By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 167)
Taped October 16, 2024 in San Jose, California at SAP Center
Aired live October 18, 2024 on TNT
Excalibur welcomed viewers to the show and was joined on commentary by Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard. Arkady Aura was the ring announcer. Mark Briscoe made his way to the ring for the opening match, while The Butcher was already in the ring…
1. Mark Briscoe vs. The Butcher. Briscoe controlled the early part of the match, including diving onto the Butcher on the floor. Back in the ring, Briscoe went for an early Jay Driller, which Butcher blocked and hit a clothesline. The Butcher held the advantage as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
The Butcher held a chin lock coming out of the commercial. Briscoe retaliated with a flurry of offense. Briscoe hit a Death Valley Driver but missed with Froggy Bow. The Butcher briefly regained the advantage and placed Briscoe on the second rope where the two men battled. Briscoe hit a throat thrust on the Butcher, knocking him off the second rope. Briscoe quickly followed up with Froggy Bow for the win.
Mark Briscoe defeated The Butcher in about 9:51.
Don’s Take: The logical win for Briscoe as heads to Wednesday’s Dynamite to face Chris Jericho in Ladder Wars. While this should be a fine match, I’m looking forward to both moving on.
Kyle O’Reilly made his way to the ring and congratulated Briscoe. O’ Reilly’s opponent, Aaron Solo, made his way to the ring for the next match…
2. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Aaron Solo. This match was fairly even for the first several minutes with a series of chain wrestling and the two exchanging strikes. Interestingly, Excalibur noted that Solo had not been on Rampage since August of 2023. O’Reilly eventually gained the full advantage with a series of strikes and kicks. O’Reilly locked Solo in the hanging guillotine for the submission win.
Kyle’O’Reilly defeated Aaron Solo in about 4:42.
After the match, O’Reilly called out Kazuchika Okada and challenged him to a match at AEW Battle of the Belts XII for the Continental Championship. He noted that he wanted the Okada that main evented the Tokyo Dome and not the Young Bucks’ young boy…
Don’s Take: I’m not condoning yet another hour of wrestling and there’s no reason to believe that O’Reilly will beat Okad for the title, but I’m looking forward to this one. Normally, I’d call for a better build but given the two wrestlers in questions, this one can stand alone.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Jamie Hayter. Paquette asked Hayter about having a target on her back and wanted her reaction to the returning Penelope Ford attacking her on Dynamite. Hayter said the entire women’s division were backstabbing bitches. She added that she came back for two reasons – first, to right the wrongs, and second, to win back the AEW Women’s Title. She said that Ford is in her way and in her business. Hayter said that she will be at Collision and wondered if Ford will show up. [C]
Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie cut a backstage promo. Purrazzo spoke about caring for her younger brother and how he battled demons no one would ever understand. She said that she took care of any problems he had and learned that you always look out for family. She added that she also learned that if you want to hurt someone, you don’t go at them directly, you go after what they love most. Valkyrie said their alliance isn’t new and that if someone has an issue with Purrazzo, they have an issue with her. Purrazzo added that anyone who comes at them will be met with a vendetta.
AEW Women’s Champion, Mariah May, joined the commentary team for the next match…
3. Anna Jay vs. Trish Adora. Charlie Bravo and Shawn Dean accompanied Adora to ringside but did not stay. The match was even early on with Jay getting the opportunity to show her updated move set of kicks and strikes from her time in Japan. Jay held the advantage as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Jay held the advantage coming out of the break, hitting a sloppy looking floppy neck breaker for a near fall. Adora briefly retaliated hitting a German suplex and a suplex into a bridging pin attempt for a near fall. Adora misses a strike as Jay hits the Widow’s Peak for the win.
Anna Jay defeated Trish Adora in about 8:24.
After the match, May walked onto the stage and congratulated Jay on the victory. She told Jay that she should buy her dinner because at Battle of the Belts, Jay will be shaking, crying and screaming her name.
Don’s Take: I liked that AEW was telling the story of Jay applying what she learned in Japan while picking up a few wins. It’s disappointing that it appears that she’s being built up only to job to May in a TV match, which seems to be a regular formula. I’m really hoping AEW gets to the point where they can build talent so that eventual title matches feel more important than they are.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Harley Cameron. Paquette asked Cameron about Saraya and Cameron said she was still incapacitated. Cameron said she would be OK without Saraya because she can sing, wrestle, do ventriloquism and speak Chinese (which she did). Paquette asked Cameron if she was ready for her match with Kris Statlander on Collision. Cameron said she was ready because she was versatile. [C]
“The Undisputed Kingdom” Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett, “Shane Taylor Promotions” Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarity, and “Gates of Agony” Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona each cut brief promos on their three-way tag team match for next week’s Rampage.
Don’s Take: That was different. Not a relevant match, but I like setting up next week’s show with a match.
4. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. “MxM Collection” Mason Madden and Mansoor. Private Party held the early advantage but MxM Collection took over as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break of the night. [C]
Madden and Mansoor continued to work over Quen. Quen eventually hot tagged Kassidy who cleaned house. Down the stretch, both teams got some offense in but Private Party won out. It was Quen hitting a 450 splash on Mansoor, quickly followed by Kassidy hitting a moonsault or the win.
“Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy defeated “MxM Collection” Mason Madden and Mansoor in about 12:05.
Don’s Take: Well, they came up short in their title quest at WrestleDream so back to Rampage they go. Given that they’ve reiterated their goal to win titles in 2024, we may not be done with seeing them in the title picture, but as of now, it looks like we’re back to the same formula with them. Of course, their title run could always evolve to include the ROH tag team titles, which is basically as good as not having them.
Another “fine if you saw it, fine if you didn’t” episode. And it looks like the show is winding down altogether unless we hear something different or it lands on another network. So we’ll keep the status quo of Rampage going while we can, and I’ll be back at it next week. Until then!
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