The Good Bit
Tony Khan gave us a Katsuyori Shibata match on Rampage. Perhaps he was stung by the criticism of the programme in recent weeks, perhaps there was so much good stuff on Dynamite that they couldn’t possibly fit anything else in – probably not that last one…
Credit: Slam Wrestling
Anyhow, Shibata, that NJPW icon who hadn’t wrestled for so long until a recent exhibition match, was surely going to be losing to Orange Cassidy on Rampage tonight, particularly as this was for the All-Atlantic belt which Cassidy only recently won.
Didn’t mean it wasn’t great though; check this out:
Orange thrown from one guardrail to the other
A lovely Satellite DDT from the champ
A chop fight in which Shibata answered soft slaps with a teeth-rattling one of his own
Orange landed on his feet after trading Backdrop Suplexes
A massive Orange kick which he celebrated until he saw Shibata sitting up out of the corner of his eye
A Snug Shibata DDT
Orange cranking up his work for the end, tilt a whirl Huracanrana, Stundog Millionaire counter, a shock when an Orange Punch just creates a Shibata jaw realignment
A 2nd Orange Punch for the pin
Credit; Wrestling Headlines
It was a great match, showcasing both wrestlers beautifully.
Now, Onto The Other Great Stuff!
Erm…
Would that be the Blackpool Combat Club angry because Jericho will only wrestle ex-ROH champs?
Me too. Remember when AEW started and they told us their rating system would add a sports feel to the promotion? They were proud of it. When was the last time you saw the wins and losses graphic? Now wrestlers get to choose who they face – it all looks Iike a promotion taking shortcuts.
Anyway, Claudio and Bryan both want a go. So Jericho gets to pick! Oh, goodie…
And Jericho may have his pick, but he won’t be at Dynamite on Wednesday, surely. He’s in the UK on tour with Fozzy; I was offered a review ticket for the show on the 4th. Friday. So how did he do this Rampage rant live? Sammy’s rictus grin after Chris didn’t allow him a word was the other highlight of the show.
Just let that sink in for a minute. Sammy’s grin better than…
Jamie Hayter & Britt Baker v Skye Blue and Madison Rayne
And that’s perhaps because Blue and Rayne got little to no offence in, Baker hit a Slingblade, Hayter delivered a very snap Suplex and finished it with a Ripcord Lariat.
Storm and Hayter fought afterwards on Rampage, of course, Jamie being the no1 contender and all, but during picture-in-picture, with no commentary, the crowd sounded subdued.
Credit; The Overtimer
It’s a terrible situation, wonder why it’s happening?..
The Sammy grin was also better than…
Starks Underwhelming Us
And I like Ricky Starks. But here, although he was over and delivered his promo with conviction, it contained I Am Good/AEW Needs Someone Like Me/I Will My Match At All Out/I Will Be The No1 Contender To The Heavyweight Title/I Make Veiled Behind The Curtain References/I Imply I Will Be Champ – how many times have we heard that in wrestling?
I’m going to say 1,623.
Ricky will be a big star in wrestling. But could you see him as top guy? Really?
And the Sammy grin was better than;
The Main Event : Wardrobe and Samoa Joe v The Gates Of Agony
This Rampage match was there to showcase Wardrobe, otherwise known as Wardlow; why do I name him Wardrobe? Because to me he has the charisma of one.
I remember some people a while ago proclaiming Wardlow as a possible Hollywood superstar. What is there in his mic work that provides evidence? Isn’t it more accurate to say he’s a bargain basement Batista?
Well, here JR told us he didn’t know enough about Gates Of Agony manager Prince Nana; honest, at least – I hope Nana is given more time to prove his worth in AEW. Bleacher Report raised an issue I’ve heard elsewhere too;
‘For some reason, Prince Nana doesn’t fit into AEW as well as he did in ROH. It’s hard to explain why, but he just seems out of place.’
The main point here was Samoa Joe putting Toa Liona into a sleeper on the outside and then having to wait and wait and what whilst the real reason for the match, Wardrobe hitting 4 Powerbombs on Kaun, happened – Liona didn’t struggle at all, by the way, as if resigned to his Rampage fate.
Well, At Least Rampage Started Well
But the quality dipped dangerously low after that. Rampage used to have a sense of light on its feet fun, now it’s wearing boots of lead.