This week’s AEW Rampage didn’t have the magic of 15 seed St. Peters pulling an upset but it did have a #1 ranked wrestler getting upset so let’s jump in to yet another manic March edition of the Rampage Power Rankings!
Honorable Mention: Ricky Starks, Swerve Strickland and Men of the Year. He retained his FTW title by beating Swerve after some help from Hobbs and a Roshambo but Keith Lee stole their spotlight despite a solid match. Men of the Year and Dan Lambert had a sound promo where they said open challenges are over and any challengers to the TNT title will have to earn it like Sky did.
5. Nyla Rose. “The Native Beast” sent a message to Thunder Rosa with a quick win over her student Madi Wrenkowski via Beast Bomb. She also earned Chris Jericho’s “Sports Entertainer of the Week” which didn’t come in a glass frame like QT Marshall’s certificate but did come with an on screen graphic.
4. reDRagon. O’Reilly and Fish gave a lot to 5 and 10 in their tag match and really helped those guys look like contenders. First 10 got to power through an attempted set-up on the floor when Kyle ran around and Fish tried to spring up from the other side of the ring. Then after getting his leg kicked out on the apron and worked over 10 hit a double shoulder block spot off the corner and to make a hot tag with O’Reilly on his back and Fish trying to pull them back. 5 came in with a crossbody on both foes off the top and hit a bridging suplex onto O’Reilly which Kyle intelligently twisted into a guillotine. The guillotine was broken up inadvertently when Fish DDT’d 10 on to the pile while trying to stop him from breaking up the submission. reDRagon got the last laugh though when they spun 10’s mask on his head and hit a high/low to take him out followed by a “Chasing the Dragon” to 5 for the win. After the match they tried to continue the beat down but were run off by Christian & Jurassic Express. But as the trio was distracted Cole grabbed the tag championships to go with the AEW Championship he stole last week.
3. Dustin Rhodes. He won his match with “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer when he pulled his head into the turnbuckle Archer exposed earlier in the fight and got him in a jacknife cover for the 3. The win sent Archer tumbling down the rankings from his #1 spot and off the deep end mentally as Archer demolished Rhodes after the match smashing Dustin’s head against the stairs, kneeing him against the barricade to bust him open and then chokeslamming him through a table. Rhodes might have been left worse for wear but he got the win and stopped his student from being assaulted by Archer before the match so he deserves some credit. The match itself was solid too with Dustin missing a cannonball splash off the apron, Archer hitting an impressive twisting splash in the corner and Dustin hitting a 2nd rope bulldog and Crossrhodes for just 2. I’ll never stopped being impressed by what Dustin can do at 52. Sting being 11 years his senior has taken some of his shine but I need to get on whatever diet, exercise and medication plan those 2 are on. Jericho also had a funny line about how if Dustin was a Sports Entertainer like him he wouldn’t be left pouring out blood in a pile of broken furniture.
2. Keith Lee. It’s no secret that I haven’t loved the handling of Lee in AEW so far but tonight was a step in the righf direction. AEW got as close to their “Keith Lee shot” from NXT as they’ve gotten so far when after the main event a member of Ricky Stark’s “Entourage” was chucked through the banner they were holding on the ramp honoring Starks and the camera revealed Lee as the man who tossed him. The entourage was standing behind commentary during the match and we were told the guys were Starks’ “cobbler, nutritionist and barber” and I swore they were going to get pounced from the stage by Lee but this was almost as good. Lee took out the other 2 members as well before brawling with Hobbs to go off the air. We need more of Lee as a monster.
1. Hook. “You taught me to run. You taught me to fly. Taught me to free the me inside. Helped me hear the music of my heart.” is probably what QT Marshall hoped to hear when he presented “The Handsome Devil” with the first ever QT Marshall Certificate of Acconplishment. But instead at QT held the certificate in it’s glass frame Hook sent Aaron Solo head first into it before casually walking up the ramp. Hook then doubled down by no selling Danhausen’s attempt to curse him on the ramp leaving Danhausen befuddled. Hook is the epitome of “Less is more” and keep giving me more Hook by giving me less Hook. This kid is being handled beauitfully by AEW!
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