By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 152)
Taped July 3, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Wintrust Arena
Aired July 5, 2024 on TNT
Rampage opened with a wide shot of the arena and no opening video… Tony Schiavone, Excalibur and Don Callis were on commentary. Arkady Aura was the ring announcer as Rush made his way to the ring….
1. Rush vs. Komander (w/Alex Abrahantes). Early in the match, Komander ousted Rush from the ring with a flying head scissors. Komander went to dive onto Rush on the floor but Rush grabbed the leg causing Komander to land head and sternum first on the floor. Rush then threw Komander into several guardrails around ringside. Rush stayed on offense for several minutes until Komander retaliated with a DDT. On the outside, Komander attempted another head scissors take over but Rush caught him and swung him into the guardrail as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, Rush still had the advantage. Komander eventually made the hot comeback with a flurry of offense, including several flips and dives onto the floor and in the ring resulting in near falls. Rush retaliated with a head butt and fought with Komander on the ring apron. Rush launched Komander onto the floor, rolled him back into the ring and performed his Horns dropkick finisher in the corner for the pinfall.
Rush defeated Komander in about 12:00.
After the match, Rush brought Komander over to Callis as Callis congratulated Rush on the win. Callis told Rush that he loves watching him wrestle.
Don’s Take:The eventual pairing of Rush and Don Callis intrigues me. Callis is a great talker but tends to focus more on getting heat for himself than his talent. I’m interested to see how that works out with Rush who has a reputation of being difficult to work with and is also focused on making sure he goes over and stays relevant.
Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita made their way to the ring…[C]
Renee Paquette was backstage with Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett. Paquette asked them about their issues with Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly and Tomohiro Ishii. Taven said it was like Christmas in July and that Ishii was like a half melted snowman and Briscoe was like Yukon Cornelius except Cornelius had teeth. He said he hates Cassidy most of all. Strong said it’s been 3,059 days since Ishii beat him for the ROH TV Title. He said he won’t rest until he puts Ishii down. He then addressed Kyle O’Reilly and said he won’t stop until he convinces O’Reilly that he’s better with Strong.
2. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. Don Callis remained on commentary for this match. Takeshita and Fletcher attacked Private Party to start. Private Party retaliated and took down both Takeshita and Fletcher with a series of offensive moves. Takeshita responded by suplexing both men simultaneously. The Callis Family maintained the advantage during the commercial. [C]
Coming out of the break, Quen hot tagged Kassidy who cleaned house. Quen tagged back in and went for a 450 splash but Fletcher got the knees up. Fletcher and Takeshita hit simultaneous brain busters on Quen and Kassidy for a near fall. Private Party rebounded, hitting Gin and Juice on Takeshita and Silly String on Fletcher. The finish saw Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Kassidy while Fletcher kicked Quen in the back of the head and followed up with the belly to back tombstone piledriver for the win.
Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher defeated “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy in about 10:00.
Don’s Take: After the pop Takeshita received at Forbidden Door, I really hope Tony Khan realizes what he has and eventually pushes Takeshita as a top act, whether it’s heel or babyface. These matches are fine but I hate to see him consistently twisting in the wind on Rampage. I’m less concerned about Fletcher as his role is clearly defined. Plus, when his tag team partner Mark Davis returns, Fletcher can easily merge back into the tag team scene.
The announce team cut to a pre-tape of Don Callis recruiting Rush to join the Callis Family. Callis told Rush that his resume speaks for itself, and that people are afraid of what would happen if Callis’ hate and intelligence is partnered with Rush’s aggression. Callis said that the world is for them and the two shook hands…
A video recapped MJF’s attack on Daniel Garcia at the end of Wednesday’s Dynamite. Excalibur said they would keep fans updated on Garcia’s condition when they can…
3. Kyle O’Reilly vs. GPA. Don Callis was replaced by Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven on commentary with Strong doing the talking for the trio. GPA was listed as making his 2024 AEW debut. This was a complete squash match with O’Reilly hitting a suplex into the armbar submission for the win.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated GPA in about 1:30.
After the match, Strong, Bennett, and Taven tried to recruit O’Reilly to join the Undisputed Kingdom, but he quickly left the ring.
Don’s Take: I know they’re friends, but the past allegiance between O’Reilly and Strong has been beaten into ground from their time in NXT to their time in AEW. I’d like to see a conscious effort to separate the two and have them go down different paths. Both men are more examples of talent that AEW could be doing more with.
Samoa Joe cut a backstage promo on Chris Jericho challenging him to a match next week. He asked Jericho if he had faith in his fellow man to stop Joe when he chokes him out…
A video hyped Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida coming up next… [C]
Toni Storm voiced over a video previewing her upcoming match with Trish Adora on Collision…
4. Mariah May (w/Toni Storm Luther) vs. Hikaru Shida in an Owen Hart Cup tournament semifinal match. The match was even to start. Heading into the final picture-in-picture break of the night, Shida hit a running knee lift as May was draped across the apron. [C]
Coming out of the break, May made the big comeback. Both women took turns on offense down the stretch with both exchanging German suplexes and several near falls. The finish saw Shida block Storm Zero and go for the katana kick. May converted this into a bridge for the pinfall.
Mariah May defeated Hikaru Shida in about 12:00 to advance to the finals of the Owen Hart Cup tournament.
After the match, May and Storm hugged the trophy to close the show…
Don’s Take: May will face Willow Nightingale in the finals on Wednesday’s Dynamite in what should be a fun match. I’m curious to see how they build the likely May vs. Storm match for All In at Wembley Stadium. Will the alliance dissolve or will they go into the match having mutual respect.
This was a decent edition of Rampage with a nice hook of May vs. Shida in the semifinals. There’s been some speculation that a new TV deal between AEW and Warner Brothers Discovery is imminent, so I’ll be interested to see if and how Rampage factors in.
That’s all from me for for now, but it’s a busy weekend. Check out my WWE Money in the Bank and NXT Heatwave predictions on the main page throughout the weekend. I will also be back tomorrow night with my Collision review for the show that goes head-to-head with Money in the Bank. Until then!
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