AEW Rampage Preview (8/19/22): Tag Team Titles on the Line
AEW Rampage is set to feature a ton of action. There are four matches announced, plus we will hear from a world champion. Since the show is only an hour long, it will be interesting to see how they fit everything in. AEW Rampage is the fastest hour in television, so I have no doubts this show will be packed with nonstop action. Here’s what to expect heading into the show.
We Hear from Claudio Castagnoli
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli is set to make an appearance. The Blackpool Combat Club member has not been seen since his last title defense against Konosuke Takeshita. It is safe to assume fans might get a new challenger for the ROH World Title during this segment. I’m guessing we are going to hear about what the future holds for Castagnoli and for the title. With AEW All Out quickly coming upon us, it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a match added to the card from this.
Athena vs Penelope Ford
Athena is facing off against Penelope Ford, who recently returned to AEW tapings last week during AEW Dark Elevation. Prior to that, her last match came in January, so Ford is certainly looking to shake off the rust and pick up a huge victory against the No. 3 ranked woman in the division, Athena. Meanwhile Athena is looking to continue her momentum by beating Ford. If she keeps winning, it is safe to assume she will get her shot at the TBS title.
Trustbusters vs Best Friends
This is the second semifinals match in the trio’s tournament. AEW announced trios titles and will hold a tournament to crown the first-ever champions. The finals will be held at All Out with the matches taking place in the weeks leading up to the show. Best Friends have recently had their eyes set on the new titles. They have had their fair share of rough happenings, so now they want the titles. They are facing off against the Trustbusters, a team who have newly arrived on the AEW scene. They have been dominant since their arrival and look to keep the momentum going. The winner of this match will go on to face the winner of House of Black vs Dark Order.
FTW Championship Match
Zack Clayton vs HOOK (c)
HOOK has found his newest challenger for the FTW championship. Last week on AEW Rampage, HOOK said he was going to continue to hold open challenges for the title. So out came Zack Clayton. Clayton has wrestled for AEW in the past, appearing on AEW Dark and Dark Elevation, although this is the biggest shot of his career thus far. HOOK is looking to prove why he is the FTW champion by defeating Clayton. With four matches on the card, one of them is going to be over quickly, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this was a squash match.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
Private Party vs Swerve in our Glory (c)
Swerve in our Glory is looking for new challengers for the tag team titles — they last defended the titles about a month ago in a triple threat match. Swerve in our Glory found new challengers in Private Party. They granted Private Party a shot at the titles because they just got ranked as the No. 5 team in the division. With no build to this match, AEW is relying on pure talent to gain engagement from the fans. Both of these teams are extremely talented, so I have no doubt they will put on a great match. I wouldn’t be surprised if we received new challengers for a match at All Out with it only being a few weeks away, so they need to pick up the speed by adding matches to the card.
