wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s AEW Rampage Review 12.17.21
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...AEW Rampage
December 17th, 2021 | Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas
Didn’t end up doing a Winter is Coming review since I got too busy with family stuff and going to see Spider-Man: No Way Home. I can give you my ratings for it though!
Danielson/Hangman – ****½
Wardlow/Sydal – NR
Shida/Deeb – ***¼
Dante/MJF – ***¼
Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and The Young Bucks vs. Best Friends and Rocky Romero
I’m writing this review after seeing the show so I don’t have W/L records to post. I was hoping to get a variation of this when I go to AEW next month, so we’ll see. There’s a reason they continue to book the Superkliq boys in this kind of match. They have the concept of multi-man tags down well. Maybe it’s from years of the Bucks working in NJPW. There were the expected antics of OC like slowly moving for clotheslines as Romero ran quickly around him and kissing Cole on the cheek instead of the Bucks. The action was fast paced and featured plenty of spots that were enjoyable. The closing stretch was filled with big spots, including Fish hitting an avalanche Falcon Arrow (HE DID THE SUPER DEAL) only for the pin to get broken up. That led to a series of big dives that left Trent in the ring with Fish. Trent delivered Strong Zero to pick up the win in 17:23. That was a hell of a way to start the show, with moving parts that all worked well together and was a blast to watch. [***½]
Dan Lambert returned and cut a long promo in the ring with Men of the Year flanking him. He bashed Tony Khan for pushing guys like Darby Allin (someone might want to check on Darby after Cora Jade ANNIHILATED him on Twitter) before signing the likes of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. He said something about AEW becoming late ‘90s WCW, which led to Cody Rhodes interrupting. Before he could say anything, he got jumped which led to Dustin Rhodes limping out for the save. When that failed, Sammy Guevara succeeded in making the save ahead of his title match with Cody.
A video package aired to hype the final four in the TBS Title Tournament.
Submissions Match: Penelope Ford vs. Tay Conti
Tay Conti brought out Anna Jay to combat The Bunny at ringside. Why didn’t she do that at Full Gear when Britt Baker had Rebel and Jamie Hayter with her? This company also books dumb babyfaces sometimes. I love Tay Conti though. She hit the ring with aggression and while the two went at it, they’d go for various submissions. I appreciated that. It’s the theme of the match and I hate submissions matches where people only try to set up their finisher. Go for any submission at any time. I liked Ford busting out a backpack Dragon Sleeper since that’s not something I’ve seen often, if ever. Conti used knee strikes to get free of a crossface and eventually applied a modified choke hold to secure the victory in 5:22. I liked the idea of this but it felt a bit rushed given the time being and some of what they did came off awkwardly at points. [**¾]
Post-match, The Bunny knocked out Tay Conti with the brass knuckles.
Both the men and women Owen Hart Tournaments kick off next May.
DYNAMITE HOLIDAY BASH!
· CM Punk, Sting, and Darby Allin vs. MJF and FTR
· Adam Cole vs. Orange Cassidy
· Ruby Soho vs. Nyla Rose in the TBS Tournament
· Griff Garrison vs. Malakai Black
· Britt Baker and Tony Schiavone host a Christmas party
RAMPAGE HOLIDAY BASH!
· Sammy Guevara vs. Cody Rhodes for the TNT Title
· Hook (!) vs. Bear Bronson
BATTLE OF THE BELTS
· Britt Baker vs. Riho for the Women’s Title
2.0, Daniel Garcia, and The Acclaimed vs. Eddie Kingston, The Lucha Brothers, Santana and Ortiz
Thankfully, the lame Acclaimed rap was cut off by Kingston and his buddies jumping the heels to start the fight. That led to a prolonged brawl outside before the bell even rang. Some of the camerawork here was awkward but the fighting was good. Once this officially got started, Penta did cool stuff and Max Caster took a beating. Seriously, he was mostly in there to get his ass kicked. Santana ended up as the face in peril heading into the commercial break and he did a quebrada to set up the hot tag to Penta. He and Fénix did some fantastic stuff to really bump up the match in tersm of excitement. Things broke down with everyone getting in a move or two before it came down to Garcia and Kingston. When Kingston went for the spinning back fist, Garcia ducked and rolled him up with a handful of tights to steal this in 8:42. A good but not great main event with an upset result. [***]
A beatdown commenced after the bell until Jurassic Express and Christian Cage made the save. Kingston chased Garcia and 2.0 to the back as Jungle Boy picked up the Tag Titles. They teased Jurassic Express vs. Lucha Brothers right as Santana and Ortiz were there watching as total afterthoughts. They remain the worst booked wrestlers in AEW.
