AEW Rampage live results: Undisputed Kingdom vs. Best Friends

The Undisputed Kingdom square off with Best Friends in a trios match on tonight’s AEW Rampage. 

Undisputed Kingdom’s Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven will face the Best Friends trio of Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero in the featured contest on this week’s episode. Strong is set to challenge Cassidy for the International Championship at AEW Revolution next month. 

The Young Bucks will return to the ring for the first time since November on tonight’s show as well, facing a pair of enhancement talents in tag team action. The Bucks are on the march towards a match with new Tag Team Champions Sting & Darby Allin at Revolution after they attacked the new champs at the conclusion of this week’s Dynamite.

CMLL’s Mistico will go one-on-one with Matt Sydal on the show as the CMLL invasion angle of sorts continues.

Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale will team against Saraya & Ruby Soho of The Outcasts on tonight’s show as well.

Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard were on the call for tonight’s action from Phoenix.

Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven) (w/ Adam Cole and Wardlow) defeated Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Rocky Romero)

This was a good opener with a somewhat abrupt finish.

If you’ve been following along, this is the latest chapter in the build to Cassidy defending his International title against Strong at next month’s Revolution. There’s also been some tension between Beretta and Cassidy as of late, so that bears watching tonight.

Strong wanted no part of Cassidy when given the opportunity early as they are keeping them apart. 

This was as good as you might expect going in, featuring a fun offensive sequence from all six men before the first ad break. The end was Strong hitting a running knee and his End of Heartache on Romero as he was hitting his forever clotheslines in the corner on Taven and Bennett, giving Taven the pin. It was an out of nowhere end that didn’t involve Cassidy at all.

After the match, Strong hit another End of Heartache on Romero onto two chairs before the heels scampered away. 

Cassidy will defend the aforementioned title against Tomohiro Ishii on Saturday’s Collision.

The Young Bucks defeated Mondo Rox & Robbie Lit

I am among those surprised by AEW putting the Bucks’ first match since November’s Full Gear on Rampage — a match not even mentioned on Dynamite for some reason.

The Jackson brothers, with new generic music, were wearing (and wrestled in) their blood-soaked white three-piece suits worn at Dynamite when they obliterated Sting and Darby Allin. Nicholas even wrestled with his Kangol hat on.

This was a squash that featured the Bucks heeling it up, hitting a low blow on one of their opponents behind referee Rick Knox’s back. They won with the EVP trigger and then took to the mic to deliver a “show us some respect” and “call us by our God-given names” promo.

They congratulated Sting and Allin for winning the AEW Tag Team titles and said it was their objective to get their titles back. They said they won’t politick to get the shot and will compete in “competitive matches” like they did tonight. They announced they will be in action this Wednesday as well which will be against Top Flight.

I’m sure there are some who love this Bucks character. I’m not among them, but am on record to saying they need a great 2024 after a weird 2023. Perhaps they think this is the road there.

Mistico (w/ Star Jr. & Esfinge) defeated Matt Sydal

Mistico came out to perhaps some of the worst entrance music I have heard in a long time. While he was flanked by two CMLL mates, Sydal was sadly alone despite backing up the Blackpool Combat Club over the past week. Christopher Daniels was apparently busy too.

These two have some history as they battled once before in WWE as part of a no count out bout on a June 2011 edition of Raw when they were wrestling as Sin Cara and Evan Bourne, respectively.

Despite being a heel in the ongoing feud between CMLL and the Blackpool Combat Club, Mistico was playing up to the fans early on and throughout the bout as well. In the end, he hit a sweet-looking Spanish fly off the top rope to end a perfectly fine TV match. This CMLL run has been really entertaining.

– Renee Paquette caught up with Brian Cage and Prince Nana who took issue with FTW Champion Hook hitting him with a chair recently. Cage then challenged “any two sloppy joes” in the back to face him in a handicap match on Collision.

Willow Nightingale & Kris Statlander (w/ Stokely Hathaway) defeated Saraya & Ruby Soho (w/ Harley Cameron)

Hathaway sat in on commentary, replacing Menard who disappeared to Schiavone’s surprise.

Soho was reading a note in her jacket pocket that had her looking very suspect on her way down to the ring, so there’s that. I feel like I’ve seen this match 10 times already, but this is actually the first. Must be all the backstage segments and run-ins?

I haven’t taken too much to this feud to be that invested. I know there’s too many titles in AEW (thanks ROH!), but a Women’s Tag Team Championship could be justified with matches like this both servicing the rivalry and meaning something in the…standings. (Yeah, I don’t like them either.)

The big story here was Soho leaving The Outcasts, leaping off the ring apron when Saraya reached for a tag which was followed by Soho knocking Cameron out on her way out. Apparently that note Soho read was important…and more important than just watching past AEW shows to see what Saraya was up to.

Nightingale then took out Saraya with her Babe With The Power Bomb finish to get the win. Hathaway shook Statlander and then Nightingale’s hand, even getting a big hug. Then, Skye Blue appeared (sporting a big new tattoo on her right arm, I believe) and glared at the two until TBS Champion July Hart appeared next to her after a blackout. Then, they both glared until they eventually left, setting up a future match between them.

It appears the romance between Soho and Angelo Parker has a chance after all. That’s fitting given Valentine’s Day is next week which means we’re getting a follow up next week.

Note for next week: Rampage starts at 7 PM Eastern.