AEW Rampage live results: Tag Team title match, Young Bucks, Hook in action
The AEW Tag Team titles will be on the line as Jurassic Express will look to defend the gold against Colten and Austin of the Gunn Club.
The Gunns have been one of the AEW’s winningest tag teams since they debuted with this being their first shot at the gold. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus are entering their second month as champions.
Former champions The Young Bucks will return to in-ring action against the reformed Roppongi Vice of Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero. This was supposed to happen on January 21st but Romero contracted COVID-19. New Japan’s Jay White helped the Bucks and Adam Cole lay both men out on Wednesday.
In a non-title match, AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker will take on Dark and Dark: Elevation regular Robyn Renegade.
Hook will look to keep his young undefeated streak alive when he faces QT Marshall’s best student, the debuting Blake Li.
Bryan Danielson will also do a promo on the show.
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Taped in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks and Taz on the call.
The Young Bucks (w/ Brandon Cutler) defeated Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta (w/Orange Cassidy) (13:23)
This match was insane.
No entrances for either team so the show could get right to the action. Beretta and Nick started out and Beretta knocked Nick out to the floor with an elbow. On the floor, Romero hit Nick with a rana and sent him back into the ring. Matt Jackson didn’t do much better, getting hit with a knee strike and a clothesline for a near fall. The Young Bucks tried to fight Romero and Bertta on two-on-two, and wound up eating a double clothesline and double knee strike which sent the Bucks to the floor.
The Young Bucks decided they’d had enough and headed up the ramp. Romero and Beretta gave chase and walked right into a pair of superkicks. The Bucks ran back into the ring and encourage referee Rick Knox to start a ten count. Romero made it back in the ring before the ten count, and the Young Bucks took control.
The Bucks hit a double team neckbreaker on Romero, then knocked Beretta to the floor with a kick. The Bucks sent Romero to the floor and Nick hit a fantastic assisted moonsault on both his oppoents on the floor. Orange Cassidy distracted the Bucks by heading under the ring. When the Bucks tried to pull Cassidy out from under the ring, they pulled out DANHAUSEN instead! He cursed them! The now cursed Bucks fell victim to a double tope from Roppongi Vice. Back in the ring, Romero hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. The show went to a picture-in-picture break.
Back from break, Matt mocked Romero by standing in his corner and rooting him on to get the “hot tag” while Beretta was on the floor. Then The Bucks mocked the Best Friends hug, and Romero took them both out with a hurricanrana. He got the hot tag to Beretta, who took Nick out with a clothesline and dropped Matt with a half and half suplex. Beretta followed up with a tornado DDT on Nick.
Matt pulled Beretta out to the floor where Beretta took him out with a half and half suplex. Romero and Beretta hit Nick with a doomsday device knee strike on the floor. Romero hit Nick with a knee to the back of the head while he was hanging in the ropes, and Beretta followed up with a sliding knee strike for a near fall. Nick and Beretta exchanged german suplexes. Romero and Beretta hit stereo german suplexes, The Bucks came back with superkicks, and Roppongi Vice came back with a pair of clotheslines and everyone was down.
The match settled into Romero and Matt Jackson. Romero hit a kneestrick and went for sliced bread, which Matt countered into a tombstone attempt, but Romero rolled through into a cradle for two. Matt got Romero in a fireman’s carry to go for More Bang for Your Buck, but Romero got his knees up on the 450, and Beretta caught Matt with a top rope german suplex. Insane.
Beretta hit a Strong Zero on Matt for a near fall, but Nick threw Romero into Beretta to break up the pin. Matt survived a Doomsday Device from Romero and Beretta, superkicked both guys, then hit The Best Meltzer Ever for a near fall. The Bucks then hit the BTE Trigger on Romero for the pin. I honestly have no idea how they packed all this into 13 minutes.
After the match, Cutler ate the Orange Punch from Cassidy. The Bucks then took out Cassidy with a superkick party. Beretta chased off the Bucks, but Jay White ran in from the crowd and took out Beretta with the Blade Runner.
– At the commentary desk, Ricky Starks announced that Dante Martin will be facing Powerhouse Hobbs in a Face of the Revolution Qualifying Match on Rampage next week.
