Jeremy’s AEW Rampage Review 11.8.24

Hello AEW fans! It’s Friday night and we know what that means! It’s time for AEW Rampage! Jeremy Thomas here and I apologize for that, but Lee was busy tonight so you have to settle for me instead. Listen, it’s just that kind of week. Tonight’s show will see Lio Rush run it back with Komander, while Hikaru Shida takes on Viva Van. We have a three-way tag team match with The Undisputed Era, The Dark Order, and The Infantry doing battle as well as Top Flight facing Beef & JD Drake. Should be a fun enough show. Anyway, let’s jump right into it.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s kids is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We’re kicking things off with Shida in action!

Hikaru Shida vs. Viva Van

Circle and lockup to start, Van backs Shida into the ropes for four before the break. Lock back up, Shida into the ropes and runs into Van but she doesn’t go down. Van into the ropes, Shida doesn’t go down so Viva kicks her and locks in a headlock. Shida reverses into a wristlock, they reverse each other a few times into waistlocks, and Shida spins Van around before slamming her to the mat. Shida to the outside and sets Van on the apron — charging knee! Back in the ring, Shida grabs Van but Van hangs her on the ropes and vaults into the ring for a heel kick for two.

Van with mounted punches to Shida on the mat, she rolls Shida over and pulls the hair for four and then four again. Viva into the ropes, somersault and an Eddie taunt before pulling her up — but Shida fires back with punches. Kick by Van but Shida with a waistlock. She ducks a back elbow and nails Viva, who fires back — and they’re trading blows now! Van goes into the ropes but Shida ducks and goes up the corner for a takedown. She puts Viva in the corner and climbs for a punch ten-count! Bulldog and a running knee strike gets two-plus.

Shida goes for the spin kick but Van ducks and hits a springboard crossbody for two. Van gets Shida on her shoulders but Shida rolls into a small package for two. Shida blocks the elbow, hits one of her own, question mark kick, Falcon Arrow, that’s it!

Winner: Hikaru Shida (5:16)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: Perfectly solid opener. Obvious result was obvious, but I’ll rarely complain about a Shida win and she & Van worked well together.

* Renee is with Harley Cameron and says it’s been quite a few months — even a year. Cameron says let’s recap! She made a calculated plan to join the Outcasts, break up a couple, made her debut at Wembley with Saraya and was assaulted by an even more British person in vintage clothes. Had an encounter with Anna Jay’s ass in a non-erotic way, was sucker punched by Thuder Rosa so she’s had a rough year. (There was more but how quick do y’all really expect me to type??) And what does the future hold?

Renee says they’re out of time! Whoops!

The Dark Order vs. The Infantry vs. The Undisputed Kingdom

The Infantry knock the UK to the mat before the bell and brawl with the Dark Order. Dean sent outside and Bravo gets double-teamed by Silver and Reynolds. Bravo fights back and takes Reynolds down, he goes into the ropes and Taven makes the blind tag and nails Bravo. They go into the ropes, Taven with a dropkick! Bennett tags in and the trade shots on Bravo, Bennett covers for one.

Chop by Bennett knocks Bravo down, but Bravo backs Bennett into the hostile corner. He fights off both Infantry members but Dean trips Bennett on the apron and they double team him on the outside. Bennett thrown into the guardrail! Bravo rolls Bennett in and hits a leaping double knee, cover gets two.

Bravo with a snap suplex and we go to PIP break. When we’re back, Dean hits Bennett with a splash and Bravo with an shot off the ropes for two. Bravo with the chinlock on the mat, Bennett to his feet and fights out of it. Chop to Bravo and another, a third! He goes to get the tag but Bravo blocks him and knocks Taven off the apron — and Bennett with a big spinebuster! Bennett goes for the tag but Taven isn’t there! Bravo comes in, Bennett dodges and tags in Silver who comes in hot and hits a HUGE backdrop on Dean!

Whip into the ropes reversed by Bravo but Silver comes out and nails Bravo, takes him out with a leaping double knee for two. Bravo in but Taven has tagged in, he clears house! Springboard kick to Reynolds on the apron, and then he takes out both Infantry members and Reynolds in a dive!

Taven goes up top but Lee Moriarty distracts him and Dean trips him. Russian legsweep and lariat combo but Sliver with the blind tag. Dean takes out Silver, Taven with a DVD to Dean, Taven with a splash in the corner but Reynolds dodges. Reynolds with a roll-up for two, he gets a kick and a pop-up uppercut. Taven and Bennett hit their finisher and get the pin!

Winner: Undisputed Kingdom (9:22)
Rating: ** 3/4
Thoughts: Another perfectly good match. I will confess as to not being very familiar with The Infantry but they’re very solid and of course the UK and DO are good.

