The SmarK Rant for AEW Rampage – 11.25.22
“Black Friday”
Thanks to whoever recommended Tulsa King to go along with Yellowstone. I didn’t realize it was part of the Taylor Sheridan Cinematic Universe and I flew through the first two episodes, and it was GREAT. This is a role that Stallone is born to play. Although I did try Mayor of Kingston and I found the first episode kind of slow and confusing and it didn’t hold my attention, but Tulsa King speaks to my two loves: Westerns and gangsters.
Taped from Chicago, IL
Your hosts are Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone & Excalibur
ROH tag team title: FTR v. Top Flight
Darius trades takedowns with Dax to start, and Dax drops a leg for two. Cash comes in and throws chops, but Dante comes in and Top Flight double-teams Wheeler in their corner. Double leapfrog and Darius kicks Cash down for two. Dax traps Darius in the corner and beats on him again, but they double-team Darius with a sunset flip and Dante flies in with a knee to break it up. Darius hits Cash with a tornado DDT, but Dante goes up and Dax pulls his partner out to save him. They fight on the floor, and back in for a backdrop suplex from Dax that gets two on Dante. Dax and Dante trade chops and MAN does Dax get the better of that one, but Dante fights them off and hits a springboard dropkick on both of them. Top Flight dumps them to the floor and they hit dives in sequence (with Dante nearly missing and killing himself) and back in for a high cross on Dax that gets two. They double-team Dax and Dante goes to the top with Cash, but Dax brings him down with a slingshot powerbomb into a flying Cash splash for two. Was that a Money Shot, then? Dax turns Darius inside out with a lariat, but they try the Big Rig on Dante and Darius breaks it up, allowing Dante to roll up Dax for two. Darius with another DDT on Dax and Dante gets his own flying splash for two, but Cash saves that. Cash and Darius trade forearms and Darius hits a Spanish Fly, but Dax puts him down with a brainbuster, only for Dante to get a victory roll on Dax for two. Cradle on Dax gets two. Rollup gets two. Cash gets the blind tag, but Dante fights them both off and then walks into the Big Rig at 11:11 as FTR retains in a HELL of an opener. ****
Meanwhile, Powerhouse Hobbs has had a rough life, man.
AEW Fight Forever: COMING SOON. Come on man, I need to finalize my Christmas list! Give me a release date! Maybe TK can hook me up with a review copy or something.
The Jericho Appreciation Society joins us and Jake Hager still loves that purple hat. Jericho declares himself the greatest ROH champion in history, and not even Claudio giving him a cheapshot will slow him down. So of course Claudio interrupts, and he’s been doubting himself after losing to Jericho multiple times. Well that makes sense. He wants another shot at the title, but Jericho rightly points out that he’s already lost twice. But DADDY MAGIC HAS AN IDEA. Since Claudio used to be a Sports Entertainer, maybe Claudio should be forced to join the JAS if he loses his last shot at the title? Jericho likes this idea so much it makes his nipples hard. Well Chicago is pretty cold this time of year. So there’s your main event for Final Battle.
Meanwhile, Renee sits down with Toni Storm after her loss, and she’s proud of Jamie even though she cheated to win yet again.
Darby Allin v. Anthony Henry
Darby takes him down off a lockup, but Henry throws some kicks to the back. Darby tries a sunset flip and Henry blocks that and puts Darby on the apron, but Darby hits JD Drake with a dive on the floor. Henry slams Darby on the apron, which is the HARDEST PART OF THE RING, and runs him into the railing to take over. Back in the ring, Henry wrenches the neck and puts him in a straitjacket hold, but Darby fights out of that. Darby fights back and tries a coffin splash off the ropes, but Henry reverses him into a german suplex instead. Henry whips him into the corner to work the back, and Fite takes a break. Back with Henry hanging Darby in the Tree of Woe and putting the boots to him, and a draping neckbreaker gets two. Henry goes up and misses a kneedrop, and Darby gets the Code Red for two. But then Drake pulls him out and gets a cheapshot, which brings Sting over to kick his ass. Back in the ring, Henry with a superplex on Darby, but Darby reverses him into a Scorpion Deathdrop and they’re both out. Darby recovers first, goes up, and finishes with the Coffin Drop at 8:10. Anthony Henry was kind of a weirdly random choice to go 50/50 with Darby Allin here but it was a good hard-worked match. ***
Meanwhile, Athena rants about not getting on TV and beating “trashbag wrestlers” and now she wants a shot at Mercedes Martinez. I like this new direction for her, it’s something different.
Hikaru Shida v. Queen Aminata
Penelope Ford and Bunny come out to provide distraction, allowing the Queen to attack Shida from behind and go to work. Air Raid Crash is reversed into a cradle by Shida for two, and she quickly finishes with the Falcon Arrow and running knee at 1:15. Aminata looked really nervous out there and this was pretty bad for the minute it went.
Rush & Butcher & Blade v. John Silver & Alex Reynolds & 10
10 is missing from the Mark Henry interview, but the Butcher and Blade don’t care which numbers show up, because the Dark Order are CRUMBS and Rush needs to fight. They should let Butcher and Blade do more promos. God knows the Acclaimed need better challengers than goddamn Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal and these guys are easy to reheat. Slugfest to start and Silver fights with Butcher on the floor, while Reynolds runs wild on Blade in the ring. Alex gets trapped in the heel corner and triple-teamed, but he fights them off and brings Silver in. He hits Blade with a back suplex and dives onto Butcher, but Rush takes him out from behind and LFI takes over. Rush whips him with the cable as per usual and chokes him out on the floor while Jose the Assistant dumps water on him for good measure. Well that’s dangerous. Also how crazy is it that JOSE THE ASSISTANT not only outlasted his role as Chavo Guerrero’s toadie, but then also outlasted Andrade as well? Blade cuts off the tag by taking out Reynolds, and Rush boots Silver in the corner and gives us some posing. They continue working Silver over in the corner while the announcers discuss if phone books are still a thing. Sadly yes, at least here in Saskatchewan, although they’re REALLY thin now. Silver fights back with a shiranui on Blade, but Rush cuts off the tag again and puts the boots to Silver. Finally this brings out 10 to make the save with the prompting of Uno and Negative 1, but then he turns on Silver to seal his heel turn. And then Rush finishes Silver at 7:20. And 10 murders Evil Uno and Reynolds with the discus lariat, tears up the mask of Uno, and then puts Reynolds through a table with a chokeslam. This is some quality heel heat. And then the topper, as 10 unmasks and throws it at the kid on the way out, officially becoming Preston Vance again. That was great, because it’s a guy that people really liked turning on a group that people really like and betraying a little kid who loves him more than anything. That’s a MEANINGFUL heel turn and there’s real stuff behind it, and I approve. Match was junk but that’s secondary to the angle. *1/2
Good episode! This show is on the upswing for the past couple of weeks and I hope it continues that way.