AEW Rampage live results: The Elite vs. Top Flight & AR Fox Trios title match

The AEW Trios titles will be on the line in a rematch on a special early edition of AEW Rampage.

Reigning champions Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks will defend against Top Flight & AR Fox after they challenged the champions to a second match during Wednesday’s Dynamite.

This week’s show will start at 7 PM Eastern due to the Slam Dunk competition as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.

TBS Champion Jade Cargill will look to keep both her undefeated streak and title reign going as she defends against VertVixen. This is a rematch from a December title eliminator match.

After Daniel Garcia ended last week’s gauntlet match that would have given Ricky Starks another match with Chris Jericho, Starks and Garcia will have a one-on-one matchup. 

In a grudge match that has built for weeks, Swerve Strickland will take on Dustin Rhodes. Strickland and his crew laid out Rhodes recently and have targeted the second generation star.

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Taped in Laredo, Texas, it’s AEW Rampage Slam Dunk!

Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho and Excalibur were on commentary.

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks (w/ Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa) defeated Top Flight & AR Fox to retain the AEW World Trios Championship (10:23)

Everyone wore NBA All Star 2023 T-Shirts because corporate synergy is a good thing. Except for JR. Well he’s more of a football guy anyway. The Elite did their entire elaborate entrance and the crowd sang along with their music. 

Don Callis joined the commentary team for this match. The opening sequence involved a jump ball into an atomic drop, and Nick beaning his own brother in the head with a basketball. AR Fox did a pair of over the rope dives on the Bucks and Omega, then repeated the dive on the Bucks with a basketball. It’s a 3 pointer! Because basketball! 

The silliness with the basketball continued with the Elite passing the ball around AR Fox, then tossing it up in the air to Fox. When Fox went up to grab the ball, the Bucks superkicked him. 

After a commercial, Nick took Fox down with a bulldog. Fox came back with an iconoclasm on Nick into a cutter, and got the tag to Dante Martin. Martin flew all over the ring on Omega, getting a near fall with a crossbody block. Dante flipped out of a snap dragon suplex and hit an enziguri. Darius Martin got the tag and hit a Spanish Fly on Matt. Darius came off the top with a double stomp (while throwing the basketball at the Elite), and Fox hit a 450 splash for a near fall.

Matt Jackson came back to powerbomb Fox in the corner while his brother and Omega connected with kicks. Nick hit a senton on Fox and Darius while they were hung up in the ropes by Omega and Matt Jackson. Omega set up Darius for the V-trigger, but Dante flew in with a springboard clothesline. AR Fox hit a double cutter on Nick and Omega (out of a kip up, because he’s insane). Matt caught Fox in the corner and beat him down. Fox tried a moonsault, but the Elite wiped him out with a triple superkick. Nick hit Top Flight with an escalera on the floor, and Omega hit Fox with the One Winged Angel for the pinfall. It felt like the packed 25 minutes of action into this. 

After the match, the lights went out, and members of the House of Black appeared on the stage. Then the lights went out, and they were gone. This was interprted as a challenge from the House of Black for the World Trios titles. Yes, please. 

– Lexi Nair interviewed the Gunn Club. They’re trying to make “welcome to the Gunn show!” a thing. I don’t think it’s working. 

– Mark Henry tried to interview Orange Cassidy about his 18 match winning streak, but they were interrupted by ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta. Yuta was salty about the treatment he received when he was with the Best Friends. They didn’t teach him anything and treated Yuta like a clown. Then they replaced him with a clown! Yuta challenged Cassdiy for his All Atlantic Title. Cassidy didn’t want to be Yuta’s teacher, but his friend. Cassidy accepts Yuta’s challenge. This match was made official for Dynamite later in the show. 

Ricky Starks defeated Daniel Garcia (8:38 aired)

Starks did the Undertaker’s rope walk on Garcia, which Jericho noted was “quite the undertaking.” Garcia caught Starks with a dragon screw leg whip in the ropes, then sent him to the floor with a shoulder block. 

