AEW Rampage Results & Review (7/22/22): New Matches Added to Death Before Dishonor
AEW Rampage was the last show in the Fyter Fest lineup and the last one before Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. Tony Khan bought Ring of Honor earlier this year and Death Before Dishonor is the first show under Khan. AEW Rampage was sort of like the go-home show for Death Before Dishonor. In case you missed it, this is everything that happened.
The Butcher & The Blade vs John Silver (of Dark Order) & Hangman Page
John Silver and Alex Reynolds were making fun of the Butcher and the Blade on AEW Dynamite. Butcher and the Blade didn’t take the jokes lightly as they proceeded to attack Silver and Reynolds, but Page came to the rescue and helped fend them off. The match went back and forth for the most part, with no team really getting the edge. It was a physical bout, with the Blade getting busted open early. The Butcher and the Blade operated as a well-oiled team throughout the entire match. Page, the former AEW World Champion, and his pal Silver showed that they can come together as a tag team, beating one of the tag teams who have the most experience in AEW.
Winner: Hangman Page & John Silver
Review
The match itself was about as good as it could have been — which is average. It was physical and these teams showed no liking toward each other, but we really didn’t need this match on the show. It had virtually no build, which made it hard to get invested in. I think they could have done something better with the time slot of this match.
Claudio Castagnoli Promo
Claudio is set to face ROH World Champion, Jonathan Gresham, at Death Before Dishonor. This is the first time we heard from Gresham and Claudio about the match. It was made official last week after Gresham Defeated Lee Moriarty and Claudio came out. Claudio said that he is going to capture the thing that has been alluding him his entire career: a world championship. This promo was important because as good as Gresham vs Claudio looks on paper, it always helps to hear from the wrestlers.
Lee Moriarty vs Dante Martin
After Moriarty came up short of winning the ROH World Championship, Matt Sydal took him under his wing. Martin challenged Moriarty to a match on AEW Rampage and the two of the best young stars in AEW currently faced off. This match was somewhat high flying, but mostly technical, which is surprising. Both showed they can wrestle in both styles. The match was fairly even with both getting in the offense. Both men surprised a lot of people with how technical they were able to get. Stokely Hathaway came out to ringside about halfway through the match. Stokely has been trying to recruit Moriarty as of late. Martin went for the rollup, but Moriarty reversed it with a rollup of his own and grabbed the ropes to help him get the win. After the match, Sydal challenged Moriarty to a match next week. Stokely offered Moriarty his card again, but Moriarty declined it.
Winner: Lee Moriarty
Review
This match had the potential to be the best on the card, and it was. Both of these guys are great young prospects and they showed why tonight. The match was surprisingly more technical than I would have thought, which is good. Both of these guys got to showcase some different skills they have. Overall, it was a fun match that was both high-flying and technical.
Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter in Action
Baker recently came back to AEW television and interrupted Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm. It was clear that Baker thought she was better than the AEW Women’s Champion, Thunder Rosa, and she has her eyes set on the title. They faced Skye Blue and Ashley D’Amboise, who are good young talents. Usually when AEW advertises a fight as “in action”, it will be a squash against jobbers — Baker and Hayter were in control for most of the match. Blue and D’Amboise did get in a small flurry of offense, but Baker and Hayter had no problem getting the job done.
Winner: Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter
Review
The match was pretty average. It went almost exactly how I thought with it being advertised as “in action.” I think we could have done without this match on the card. It didn’t really accomplish anything besides show that Baker and Hayter can win together. I didn’t need to see that they can do that, because it’s already assumed since they’re in a team together.
Max Caster (of The Acclaimed) vs Austin Gunn (of Gunn Club) in a Rap Battle
The Acclaimed and the Gunn Club joined forces a couple of months ago. They were entertaining, to say the least. The Gunn Club turned on the Acclaimed, but the Acclaimed got their revenge by attacking the Gunn Club. Before they got their match, the Gunn Club said that Austin Gunn wanted Max Caster in a rap battle. When Max Caster isn’t wrestling, he makes music. It’s a part of his gimmick, and he raps when he walks down to the ring before his matches, usually taking shots at his opponent. The winner of the rap battle is allowed to pick where, when, and what kind of match the two teams will have. Austin did surprisingly well, he took some personal shots at Caster, calling him Bobby Lashley’s sister and targeting his former relationship with Kris Statlander. Caster came back strong and showed everyone that he is a better rapper. Austin choked and didn’t get out another bar, so Max Caster won. A fight broke out after the battle, which saw the Gunn Club come out on top.
Winner: Max Caster
Review
This segment was pretty entertaining and both men got in some pretty good bars against the other. Caster now gets to pick what their match is so it will be interesting to see how that plays out. It was interesting to see that Austin got in some good bars but choked in the end.
Jay Lethal vs Christopher Daniels
Jay Lethal is set to face Samoa Joe for the ROH Television Championship after calling out Joe for the past few weeks, demanding he defends the title. The match has finally been made official and is set for Death Before Dishonor. Both men have had a great run in Ring of Honor, so they have crossed paths before. Both men got in some solid offense during the match. Daniels hasn’t been competing as much recently because he is getting older. You can tell both men knew the other well, with the number of reversals in the match. Each man was trying to get the edge against the other, but Lethal came out on top. He gained a little momentum heading into his match against Samoa Joe.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Review
I didn’t have high hopes heading into the match, so I wasn’t that disappointed. The match really didn’t need to be on the AEW Rampage card and didn’t have a purpose. You can make the argument that it added momentum for Lethal, but how much momentum is it when it’s against an aging wrestler who hasn’t competed in months? Just like the Baker and Hayter match, I think they could have used this time slot for something else.
