AEW Rampage live results: Young Bucks vs. Aussie Open

By Joseph Collins
Published: 24 Feb 2023, 18:35

For the first time ever, the Young Bucks will take on Aussie Open on Friday’s AEW Rampage.

The former NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions made their debut alongside Will Ospreay last June and competed in four total trios matches in June and August. They returned for this past Wednesday’s tag team battle royal and tonight will mark their first traditional tag match in AEW.

The House of Black have promised to confront The Elite (the Bucks & Kenny Omega) as they have been eyeing the AEW Trios champions as of late.

The rivalry between the Jericho Appreciation Society and Action Andretti continues as Andretti faces former TNT Champion Sammy Guevara.

Former AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm will take on Willow Nightingale while Lance Archer will make his return to action after several months away.

Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes will share some thoughts after Lee returned last Friday to assist Rhodes from a post-match beatdown by Swerve Strickland and Parker Boudreaux.

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Taped in front of a hot crowd in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schivone and Chris Jericho were on commentary. Don Callis joined them for the opener.

The Young Bucks (w/ Kenny Omega) defeated Aussie Open (Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher) (16:14)

Randomly, it was announced during this match that the Face of the Revolution Ladder match would take place Wednesday on Dynamite.

Davis and Matt Jackson started out, but Fletcher jumped Matt from behind and Davis knocked Nick to the floor with a forearm. The commentators put over Will Ospreay (who was not there) and his match with Omega earlier this year at the Tokyo Dome. Matt escaped a double team in the Aussie Open corner, and Nick came in with a top rope corssbody blocks. The Bucks then dropkicked both members of Aussie Open to the floor.

The Bucks tried to double team Davis, but he cartwheeled out of it, slammed both Bucks separately and then picked them BOTH up and slammed them together. Matt escaped a powerslam attempt from Davis, and launched his brother into a dropkick on Davis. The Bucks clotheslined Davis to the floor.

The Bucks tried to dive onto Aussie Open on the floor, but Aussie open caught them and smashed the Bucks together, then dropped them on the ring apron. Aussie Open picked the Bucks up again, and ran around the ringside with them, smashing the Bucks into each into each other on other side of the ring.

Aussie Open dominated the Bucks during a split-screen break. After the break, Aussie Open worked over Nick Jackson in their corner. Nick escaped a powerslam from Davis and snapped his neck against the top rope, then caught Fletcher with a super hurricanrana. Matt got the tag and used Davis as a springboard to hit Fletcher with standing sliced bread. Nick looked like he was setting up a top rope moonsault, but instead dove onto Fletcher on the floor. Jackson came off the top with an elbow drop on Fletcher for two. The crowd chanted “This is awesome!” while the Bucks double teamed Fletcher. Matt hung Fletcher up in the ropes so Nick could come off the top with a senton bomb. Nick caught Fletcher with a kick, but when he went to dive on Fletcher, Fletcher countered with with a brainbuster on the floor. Matt caught Fletcher with a kick, but then Davis turned Matt inside out with a lariat.

Aussie Open hit a kind of windmill powerbomb on Nick for another near fall. Davis caught Nick Jackson with a sliding forearm in the corner. Davis held Nick for a diving DDT from Fletcher, but Nick countered with a cutter on Fletcher. Matt got the tag and Davis floored him with another lariat. Matt used Flethcher’s foot to kick Davis, but then Fletcher used Nick’s foot to kick Matt. The Bucks setup Fletcher for the BTE Trigger, but Fletcher ducked. The Bucks hit Aussie Open with stero superkicks, but Aussie Open responded with a pair of stiff lariats. Everyone was down and the crowd gave the another great ovation.

Matt and Nick hit dives on Fletcher and Davis respectively. The Bucks tried to set up Fletcher for the Meltzer Driver, but the lights went out. When they came back on, Fletcher reversed the tombstone on Matt Jackson. They hit Matt with the Coriolis (like a double team Made in Japan) for another near fall. Both Bucks were down, but Davis accidentally hit Fletcher with a lariat. The Bucks superkicked Davis, then got him to tombstone his own partner, Fletcher. The Bucks superkicked Davis out of the ring, then hit the BTE trigger on Fletcher and got the pinfall. Insane match.

After the match, the lights went out again. When they came back on, the House of Black had surrounded the ring. As it looked like the House of Black was advancing on the Elite, the lights went out again, and when they came back on the House of Black was gone.

– Lexi Nair interview with the The Best Friends was interrupted when Big Bill, Lee Moriarty and the Gunn Club jumped the Best Friends and beat them up with a pipe. After a commerical, Orange Cassidy and Danhausen checked on the Best Friends, who were getting medical attention.

