Coming off one of the most talked about episodes of DYNAMITE to date, this Friday night at 10pm EST/9pm CST, RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM is coming your way from The Arthur Ashe Stadium and in front of the largest audience in AEW's history! With an unpredictable Lights Out match between SUZUKI-GUN and Moxley/Kingston on top, you know fans are in for a wild night in Queens! Plus, The Super Kliq reunites for the first time in 5 years to battle Christian Cage and Jurassic Express, there's a crazy eight man tag on the books, as well as a grudge match between Anna Jay and Penelope Ford, and loads more in this special 2 hour edition!
Be sure to join AEW on TNT, or at AEWPlus.com for our International audience, to experience all the action from the hottest wrestling promotion on the planet! And get ready for it by visiting the official AEW YouTube account for DYNAMITE highlights, this week's AEW DARK and DARK: ELEVATION, plus the latest edition of ROAD TO!
SURVIVE IF I LET YOU...
CM Punk
vs.
Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Team Taz)
Last week on DYNAMITE, Team Taz assaulted CM Punk in retaliation for words exchanged prior to that, not the least of which was the “Best In The World” appropriating Taz's old “survive if I let you” catchphrase. The attack from Hook and Powerhouse Hobbs was perpetrated while Punk was doing guest commentary honors and culminated in Hobbs slamming Punk down into the announcer's desk. The table did not break upon impact, possibly even more jarring to the insides, but the message was sent from the men flying the orange and black flag. One would then expect a raging CM Punk to come out to the ring at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM to address the matter, but as seen below, that's not exactly what happened:
Well this Friday night on RAMPAGE, we will all see if Team Taz ends up regretting their actions when CM Punk steps back into the ring for his first televised match since January 20th of 2014! At ALL OUT 2021 against Darby Allin, Punk proved to himself, and the wrestling world, that he still has plenty of gas in the tank, but Hobbs is as different from Darby as it gets. Hobbs, as his sobriquet indicates, is pure power, with a sadistic streak indicative of his love to inflict pain. In fact, watch Hobbs as his matches go on; the more suffering he delivers to his foe, the bigger the smile on his face grows, and if he beats Punk on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM, this grin will certainly be ear-to-ear. Add in the Hook factor, with the upstart certainly somewhere lurking around, waiting for his opening for a cheap shot, and it will be an uphill battle for Punk.
Can Punk hoist the massive monster of Team Taz up on his shoulders to, in his own words, “tuck him in” with the Go To Sleep? Or will Powerhouse slam “The Best In The World” thru the mat to crush his grand in-ring return to television?
THE SUPER KLIQ IS BACK....
The Elite (Adam Cole, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson)
vs.
Christian Cage & Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus)
After his hard-fought victory over Frankie Kazarian last week on DYNAMITE, the newest addition to The Elite ranks, engaged in a little story time with Adam Cole and issued the challenge for Christian Cage, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus to meet The Super Kliq in trios action. That billing was one Adam Cole, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson took on as their own sub-group within The Bullet Club in 2016-2017, and now with Cole's arrival in AEW, has been reborn within The Elite!
And with the reunification of Cole to The Elite, so to has he taken on the enemies of The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and The Good Brothers, and right at the top of the list were Bryan Danielson, Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage, and Jurassic Express. From jump street at ALL OUT 2021, these men all stood in opposition to The Elite and in just a matter of weeks, fans have seen the rivalries continue to escalate quite rapidly. The Super Kliq even had to put a damper on the amazing contest between Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson with their own assault on “The American Dragon” following the epic 30-Minute draw:
On Friday night, for the first time since October 2016, Adam Cole teams with The Young Bucks for a Super Kliq reunion against Christian Cage and Jurassic Express! The latter trio proved quite successful in their lone outing against The HFO back in July, but can they match that against The Elite? It may have been quite some time since they've all been together, but once not so long ago, they were, in name and function, a Mt. Rushmore trio. Five years is a long time, but with the depth of history, once they get in sync, teaming up will likely be like riding that proverbial bike. Cage and JurEx just need to make sure that sync doesn't come, and they put down The Super Kliq as expediently as possible!