– Tony Schiavone interviewed Bryan Danielson in the back. Danielson compared his offer to Jon Moxley to a long term relationship, whereas he just had a “one night stand” with CM Punk on Wednesday. Lee Moriatry and Matt Sydal interrupted, and this led to a Danielson/Moriarty match being made for Dynamite on Wednesday.
AEW World Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (w/ Rebel) defeated Robyn Renegade (6:28)
Jamie Hayter was conspicuous by her absence at ringside. Baker and Renegade exchanged side headlocks and arm ringers early in the match. Renegade missed a charge in the corner and Baker took control during the split-screen break.
After the break, Renegade hit a shotgun dropkick and a frog splash for a near fall. Baker escaped a suplex escape with a gator roll and hit a superkick. Baker hit an elbow strike and a fisherman’s neckbreaker, then hit the curb stomp for a pinfall.
After the match, Baker applied the Lockjaw as Renegade bleed from the mouth. Thunder Rosa made the save, taking out Rebel on her way to the ring and raining down fisks on Baker. Jamie Hayter ran in to save Baker, taking out Rosa with a backbreaker. Mercedes Martinez ran down to get her own shots in, then got into an argument Hayter. Baker had to pull the two apart.
This could have been done on Monday’s Dark and the angle could have been replayed on Dynamite and that would have been just fine.
– Leyla Hirsh and Kris Statlander exchanged barbs in a pre-taped segment.
Hook defeated Blake Li (w/ QT Marshall) (2:51)
Blake Li is a former amateur wrestling champion. Doesn’t matter, Hook still destroyed him. Hook took control with a quarter nelson and backed Li in the corner, then worked him over with body shots. Hook flipped out of a hip toss attempt and suplexed Li. Marshall got on the apron to distract Hook, which didn’t help. Hook avoided a crossbody attempt by simply stepping out of the way, then suplexed Li. Hook locked on the Redrum for the submission.
As usual, the crowd was totally into Hook.
Main Event Promo Time: Lots of talking from the old guys, but Jungle Boy teed up the crowd to chant “Ass Boys!” at the Gunns.
On Dyanamite Wednesday:
- Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs. Santana & Ortiz
- Wardlow v. Max Caster in Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifying match.
- Thunder Rosa v. Mercedes Martinez in a No-DQ match.
- Lee Moriarty v. Bryan Danielson
- Sammy Guevara v. Darby Allin for the TNT Championship
On Ramage Next Friday:
- Trent Beretta v. Jay White
- Dante Martin v. Powerhouse Hobbs
The Jurassic Express defeated The Gunn Club to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship (12:29)
Jungle Boy hit Austin with a tackle and gave him a crotch chop, then took him down with a step up hurricanrana. Colton came in and got a lariat for his troubles. Luchasaurus got the tag and chopped Austin. Jungle Boy came off the top with a senton for a nearfall. Colton got the blind tag and absolutely waffled Jungle Boy with a lariat. The Gunn Club took control as the show went to a split screen ad break.
Back from the break, Jungle Boy broke free from a chinlock and dumped Austin to the floor. Colton missed a splash but hit a backdrop suplex on Jungle Boy after he failed to get the tag to Luchasaurus (thanks to a timely intervention from Austin on the floor). Jungle Boy hit Austin with a superkick and got the tag to Luchasaurus, who tossed around both Gunns to the crowd’s delight.
Luchasaurus floored both Gunns with a double clothesline. The Gunns escaped a double chokeslam by dropping to the floor. Jungle Boy hit both Gunns with a tope con hilo, and back in the ring Luchasaurus hit a standing moonsault for a near fall. Austin hit the Quick Draw on Jungle Boy on the floor. Colton tried to get the pin on Jungle Boy with his feet on the ropes, but Christian broke up the pin attempt. Billy Gunn and Christian got into in the floor, and the distraction allowed Austin to hit Jungle Boy with one of the tag title belts for a near fall.
Jungle Boy and Austin took each other out with a double clothesline. Luchasurus pulled Colton out of the ring and choke slammed him into the crowd while Christian hit Billy Gunn with a spear on the floor. Back in the ring, Austin went for Famouser on Jungle Boy, but he countered it into the Killswitch and got the pinfall. Very good tag match. The Gunn Club looked great.
Final thoughts:
Two really good tag matches bookend an excellent hour of wrestling.