Toni Storm (w/ Saraya) defeated Willow Nightingale (6:58 aired)

I just saw Nightingale on the losing end of a trios match on Elevation, so I wasn’t her chances here.

Storm jumped Nightingale from behind, but Nightingale took her down with a shoulder block and hit a short-arm clothesline. Nightingale dropped onto Storm with a senton for a near fall, then chopped her around the ring. Storm slapped Saraya and ate a double-chop for her troubles. Storm took Nightingale down with a hair pull, then sent her to the floor with a running hip attack. Storm whipped Nightingale into the ring barricades on the floor.

After a commercial break, Nightingale missed a cannonball in the corner. Storm hit a hip attack and a spinning DDT for a near fall. Nightingale came back, hit the cannonball and a death valley driver for a near fall. NIghtingale set up Storm for the doctor bomb, but Saraya got on the apron to distract Nightingale. Nightingale pulled Saraya in the ring and set her up the doctor bomb (all of this right in front of referee Aubrey Edwards), but Storm clipped Nightingale’s knee, and hit her with the stuff piledriver for the pin. Saraya and Storm basically double teaming Nightingale for the win here really didn’t sit right with me.

After the match, Storm and Saraya pull out the spray paint, but Ruby Soho ran to save her sometime partner. Before they got up the ramp, Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker attacked Saraya and Storm. Baker brawled with Storm while Hayter chased Saraya around ringside and back up the ramp before finally catching her.

– Last Wednesday after Dynamite, Lexi Nair’s interview with The Acclaimed was interrupted when “Triple J” (Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal’s crew) jumped them. Lethal put Caster in a figure-four leglock while Sonjay Dutt tried to take out his eye with a pencil!

– TBS Champion Jade Cargill cut a promo on the women’s division, welcoming all comers and basically reminding us she existed.

Lance Archer (w/ Jake Roberts) defeated Bryce Saturn (1:49)

Also reminding us they exist, Lance Archer and Jake Roberts, returning to TV for the first time in forever. Saturn charged Archer in the aisle and got backdropped on the ramp. Things got worse for Saturn from there. Archer hit Saturn with a crossbody block and leveled him with a clothesline for the pinfall.

– Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes agree to take on Swerve Strickland and Parker Boudreaux in a tag match in San Francisco next week.

For Dynamite Wednesday:

Orange Cassidy v. Big Bill for the All Atlantic Title.
Hook v. a somewhat reluctant Matt Hardy for the FTW Title. If Hook wins, he’ll get a match Stokley Hathaway (with all of Hathaway’s goons banned from ringside).
Toni Storm v. Riho
Chris Jericho v. Peter Avalon
The Face of the Revolution Ladder Match: Konosuke Takeshita v. Ortiz v. Action Andretti v. Sammy Guevara v. Powerhouse Hobbs v. Eddie Kingston v. AR Fox v. Komander (a Lucha Libre star making his AEW debut).

Sammy Guevara (w/ Daniel Garcia) defeated Action Andretti (10:07)

In a split screen interview before the match, Garcia said he would see to it that Guevara would start to get the respect he deserves (while still looking mildly annoyed with him).

Andretti was on a six match win streak going into this match. The match soon went to the floor, and Andretti whipped Guevara into the barricade. Andretti used the barricade as a springboard for a bodyblock on Guevara. Back in the ring, Guevara hit Andretti with a knee. Andretti countered a sunset flip into a falcon arrow for a near fall. The match went back on the floor, where Andretti reversed a suplex attempt while the crowd chanted “Sammy sucks!” Andretti hit a 450 splash from the apron to the floor as the show went to a split-screen break.

Lots of great action took place during the split-screen break. After the break, Guevara got his knees up when Andretti went for a split-legged moonsault, and Guevara hit some kind of inverted DDT for a near fall. Guevara missed a 450 but landed on his feet, and Andretti caught him with a dropkick. A springboard kick nearly knocked Guevara out. Andretti went for Guevara’s GHT, but Guevara flipped out and exchanged elbow strikes with Andretti. Guevara hit a knee strike, a superkick and another knee strike, but charged into a Spanish Fly for a near fall.

Andretti hit a springboard senton for another near fall. Andretti hi a huge shotgun dropkick, but behind the ref’s back Garcia nailed Andretti with a clothesline. Guevara then finished off Andretti with the GTH to get the pinfall. This was a great match. After the match, Chris Jericho left commentary to celebrate with Guevara and Garica to end the show.

Final Thoughts:

Dynamite looks loaded for next week heading into the pay-per-view. Was this the best Rampage of the year? I wouldn’t argue to strongly against that.