However it goes, you can bet it will be a wild one with this six men going at it on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM in front of 20,000 AEW fans!
LIGHTS OUT MATCH...
Eddie Kingston & Jon Moxley
vs.
SUZUKI-GUN (Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki)
Put very simply, this one does not count. That is the gist of the “Lights Out” stipulation attached to this tag team fracas; it does not factor into the record books for the men involved, is not applied towards rankings or title contention, it simply does not count from a technical standpoint.
That being said, it is very clear from the history of Lights Out matches in AEW that they count so very dearly to the competitors involved and to the fans invested in them. Look to Omega versus Moxley, Rosa and Baker, Moxley and Janela, Janela and Omega; they are all matches that have taken a great toll on the warriors involved, both physically and mentally, and left lasting impressions on the viewers. Tables, barbwire, glass, tacks, and chairs are just some of the instruments of brutality that have been unleashed within this unsanctioned confines, saying nothing of the straight fisticuffs that are also involved.
But for the first time in AEW's history of these matches, for this fifth such match since 2019, it will contested as a tag team battle between four of the most violent entities to ever enter All Elite Wrestling. Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, Lance Archer, and Minoru Suzuki; one would be hard pressed in all of professional wrestling to find four men who relish the fight more than this quartet. These are the men who get a smile on their face when a foe lands a hard strike, and who get an even bigger one when a vicious blow of their own finds a home. These are men who struggle to their feet after a devastating suplex in order to continue the fight and attempt to deliver one of their own. These are four warriors who strive to embody the ideals of fighting spirit, and now they get to the opportunity to unleash hell upon one another without constraint.
Although it has only been a few weeks since Minoru Suzuki shocked fans with his arrival at ALL OUT 2021 following Moxley's victory over Satoshi Kojima, we have all seen the kind of viciousness the Pancrase legend brings to bear in competition. Lance Archer has demonstrated time and again since he came to AEW that the monster part of his “Murderhawk Monster” tag is utter truth, now put them together and this SUZUKI-GUN contingent is one of the scariest tandems imaginable.
The other side of the ring, with Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley, well their AEW antics just with one another has shown the violent depths to which each will sink when the situation requires. Their “I Quit” match at FULL GEAR 2020 still stands as one of the most violent bouts AEW has experienced and that was between two men who were, at the core, friends who happened to be on a collision course over the most important championship in professional wrestling. If that is what these two men will do to each other, it is very easy to imagine the kind of brutality they will willingly unleash upon hated foes in a “match” where there are no handcuffs, no restraints, and quite simply no rules.
Add in the hometown factor, the denizens of New York rallying behind one of their own in Eddie Kingston, and this Unsanctioned Lights Out affair may be the most heated battle on a night filled with them! Things are wildly unpredictable in a match-up where everything goes and there are no rules to follow, this is a situation where anything is possible!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Anna Jay
vs.
Penelope Ford
In the earliest days of Anna Jay's AEW career, her second match to be precise, the woman then dubbed “The Star Of The Show” took on Penelope Ford during 4/21/20 edition of AEW DARK. Ford, with a far greater experience advantage, picked up the win on that fateful day, but the results would be different in their tag team encounter several months later. That December night, as part of the Celebration of Mr. Brodie Lee, Anna and her best friend Tay Conti would top Penelope Ford and Dr. Britt Baker in what will forever be the most emotional episode of DYNAMITE.
Just a few weeks later, Anna would suffer the shoulder injury that necessitated surgery and kept her out of competition until the 9/13 tag bout with Tay. But enemies were made in the interim, as were other alliances, and such is the case with The Bunny and Penelope Ford! That is why this week, after defeating The Bunny on the 9/16 RAMPAGE, Anna Jay will get into the ring with the other half of that tandem: Penelope Ford! It's a rematch of The Queen Slayer's 2nd ever professional wrestling match and it goes down this Friday on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM!
