By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Rampage (Episode 142)
Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Aired live April 27, 2024 on TNT
Rampage started at 10:30 ET (due to TNT’s NBA coverage) and opened with the Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor arriving for the Parking Lot Fight. The broadcast team was Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, and Matt Menard…
1. Trent Beretta vs. Chuck Taylor in a Parking Lot Fight. The scene was similar to the past with vehicles parked in a circle with the wrestlers fighting in between, around, and on top of them. There was also a small cheering section.
Taylor was busted open early. Taylor fought Beretta on top of the cab of a truck cab. Beretta shoved Taylor off the top of the truck and through a piece of drywall that was over the cargo bed. Beretta placed Taylor on the roof of a car, then went back to the truck and hit a leaping elbow drop on Taylor. Beretta covered Taylor on the roof of the car for a two count heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Beretta threw a television at Taylor, who ducked it. Taylor suplexed Beretta through a door board that was leaned up against the hood of a car. Taylor catapulted Beretta into the cargo hatch of a truck. Beretta tossed Taylor onto light tubes. Both men were bleeding heavily.
Taylor tossed Beretta through the windshield of a car and then covered him on the hood for a two count. Taylor came back and performed a piledriver on top of the car and then put him in a submission hold. The referee checked on Taylor and called off the match.
Trent Beretta beat Chuck Taylor in roughly 10:00 in a Parking Lot Fight.
After the fight, Trent grabbed a plumber’s wrench. Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander tried to talk him down, but Beretta hit Taylor’s leg with the weapon. Cassidy tried to go after Beretta, but Statlander held him back. Beretta made his exit while Cassidy, Statlander, and a trainer checked on Taylor.
“No one agrees with this,” Schiavone said. “No one around the world.” A shot aired of an intrigued Don Callis watching the footage on a backstage monitor… [C]
Powell’s POV: The usual gritty brawl aside from the sheetrock and door boards, which looked flimsy. Will Callis’s pitch to Beretta be that he too can lose to Will Ospreay if he joins the family?
New backstage interviewer Arkady Aura spoke with Kyle O’Reilly, who spoke about AEW going to his hometown of Vancouver…
Ring announcer Bobby Cruise conducted the introductions for the women’s match…
2. Thunder Roda vs. Deonna Purrazzo. Purrazzo tied Rosa’s limbs to the bottom rope (ugh) and then kicked her. Purrazzo applied a Liontamer a short time later. The referee called for the break. Purrazzo rolled to the floor and played to the crowd and a camera, then turned around and ate a dropkick through the ropes.
Rosa put Purrazzo against the ring post and chopped her twice, then chopped the ring post when Purrazzo moved. Purrazzo put Rosa down with a pump kick heading into a PIP break. [C]
Schiavone ran through the Dynamite lineup and said there would be a Cope Open with Adam Copeland facing a member of House of Black (Schiavone said on Collision that it would be Buddy Matthews), and they also added Serena Deeb vs. Mariah May to the lineup.
Rosa countered a suplex attempt by rolling up Purrazzo and then hitting her with a standing double stomp, which led to a two count. Rosa went up top and jumped toward Purrazzo, who caught her in a Fujiwara armbar. Rosa countered into a rear naked choke.
Purrazzo rolled into a seated position and drove Rosa into the mat to break the hold. Purrazzo set up for another move, but Rosa countered into a pin. They went with back and forth pin reversals. Purrazzo went for another Fujiwara armbar, but Rosa countered into a pin and got the three count.
Thunder Rosa defeated Deonna Purrazzo in 11:05.
After the match, Rosa went to ringside and yelled into the camera about loving wrestling and winning. Rosa walked up the steps toward the stage and was hit from behind by Purrazzo, who then ran her into a railing. Rosa fired back with a slap. Both women fought on the small platform in front of the fans opposite the hard camera until security pulled them apart. Purrazzo flipped off Rosa…
Powell’s POV: Good work, but the crowd was quiet for this match. I’m not sure if the long night is catching up with them or if they just weren’t sure who they were supposed to side with.
Highlights aired of Will Ospreay winning the Casino Gauntlet match to earn a shot at the AEW International Championship…
Backstage, Aura interviewed Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett. Taven referred to Aura as “not Lexi” and then Bennett told Tony Khan to stay neck strong. Strong spoke about how he would dismantle and break Will Ospreay…
Big Bill made his entrance while his opponent was already inside the ring…
3. Big Bill vs. Trevor Blackwell. Bill jumped on Blackwell after the introductions and was rewarded for it by having the bell ring to start the match. Bill yelled into the camera about showing Chris Jericho, who was shown smiling while watching the match on a backstage monitor.
Bill hit a power move on Blackwell and opted against pinning him. Bill clotheslined Blackwell and once again decided not to pin him. Bill spoke to Jericho while looking into the camera. Bill chokeslammed Blackwell and finally pinned him while putting one foot on him.
Big Bill defeated Trevor Blackwell in 1:40.
Backstage, Jericho was shown smiling and applauding as he watched the match. Bill looked into the camera and said he hoped Jericho was watching… [C]
Entrances for the tag team main event took place with Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia coming out first. Schiavone made a fuss over the babyfaces having matching black trunks and boots. Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty came out next with Anthony Ogogo, who did not accompany them to the ring…
4. Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia vs. Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty. Shibata ran over and kicked one of his opponents and the referee rewarded him for it by calling for the opening bell (at least the referees are consistently bad?). Shibata and Garcia cleared the ring. Shibata sat down crosslegged, then Garcia did the same. Schiavone said Garcia was honoring Shibata.
Anthony Ogogo joined the broadcast team. The heels came back and isolated Garcia. Taylor punched Garcia and then put him down with a uranage slam. Taylor splashed Garcia and covered him for a near fall heading into the final PIP break. [C]
Shibata eventually took a hot tag and worked over Taylor with elbow strikes, then dropped Moriarty with a single elbow strike. Shibata and Garcia performed dropkicks on both seated opponents. Shibata threw punches and chops at Taylor while Garcia danced.
Shibata and Garcia performed a double suplex on Taylor. Shibata covered Taylor, who kicked out at one. Schiavone announced that Rampage would follow Dynamite on Wednesday night (there’s no Collision next week).
Moriarty checked in and threw strikes at Shibata, who no-sold. Taylor got involved. Moriarty put Shibata down for a two count. A short time later, Shibata and Garcia put their opponents in sleepres. Taylor broke his, but Shibata caught him with a shot and then Garcia suplexed him. Shibata threw a PK at Moriarty and then pinned him.
Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia defeated Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty in 14:55.
Shibata and Garcia played to the crowd while Schiavone ran through the lineup for Dynamite. Garcia went to the platform in front of the fans and celebrated with them. Schiavone told Tony Khan to get well and then closed the show…
Powell’s POV: A well worked main event. Taylor and Moriarty really could have used a win here, but it was no surprise to see them take another loss. Overall, this was a little better than a typical Rampage, but it still falls into the usual category of being fine if you saw it and fine if you did not. It had the usual good in-ring action, but the Rosa vs. Purrazzo match was the only match of the full three hour block that felt unpredictable as far as the outcome was concerned, and there just wasn’t much in the way of storyline developments throughout the night. Will Pruett’s audio reviews of Collision (and his bonus thoughts on Rampage this week) are available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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