Part 1 of AEW’s tripleheader weekend starts with a fresh episode of Rampage:
- Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds
- Matt Sydal vs Jay White
- Angelo Parker vs. Zak Knight
- ABS TBS Championship Open House: Julia Hart (c) vs. Leyla Hirsch
AEW Rampage 4/12/24
From the Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, West Virginia! Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Chris Jericho are on commentary.
Match #1. Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds w/ John Silver
This is Cassidy’s first appearance since the Best Friends betrayal, by the way. Cassidy with hard right hands and a DDT early. Suicide dive by Cassidy and he takes out Reynolds and Silver, before dumping Silver into the LED board. Back inside the ring and Reynolds connects with a rolling elbow. Cassidy rolls outside and Reynolds distracts the referee, allowing Silver to brainbuster Cassidy on the floor! Two count back inside the ring. Draping neckbreaker off the middle rope by Reynolds. Two count. Reynolds is in control thoughout the PIP. Back from break as Cassidy fakes pocket hands and sends Reynolds flying with a shotgun dropkick. Suicide dive takes out Silver but Cassidy rolls back in the ring to a stuck piledriver! Two count. Reynolds charges into a big boot and both guys fight to the top rope. Cassidy headbutts Reynolds to the ground but Silver trips the leg out and Cassidy is crotched on the top rope. Avalanche Stunner off the top gets two. Silver tries another brainbuster on the floor but Cassidy counters with Stundog Millionaire. Orange Punch to Reynolds on the floor. One to Silver! Back inside the ring, another Orange Punch to Reynolds finishes this one.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Rating: **3/4. Cassidy took this one on solo and overcame the dastardly Dark Order.
Renee hits the ring and wants to talk to Orange Cassidy. Cassidy says “hi”, but Trent makes his way down the ramp. Chuck Taylor pops up behind Orange Cassidy and walks Trent off, before walking out of the arena. Chuck is caught in the middle… the poor guy.
Alex Marvez is with Anna Jay. Anna wants to know what’s going on around here, and everyone is kissing and drinking champagne. It’s no longer about wrestling. AZM agrees that Mina, Mariah, and Toni Storm are stupid. Both women fist bump.
Match #2: House Rules for AEW TBS Championship: Julia Hart (c) vs. Leyla Hirsch
Mat return by Hirsh. Hirsch looks for a suicide dive but runs into an elbow. Neckbreaker by Hart over the middle rope. Two count. Hart with some boots to the corner now, but Hirsch ducks and pulls Hart to eht ouside. Hirsch with a suicide dive to the floor. Hart seems like she’s got an injured shoulder, as it is already taped up. Hirsch rolls in to the ring and they go to a quick cradle finish.
Winner and STILL AEW TBS Champion: Julia Hart
Rating: NR
Match #3. Angelo Parker vs. Zak Knight w/ Harley Cameron & Saraya
Parker has nothing to lose so he charges Knight on the ramp. Both guys brawl to the ringside area and Knight throws Parker over the announcer’s table. Parker gets up bleeding from the face. Both guys finally get to the ring and Knight puts the boots to Parker as we go to commercial. Back from break and Parker drills Knight with a bulldog. Running Blockbuster by Parker and an Implant DDT! Saraya and Cameron get on the apron and the referee sends them both to the back. Low blow by Knight and a pop-up up kneeling powerbomb by Knight. Two count. Ripcord headbutt by Knight as he berates Parker before booting him in the face. Knight talks down to Parker, saying “I’ll take care of Ruby!” Parker tries to fire back but Knight’s too big and too strong and he lays Parker out with a running elbow for the win.
Winner: Zak Knight
Rating: **1/4. My first experience seeing Knight wrestle, and it wasn’t bad at all.
Alex Marvez is in the back with Kyle O’Reilly and Rocky Romero. Kyle says he’d love to run it back with Rocky, and Rocky agrees.
Match #4. Jay White w/ Bullet Club Gold vs. Matt Sydal
Sydal with some leg kicks early, trying to chop down White. Mariposa by Sydal. Sydal sends White to the outside and follows up with a Meteora off the apron. Back inside the ring and White catches Sydal in a fireman’s carry before dropping him over the top rope on to the apron with a TKO. Sydal with some hard chops on the floor before rolling Sydal in the ring and getting a two count. Dragon screw leg whip by White, who dumps Sydal to the floor and feigns a knee injury, allowing the Gunn Club to put the boots to Sydal on the outside. Snap suplex back inside the ring. Snap mare by White but Sydal rolls through and comes back with a rising knee. Spinning back kick and some low leg kicks by Sydal, before flattening White with a question mark kick. Sydal heads up top but misses yet counters a powerbomb with a DDT for two. White responds with a high angle uranage for a two count. White wants a sleeper suplex but Sydal fights out. Sydal flips out of Bladerunner and hits a Poisonrana! Sydal goes up top and looks for a Meteora, but White steps back, grabs the neck, and finishes this one with Bladerunner.
Winner: Jay White
Rating: **3/4. Good, albeit harmless, win for Jay White.
Final Thoughts: Well, this certainly was an episode of Rampage. Hart’s injury didn’t help the show, but top to bottom there was really nothing here of note. Matt Sydal has main evented Rampage twice in the last eight weeks. Let’s hope AEW course corrects, starting tomorrow night for Collision and Battle of the Belts. 5.5/10.