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AEW Rampage Results And Review (10/28/22): Has Swerve Strickland Gone Too Far?

Mark Izzo / AEW, Professional Wrestling / October 29, 2022

AEW Rampage Results And Review (10/28/22): Has Swerve Strickland Gone Too Far?

AEW Rampage was an interesting show, to say the least. We got some decent matches and some new challengers for titles. Rampage has been lacking a lot for a while and it’s very clear that AEW doesn’t that much effort into it. I think if they took away some matches and focused more on storylines and the quality of the wrestling, it will improve Rampage. Plus, with new rumors coming out following the CM Punk situation, it’s important for AEW to put on a good show to put it behind them. Also, it feels like every week there is at least one squash match, which is just a waste of time. Nevertheless, here are the results and my full review of AEW Rampage.

Results

Jon Moxley def. Matt Menard

Keith Lee def. Serpentico

Tay Melo def. Madison Rayne

Wardlow def. Matt Taven

Review

“Daddy Magic” Matt Menard vs Jon Moxley (c)

This match was good, but not great. Personally, I think 2point0 is extremely underutilized in AEW. So Matt Menard getting a shot to earn a shot at the AEW World Championship was nice to see. It was a solid performance from both men, but this wasn’t the match originally scheduled. Originally, it was supposed to be Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli taking on 2point0, but that got scrapped. There were some pretty good spots throughout the match as well. I think Menard may have surprised fans with his in-ring skills. I’m not sure why Lee Moriarty is getting a shot to earn a shot at the title. I understand Moxley is a fighting champion, but not everyone is built for the main event scene. So Moxley facing Moriarty next week makes no sense to me. Overall, this was a decent match to kick off AEW Rampage.

Keith Lee vs Serpentico

I’ll say it every time they do it, squash matches do nothing and are pointless. I understand the point of it is to make someone look strong, but having them beat a random jobber in under a minute isn’t impressive. Keith Lee beat Serpentico in about twelve seconds. This is frustrating because the match just didn’t need to happen. The match happened to get to what happened after it, but AEW could have just booked the interview without the match. However, I did like the aggression from the Acclaimed when they came. It’s nice to see them get angry because their gimmick is always fun and playful. Also, I’m enjoying this angle with Swerve Strickland kidnapping Billy Gunn. It was clear he was channeling his inner joker and he did great. It also makes sense story-wise, so I’m all here for it. Overall, this was a pointless match followed by an intriguing segment on AEW Rampage.

Tay Melo vs Madison Rayne

This match was about as good as it could have been. The crowd was dead for it, but there were some good spots in it. also, I do think Tay Melo is an underrated wrestler in AEW. She has just about everything you would want in a big-time talent. With Madison Rayne being a coach in AEW, this was a classic teacher vs student moment, and the student won. Having Melo win was the right call, but there was just no interest in this match. There wasn’t much build, if any, to it so it makes it hard to get invested in the match. However, I still think AEW needs to book more women’s matches on their weekly shows and pay-per-views, especially on AEW Rampage.

TNT Championship Match

Matt Taven vs Wadlow (c)

The match itself was pretty good. I think Matt Taven looked strong and impressed me throughout. He is a former ROH World Champion and has held numerous titles in his career. Also, I enjoyed how the announcers were talking about him and the other members of the Kingdom. They were talking about how they are title hunters and want to win as much gold as possible. I think this was important because they are new in AEW, so you can’t have them coming across as rookies.

As per usual, Wardlow looked awesome and is a complete beast in the ring. However, what happened after the match was fairly intriguing for me. Powerhouse Hobbs came out, but it was a ploy to have the Embassy come out and attack Wardlow and Samoa Joe. So it looks like Powerhouse Hobbs will be challenging for the TNT Championship, which I did predict a while ago, and Brian Cage will be challenging for the ROH Television Championship.