Posted on 3/11/123 by Colin Vassallo
Arena: Golden 1 Center
City: Sacramento, CA
Last Week’s Rating: 394,000 overall; 0.10 in 18-49 demo
It’s Friday Night, and you know what that means… it’s time
for our Rampage Review!
…..
Action Andretti vs Sammy Guevara
Backstory: Andretti & the JAS have been feuding since
approximately 30 BCE
We tuned in to Sammy lying in la-z-boy pose in the corner.
No entrances, because who has time for those?
The action quickly spilled to the floor.
Action flung him back inside, Sammy rolled across the ring
and out on the other, Andretti pursued him with a tope
through the ropes, following up with an uppercut and chop to
the chest against the barricades.
A running shotgun dropkick continued the assault back In the
ring, a split-leg followed for two.
Crowd incredibly quiet.
Guevara caught him with a chop, flung him overhead onto the
apron but ate a lariat when Andretti landed on his feet,
then did so again into a catapult out of a springboard.
Guevara skinned the cat, Action belted him back outside with
a lariat but saw a dive from the top met by a Guevara
dropkick to bring the break.
Much of that last sequence seemed like look how athletic we
are, rather than a contest.
Sammy had the dreaded chin lock clamped as we came back, AA
landed on his feet out of a belly to back; the two then
collided in mid-air thinking cross-body. Andretti landed a
flurry: diving clothesline, discus, hanging neckbreaker.
Guevara again bailed outside but ate a thrust kick from the
apron and an Asai moonsault. Then a springboard 450 next
for another two. Beautifully done.
Picking up a head of steam, Sammy hurtled right into a
Spanish Fly for another dos. Then got his knees up to block
the running shooting star, hit a gut-wrench ddt; Andretti
rolled to the outside to avoid the pin.
(Don’t know a babyface who isn’t established should be doing
that. Seems like something either a heel or a wily veteran
does. And nothing in between.)
Sammy then positioned him on the table at ringside before
heading to the top. But was quickly cut-off, ate a
superkick, landing on the table himself as Action went
upstairs, just about landing the splash as Jericho begged
the ref to DQ him.
Rolling Sammy back in, he headed up top once more, Daniel
Garcia shoved him off the top into the GTH: 1,2,3. Sure
we’ve seen that somewhere before:
Same match, same show, same interference, same interferer,
same victor. Only two weeks apart. And not as good. And
the crowd didn’t care.
While AEW don’t like doing DQ’s, I’d take some over this
constant interference. Both the JAS & the Elite have had
storylines become reality with fans legitimately getting
fed-up at all the screwy endings. Not a good thing.
WINNER: Sammy Guevara
No time to sell the significance of anything, quick, there’s
a Darby Allin package! Allin said he was ‘too real’ and
referred again to going out in a blaze of glory, he’ll
outline his plans on Dynamite.
…..
Jack Perry promo package. He said the feud with Christian
took a lot out of him, but he learnt how to pick his shot.
So everyone with a title belt, watch out.
MJF? Though honestly could be any of the titles,
particularly if Jarrett wins.
…..
Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall promo. The premiere episode
of QTV on Dynamite.
Thanks a lot QT, that’s hundreds of thousands of people who
won’t sleep a wink till Wednesday.
The Acclaimed vs Jack Cartwheel & Starboy Charlie
Backstory: None
To channel Steve Austin: ‘What exactly is a ‘Starboy’? Do
you like stars? Do you like… don’t answer that’.
Guess he’s playing off the Weeknd song? Still a weird name.
And even weirder look. Like if Super Mario lost too much
weight and got cheaper overalls with no shirt.
The Acclaimed’s entrance woke the crowd as Jericho asked JR
if he’d ever been scissored. Then referenced the offer for
the Acclaimed to join the JAS, arguing that they hadn’t
really laughed.
The former champs hit Scissor Me Timbers on Cartwheel,
bringing in Starboy: Arrival, Mic Drop, squash complete.
Shouty & Switchblade hit the ramp with JAS shirts, nothing
else happened.
I know Cartwheel has some buzz so a bit strange throwing him
out here like this.
WINNER: The Acclaimed
Jericho, Guevara & Garcia promo’d the trios title match next
Dynamite. The Ocho noting it’s a night of firsts. First
time they’ve been in the ring with the HOB, first time in
years Jericho and Omega have been in the ring. And first
time they ‘become the trios championships’.
Almost as if the match is worth more than one week’s build.
Might’ve wanted to re-shoot that last line.
Preston Vance vs Konosuke Takeshita
Backstory: Takeshita thinks he needs to go back to Japan
since he never wins, Don Callis offered to help and asked
him to stay a while
Takeshita got a nice reaction, not on the level of the
Acclaimed but still good. As Don Callis replaced Schiavone
on comms. He and Jericho were immediately chummy, the
latter saying he’d let Wednesday’s remarks go since they’ve
been friends so long.
