By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 175)
Taped December 18, 2024 in Washington, D.C. at Entertainment & Sports Arena
Aired December 20, 2024 on TNT
Excalibur welcomed viewers to the show and was joined by Ian Riccaboni and Matt Menard on commentary. Tony Schiavone was in the ring and brought out the Don Callis Family, consisting of Don Calls, Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.
Callis said they were the true “one percenters” and put over each member. He said that Kyle Fletcher was his favorite wrestler and noted his wins over Will Ospreay and Kazucjika Okada. He added that Fletcher will defeat Daniel Garcia and go on to win the Continental Classic.
Fletcher said that Saturday wasn’t a good day for him but it was clear the company is biased against him and the Callis Family. He said he will defeat Garcia and go on to win the tournament as he is the hottest young wrestler in AEW.
Callis said they’re not like everyone else and called their opponents, Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs, “scabs.” He concluded that at World’s End, they would prove that Hobbs and Takeshita aren’t in the same business. Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs made their way to the ring….
1. Konosuke Takeshita and Brian Cage vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis. Takeshita and Hobbs traded blows as Callis joined the commentary team with Archer by his side. Hobbs and Davis double teamed Cage and worked him over individually. The heels took over on Hobbs for several minutes. Hobbs hit Cage with an exploder suplex and made the hot tag to Davis. Davis had the upper hand for a bit but he missed a senton bomb when Cage put the knees up. Takeshita hit a Blue Thunder bomb for a near fall as the show went to its first picture-in-picture break. [C]
David and Cage exchanged strikes. David tagged in Hobbs as Cage tagged in Takeshita. Hobbs cleaned house. In the end, it was four men battling, with Takeshita squaring off with Davis. Davis and Takeshita clotheslined each other. Takeshita blocked a kick and hit a knee strike on Davis followed by his Raging Fire finisher for the win.
Konosuke Takeshita and Brian Cage defeated Powerhouse Hobbs and Mark Davis in 12:27
Don’s Take: The Callis family got their win back from last week’s match with Hobbs and Davis, with Cage replacing Lance Archer in the effort. It’s nice that Fletcher is getting some promo time before these matches. I continue to be uninspired by the build to Hobbs and Takeshita for the AEW International Title at World’s End.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Willow Nightingale. Nightingale spoke about her advancing to the Women’s Internation Cup finals in Tokyo. Kris Statlander entered and said there was a lot she should say but just wished Nightingale luck. [C]
2. Lio Rush and Action Andretti vs. Goldy and Myles Hawkins. All four competitors were in the ring with no entrances. This was a complete squash. Rush hit a stunner on Hawkins while Andretti followed up with a torture rack into a neck breaker for the win.
Lio Rush and Action Andretti defeated Goldy and Myles Hawkins in 1:10.
After the match, “Private Party,” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen came out. Top Flight, Dante and Darius Martin’s music played which distracted Private Party. This allowed Rush and Andretti to attack Private Party from behind. Top Flight came out and stared down Rush and Andretti.
Don’s Take: So Rush and Andretti are a heel tag team. Not much to say here but let’s see how this plays out and if they can breathe some life into a tag team division that has seen better days.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Harley Cameron. Paquette noted that Cameron hadn’t won a match in AEW yet. Penelope Ford entered and said that she and Cameron had a lot of the same assets. Cameron asked how much hers cost. Ford said she’ll watch Cameron’s back in Cameron watches hers. Cameron asked what was on her back.
3. Harley Cameron vs. Willow Nightingale. Nightingale held the early advantage as the show went to a picture-in-picture break. [C]
After the break, Nightingale stayed on offense with Cameron getting in a little offense. Nightingale hit a powerbomb for the win.
Willow Nightingale defeated Harley Cameon in about 6:41.
After the match, Penelope Ford attacked Nightingale with Cameron joining in. Kris Statlander made the save and left the ring with Nightingale looking on.
Don’s Take: Cameron has become a Rampage fixture and I’m hoping they find a decent role for her when the show likely goes away in a couple of weeks. With Statlander turning face, it was only a matter of time before they started a reconciliation angle with Nightingale. That said, I do hope they draw it out a little bit before they officially make amends.
A video hyped Thunder Rosa vs. Mariah May for the AEW Women’s Title at World’s End. [C]
Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh and Jay Lethal were backstage. They reflected on 2024 including Jeff’s performance in the Owen Hart Cup tournament. Jarrett said instead of reflecting on the past he likes to look ahead. He said he’s not coming to Rampage next week with resolutions, but with a game plan instead….
4. Brody King vs. Komander in a Continental Classic gold league match. King no-sold some chops early and laid Komander out with a chop of his own. King continued the onslaught for the first several minutes. Komander attempted a comeback but King chopped him off the second rope as the show went to its final picture-in-picture break of the evening. [C]
King was still on offense coming out of the break. Komander mounted a nice comeback down the stretch, hitting dives onto King in the ring and on the floor along with a series of near falls. In the end, Komander went for a spring board but King caught him with the Gonso Bomb for the win.
Brody King defeated Komander in about 14:51 in a Continental Classic gold league match to earn three points.
King celebrated as Rampage went off the air…
Don’s Take: The expected outcome with Komander serving as a competitive wrestler who looks good in defeat. This was seemingly the penultimate edition of Dynamite and it looks like the last one will be live if my program guide is correct. Given this and the fact that it’s the go-home show for World’s End, I gather if the show is going out, it will have a good sendoff. Until then!
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