It is official: we have new AEW World Tag Team Champions and their names are Austin and Colten Gunn! After laying out their own father with a shot from the championship belt, The Gunns did the same to the defending champions, and stole the Championship right out from under The Acclaimed! In contrast, The Elite managed to retain the AEW World Trios Championship against the AR Fox/Top Flight unit, but Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks were pushed near their limits by that nascent trio.
Fans also witnessed Takeshita take the measure of AEW World Champion MJF in their Eliminator bout, a match in which the champion demonstrated he can wrestle with the best when he chooses to do so, he just prefers not to. Plus, Jamie Hayter turned away the Eliminator challenge of The Bunny, and The J.A.S showed they were one step ahead of Ricky Starks in their Gauntlet challenge.
The best wrestling action on Friday nights is back when RAMPAGE gets staretd at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans! A huge Trios match kicks it all off with The Blackpool Combat Club in action, followed by Jack Perry returning to the ring, ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy defending the All-Atlantic Championship, and Ruby Soho taking on Marina Shafir!
So before the night's events begin, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on the week's action with DYNAMITE highlights, as well as the latest episodes of AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and the CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone!
TRIOS BOUT...
The Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, & Wheeler Yuta)
vs.
Kip Sabian, The Butcher, & The Blade (w/ Penelope Ford)
This is the kind of wild, violent fun that Trios competition can bring about! Bruisers like The Butcher getting into the ring with Claudio Castagnoli, a fighter like The Blade stepping toe-to-toe with Moxley, all while two rather cerebral competitors like Wheeler Yuta and Kip Sabian engage. Now throw it all into the pot, stir it up, and see what kind of stew results.
There is a fair amount of history here between The Butcher, The Blade, and The BCC; Claudio and Mox danced with them back in October, and last May the original BCC trio tangled with them and Angelico in Trios action, but the ties run even deeper than that, in the case of Mox and Blade it dates all the way back to 2005 and the Heartland Wrestling Association in Ohio. That's how long those two men have circled each other's lives, as both friend and foe, and this Friday night another chapter will be added to their lengthy story!
It's a heck of a kick-off to this Friday night's edition of RAMPAGE, do not miss out as things start off red-hot right at 10pm ET/9pm CT!
ALL-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Lee Moriarty
In the most Orange Cassidy way possible, this Friday night on RAMPAGE we will have an All-Atlantic Championship defense when “Freshly Squeezed” takes on Lee Moriarty! Now #TaigaStyle is no stranger to championship challenges here in AEW, he's fought over the ROH World Title, the FTW Title, and tried his hand against Mox in an AEW World Title Eliminator, but he does remain unacquainted with actually holding an AEW title.
It's not due to lack of skill, Moriarty is as talented as they come, evidenced by the fact that he was one of the names tagged by Bryan Danielson, just about a year ago, in those days before The Blackpool Combat Club formed, and why Matt Sydal took Lee under his wing prior to that. He's young, skilled in most facets of professional wrestling, and at one point seemed eager to learn the things he did now know, but once he turned to The Firm it seemed that eagerness for knowledge became eagerness for fast easy success, and that hunger to put in work became became arrogance over his abilities.
Well consider this is one of those “put up or shut up” moments for Lee Moriarty, an opportunity to prove he's still that hungry young athlete looking to work at being the best. He didn't have to work for this opportunity as Orange Cassidy has proven an extremely benevolent champion during his All-Atlantic title reign, accepting challenges from all comers or, as in the case of Lee, offering title matches to those who think they've got what it takes to end his run.
Will Lee Moriarty be that guy to end OC's rather epic All-Atlantic reign? Will he show he's more than just potential, that the substance Danielson and Sydal saw in him is still down there despite his alliegance to Stokely and The Firm? Moriarty has nothing to lose, everything to gain, can he make “Freshly Squeezed” regret offering this opportunity?
RETURN TO THE JUNGLE...
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry had a pair of successful dances with FTW Champion HOOK as his partner, but in the above interview, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion made it clear that as much as he enjoyed those stints, and appreciated HOOK having his back, this is Perry's time to achieve success on his own!
As a singles he ended 2022 with a win over Brian Cage and started 2023 with one over “All Ego” Ethan Page, now JB aims to stay on that winning track this Friday night on RAMPAGE! Can Jack fulfill his self-appointed quest to become a champion in 2023, and if so, what title will he make his own?
ONE-ON-ONE...
Ruby Soho vs. Marina Shafir
A week ago, Ruby Soho caught Dr. Britt Baker quite off guard when she actually checked on her condition after an assault by Saraya and Toni Storm. Just what Ruby's intentions were in that moment were left a mystery as the former AEW Women's World Champion did not want any part of it, but it certainly appeared as if “The Runaway” was there in good faith.
That's a situation left to be resolved another time though because on Friday night, Ruby's got a different problem to solve, this time in the form of one Marina Shafir! It's a first time collision for these two athletes, both hard-hitting individuals with very different styles inside that ring, and it's going to be fireworks! And one can't help but wonder where Baker, Hayter, Saraya, and Storm fit into Soho's story now?
CHICKEN!
Two weeks ago we witnessed Jay Lethal and ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe pay tribute to the late Jay Briscoe in one of the most emotionally charged bouts AEW has ever experienced. This week on RAMPAGE, we will hear more from the 13-Time ROH World Tag Team Champion!
THE NATURAL HAS SOMETHING TO SAY...
Dustin Rhodes has had his issues with Swerve Strickland and his Mogul Affiliates as of late, or perhaps it is more accurate to say they have had their issues with Dustin. It wasn't as if Rhodes sought them out, or got into their business, it was Swerve, Parker Boudreaux, and Trench who stepped up to “The Natural” to make their threats.
But those actions come with consequence, and when Swerve took aim at Brian Pillman Jr. last week in Dayton, choosing to assault the man after beating him in a singles match, it prompted Dustin to the aid of Pillman, running off Swerve's unit with turnbuckle in his hand. This Friday night “The Natural” will be in the building, and we will hear what he has to say about this situation!
RAMPAGE comes your way this Friday night starting at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com and kicks off with Trios action between The Blackpool Combat Club and the unit of Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade!! Plus, Ruby Soho collides with Marina Shafir, we will hear from ROH World Tag Team Champion Mark Briscoe, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry is back in action, and Orange Cassidy will put the All-Atlantic Championship on the line against The Firm's Lee Moriarty!
Before RAMPAGE beings, head on over to the official AEW YouTube channel to get ready for the night's action with the latest DYNAMITE highlights, as well as watching the most recent editions of AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO..., as well as the CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone!