From the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida, we are here for Rampage! A debuting Shane “Swerve” Strickland takes on Tony Nese, Keith Lee will do Keith Lee things, and more on tap. Let’s check out this week’s line up:
- Mercedes Martinez vs. Jamie Hayter
- Darby Allin vs. Marq Quen
- Keith Lee vs. QT Marshall
- Shane “Swerve” Strickland vs. Tony Nese
Make sure to keep refreshing the page as the most recent results are below!
AEW Rampage 3/11/22
We’ve got four matches to get to with Taz, Excalibur, and Ricky Starks on commentary so let’s get right to the action!
Match #1. Darby Allin vs. Marq Quen
Darby with a headlock to start and Quen struggles to fight out. Quen drops to the outside, but Isiah Kassidyprevents Darby from diving. Darby on the outside misses a charge and eats the steel steps right in the chest. Sting is seconding Darby, fresh off the save of Matt Hardy from this Wednesday on Dynamite. Hard Irish whip into the corner and Darby takes the Bret Hart bump. Quen locks in an abdominal stretch and looks to the rope for assistance, but Darby reverses with a hip toss. Darby ducks out of the way of a Stinger Splash and rolls up Quen for a close two, but Quen regains control. Quen goes up top, but Darby catches him and delivers a superplex for the top for a two count! Darby rolls through with a Fujiwara arm bar, but Quen got to the ropes. Darby tries a sunset flip but Quen delivers a backflip knee drop for a two count. Quen looks for a Rude Awakening, but back flips into a DDT (I think?) for a two count. I can safely say I’ve never seen that before. Quen has Darby up in a suplex but Darby escapes and hits Quen with a Scorpion Death Drop. Both men down. Darby gets up first and looks for the Coffin Drop, but Kassidy distracts him. Sting disposes of Kassidy and Quen tosses Darby on the top rope as he tumbled to the outside. Quen up top and Darby is laying on the ground on the outside.. 450 splash! Holy S. Quen barely gets in the ring and looks for the count out but Darby gets in by 9. Quen immediately follows up with a cover for a two count. Quen back up top and looks for the Shooting Star Press but Darby moves and Quen lands on his feet! Darby wastes no time and drags Quen down, Fujiwara arm bar with the wrist lock! Quen taps! This was great for all different reasons. Darby was showing effects from his match and it was not the usual high flying match. It was a really solid wrestling match that told a very obvious story, and the right guy won.
Winner: Darby Allin
Rating: **3/4
Here’s Andrade with the rest of the AFO! Before they can get to the ring, here’s Team Xtreme! Matt and Jeff Hardy are here to even the odds and pay back the favor from Dynamite! AFO think better of it.
We get a video package from the House of Black just to remind you how great they are and I support it.
Match #2. Mercedes Martinez vs. Jamie Hayter
Match is darn near already in progress as neither wrestler gets an entrance. Trading lockups to start and Jamie Hayter’s choice of wrestling attire is… interesting. Hayter is tossing Martinez around but Martinez fires back with a clothesline and a series of elbows. Snap suplex by Hayter that gets a two count. Hayter has Martinez up in a fireman’s carry but Martinez reverses and Hayter rips her down by her hair. Hayter in control as we head to a commercial break. Back from commercial and Martinez hits a trifecta of butterfly suplexes and she gets a long two count. Hayter counters a fisherman’s suplex into a uranage back breaker for a two count. Trading shots in the center of the ring and Hayter lands a running elbow strike that was STIFF. Hayter charges again but Martinez catches her and delivers an exploder into the corner. Martinez puts Hayter on the top and lands a spider German suplex! YIKES on that landing! Rebel hops up on the far side apron as Britt Baker lands an elbow to Martinez that drops her off the turnbuckle. Hayter delivers a lariat as Martinez was getting back up and that’ll do it. Pretty good match here between these two, and it did well in furthering the main storyline.
Winner: Jamie Hayter
Rating: **3/4
Thunder Rosa is here to make the save for her friend, as we are about to have the epic showdown between Rosa and Baker… in a cage!
Match #3. Keith Lee vs. QT Marshall
Powerhouse Hobbs has joined commentary and I’m here for the Hobbs/Starks friendship. Lee starts with a huge headbutt and Marshall responds with an eye poke. Lee responds with a double overhand chop and he tosses 230lbs of Marshall the entire distance of the ring and it’s unbelievable to see. Marshall rolls outside and snaps Lee’s neck over the top, followed by a missile dropkick for a one count. Marshall is such a better wrestler than anyone gives him credit for and his punches are straight out of the Scott Hall playbook. Lee fires back with a lariat as he picks Marshall up in the fireman’s carry. Big Bang Catastrophe and that’s all she wrote. Another strong showing from Keith Lee as Marshall is the perfect professional to help him do it.
Winner: Keith Lee
Rating: **1/2
Nick Comoroto is in the ring and he’s not happy. Lee doesn’t care as he hits the Spirit Bomb and tosses Aaron Solow like a sack of flour from the ring to the outside on top of Comoroto and Marshal. Team Taz has seen enough as Hobbs and Starks hit the ring, and Starks with the spinebuster on the monster Keith Lee! Team Taz stands strong!
Match #4. Shane “Swerve” Strickland vs. Tony Nese
I wonder if Tony Khan hadn’t have purchased Ring of Honor, if he could have afforded the license for “Ain’t Nobody?” Just thinking out loud here. Swerve carries himself like a superstar, so this should be fun. Early control by Swerve as he uses the top rope to flip out of a top wrist lock. Swerve with a kip up head scissors and a basement dropkick. Nese pulls the tope rope down and Swerve hand springs off the apron and lands on the floor, Swerve returns the favor with a pump kick to the face from the apron. Nese rolls in the ring and covers Swerve’s face with the ring skirt and dropkicks him. Dastardly… I like it. Swerve gets tossed into the steps shoulder first as Nese remains in control with some ground and pound. Swerve with a waist lock and a German suplex but Nese lands on his feet and delivers a double stomp. Nese with a body scissors but Swerve fights out with elbows and we have a hockey fight on our hands. Nese with a handful of hair delivers the Macho Man neck drop spot and he looks for the triple jump moonsault but Swerve moves and Nese lands hard. Swerve on the attack with a diving European uppercut to the back of the neck, and a tilt a whirl slam. Biggggg brain buster by Sweve gets a two count. Swerve springs up top but Nese hits a rolling uppercut followed by a fireman’s carry into a gut buster! Big two count. Swerve with a rolling… something or other but we’ve got some awkwardness here. Nese responds with a spinning back kick and a picture perfect 450 splash! Long, long two count for Nese. Nese is frustrated as both men trade chops. Nese to the apron as Swerve trips him into a seated position and lands a super kick followed by a double stomp off the apron! Swerve rolls in Nese and follows in with a rolling flatliner for another two! Nese won’t say die, but Swerve goes up top with a double stomp to the head of a seated Nese and that gets the three! Really fun match between the two here, but if you were watching this for the first time, you’d think Nese is the star. That being said, good showing for both men and a strong win for Swerve right out of the gate.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Rating: ***1/4
Final Thoughts: Another incredibly fast 60 minutes, but this show felt a little “less than” compared to previous weeks, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. With such a deep roster there needs to be some variety in the talent that gets showcased so the fans can recognize these guys and girls. St. Patrick’s Day Slam is shaping up to be something special, too. 7/10.