AEW Rampage live results: Three-way Tag Team title match
Just over a week after winning the AEW Tag Team titles, The Acclaimed will have their first title defense on Friday’s Rampage against both Private Party and The Butcher & The Blade.
Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated Swerve in our Glory at Dynamite Grand Slam to win the titles. Both sets of challengers will be looking for their first-ever AEW titles of any kind.
Former ROH World Champion Rush returns to singles action against John Silver of the Dark Order.
After their physical confrontation and chase during the Wednesday interim Women’s title lumberjack match, Jamie Hayter will take on Willow Nightingale.
Lee Moriarty will have his first singles match anywhere since late-July as he takes on Fuego Del Sol.
FTW Champion Hook will make an appearance for the first time since he and Action Bronson defeated Matt Menard and Angelo Parker at Rampage Grand Slam.
Our coverage begins at 10 PM Eastern.
**********
RIP Antonio Inoki.
Taped in Philadelphia, home to Ben Simmons and Benjamin Franklin.
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Jim Ross were on commentary.
The Acclaimed defeated The Butcher & The Blade and Private Party for the AEW World Tag Team titles (9:57)
The Acclaimed looked great with World titles around their waist and were hugely over. The crowd chanted “Scissor Me Daddy!” while Private Party and the champions exchanged holds. The Butcher and the Blade demanded a tag from Isiah Kassidy, but he refused. Frustrated, Butcher and Blade stormed the ring and attacked both of their opponents. They countered a Silly String attempt by Private Party by mauling them against the ropes, then took over on Bowens as the show went to a split-screen commercial.
Bowens fought out a chinlock from Blade, but ran right into a powerslam for a near fall. The Butcher leg dropped Bowens while Blade held him in a side suplex for a near fall. Bowens hit a superkick on Blade, but Butcher cut off his tag attempt to Caster. Quen tagged himself in and took down Blade with a crossbody and Butcher with a moonsault press.
Private Party took the fight to the Butcher and Blade. They hit a double-team senton/neckbreaker combo on Blade for a near fall. Blade hit a doctor bomb on Kassidy for a near fall, but he countered their Dredge the Lake finisher and dumped both guys to the floor. Kassidy hit a springboard onto Butcher and Blade (while Bowens made a blind tag), and Caster came off the top with a crossbody onto all his opponents on the floor. He tossed Blade back into the ring, where Bowens hit him with the Arrival (his side slam/uranage type move), and Caster followed with the Mic Drop. Bowens got the pinfall to retain the tag team titles.
–In the back, Lexi Nair’s interview with the Gunn Club and Stokely Hathaway was interrupted… actually, it wasn’t interrupted. The Gunns mocked all of the different tag team titles that FTR hold and decided they’d do what everyone else does: leapfrog the #1 contenders and go after the AEW World Tag Team Champions instead.
– Lexi Nair’s interview in the back with Jade Cargill was interrupted by Vicki Guerrero and Nyla Rose. Rose v. Cargill should be a fun match, and at least the finish won’t be quite a foregone conclusion.
Lee Moriarty (with Stokely Hathaway and W. Morrissey) defeated Fuego Del Sol (1:53)
Moriarty won a squash in less than two minutes with the Border City Stretch. After the match, Morrissey picked up Del Sol with a claw hold then chokeslammed him down to the mat.
– In the back, Lexi Nair’s interview with Adam Page, Evil Uno and 10 was interrupted by Andrade and Jose the Assistant. Andrade challenged 10 for a match on the anniversary of Brodie Lee’s death, and dared 10 to put his mask on the line. 10 accepted, but on the condition that if Andrade loses, he leaves AEW. Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway interrupted (double interruptions!) to alert Andradre to some potential contract tampering from Matt Hardy with Private Party.
10 v. Adrande, mask v. career is confirmed for next Friday’s live Rampage.
Jamie Hayter defeated Willow Nightingale (7:02 aired)
Nightingale hit a senton early on, then cartwheeled right into a pump kick from Hayter. The match continued through a split-screen break with Hayter working a chinlock on Nightingale.
Hayter hit a uranage into a backbreaker for a near fall, although on replay it was more like the back of Nightingale’s head hit Hayter’s knee. Nightingale came back with a giant pounce which sent Hayter flying out of the ring. Back in the ring, Nightingale got caught with boots and a forearm from Hayter. Nightingale hit a death valley driver for a near fall. She started to go to the top for a moonsault, but Baker grabbed Nightingale’s leg to distract her. Hayter waistlocked Nightingale off the middle ropes and delivered a massive German suplex, then hit a short arm clothesline to get the pinfall.
– A promo for WarJoe, the new tag team of Wardlow and Samoa Joe.
– A video package narrated by Tony Schiavone showed Swerve Strickland attending the Rolling Loud music festival. Strickland is still upset about losing the tag team titles and may interrupt The Acclaimed’s National Scissoring Day celebration that’s part of Dynamite next week.
– Promo for the upcoming AEW World title match bewteen Adam Page v. Jox Moxley. Page knows he will have the AEW fans behind him! Then he’s informed the match is in Cincinnati. Oops.
– Toni Storm, Athena & Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayet, Serena Deeb and Penelope Ford is announced for next week’s Dynamite, and PAC v. Trent Beretta for the AEW All-Atlantic Title is announced for Battle of the Belts 4.
Rush (w/ Andrade and Jose the Assistant) defeated John Silver (w/ Alex Reynolds)
Silver knocked Rush out of the ring and mocked his “tranquilo” pose. Rush leveled him with a forearm in response. Rush hit a dropkick to the back of Silver then mocked the Dark Order pose. Rush took Silver to the floor and whipped him into the barricades. 1976 Temple Alum Bryce Remsburg (that dubious factoid came from Tony Schiavone) restored order and got the fight back into the ring. Rush teased the Bull’s Horns, but opted to give Silver a light stomp in the corner instead.
Back from a split-screen break, Silver hit a pair of avalanche clotheslines and then a pair of german suplexes for a near fall. Silver countered a hurricanrana attempt with a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Rush fought out of a suplex attempt and hit a northern lights suplex for a two count of his own. Rush allowed Silver to hit a series of chops, then took him down with a forearm. Silver came back with a series of kicks, then hit a brainbuster for a near fall. This drew Jose onto the apron, but Reynolds quickly pulled him down. Andrade distracted Silver, and Rush floored him with a forearm. Rush hit the Bull’s Horns and got the pinfall.
After the match, Andrade and Rush put the boots to Silver and Reynolds. Evil Uno and 10 ran in to make the save, and the Butcher and The Blade ran in to help their boss. Adam Page ran in to even the odds for the Dark Order, and teased giving Rush the Buckshot lariat. Rush ducked out, so Page unloaded the Buckshot on Jose instead.
Excalibur announced Rush v. Adam Page for Dynamite on Wednesday to close the show.
Final Thoughts: A perfectly fine but unremarkable show. They did a little bit to build to Battle of the Belts and next week’s live shows, but they probably should have made the direction for next Friday’s live shows more clear.