During the split-screen break, Garcia delivered a really nice float-over suplex and worked over Starks’ leg. After the break, Starks went for the spear but he collapsed because of his bad leg. Starks caught Garcia charging in with a clothesline. Starks hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Starks hit a blue thunder bomb for another near fall. Starks blocked Garica’s attempt at a dragon screw legwhip, but Garcia hit a uranage for near fall. Garcia locked Starks in the Dragon Tamer (aka Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter). Starks tried to make the ropes but Sammy Guevara came out to pull the ropes away. Action Andretti ran in to attack Guevara and they brawled to the back.

Back in the ring, Starks hit Garcia with the spear, then delivered the roshambeaux to get the pinfall.

After the match, Guevara came back out the commentary area and demanded a match with Action Andretti. This match was made official for next week’s Rampage later in the show. 

– A promo on Evil Uno aired to attmped to make him a credible competitor against Jon Moxley. 

Jade Cargill (w/ Leila Grey) defeated VertVixen to retain the TBS Championship (1:09)

Cargill already beat VertVixen in an eliminator match in December. Has Cargill really squashed the entire women’s roster that we have to reuse non-challengers?

Cargill did some push-ups, hit a pump kick and delivered the Jaded Slam for the pinfall. Jade is now 53-0. 

Dustin Rhodes defeated Swerve Strickland (w/ Parker Boudreaux) by disqualification (12:23)

Mark Henry got his split-screen interview segment back after missing it the last few weeks. “Trench” was missing, and Strickland thought Rhodes was responsible. I thought for sure this meant “Trench” (which has to be the worst name in wrestling) was going to appear but he did not. 

Boudreaux tried to attack Rhodes in the aisle, but Rhodes hit him with a turnbuckle. Rhodes and Strickland brawled around ringside. Back in the ring, Rhodes hammered Strickland in the corner with right hands. Strickland cut off Rhodes’ attempt at the bionic elbow with a right. Rhodes took Strickland down with a “release” german suplex. I can’t recall Rhodes ever doing that move. Strickland caught Rhodes with a kick in the corner, then came off the apron with a pump kick onto the floor. Rhodes was slouched against the steel barricade, and Strickland dove in with a dropkick. Rhodes came up bleeding, and Strickland worked over the cut into a split-screen break.

After the break, Rhodes was sporting the crimson mask, and Swerve caught him with a kick. Rhodes bounced up, no sold punches from Strickland, and hit a spinning powerslam. Rhodes hit a pair of lariats and the drop-down uppercut. Rhodes hit a code red for a near fall.

Swerve and Rhodes exchanged kicks, and then collided in mid ring when they both went for cross body-blocks. Rhodes and Strickland brawled to the ring apron. Swerve hit a death valley driver on the ring apron, but only got a two count when they rolled back into the ring. Swerve went to the top but Rhodes caught him and superplexed him down. Then Rhodes followed up with a piledriver and Swerve kicked out.

Rhodes hit Swerve with the CrossRhodes, then hit his Final Reckoning. He went for the pin, but Boudreaux pulled Rhodes out of the ring and sent him into the ring steps. Referee Aubrey Edwards called for the disqualification.

Swerve and Boudreaux worked over Rhodes in the ring. A gaggle of security goons came out, but Boudreaux dispatched them easily. Boudreaux then pulled out a cinder block from under the ring. Boudreaux set Rhodes’ head on the cinder block, but Keith Lee’s music played! Boudreaux and Swerve looked to the stage for Lee, but he snuck up behind them. Boudreaux ate a discus forearm from Lee and the heels ran off. Lee helped Rhodes up to his feet while Strickland looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Final Comments:

Swerve Strickland is a fantastic heel and the main event was great. The opener was also great and set up a new program for the Elite for Revolution. 

During the main event, other matches and segments announced for Dynamite were The Acclaimed v. Big Bill & Lee Moriarty, Saraya v. Skye Blue, interviews with Christian Cage and Bryan Danielson and a major annoucement from Tony Khan. Also, Aussie Open and Top Flight were added to the tag team battle royal.