AEW Rampage Review – April 14, 2023
IWGP Tag Team Titles Match
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (c) vs. Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor)
Kyle Fletcher & Trent Beretta lock up to get this match started then Mark Davis tags in and Beretta gets him into a side headlock. Davis escapes and hits a shoulder tackle then tags in Fletcher. Fletcher knocks Chuck Taylor off the apron and Beretta delivers a tornado DDT to Davis off of Fletcher. Aussie Open lands on the outside and Taylor goes flying to level them. Taylor gets Aussie Open back in the ring where Beretta is waiting with a crossbody off the top for Fletcher. Beretta ascends back up to the top but Fletcher trips him.
Davis goes after Taylor and the action spills back to the outside. Aussie Open sends Best Friends crashing into the apron then sends them colliding with one another. They get Beretta back in the ring, and Davis tags in. Davis hits a senton then follows it up with a delayed vertical suplex. Fletcher tags in and Davis hands Beretta over to him. Fletcher then plants Beretta that takes us to a break.
After the break Beretta delivers a kick to Fletcher from the top. He goes flying but Fletcher catches him. Davis then ascends to the top and goes flying to plant Beretta, and Fletcher goes for a pin. Taylor breaks up the fall and Davis levels him. They spill to the outside before Taylor sends Davis crashing into the ring steps.
Back in the ring Beretta & Fletcher are teetering on the top rope. Best Friends deliver an assisted superplex. Davis slides in the ring and looks for a double chokeslam on both of them but Best Friends escape and chokeslam him instead. They hug then deliver the Doomsday Knee Strike before Beretta pins Fletcher. Fletcher kicks out and sends Beretta into the ring post. Davis then spikes Beretta with a Tombstone to take him out then set their sights on Taylor then they execute the Coriolis for the win.
Winners & Still IWGP Tag Team Champions: Aussie Open (STILL CHAMPIONS!!!!)
We then head backstage to Sonjay Dutt as Jay Lethal,Satnam Singh,Jeff Jarrett & Mark Briscoe rallying for their match later tonight. Briscoe expresses that he feels as if Lethal is tricking him but Dutt pulls him aside and assures him that Singh, Lethal & Jarrett have his back. He then pulls out a shirt with all of their faces on it then puts it on Briscoe. Briscoe pulls off the shirt and throws it across the room.
Schiavone says FTR they have earned the AEW World Tag Team Titles once again, and hands the mic off to them before Cash Wheeler thanks him. He says it took them 2 years & 5 months to win back the AEW World Tag Team Titles but now they can say that they are 2x AEW World Tag Team Champions. Wheeler then addresses their future and says fans are stuck with them for another 4 years because they are still All Elite. He says losing the AEW World Tag Team Titles was the hardest climb back to the top for them then says it’s not about what they’ve done but what they’re going to do. He says that they will be done with wrestling in 4 years but until then they will give everything they’ve got.
Dax Harwood then says that fans shouldn’t like them and he began to racking his brain asking himself why they do. He says he realized that this was their redemption story and they’ve pulled themselves up time and time again to keep fighting. He says it’s time for FTR to repay fans in one last ride for sticking by their sides.
We head backstage to Lexy Nair is with The Hardys, Isiah Kassidy & FTW Champion Hook. Nair asks Jeff Hardy how it feels to be back and Jeff says it feels great. Matt Hardy then says that they’re ready for their match against The Firm at The Hardy Compound so he & Kassidy can be free from their contracts.
8 Man Tag Team Match
Spanish Announce Project (Luther, Serpentico & Angelico) & Jake Manning vs. Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Mark Briscoe
Mark Briscoe,Jay Lethal,Jeff Jarrett & Satnam Singh go straight after Spanish Announce Project & Jake Manning. They knock them off the apron before Briscoe gets ready to lock up with Manning. Jarrett takes a cheap shot at Manning which causes Briscoe to become frustrated. Luther tries to interfere but Lethal levels him with a kick.
