AEW Rampage live results: Aussie Open vs. Best Friends title match

Friday’s AEW Rampage will kickoff at approximately 9:30 PM Eastern or after the NBA playoffs coverage concludes on TNT.

In a featured match, IWGP Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will defend their titles against Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) as they look to join Orange Cassidy as a champion.

“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry will try to keep pace with the other “four pillars” in pursuit of AEW World Champion MJF as he faces the returning Shawn Spears.

AEW Tag Team Champions FTR will have some things to say in an in-ring promo. The show will also feature promos from Jeff & Matt Hardy and Angelo Parker, Matt Menard & Jake Hager.

Taya Valkyrie will hope to remain undefeated in her AEW career as she faces Emi Sakura.

The new and unorthodox foursome of Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and Satnam Singh will be in eight-man tag team action

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Taped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone on commentary. The show started shortly after 9:40pm EST after the end of the Heat/Bulls game.

Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) defeated Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship (9:24)

This was great opener. 

Excalibur plugged the next title defense for whoever wins this match in New Japan, then ran down the history of the titles. Chuck Taylor hit both members of Aussie Open with a tope con hilo. In the ring, Beretta caught Fletcher with a high crossbody off the top for a near fall.

Aussie Open took the fight to the floor, where they dropped both of the Best Friends on the ring open back first. Then Aussie Open each grabbed one of their opponents and ran around the ringside area (in opposite directions) to collide on the other side of the ring. Back in the ring, Aussie Open punished Beretta with a delayed vertical suplex. 

After a split-screen break, Fletcher caught Beretta with a cutter off the middle rope for a near fall. Taylor and Davis brawled around ringside, where Taylor sent Davis into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Fletcher nearly fought out of a superplex attempt, but Taylor gave Beretta the assist (in a variation of the stacker suplex spot). After that, the Best Friends had to give the people what they want!

Beretta came off the top with a knee strike on Fletcher (while he was on Taylor’s shoulders) for a near fall. Fletcher caught Taylor with a spinning tombstone pilerdriver, and Davis yanked Beretta up by his legs and into a standard piledriver. Aussie Open finished Taylor off with the Coriolis and got the win. Great stuff.

– Sonjay Dutt tried assuage Mark Briscoe’s concerns with his new teammates, but this isn’t what Briscoe signed up for. They tried to give Briscoe a new shirt with the faces of the team on it, but Mark’s face was all the way off in the corner. Briscoe did not look happy. 

– Tony Schiavone interviewed FTR in the ring. Cash Wheeler announced they were resigned with AEW for four more years. After those four years, they’re done with wrestling. Yeah, okay. Wheeler wants FTR to be known as the greatest tag team of all time. Dax Harwood still hasn’t figured out why the crowd likes them. He decided it must be because the fans like their redemption story. 

– Lexi Nair interviewed The Hardys, Hook and Isiah Kassidy. Jeff was somewhat humble about facing his demons and his path back to AEW. Matt announced that this team will take on The Firm at the Hardy Compound in what will be the Firm’s Deletion. 

Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh defeated Manscout Jake Manning, Angelico, Luther & Serpentico (2:00)

Collectively, Angelico, Luther, and Serpentico are known as the Spanish Announce Project.

The heels jumped the Manscout’s team before the bell, even though Briscoe wanted to fight these guys fairly. And Jarrett continued to liberally cheat while Briscoe tried to face the Manning straight up. This match fell apart quickly. Singh dumped Serpentico onto the other members of the Spanish Announce Project, then gave Manning a chokeslam. Briscoe dropped the Froggy Bow for the pinfall. Briscoe left, disgusted with his partners.

– Recap of the feud between the Blackpool Combat Club and the Elite. 

Taya Valkyrie defeated Emi Sakura

Valkyrie is undefeated and Sakrua’s only recent loss is to the Women’s World Champion, Jamie Hayter. Valkyrie got a near fall after a knee strike in the corner. Sakura tried to suplex Valkyrie, but she blocked it.  Valkyire hit a clotheline for a near fall. Valkyrie tried for the Road to Valhalla, but Sakura blocked the move. Jade Cargill and Leila Grey came out to watch the match. This distraction allowed Sakura to get the advantage as the show headed to commercial. 

During the break, Cargill and Grey ventured down to the ringside area. Sakura sent Valkyrie into the steel stairs, then tossed her back into the ring for a near fall. Valkyrie came back with a blue thunder bomb and a spear. Valkyrie dropped Sakura with the Road to Valhalla and got the pinfall.

After the match, Grey and Cargill ran in to attack Valkyire. Grey fell victim to the Road to Valhalla. Cargill and Valkyrie exchanged forearms, but Grey recovered enough to cheapshot Valkyrie, and Cargill dropped her with the Jaded Slam. 

Everytime Cargill is on TV, she comes across as a star. 

– Jose the Assistant challenged El Hijo de Vikingo on behalf of Dralístico for Vikingo’s AAA Mega championship. This match was made official for next Saturday’s Rampage.

– In the ring, Jericho Appreciation Society members Matt Menard, Angelo Parker and Jake Hager cut an awful rap on the Acclaimed. Jake Hager still loves his hat. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn ran out to attack. The Acclaimed held open Matt Menard for Billy Gunn to cut off his nipples (with actual scissors!), but Parker and Hager made the save. The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn challenged Hager, Menard and Parker for Dynamite Wednesday. This match was made official later in the show. 

New for Dynamite Wednesday: Jay White v. Kommander (in Jay’s first match as a full-time member of the AEW roster) and a confrontation between Adam Cole & Chris Jericho. 

“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry defeated Shawn Spears (8:59)

In the pre-match promo, Mark Henry attempted to give this match a storyline by suggesting Spears was still a heavy for MJF. But, Spears shot that down. Spears is no longer an ally of MJF and wants to be the champion. Spears actually cut a very good promo laying out his intentions. 

It seemed like Spears was trying to bring back the “Perfect 10” stuff from his NXT/WWE days. Both men teased dives to the floor early on. While Spears and Perry brawled around the ringside area, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara were both shown watching the match in the back. 

After a break, Perry fought out of a superplex attempt and caught Spears with a crossbody for a near fall. Spears hit a pump kick, but Perry came back with a pair of supericks. Perry hit his rebound lariat. Spears sent Perry over the top to the apron, but Perry caught him with an enziguri. Perry tried to spring back into the ring, but Spears caught him and drove him down with a draping DDT for a near fall. Spears went for the C4, but Perry countered and hit a leaping flatliner for a near fall. Spears came back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Spears went for the La Magistral cradle, but Perry shifted his weight and held Spears down for the three count.

After the match, Perry and Spears shook hands in a show of respect. Now Perry, Guevara and Alli are all 2-0 since they all stated their intention to take MJF’s AEW World title. 

Final Thoughts: 

This crazy idea of giving all the other pillars a bunch of wins in advance of a title match with MJF just might work.