Vance took advantage of a rope break, offered a sarcastic
‘konichiwa’ and bow; Takeshita responded with his killer
diving clothesline then vaulted onto him via cross body as
the ads arrived.
A lariat and German from the Import upon our return. A
double discus left both down, Vance ran in as Takeshita got
his boot up then hit a knee strike off the middle rope and a
blue thunder bomb for two. A wicked knee strike to the face
should’ve ended things but Jose put Vance’s foot on the
ropes and was laid out by Takeshita.
Who returned to the ring to a big lariat, Vance in disbelief
when he kicked out. But slapped on his full nelson (feels
like we’ve seen a colorless, muscular guy with a full nelson
somewhere before), Takeshita got a rollup for two then a
spinning backslide with a high stack for the win.
Crowd happy their guy won. Presumably his victories will
get more convincing as he goes.
Jericho and Callis continued to be very friendly. Didn’t
like that.
WINNER: Konosuke Takeshita
Swerve Strickland promo. Maybe he overestimated (I’m sure
he said this but meant underestimated) Keith Lee. Who took
out both his guys. But Swerve hasn’t ‘thrown every bullet
yet’, he has something else coming. He won’t lose the war.
Lastly warning Lee to keep eyes in the back of his head.
‘Hoodies… stay up’.
Not his best work.
…..
Mark Briscoe promo. It’s time to ‘move on’ as regards the
ROH tag titles, announcing they’ll be up for grabs in a
Reach for the Sky ladder match at Supercard of Honor. Then
introduced the first competitors, his ‘amigos’, the Lucha
Bros.
Like this unit; do not want the Bros in ROH. Hopefully a
one-off.
Briscoe’s so natural on the mic. Just sounds like he’s out
there being himself instead of trying to act.
…..
Recap of the Hook/Hathaway feud. Matt Hardy offered to
personally train Stokely for the match.
……
Excalibur voiced over the history behind the main event.
Seeing the number of people in the house for that first
Dynamite made this week’s audience even worse.
Riho vs Nyla Rose
Backstory: The first two female champ’s in AEW go at it
Like her fellow countryman, Riho got her usual nice
reaction.
JR put over the Sakura/Riho match last week.
Riho kept attacking Nyla and being violently rejected. Her
quickness helped her avoid a senton but a bodyslam attempt
backfired badly as she took one from Nyla. Bridging up out
of the subsequent pin, a pair of dropkicks sent Nyla packing
to the outside.
Before taking flight; Rose snatched her out the air, Riho
slipped behind to shove Rose knees-first into the steps.
The ref saved Riho from an advancing Marina Shafir.
As the smaller woman headed upstairs once more, this time
the cross body landed, quick kick out. After which Riho
looked for a suplex, no dice, Rose hauled her up for a
delayed one the Bulldog would’ve been proud of.
Before Riho avoided a splash in the corner but was dragged
off the apron by Shafir to eat a judo throw on the outside.
Ads.
Riho got her feet up to block an attack in the corner,
managed a tejeiras but was run over by Rose. Then deposited
atop the buckle, though shook Nyla off to hit a diving
hurracanrana, dropkick, footstomp off the top, very close
two.
In a sign of her cardio but mostly the pace of the match,
she wasn’t even breathing heavily.
Nyla grabbed a headlock then smashed the smaller woman with
a powerslam. Count of two. Before landing her diving knee
with Riho draped across the ropes. The crowd cheering at
the subsequent kickout as they chanted for Riho.
Rose headed up top, missing everything with a senton, Riho
responded with a Northern Lights, the crowd amazed, Nyla
kicked out at two. Riho then lined up a knee strike,
missed, was crushed against the buckle, avoided a
cannonball, crucifix bomb, pair of kickouts from Nyla.
Marina Shafir grabbed Rihos foot, but she slipped out of the
Beast Bomb to snag the win via cradle for the second sneaky
pin in a row. If Nyla hasn’t appeared on TV for months and
months, surely it’s okay to pin her more convincingly than
this?
You cannot protect everyone at the same time.
After her victory, Riho was attacked by Nyla & Marina
Shafir. The nW-no (now christened the Outcasts because the
Externals and the Alfrescos were taken) followed, tagging an
‘L’ on the former champ.
Where the hell were Britt & Jamie this week? If they’re
still injured after the attack at Revolution, AEW should
tell us that. Follow-up on the ppv has not been good.
Related, it seems Riho will side with Britt & Jamie (despite
this story starting around Hikaru Shida).
WINNER: Riho
…..
Next Dynamite:
Jeff Jarrett vs Orange Cassidy, International Championship
MJF’s re-Bar Mitzvah
HOB vs Elite vs Jericho, Guevara & Garcia, Trios Titles
Jade Cargill vs A Canadian, TNT Title open-challenge
The Outcasts (Saraya & etc) will appear
Debut of QTV with Marshall & Hobbs
Hangman Page, Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs BCC