Brian Cage appears on the stage — and its a distraction as Lance Archer attacks from behind! BLACKOUT by Archer to Taven! Cage rolls Bennett in and hits the powerbomb/choke slam combo with Archer!

* Lexy Nair is with Roderick Strong, who asks about Archer and Cage’s attack. He says he’s not surprised that MJF would hired the Callis Family to do his dirty work. He says MJF is the biggest scumbag he’s ever seen. He starts in about Cage and Archer and Jake walks up and says Strong needs to lay off the Beast. He needs The Beast focused and if Strong can’t back himself up, The Beast will back him up for him. Strong says The Beast is his boy but he needs another win so how about Collision. Jake says “Oh boy, you fool.”

* Deonna and Taya talk about how they’ve gotten retribution and revenge on people wronged them, but sometimes it’s about more than simple reprisals. Unless they’re prepared to invite a vendetta — The Vendetta — into your lives, stay out of their way.

Top Flight vs. BEEF & JD Drake

BEEF starts off with Darius and they lock up, with BEEF getting Darius in the ropes. Clean Break, Darius with a headlock, into the ropes and BEEF takes Darius down. Back into the ropes, Darius leaps up and BEEF nearly drops him from his shoulders.

Dante tags in and they take over, hitting a leapfrog slam to the elbow. Dante with a leapfrog but BEEF with a cartwheel kick. Drake tags in and they lay out Dante, JD with a senton but Dante rescapes to the apron. Into the ropes, Dante for the backdrop but Dante flips off his back! Leaping clothesline in the corner, he goes for a suplex on Darius who tagged in but Dante makes the save by pushing it into a DDT. Top Flight control Drake as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Dante and Drake tag in, with Dante laying the fists into JD. Into the corner, Dante escapes a charge by JD, kick and springboard senton! Moonsault and cover gets two-plus.

Back elbow from Dante, he dodges JD but JD with a HUGE lariat for two-plus! Dante hung against the middle rope, BEEF tags in and hits a CROSSBODY THROUGH DANTE! Drake bodyslams Drake, BEEF up top but Darius blocks him! Darius takes out JD with a DDT on the outside, Dante escapes the splash, legdrop into a DDT and that’s it.

Winner: Top Flight (8:26)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: That was very fun! I enjoyed the clash of styles and both teams worked well against each other.

Post-match, Top Flight offer the handshake and JD and BEEF accept —

And here comes Lio Rush before the main event? Rush comes out looking snazzy as hell as we go to break.

Lio Rush vs. Komander

Some high-technical counters to start, Komander sends Rush to the outside. Back in, Komander offers a handshake — and Rush slaps it aside and goes on the attack with strikes. They catch each other’s kicks, waistlock reversals, Komander springboard off the ropes, Rush moves and clobbers Komander. Komander drives Rush into the corner and lays in the punches, big slap to the chest and he goes for the corner but Lio pulls him back into a back suplex for two.

Komander escapes to the outside, Rush goes to dive but stops as Komander moves. Rush goes after him, Komander grabs the legs but gets kicked, Rush with an quebrada off the bottom rope to the outside and we’re in PIP break.

We’re back and my feed went wonky briefly but it comes back as Komander kicks Lio in the head. Komander plans Rush with a slam, cover for two and then a standing moonsault. Komander runs over Lio but Lio grabs the foot. Komander with an enzuigiri to counter, he goes up top — and Rush rolls to the apron. Komander dopwn to the apron, catches a kick, kicks Rush in the thigh and the back, he goes for a backstabber but Rush holds on and Komander hits the apron!

Rush knocks Komander to the floor and hits a BIG tope suicida! Blue Thunder Bomb, cover gets a nearfall. Lio getting frustrated now, he goes up top but Komander rolls away from range. Rush charges in but Komander catches him for an Alabama Slam — Rush holds on and slams Komander down! Rush up top, he leaps but Komander dodges. Rush charges and gets belly to bellied into the corner — runs up the corner into a moonsault! One, two, thre-NO!

Komander sets Rush up and goes up top — SSP but Rush moves! He gos for the stunner, Komander with a roll-up for two-plus. Enzuigiri, springboard Stunner, frog spllsh for the win!

Winner: Lio Rush (12:04)
Rating: *** 1/2
Thoughts: I mean, would you expect anything less than stellar work from these two? Tying up the record between them works here as they’re clearly building something and we’re getting strong matches from them so it’s all good.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Look, at this point Rampage is a lame duck show and we all know it. That doesn't mean it has to half-ass it. And tonight, it absolutely did not do that. We had decent TV matches at worst, a really fun tag match and a strong main event that is building a bit of rivalry between Rush and Komander. For an hour of the AEW C-show, that's more than good enough.