Here’s where we landed with this week’s Rampage taped from Kentucky. Curious how we rank matches? We’ve got a rubric for that.

Show Highlight—

Hangman vs. Yuta. Kickass match between two badasses. What great in-ring storytelling that keeps the angle going while also keeping their characters consistent. With how Mox was arguably the wrestler of the year and MVP of AEW in 2022, and with Hangman already getting the win in their second match, it’s like Page still needs more of a rub and a little more to build up to the third match in this series. Yuta looked great in his loss, and his character can still feel like the young boy that doesn’t get enough respect for all the strides he’s made in the squared circle. In many ways, Yuta could out-Hangman Hangman with his vibes and self-esteem issues over his perception. These guys beat the shit out of each other in a working fashion with great counters, and in the end, Hangman lured Yuta in perfectly with that innovative trap to the Buckshot Lariat. There could be one helluva program between these two in the future—I’m all fucking for it!

What Worked—

Eddie Kingston in HOB? I’m intrigued. It’ll be interesting to see how Kingston’s promo style will be impacted in a live setting as part of the House of Black. He’s talented enough to still be him and effective whilst speaking in their tongue of Grimms’ Fairy Tale spooky parlance. Most of all, I want to see what Eddie does when they do their ridiculous killing the lights bit.
Dustin/Swerve. Dustin is a trooper—or a bit of a worker’s worker—for allowing the real life death of his mother as the segue into a feud with Swerve. Swerve was such a prick here, offhandedly accusing Dustin of, “making this all about you.” And Dustin, Rhodes to no end, only loses it when someone speaks ill of Dusty. Perfect pairing for Swerve to get over, though.
Hayter’s aid. Funny how if you pair a great women’s wrestler with another great wrestler and let them wrestle, she’ll get over! Great work that mirrored the opening contest.

What Didn’t Work—

Hobbs and his book. You might be able to ascertain I like reading, and I’m glad books are finally getting the credibility from the streets, but that prop has to go. For whatever reason my mind’s eye can’t not imagine him carrying the Book for Mormon. It’s like a Vince-y idea from the early 90s when they give a guy a gimmick to hold as a lazy shortcut as opposed to giving a guy a personality. Hobbs will work fine on his own beating the shit out of people. Have him be the guy that ends Darby’s title reign and that’ll be the doodad he needs to become the star that he is.
Britt as babyface. I’ll preface this by saying I appreciate there being continuity and acknowledging that previously Britt was shitty in her feud with Ruby. It doesn’t have to be a total 180, but if you’re gonna make her a babyface, don’t let Britt be this much of an asshole like she was here. The audience clearly wants to be behind DMD. You don’t want to fall down the trap of WWE Divas-era where every women’s wrestler at the end of the day is portrayed as a catty bitch. The audience will turn on that regression and start harping on the portrayal of women’s wrestling.

Show Cringe—

Nothing, perfectly fine hour of professional wrestling. It was such a good show that I didn’t even want to vomit when I had to rewatch that spawn of satan, perpetually-on Verizon commercial with Cecily Strong and Paul Giamatti that I’ll be forced to rewatch a million more motherfucking times during the NFL conference championship games.

AEW Rampage 1/27/2023 Match Ratings and Commentary

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