AEW Rampage Preview (7/8/22): ROH World Champion in Action
AEW Rampage is only one hour long, but they fit so much into that time. The shows are always jammed with action, it really is the fastest hour in sports. This show is stacked and should be a really good episode. This is a preview of what to expect heading into Rampage.
Gates of Agony vs Lee Moriarty & Jonathan Gresham (c)
These two groups have been going at it over interviews for the past couple of shows. The Gates of Agony consists of Toa Liona and The Kaun, clients of Tully Blanchard in Ring of Honor. After the Pinnacle fell apart, Blanchard found new clients to help them gain glory in professional wrestling. Lee Moriarty is a prospect in AEW who has been trying to earn himself more success. Moriarty has been mostly wrestling on AEW Dark and AEW Dark Elevation and has appeared in other promotions including Ring of Honor.
Jonathan Gresham is the Ring of Honor World Champion. He has mostly wrestled in Ring of Honor but has wrestled in various promotions since ROH had to stop putting on shows. He made his AEW debut in April at Battle of the Belts where he retained his championship. Moriarty and Gresham aren’t a tag team, so they are going to have to be on the same page if they want to get a win.
Konosuke Takeshita vs Eddie Kingston
There hasn’t been much building to this match. Kingston is coming off of a brutal contest at Blood & Guts but seems like his feud with Chris Jericho isn’t done. Konosuke Takeshita is a young prospect from DDT. He has been competing in AEW Dark over the past few weeks and has been really impressive. Takeshita is a young athletic guy looking for a big win. He is going to have his work cut out for him facing Kingston, as Kingston looks to get a good win against a young, rising wrestler to build momentum for continuing his feud with Chris Jericho.
Orange Cassidy vs Tony Nese
This match was booked for AEW Rampage after Tony Nese and Mark Sterling were trying to get signatures to kick Swerve Strickland off the roster. They tried to get the Best Friends to sing, but that didn’t go well. They almost got into a fight backstage but agreed to a match. If Tony Nese wins, Cassidy has to sign the petition. This is going to be an interesting contrast of styles, but Cassidy has been on a hot run since returning. Nese has been mostly competing on AEW Dark since joining the company. A win against someone like Cassidy could really help boost his stock in the company. Overall, this should be a really fun match.
Serena Deeb & Mercedes Martinez (c) In Action
Deeb and Martinez have been having themselves a good run as a tag team. Both are veterans of professional wrestling and have had a lot of success in the sport. Martinez is the current Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion. As of late, there has been some tension between these two women despite their success. Usually, when AEW says someone will be in action, they are facing jobbers in a squash-type match. So, expect that same type of match for this one. I like the pairing of Deeb and Martinez, but I think it is all to set Deeb as the next challenger for the title. I think we also might see Deeb turn on Martinez, setting up the match between her and Martinez for Ring of Honor’s PPV Death Before Dishonor.
