You know when you pack for a vacation and overstuff a suitcase. You can’t zip it closed but you feel like you need everything so you struggle with figuring out what to take out but ultimately it’s exciting frustration? Well that was Rampage this week. They filled this show with so much content but most of it was good and meaningful. So let’s go ahead and rank these talents!
Honorable mention: Dante Martin. He did 1 thing tonight and it was all he needed. After Hobbs sent Lethal crashing to the floor during a tope suicida attempt Martin hit the ring and with no hands jumped clear to the top rope and hit a huge splash on Hobbs to even the odds. It’s insane that this kid still can’t legally have a drink and he’s already looking like a cornerstone in the next generation of AEW.
5. Darby Allin. After Andrade came out during the TNT title match and he and the AHFO circled Sammy post-match Darby flew down the ramp to even the odds a bit. Andrade has his assistant present Darby with a contract for the 2nd week in a row which Darby once again spurned. When the AHFO cleared the ring he and Sammy had a face-off and Darby patted both belts. It’s been nearly 2 years since we last saw these 2 meet and I can’t wait to see it again!
4. Thunder Rosa. As she and Martinez were starting to pick up steam Martinez crushed her with a pipe at ringside causing, what I believe, is only the 2nd DQ in AEW history. Rosa was left laying but felt like a bigger star when Martinez was interviewed in the back and confronted by Britt Baker. Martinez said she did what she was paid to do, take her out. Britt revealed she brought Martinez in, not Jade, to which Jamie Hayter seemed surprised. Baker told Martinez Sterling handed her the check but never forget who signed it. And if she loses to Rosa again Mercedes’ time in AEW will be “shorter than (her) last job” Hayter and Martinez then had a brief stare down before Hayter walked away. There was so kuch development in this little block of time; Baker being a complete scumbag, Martinez as a mercenary and more seeds planted for Hayter’s face turn but ultimately Rosa getting the win and being the motivating factor in all this is enough to earn her the spot on this list. Commentary played up the Lights Out win Rosa had last year and as I’ll mention later I love the idea those matches mean everything to the people in them but nothing to the official records.
3. Adam Cole. While the TNT and FTW Champions had action packed, competitive matches Cole was quick to make sure there was no respawn for the former Player Uno. He got his knees up during a senton attempt by the Evil 1 and followed up with 2 super kicks to a kneeling Uno and The Boom for the win. After the match Cole listed everyone he’s beaten during his 10-0 singles run in AEW and said he wants the world title! He mentioned he doesn’t count the Cassidy loss and fact is, neither do the AEW record books. I’m still hoping for Cole & Co. v. Best Friends in Blood & Guts at Revolution but I wouldn’t be the least bit mad if we got Cole and Adam Page instead. I appreciate the way AEW has now twice used the Lights Out stipulation to explain away losses. It’s such a fun little tool for them to use.
2. Sammy Guevara.This was his moment to shine. This was his time for flight. And shine and fly he did! I’ve said to death that Private Party are the most underrated, underused duo in AEW so it was nice to see Kassidy get some shine as a singles guy in this match. According to Cagematch this went just over 9 minutes but they packed 20 minutes of action into less than half that time! During the beginning of the match Sammy nailed a twisting corkscrew plancha to the outside. While it looked like he may have the upper hand after dodging Marq Quen on the outside he turned around to eat a Side Effect from Matt Hardy on the apron doing even more damage to the taped up mid-section. This damage stopped him from hitting a GTH attempt shortly after. He went for a 630 and missed but caught himself and rolled through. Sammy went for a springboard but got caught by a cutter from Kassidy sending him throat first into the top rope. After countering a Twist of Fate from Kassidy into a backslide Sammy did a springboard moonsault to tale out Quen on the floor followed by a springboard cutter to Kassidy for just 2 and finally nailing the GTH for the win in his first defense of the unified TNT Championship.
1. Ricky Starks. He showed he’s “Absolute(ly)” worthy of being in a main event spot with his closing clash with Jay Lethal for the FTW title. The reversal sequences between these 2, especially at the end were wild! Early in the match Lethal tried to send Starks into the post at ringside but Starks leaped under the bottom rope and came around with an awesome lariat. You’ve likely already seen the spot a million times by the time you read this but Starks retained after an absolutely beautiful looking counter of the Lethal Injection into the Rochambeau. Starks also kicked out of a Lethal Combination in this match. Go watch this match if you haven’t seen it because me describing the ending sequence before the finish just wouldn’t do it justice! Starks is a star and I’ve come around on Lethal. He’s the perfect guy to lose big matches. I want to see both of these guys more regularly. A really good match to close out a really great show!
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