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

Show Highlight—

Athena/Jade sit-down. Good little segment. Its staging suggested that Athena is equal to Jade and a credible threat, something that wasn’t always the case throughout the feud. Jade’s dismissive facial expressions kept her star power radiating in spite of whatever in-ring ability she’s still learning. I love not being sure Jade is going to win. Win that trigger gets pulled it’s going to mean a shitload.

What Worked—

Ride ‘em cowboy. Whenever you think you’ve had enough of Orange Cassidy, he does something like buck Adam Page to completely redeem himself. Pure fun.
Rey Fenix. I won’t even try to describe whatever the hell he did in the ropes to escape and flip out and attack Blake Christian. He’s truly one of the steadiest bedrocks of AEW.
Tag title match promo. I popped when Bowens referred to Swerve In Our Glory as Timon and Pumbaa. The “Scissor Me Daddy Ass” tee ought to be a staple in every middle school classroom in America.

What Didn’t Work—

Run it back again? On one hand you can’t complain that there’s a reason why they got their rematch and then title match, but on the other hand, you can complain because it’s go-away-heat for a trifecta.

Show Cringe—

Make Rampage great again. This show was better than last weeks episode. The past month each episode was successively greater than the last. I would just feel a bit ripped off that there wasn’t another marquee match for a live edition of Rampage. In the presser for All Out, Tony hinted he’d make this show more of a focus, but why not start now with this live show?

AEW Rampage 9/2/2022 Match Ratings and Commentary

WWE Clash at the Castle 2022 Match Ratings and Commentary