EIGHT MAN INSANITY...
AEW World Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros (Penta El Zero Miedo/Rey Fenix), Ortiz, & Santana (w/ Alex Abrahantes)
vs.
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy/Marq Quen), The Butcher, & The Blade (w/ Matt Hardy & The Bunny)
Although they've never danced together in All Elite Wrestling, Santana, Ortiz, Penta, and Fenix are all quite familiar with one another. They've battled over the IMPACT Tag Titles, the PWG Tag Titles, and the AAA Tag Titles, just to name a few, and danced in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In all that time though, the four years since their first interaction at the White Eagle Hall in Massachusetts, the four men have never stood on the same side of the ring as allies until this Friday night!
On RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM, the table is set for two of New York's finest in Santana and Ortiz, to unite with the AEW World Tag Team Champion Lucha Bros, to put down The Hardy Family Office! Coming out of the assault that followed last week's successful championship defense against The Butcher and The Blade, the champions are ready for another fight, and are more than happy to link up with Ortiz and Santana to get it!
Now it's no secret that Ortiz and Santana have their eyes on the prizes Penta and Fenix captured in that amazing cage match at ALL OUT 2021, that's been their goal since the title was first introduced in 2019 just as it was for The Lucha Bros. While Penta and Fenix finally achieved that dream a few weeks ago, it has still eluded The Inner Circle duo thus far, but Ortiz and Santana will never stop grinding until they earn those belts.
But first, Friday night is time to handle business with The Hardy Family Office in the forms of Butcher, Blade, and some old friends in Private Party. Lots of history between Isiah, Marq, Santana, and Ortiz that goes back before AEW even existed, so they know each other quite well. With these eight men all in one contest, not to mention the other HFO members likely lingering around, this one is going to be wild!
TAG TEAM BATTLE...
The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & Jake Hager)
vs.
The Men Of The Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky w/ Dan Lambert)
If there is one thing that can be said about American Top Team founder Dan Lambert it is that he has absolutely zero fear in speaking his mind regarding AEW and the talent in the locker room. And while 90% of what he has to say is supremely negative and derogatory to the hard work and dedication of the men and women in AEW, Lambert is willing to take the risk of antagonizing everyone. Why on Earth would one man be willing to run his mouth like this and spit words designed to infuriate essentially everyone? Well it's because he is doing so while surrounded by fighters like Junior Dos Santos, Paige VanZant, Kayla Harrison, Austin Vanderford, and Andrei Arlovski.
Now, in addition to those MMA aficionados, Lambert also counts “All Ego” Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky among his ilk, and that is certainly a motley crew to every considering messing with if one wants to shut the mouth of Lambert.
Well, leave it to Chris Jericho and Bellator's own Jake Hager to fearlessly step up to the plate when Dan Lambert called out anyone in the locker room to face The Men Of The Year. The original AEW World Champion and the undefeated fighter had no problem stepping up to the plate, and this Friday night on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM, in front of the largest attendance in AEW's history, The Inner Circle, the original thorn in the side of All Elite Wrestling, is stepping up to defend AEW's honor!
Although it's been a minute since their last outing as a team, Jericho and Hager are undefeated in tag action with victories over Chaos Theory, Private Party, and SCU on that resume. Can they resume that success against The MOTY or will Page/Sky continue add another win to the 9-1 they've amassed since April? Tune into TNT starting at 10pm EST to see how this fight plays out!
RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM comes at you hard and fast at 10pm EST/9pm CST on TNT and AEWPLUS.COM so do not miss out on all the action from the hottest wrestling promotion on the planet! Be sure to catch up on the week's action prior to RAMPAGE by visiting the official AEW YouTube account for DYNAMITE highlights, this week's AEW DARK and DARK: ELEVATION, plus the latest edition of ROAD TO!Then join us on Wednesday night September 29th, LIVE on TNT and AEWPlus.com, when AEW finally makes it to Rochester, NY where Sammy Guevara will battle “The Redeemer” Miro for the TNT Title!