The first challenger for Interim AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will be determined in a 20-man Royal Rampage battle royal at Friday’s AEW Rampage.
Recorded after Wednesday’s Dynamite, it will take place in the two rings that were set up for Blood & Guts. Graphics featured the debuting Rush, Frankie Kazarian, John Silver, Orange Cassidy, former AEW Champion Hangman Page, Konosuke Takeshita, Penta Oscuro, Powerhouse Hobbs, Ricky Starks, Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, Darby Allin, Dustin Rhodes, The Butcher, The Blade, Max Caster, Tony Nese, Matt Hardy, Dante Martin and Brody King.
On the heels of last Sunday’s Forbidden Door, AEW Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks will face NJPW’s Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI in a non-title event. If Goto & HASHI win they will get a future title shot.
After failing to dethrone AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa on Sunday, Toni Storm will look to get back on the winning streak against former champion Nyle Rose.
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Recorded in Detroit, Michigan. Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross commented.
Brody King (Red Ring winner) won the 20 Man Royal Rampage for his first shot at the AEW Interim Title, last eliminating Darby Allin (Blue Ring winner) at 22:41.
This is a two ring battle royal where wrestlers enter at 1 minute (or so) intervals. The winners of each ring will face off once both rings have been released.
They were the first four participants Powerhouse Hobbs and Adam Page in ring 1 (or red ring) a Darby Allin and Tony Nese in ring 2 (blue ring).
Ricky Starks was #3 in the Red Ring and helped Hobbs double team Page. Allin took out Nese with a back body drop and then followed him to the floor with his high speed toe kick. Butcher (with Bunny) was #3 in the blue ring and threw Allin into the ring barricades on the floor.
#4 for Red Ring was John Silverand helped Page. Page and Silver doubled over Hobbs and then embraced. Page and Silver then brawled to eliminate each other. #4 for the Blue Ring was Max Caster (with Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn). Throughout the rap we reached the 5th participants for Red Ring, Rush (with Andrade El Idolo & Jose). Blade was #5 for the Blue Ring and immediately helped the butcher. This is the first point for competitors and only one disqualification.
dark penta (with Alex Abrahantes) was #6 for the Red Ring and Rush dropped to the floor and went after him. Penta slingbladed him up the ramp. Penta came down from the top and Rush dropped him in the air. John Silver was eliminated and Swerve Strickland was #6 for the Blue Ring. Strickland knocked out Max Caster.
Keith Lee was #7 for Red Ring. Lee was double teamed by Hobbs and Starks, with his partner Strickland in the other ring, unable to help.
Matt Hardy entered the Blue Ring during the break at #7. Dustin Rhodes was #8 in the Red Ring. Penta and Rush fought on the apron and both eliminated each other after Rush kicked Penta low. Frankie Kazarian entered at #8 in the Blue Ring as Andrade dropped a chair on Penta’s head to the floor. Butcher and Blade eliminated Matt Hardy. Butcher and Blade actually did a nice little story in the match, working together for the whole thing.
Number 9 for Red Ring was Dante Martin and went after Starks but got double teamed by Starks and Hobbs. Konosuke Takeshita was #9 in the Blue Ring and matched Allin with the Blue Thunder Bomb, then German suplexed Allin and Strickland at the same time. Butcher and Blade take out Kazarian. Number 10 for the Red Ring was Brody King from the Černých house. He went after Dustin Rhodes. He was finally the last man in the Blue Ring Orange Cassidy.
King took Martin out with a chop and Page and Rhodes doubled up King. Cassidy hit both Butcher and Blade with a hurricanrana at the same time. Takeshita countered a spinning DDT from Cassidy with a brainbuster while Rhodes was eliminated. Butcher and Blade eliminated Takeshita.
Someone signaled to go home as the eliminations began to happen quickly. Strickland took out Cassidy. Lee eliminated Hobbs and Starks eliminated Lee. Butcher and Blade took out Strickland. Page took out the Starks and the King eliminated Page to win the Red Ring. In the Blue Ring, Darby Allin took out both Butcher and The Blade.
That left Brody King v. Darby Allin. King gave Allin a medical bomb and then hit him with a cannonball in the corner. Allin put King on the apron. But King grabbed Allin’s rear naked choke, dragged him over the ropes, literally hung him on the apron while choking him, and then dropped the unconscious Allin to the floor for the win.
This was every battle royal (but in two rings). At least no one was hiding under the ring until the very end. And the ending with Allin limping and hanging from the ring while in the choke was pretty cool.
Brody King v. Jon Moxley was officially for Dynamite Wednesday.
– Alex Marvez tried to interview Hook. Hook gets in Marvez’s face and tells him “all that matters is invisible to the eye.” Well.
AEW World Tag Team Championships The Young Bucks vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI (Broadcast 9:31 AM)
Goto and HASHI hit War Drums on both Bucks early. Matt caught HASHI with a locomotion Northern Lights suplex. Goto ran in and Matt suplexed Goto and HASHI. Nick hit Goto and HASHI with a leapfrog to the floor as the show broke.
Back from the break, Goto got the hot tag and hit Matt with a leg lariat in the corner and a running bulldog for a near fall. Matt got an assisted sliced bread on Got and Nick followed up with a sliding knee for a near fall. Goto got a near fall after a head hunter/legsweek combo. Lariats and superkicks followed, leaving all four men down.
Goto caught Nick with an ushigoroshi and YOSHI-HASHI caught Nick with a superkick off the second ushigoroshi for another near fall. Matt and Nick sent Goto into a superkick party that knocked him into the other ring. Nick then hit a double springboard from ring one to ring two on Goto, then the Bucks hit the Meltzer Driver on HASHI with Nick jumping from ring two to ring one. That was quite the finish.
– ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham cut a promo and declared himself the best technical wrestler in the world. Gresham will prove it next week at Rampage in a tag match against Tully Blanchard’s team The Gates of Agony (Kaun and Toa Liona).
Main Event Promotion Time: Nyla Rose cut a great promo with Marina Shafir looking over her shoulder. Storm’s reaction wasn’t quite up to Rose’s.
Toni Storm defeated Nyla Rose (with Marina Shafir) (9:42)
Rose is #1 contender and Storm is #3.
Fans can be seen leaving during the match. Not much, but you can tell. Storm got a suplex on Rose, but Shafir pulled the ropes down on Storm, sending her crashing to the floor.
After the break, Storm dodged a cannonball in the corner and then caught Rose with a side attack in the corner. Shafir tags in again, but Storm is able to send Rose to the floor and then take out both Rose and Shafir with a double DDT.
Rose shrugged off a spinning DDT attempt and went for a Beast Bomb, but Storm flew through a sunset flip attempt. Rose lands a powerful kick for a near fall. Rose went for a diving knee but Storm ducked and hit a German suplex for a near fall. Shafir tried to hit again, but Storm kicked Shafir away and hit a spinning DDT on Rose. Storm then hit another DDT on Rose to get the pinfall. Well, a match that got better as time went on as both women worked hard.
After the match, Shafir and Rose teamed up with Storm, but Thunder Rosa ran in and saved himself. “We could have a Thunderstorm on our hands!” Excalibur joked.
For Dynamite Wednesday (announced during the main event):
- TNT Street Title Fight: Scorpio Sky v. Wardlow
- The Butcher & The Blade v. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
- Christian Cage & Luchasaurus appear
- Jon Moxley v. Brody King for the AEW Interim Title.
Final Thoughts:
This was an okay show that set up what should be a good King v. Moxley main event for Dynamite Wednesday. The rumble of two rings is an idea that is probably worth revisiting.
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