Posted on 9/09/123 by Bob Magee
Taped in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone & Chris Jericho were commentary.
Penta El Zero Miedo (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated Jey Lethal
(w/ Jeff Jarrett et. al.) to advance in the World Title
Eliminator Tournament (10:39)
The winner faces the winner of tonight's Samoa Joe v. Jeff
Hardy match on Collision tomorrow night. It’s wacky now that
they're booking from show to show to show, where what
happens on Dynamite and Rampage now impacts what happens on
Collision. But I guess that’s a lot easier when you don’t
have to worry about who’s allowed in the building or not.
Penta got Lethal hung up in the corner and came off the top
with a double stomp for a near fall. Jarrett tried to trip
up Penta and got his hand stomped on, and Penta sent Lethal
to the floor with a gamingiri. Lethal caught a superkick
trying to re-enter the ring. When Penta tried to follow up
with a plancha, Satnam Singh caught Penta and smashed him
against the ring post. Karen Jarrett tied up Penta’s mask
against the bottom rope. The ref caught Jarrett and his crew
doing this and sent them all to the back as the show headed
into a split-screen break.
After the break, Lethal worked over Penta with chops in the
corner. Penta came back with a pair of slingblades and hit
Lethal with a tope con hilo on the floor. Back in the ring,
Penta came off the top with a double stomp for a near fall.
Lethal came back with the Lethal Combination for a near
fall. Lethal tried to take off Penta’s mask again. Penta
countered a Lethal Injection with a dropkick for a near
fall. Lethal pulled off Penta’s mask, and he immediately
covered up. Letha tried to grab Jarrett’s guitar, but
Abrahanets grabbed and a tug of war ensued, which Abrahanes
won. Meanwhile, Penta got his mask back on, and Lethal
turned around into an attack from Penta. Penta used the arm
breaker and the Fear Factor stuff piledriver to get the
pinfall. Very good TV match.
– Sammy Guevara came out to interrupt a recap of the recent
tribulations between Guevara and Chris Jericho. The crowd
suggested they “hug it out!” They both agree they’re pissing
each other off and would like to punch each other in the
face. Even though they’re well on their way to being AEW
World Tag Team Champions, Jericho and Guevara need to get
over this animosity, and Jericho suggests a match between
them at Grand Slam to “get all this crap out of [their]
system.” Both guys shake hands and agree to the match. Very
good promo segment.
Shida & Baker will be in a four way on Wednesday (along with
Nyla Rose & Toni Storm) to determine the challenger for
Saraya at Grand Slam. So there’s a little bit of tension
between them on the entrance stage.
Blue has a lot more confidence and presence than she did a
few months ago. Bunny blocked an arm drag attempt from Skye
Blue, but Blue turned it into a cradle for a near fall. She
got into a striking exchange with Valkyrie, but Valkyrie
sent her into the mat face first.
After the break, Blue finally got the tag out (she’d been in
the ring the whole match) to Shida. Shida racked Anna Jay,
which Valkyrie broke up with a kick. Baker got the blind tag
from Shida and hit a superkick on Bunny, then suplexed Jay.
Bunny sent Britt into Shida, then hit a knee for the near
fall. Britt got the lockjaw on Bunny and she quickly tapped
out. After the match, Shida left, frustrated with her
partners.
– A recap of Hook regaining his FTW World title with no
mention or even a glimpse of who he beat. Jungle Berry or
something? Anyway, Hook is glad to have the FTW title back
where it belongs, in New York.
The Young Bucks defeated Matt Menard & Angelo Parker (w/
Jake Hager w/out his hat) (5:03)
Matt hung up Parker with a hangman’s neckbreaker, and Nick
followed up with a senton. Matt came off the top with a
double stomp on Parker’s arm. Matt gave Angelo a series of
Northern Lights suplexes. And Parker was having a good hair
day, too! Parker and Menard got the advantage on Matt
Jackson while the crowd chanted “Where’s your hat?” at
Hager. Parker dropped an elbow off of Menard’s back for a
near fall while Jericho and Schiavone got catty with each
other on commentary.
Matt got the tag to Nick, who hit a crossbody on Parker and
Menard. Parker tried the springboard elbow again, but sprung
right into a superkick from Matt Jackson. A superkick took
out Hager, and Bucks leveled Menard with the BTE trigger to
get the pinfall.
– A promo from Mike Santana, who is breaking out as a
single. He’s “not here to make friends, he’s here to make
money.”
– Jon Moxley v. Action Andretti for the International Title,
a Kris Statlander open challenge for the TBS Title, and an
8-man tag for Bullet Club Gold have been added to Collision
tomorrow night.
Samoa Joe defeated Jeff Hardy (w/ Matt Hardy) to advance in
the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament (8:30)
The crowd still really likes Jeff Hardy. And they really do
not like Samoa Joe. Hardy caught Joe with a low dropkick and
a lariat off the middle ropes. Joe went to Hardy’s eyes to
get the advantage, then hit Hardy with some jabs and kicks.
Joe continued to dominate Hardy through the split-screen
break. The crowd got behind Hardy with chants, and Joe
casually avoided a flying forearm from Jeff, which sent him
flying into the ropes and to the floor. When Hardy got back
into the ring, Joe softened him up with jabs and body shots,
then taunted the crowd by applauding Hardy.
Hardy came back with Whisper in the Wind. Hardy hit a
clothesline, an elbow and a forearm. Hardy dropped an elbow
for a near fall. The crowd chanted for a swanton bomb, and
Hardy caught Joe with a kick. He went for the Twist of Fate,
and Joe quickly countered into the Kokina Clutch. Hardy
quickly tapped out.
Samoa Joe v. Penta El Zero Miedo is now official for
Collision. The winner of that match will face the winner of
Roderick Strong v. Darby Allin, also on Collision.
Final Thoughts:
Star power and some good matches made for the most watchable
episode of Rampage in a while. Everything on tonight's show
felt important.