Angelico then gets in the ring and Jarrett catches him with The Stroke. Serpentico takes out Jarrett with a DDT before Singh chucks him on top of his Spanish Announce Project teammates. Manning looks to level Singh but Singh catches him and plants him with a chokeslam. Briscoe then ascends to the top rope and delivers Froggy Bow for the win.
Winners: Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh & Mark Briscoe
Taya Valkyrie vs. Emi Sakura
Match starts off with a lock up then Emi Sakura delivers a chop but Taya Valkyrie whips her into the corner and delivers a couple of chops of her own. Sakura looks for a shoulder tackle but Valkyrie blocks it and sends Sakura crashing to the mat with one of her own.
She follows it up with a back elbow and a lariat, then delivers the double knees. Sakura looks to lock in the full nelson but Valkyrie escapes and hits a short arm lariat. The Baddies appear on the ramp to watch on as Sakura hits a rolling cutter as we go to a break.
After the break Valkyrie delivers a low angled German suplex and stares down Cargill. This allows Sakura to send Valkyrie into the ring steps and hit a crossbody. She gets her back in the ring and goes for a pin but Valkyrie kicks out.
Valkyrie delivers a knee and a Blue Thunder Bomb then goes for a pin but Sakura kicks out. Sakura delivers a few chops but Valkyrie fires back with a spear and Road To Valhalla for the win.
Winner: Taya Valkyrie
After the match Leila Grey gets in the ring but Valkyrie catches her with an elbow and Road To Valhalla. TBS Champion Jade Cargill then gets in the ring and they exchange forearms. She looks for Road To Valhalla on Cargill but Grey attacks her from behind which allows Cargill to deliver a pump kick and Jaded. She then pins Valkyrie to show her and everyone else that it can be done.
We then head over to a video of Jose the Assistant who is challenging El Hijo del Vikingo for his AAA Mega Title on behalf of Dralístico.
Jericho Appreciation Society’s Jake Hager, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker are waiting. Menard & Parker mock The Acclaimed with a rap of their own. Menard brags about beating The Acclaimed, then says joining the Jericho Appreciation Society is a no-brainer because everyone wants to be a sports entertainer. Parker then says they didn’t come here to play and adds he’s having a good hair day. Hager talks about his beloved purple bucket hat before The Acclaimed’s music hits & them & Billy Gunn appear and Max Caster looks to rap but says forget it. They then charge at JAS and a massive brawl breaks out. Gunn sends Hager over the barricade as Parker is tossed to the outside. The Acclaimed then hold Menard in place as Gunn holds up a pair of scissors. Hager & Parker pull Menard out of the ring before Bowens challenges them to a Trios Match next week on Dynamite.
Jack Perry vs. Shawn Spears
Jack Perry & Shawn Spears go back & forth before Perry gains the upper hand with a dropkick. Perry mocks Spears before Spears rolls out of the ring. Perry looks to go flying with a tope suicida but Spears ducks out of the way and Jungle Boy stops himself.
Spears then looks to go flying but Jungle Boy moves out of the way. He then delivers a thrust kick to Spears’ midsection and tosses him into the barricade. Spears sends Jungle Boy tumbling over the barricade that takes us to a break.
After the break Spears sits Perry on the top turnbuckle and delivers a chop. He looks for a superplex but Perry blocks it and sends Spears crashing to the mat. He then hits a diving crossbody and goes for a pin, but Spears reverses the fall. Perry kicks out and delivers a pair of thrust kicks then follows it up with a clothesline.
Spears fires back with a DDT off the middle rope and goes for a pin, but Jungle Boy kicks out. Spears gets Perry up on his shoulder but Perry rolls him up. Spears kicks out and Jungle Boy catches him with a leaping flatliner. Spears responds with a tilt a whirl backbreaker and looks for a pin but Jungle Boy reverses the fall to get the win.
Winner: Jack Perry
After the match Spears & Perry shake hands and hug. Spears then holds up Perry’s hand.
