By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 126)
Taped January 3, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey at Prudential Center
Aired January 5, 2024 on TNT
The Rampage opening aired and pyro shot off from the stage… Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Ian Riccaboni were on commentary and welcomed us to the first edition of Rampage in 2024. The six competitors for the opening trios match were already in the ring…
1. Mark Briscoe, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy vs. Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade. Mark Briscoe started off with Kip Sabian with some basic chain wrestling. Briscoe eventually got the upper hand with a forearm and an elbow strike before tagging out to Matt Hardy. Jeff entered and he and Matt hit Sabian with a double kick to the stomach followed by a double suplex. Briscoe dropped an elbow on Sabian and Jeff covered him for a near fall.
Sabian raked Jeff’s eyes and tagged out to the Blade. The Blade got a couple of quick moves in before Jeff responded with a jaw breaker, a dropkick to the back and a neck snap. Matt tagged in and the Blade tagged out to the Butcher. Matt got the advantage and rammed Butcher’s head into all three turnbuckles. Matt hit a splash from the second rope for a one count. Matt went for an early Twist of Fate, but the Butcher reversed it into a clothesline.
The heels worked over Matt in the corner. Sabian tagged in and missed with a double stomp from the top rope allowing Matt to counter with a back elbow and a neck breaker. Matt made hot tag to Briscoe who cleaned house for a bit. Briscoe knocked the Blade to the floor with a dropkick and then hit a sliding dropkick on the Blade while he was on the floor. The Butcher tripped Briscoe up while he was on the apron and dropped him face first on the apron. The heels worked over Briscoe in the corner and the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
Briscoe and the Blade exchanged blows. Briscoe got the upper hand and hit a neck breaker before hot tagging Jeff. Jeff cleaned house before hitting an elbow drop on Sabian for a near fall. Hardy hit a splash on Sabian from the second rope for another near fall. Matt and Jeff stacked Sabian and the Butcher in the corner for their classic double team move.
Jeff hit a jawbreaker on the Butcher, while Matt hit the Side Effect on Sabian for a near fall. Matt went for the Twist of Fate on Sabian but was stopped by the Butcher and the Blade. They held Matt for a dropkick by Sabian but Hardy moved and Sabian struck his partners. Matt hit the Twist of Fate, Jeff hit the Swanton Bomb and Briscoe hit Froggy Bow for the win.
Mark Briscoe, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy defeated Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade in about 11:00.
Don’s Take: If you follow Matt Hardy on Twitter, you might have expected more out of this match. But, aside from this being the first time the Hardys teamed with Mark Briscoe, this was pretty standard. I will say that I was encouraged seeing the re-debut of Private Party on Wednesday. Hopefully this is a sign that we’ll be seeing more traditional tag team matches that actually mean something, as opposed to these trios matches which don’t amount to much most of the time. As I’ve said in the past, the Hardys deserve to be booked better so that teams that beat them can be elevated in the process.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. Paquette noted that they still have their tag team title shot, but next week on Dynamite, Guevara goes one-on-one with Ricky Starks. Guevara put Starks over but said that next week only one could win and that would be him. Jericho said he would be keeping an eye on him and would chop him down to size if he got involved. [C]
After the break, Renee Paquette was backstage with Jake Hager, Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Anna Jay. Paquette asked Jay about her upcoming match with Shida and Jay said it was her year. She then said she would have this match alone. Harley Cameron entered and said she wanted to help all of them. She then whispered something in Parker’s ear which prompted him to say “you would actually do that?” She said, “I’m the best at it.” Jay left the area while Parker told the others that it’s not what it looks like…
Justin Roberts was about to introduce the next match but Stokely Hathaway interrupted and took over ring announcing duties. Kennedi Hardcastle and Notorious Mimi were already in the ring. He gave an over the top introduction for Kris Statlander which caused her to slap him. He then gave a subdued introduction for Willow Nightingale. This led to…
2. Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander vs. Kennedi Hardcastle and Notorious Mimi. This was a showcase win for the babyfaces. Hardcastle and Mimi got some brief offense in on Willow but in the end, Willow hit Hardcsastle with a spinebuster for the win.
Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander defeated Kennedi Hardcastle and Notorious Mimi in about 3:00.
After the match, Hathaway announced the winners, once again overdoing it for Statlander while being subdued for Willow. Both asked him to leave the ring…
Don’s Take: This was less about the match and more about whatever this weird storyline is with Statlander, Willow and Hathaway. I can’t really say I’m all that intrigued by either one turning heel. Willow is a natural babyface and Statlander has been flat as a character since her return. That said, maybe a heelish edge is the nuance she needs to become relevant. It’s worked to a degree with Skye Blue and Julia Hart so there’s hope.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Matt and Jeff Hardy. The talked about their win earlier in the show with Jeff commenting that they should be on Dynamite to boost their ratings. Private Party entered and Matt put them both over, but in a bit of a condescending way. He said they would go their separate ways and wished them well. He gave them Hardy t-shirts and said he would see them down the road…
Don’s Take: A Hardy heel run in 2024? It’s not definite, but this could be interesting after all.
3. Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida. The two lock up to start. Jay hits a series of strikes and goes for the choke hold submission early but Shida escapes. Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker as Jay attempted to roll out of the ring.
Shida hit a running knee while Jay was draped over the apron. Excalibur ran down the Collision and Dynamite lineups. Shida retrieved a chair from under the ring and attempted to springboard off it but Jay blocked the move and removed the chair. Jay rammed Shida into the barricade and continued the attack on the floor. Back in the ring, Jay caught Shida with a kick for a near fall. The show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, the two exchanged blows with Shida eventually getting the upper hand. Shida hit a brain buster on Jay for a near fall. Shida missed an attack in the corner and Jay caught her with a kick. Jay caught Shida with a Widows Peak for a near fall.
Shida hit a Falcon Arrow but Jay rolled her up for a close near fall. Jay went for the choke hold submission but Shida rolled out and hit a running knee for a near fall. Shida dragged Jay over to the corner and hit a Meteora from the top rope followed by a Katana kick for the win.
Hikaru Shida defeated Anna Jay in about 9:00.
Don’s Take: I’m guessing we’ll see Shida surface as a challenger for Julia Hart’s TBS Championship or possibly as an early opponent for the debuting Deonna Purrazzo. She’s proven to be popular with the crowd and a solid performer, so I expect she’ll be inserted into upper mid-card storylines from time to time.
Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, and Karen Jarrett were backstage. Dutt said that he was committed to getting them back on the same page and said that he booked Jarrett and Lethal in a tag team match. Lethal wasn’t sure how that would get them back on the same page and Karen said that for the past nine months, they didn’t even have a team name.
Jeff said that the name needed to include the word “loser” and pointed out Lethal’s failures and his own accomplishments this past year. Lethal pointed out that none of Jarrett’s victories would have happened without him. Jarrett said he didn’t need him and told him to leave and start his own winning streak. Karen stepped between them and Dutt said they would continue the conversation next week. [C]
A video recapped the Adam Copeland-Christian Cage match from Worlds End in addition to Cage’s promo on Dynamite…
4. Wheeler Yuta vs. Komander (w/Alex Abrahantes) for the ROH Pure Championship. The judges for this match were Pat Buck, Jimmy Jacobs, and Christopher Daniels. Yuta went to work on the arm to start. Yuta had Komander down on the mat in an arm bar but Komander got to the ropes for his first rope break of the match.
Yuta chopped and struck Komander against the ropes. Komander took Yuta down into a single leg lock. Yuta grabbed the rope for his first rope break. Both wrestlers ran off the ropes with Komander eventually sending Yuta to the floor with a huracanrana. Komander attempted a dive but Yuta caught him with a closed fist upper cut in front of the referee. Surprisingly, no warning was issued in accordance with the rules. Yuta hit a single-arm DDT on Komander on the floor as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break. [C]
Coming out of the break, Komander had used a second rope break with one remaining. Yuta had Komander in a submission move and Komander reversed it which sent Yuta into the turnbuckles. Komander grabbed a small package for a near fall. Komander gained momentum with strikes, kicks and a dropkick from the ropes. Komander hit a tornado DDT for a near fall. Komander went for a Phoenix Splash but Yuta countered with an Angle Slam for a near fall. Yuta then grabbed an arm bar and Komander escaped to the ropes for his final rope break.
Komander rolled up Yuta for a near fall and hit a huracanrana for another near fall. Komander hit a back heel kick and Yuta responded with a big boot to the face. Komander attempted to flip Yuta out of the ring, but Yuta countered with a German suplex for a near fall. Both exchanged roll ups for near falls. Yuta hit a series of elbow strikes and went back to the arm bar. Komander got to the ropes but had run out of rope breaks. Komander eventually tapped out.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Komander 10:57 to retain the ROH Pure Championship.
Yuta celebrated as the show went off the air…
Don’s Take: OK, put aside the fact that an ROH title is being defended regularly on an AEW show. I actually like that for the past couple of weeks, Rampage has been the destination for Yuta’s title defenses. He plays the heel role well and for a company that has way too many championships, this at least gives a nice hook to the show with the slim possibility that it will encourage viewers to unlock the paywall and give ROH a try. I’m also a fan of pairing the high flyer against a ground and mat based wrestler. It gets us away from a spot fest and focuses more on the contrast of styles.
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