no problem with the talent in the match itself. It will be fine from an in ring standpoint. My issue with it is throwing it together at the last minute.
That’s the only way they could do it since some involved still had a chance to win the tournament until the last week. I guess they could have just not made the match. One more thing. You talked about this being the go home show. That is technically true but they have never treated rampage as the go home show its always been dynamite. The few times they have put some good things on the rampage before a ppv people complain that it should have been on dynamite with the bigger audience and not rampage. I haven’t seen you say that but it’s definitely been said by other people. Thank you for these reports and keep up the great work
Fair point. I mainly meant that it was the last show before the PPV while realizing that Rampage isn’t meant to be a major storyline driver. That said, if you could convince a few more people to order the show through Rampage, why not?
And thanks for your compliment on the reports. I enjoy doing them!
Will you two get a room! Kidding, it’s nice to see a friendly exchange in the comment section for a change. I will add that I went to the Rampage taping when FulL Gear 2021 was in town. I was beyond disappointed that it was just a standard Rampage that didn’t play into the pay-per-view. Obviously, I know what to expect these days, but I don’t understand why they don’t try to make those go-home shows feel special.