By Don Murphy, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@DonThePredictor)
AEW Rampage (Episode 155)
Taped July 24, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena
Aired July 26, 2024 on TNT
The Rampage opening aired and then Excalibur checked in on commentary with Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard. The ring announcer was Justin Roberts…
1. The Royal Rampage for a shot at the AEW World Championship at AEW Grand Slam.
Entrants (in order of appearance): 1. Orange Cassidy; 2. Claudio Castagnoli; 3. Brody King; 4. Komander; 5. Tomohiro Ishii; 6. Brian Cage; 7. The Butcher; 8. Matt Menard; 9. Roderick Strong; 10. Kip Sabian; 11. Brandon Cutler; 12. Nick Wayne; 13. Kyle O’Reilly; 14. Jeff Jarrett; 15. Matt Taven; 16. Jay Lethal; 17. Mike Bennett; 18. The Beast Mortos; 19. Darby Allin; 20. Lio Rush
Eliminations (in order): 1. Cutler (by Ishii); 2. Menard (by Cage); 3. Butcher (by King); 4. Komander (by Wayne); 5. Wayne (by Sabian); 6. Sabian (by Lethal and Jarrett); 7. Mortos (by Rush); 8. Ishii (by Bennett); 9. Bennett (by Cassidy); 10. Cassidy (by Taven); 11. Taven (by O’Reilly); 12. O’Reilly (by Strong); 13. Rush (by Castagnoli) 14. Strong (by King); 15. Lethal (by Castagnoli); 16. King (by Allin); 17. Jarrett (by Cage); 18. Cage (by Castagnoli); 19. Castagnoli (by Allin)
There were three picture-in-picture breaks throughout this match. Action highlights include O’Reilly and Strong battling center ring, continuing their program. Menard returned to the commentary table after being eliminated. After Wayne was eliminated, Christian Cage, Mother Wayne and Killswitch were shown backstage. Christian berated Killswitch for not being out there to help Wayne. King and Allin brawled throughout the arena and into the stands. Hangman Adam Page came out and attacked Jeff Jarrett which was instrumental in his elimination. Page continued to attack Jarrett after the elimination.
The final two were Allin (left ring) and Castagnoli (right ring). Castagnoli press slammed Allin from the right ring to the left ring and slammed his head into the steps after a giant swing on the floor. Allin blocked a German suplex by Castagnoli and the two ended up batting on the apron. Allin draped Castagnoli over the top rope and hit a coffin drop for the final elimination.
Darby Allin won the Royal Rampage match in about 38:00 to earn an AEW World Championship match at the Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite on September 25.
Don’s Take: This is the second year in a row that Allin has won this match. Last year, he challenged for the TNT Championship. He’ll have the crowd behind him in New York and I’m particularly interested to see if he ends up meeting Bryan Danielson, who is challenging Swerve Strickland at All In in Wembley Stadium. That would be a definite clash in styles and I’m curious to see how both adapt to each other. Strickland, on the other hand, has shown that he can have a “crash and burn” style of match so while that would be fun match as well, it’s a bit less intriguing to me.
In the back, Kris Statlander was shown attacking Willow Nightingale. Statlander slammed her onto some crates. After being tended to by a backstage official, Nightingale said she knew Statlander was a Backstabber, but she didn’t realize she was so obsessed with her. Nightingale said if Statlander thought she deserved a shot at the CMLL Women’s Championship, they could meet next week in Greenville, South Carolina. The match was made official for this Wednesday’s Dynamite.
2. Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. Leila Grey. A very quick match with Statlander hitting Friday Night Fever for the win. [C]
Kris Statlander defeated Leila Grey in about 0:55.
Don’s Take: I like Statlander’s heel act thus far but am concerned where she goes after her program with Willow Nightingale ends. Should Toni Storm retain the AEW Women’s Title at All In, I could see her slotted in as a future challenger.
3. Lance Archer vs. enhancement wrestler. Archer carried his opponent to the ring. I believe Excalibur said his name was Alehandro. This was another squash match as in the ring, Archer hit a spinebuster, followed by two choke slams and his Blackout finisher for the win.
Lance Archer defeated his opponent (Alejandro) in about 1:00.
Don’s Take: I’m all in if they’re going to make a serious effort to elevate Archer. My concern is that this will be another case of “start and stop.”
Renee Paquette was backstage with Harley Cameron and Saraya. Saraya said she had a red eye to catch but was going to wrestle next week and show everyone why she needs to be at Wembley Stadium for All In.
4. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy vs. Kyle Fletcher and Rush (w/Don Callis) vs. “The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch vs. “The Outrunners” Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum in a four-way tag team match. Coming out of the interview, all four teams were already in the ring and the bell had rung. Don Callis joined the commentary team. The Outrunners and the Righteous started off. Excalibur read through the Collision and Battle of the Belt lineups at warp speed. The Righteous has the advantage heading into the final picture-in-picture break. [C]
Coming out of the break, Private Party was cleaning house. Fletcher and Rush came in and attacked everyone – primarily the Outrunners. The finish saw Rush take out Kassidy on the floor while Fletcher hit the belly-to-back-tombstone piledriver on one of the Outrunners (I believe Floyd) for the win.
Kyle Fletcher and Rush defeated Private Party, The Righteous and The Outrunners in about 10:00.
Rush choked one of the Outrunners with the camera cable as Rampage went off the air…
Don’s Take: A straightforward four-way tag to close the show. I assume and hope that with Rush joining the Don Callis Family, he’ll be pushed more as a singles act. Teaming with Fletcher is fine on occasion, but his stronger suit is when he’s on his own with Callis doing the talking for him. On a side note, I don’t want to see talent get released but Private Party and the Righteous have been spinning their wheels for about two years. It’s fine that they’re getting reps but if they’re never going to be used seriously, I would potentially give them the option to look elsewhere. The Outrunners continue to be a guilty pleasure.
A good edition of Rampage anchored by the Royal Rampage being a nice hook. See? It doesn’t have to be every week, but it’s not that hard to advertise something for the show that actually matters. I’m amazed that the Royal Rampage went almost 40 minutes and yet Tony Khan still crammed three more matches into the show with about 20 minutes left.
That’s all from me for tonight. I’ll be back next Friday with another Rampage review and look forward to checking in again. Until then!
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