This past Wednesday night on Dynamite, CM Punk continued his march towards the AEW World Title by besting Max Caster, while FTR beat some respect into The Gunn Club. Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa finally got to say her piece as the new title holder, Toni Storm made her All Elite Wrestling debut by qualifying for the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament, and Darby Allin fell victim to Andrade and his Family Office!
On Friday night, Rampage is coming to you at 10:00pm EST/9:00pm CST, and also at AEWPlus.com for our international audience! We will all find out if a wrestling ring can contain the battle between Powerhouse Hobbs and Keith Lee, and see if either Skye Blue or Jamie Hayter will qualify for the next spot in the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament! Plus The Young Bucks are back in tag team action against Top Flight, a rematch of their first must-see battle in 2020, and Trios action will go down between The House of Black and The Dark Order!
So before Friday night, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up with Dynamite highlights, as well as the latest episodes of Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, Road To, and the latest Control Center with Tony Schiavone!
TAG TEAM REMATCH...
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin)
On November 18th of 2020, Dante and Darius Martin engaged in the biggest match of their young AEW careers. At that point Top Flight had only competed in two matches under the All Elite banner, one a loss to Evil Uno and Stu Grayson while the other a win over Baron Black and Frankie Thomas. Calling a match with recently crowned AEW World Tag Team Champions a step up in competition would be a massive understatement; it was more a quantum leap but one in which the Martin brothers were shockingly game! Even the brothers Jackson were surprised by the fight the young tag team put up that night as they hung with the champs for nearly thirteen minutes before succumbing to Matt and Nick. Unfortunately they never had a chance to run the match back as a straight up tag because an unfortunate injury to Darius in February 2021 put him on the shelf for over a year.
Then, during the Casino Tag Team Royal on March 2nd, the rematch became a possibility once more as Darius surprised the world with his return to action in that bid for a Revolution 2022 title match. Top Flight and FTR were the first two teams to start the fracas, and Darius would survive over twenty-five minutes to the point it was just he and Matt Jackson left in the ring.
Suffice to say Matt didn't exactly play it straight in order to eliminate Darius to get into that PPV championship, but it was The Young Bucks who won the deal to get into the Three Way Match at Revolution 2022. They didn't win the titles from Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus, nor did reDRagon that night, but it perhaps lit another fire in Matt and Nick to refocus on their tag team aspirations; it certainly continued to drive a wedge into the already strained relationship between Matt, Nick, Kyle, and Bobby.
Now tack on where Adam Cole stands in that whole situation, and the lingering issue FTR brought to the forefront in the above embedded interview, and The Young Bucks have quite a bit on their plate. Well this Friday night they can add a little more onto that because the rematch with Top Flight is finally going to happen! This is no April Fool's Joke, this is reality, and it takes place on Rampage! Top Flight comes into this having won three straight matches since Darius' return, and seven in a row if records before the injury are factored in as well. It's the good start on the road to a title shot, but the Young Bucks are possibly the toughest roadblock a team can face.
Will this be a repeat of history on Friday night, or will Top Flight build on the momentum that began on March 15th with their first win in together in over a year? Tune into TNT starting at 10pm EST/9pm CST to see for yourself!
OWEN HART FOUNDATION WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER...
Jamie Hayter vs. Skye Blue
On Wednesday night, fans witnessed the exciting arrival of Toni Storm to the Women's division of All Elite Wrestling. Along with that debut, came an advancement into the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament at the expense of The Bunny. Storm was the first woman to qualify, but there plenty more spots to fill, and the next will take place this Friday!
Jamie Hayter, for once not fighting Dr. Britt Baker's problems, will get a chance to pursue her own interests when she goes one-on-one with fan favorite Skye Blue! The winner of these contest will secure themselves a spot in the tournament that will culminate live on pay-per-view at Double or Nothing 2022 come May 29th.
TRIOS BOUTS...
The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) & Fuego Del Sol vs. The House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black)
It started last week with Fuego Del Sol saying he was ready for a fight and being greeted by The House Of Black's arrival in the ring. Fuego likely would have been brave had he the opportunity, but before the lights could even illuminate, Fuego was knocked down and out.
As Malakai, Brody, and Buddy abandoned Fuego's broken body in the center of the ring to make their way back up the ramp, The Dark Order trio of Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and John Silver emerged from the tunnel for a face-to-face confrontation. No physicality came from this moment, but the tension was quite palpable as both parties went their own ways.
Well on Rampage, the two original Dark Order members will team with Fuego Del Sol to take on the full House Of Black in trios action! The DO is certainly not afraid of the dark, and Fuego's fire burns bright in its own right, so this is going to be one hotly contested six-man battle in South Carolina!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Keith Lee
The ever-escalating battle between the members of Team Taz and “Limitless” Keith Lee have finally brought the two behemoths into the ring for the first time. The Face Of The Revolution Ladder Match gave us all a preview of what these Hobbs and Lee colliding would look like, but on Friday night we get to bask in its full glory!
It's a battle between two of AEW's biggest and baddest dudes in Columbia, SC but only one of these men stands alone. Keith Lee knows he is coming into this at a disadvantage, FTW Champion Ricky Starks will undoubtedly be at commentary with Taz, and as such he may accompany his running buddy down to the ring for the match.
Keith Lee, on the other hand, has found support in one Swerve Strickland, but it's not the kind of system where they are there to swing the fight one way or the other. They've been there for each other when the numbers have proven unequal, when Team Taz has exploited that advantage, and each has paid a price for it. Swerve got beat by Starks, not on his own mind you, in an excellent FTW Title match, and “Limitless” found himself driven hard into the canvas by Hobbs' nasty spinebuster.
The situation Friday is ripe for chaos, the kind Team Taz will certainly take advantage of, but Keith Lee is the type of guy who will take on the odds and find a way to overcome! Tune into TNT this Friday night at 10pm EST for this colossal main event!
Friday night on Rampage the fights kick off at 10:00pm EST/9:00pm CST on TNT, and on AEWPlus.com for international audiences! The Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament will get another entrant when Skye Blue fights Jamie Hayter, Keith Lee and Powerhouse Hobbs are set to collide, plus a Trios contest with The House of Black and The Dark Order, and a long-awaited rematch between The Young Bucks and Top Flight!