Friday night RAMPAGE is coming at you LIVE from Washington, DC after a tremendous edition of DYNAMITE featuring Sting's triumphant return to TBS for the first time since November 2000! He and Darby Allin topped The Acclaimed in the main event, but that's not all fans witnessed! Cody Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are now headed for a Ladder Match collision at DYNAMITE: BEACH BREAK in Cleveland, CM Punk shocked Shawn Spears in rapid fashion, AEW's Power Couple bested Statlander and OC, and Jon Moxley made his long-awaited return to AEW only to be challenged by Ethan Page!
This Friday night LIVE on TNT, the fallout from DYNAMITE brings the first defense of the TBS Women's Title as Jade defends versus Anna Jay, HOOK is back in action, an old rivalry renews between The Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice in singles form, and Jon Moxley returns to action against Ethan Page! The excitement kicks off at 10pm EST/9pm CST on TNT, so go over to the official AEW YouTube channel to get prepared with DYNAMITE highlights, the most recent editions of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO, as well as a special CONTROL CENTER episode!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Jon Moxley vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
As seen in the video embedded above, former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley returned to All Elite Wrestling on Wednesday night to a raucous ovation. Mox did not hesitate to dive into discussing his own personal darkness nor did he back down from facing those demons and “kicking their ass”! Mox made it known he was back with a vengeance and putting everyone on notice; turns out that Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, and Dan Lambert were listening quite closely!
So this Friday night, airing LIVE on TNT, Jon Moxley will be in action on RAMPAGE for the first time since GRAND SLAM last September! One can only imagine the pent-up emotions roiling around inside Mox since he last competed in October, that desire to get inside the squared circle and throw down with an opponent has to be ready to burst out the moment the bell rings, and “All Ego” has to know what's waiting for him by making this challenge.
Still, while he may be an arrogant jerk (to put it lightly), Ethan Page has proven time-and-again that he is world class every time he steps into a fight. Be it Darby Allin, Cody Rhodes, The Inner Circle, or Sting, Page has never shown a hesitancy to fight anyone; now he may not fight it on even ground every time, there may be some antics from Scorpio Sky or Dan Lambert to try and sway the situation, but Ethan has still shown he's at the top of his game.
It also takes some guts to be the first man to call out Jon Moxley for a fight, and on the very night he returned to the fold no less. Now Page may have done it from the safety of backstage after Mox had already said his piece, but if Ethan had interrupted Jon's moment, well there probably would not have been much left of “All Ego” to fight on Friday night.
It's a huge night for RAMPAGE, as well as one for both Jon Moxley and Ethan Page, all that remains to be seen is if “All Ego” can play spoiler to much-anticipated in-ring return of Mox, or if that fire inside Jon burns even hotter than it did three months ago and consumes Ethan live on TNT!
TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Jade Cargill(c) vs. Anna Jay
Jade Cargill, having won the TBS Championship just over two weeks ago, has laid out an Open Challenge of her own for anyone to come and take a shot at the undefeated woman! It's a bold move for a champion to leave the door open for anyone to step inside, reminiscent of the strategy that has solidified the TNT Title as one of the most coveted prizes in pro wrestling, but it is clearly a situation in which Jade and “Smart” Mark Sterling are quite confident.
Anna Jay, the number two ranked woman in the division as of the 1/19 standings, was right on the spot to be the very first challenger to Cargill's title! This bout on Friday night will mark Anna's first championship fight since facing Hikaru Shida for the Women's World Title back on 11/25/20, and it is not an opportunity The Dark Order member plans to let slip through her fingers. As she mentioned in the interview above, Anna Jay has shown a willingness to get quite violent when the need arises, and there few situations that call more for unleashing the darkness within than a championship bout!
Will Jade's title run, the first TBS Title reign, come to an end in Cargill's very first defense? Can Anna truly be the one to put that first one in Jade's loss column? The TBS Champion holds the longest winning streak in AEW at the moment, but that and the title will be one the line on RAMPAGE this Friday night at 10pm EST live on TNT!
TAG TEAM BOUT...
Trent Beretta (w/ Orange Cassidy) vs. Nick Jackson (w/ Matt Jackson)
It was originally set to be a tag team battle, a renewal of a heated rivalry that spanned the globe from Detroit to Osaka, from Philadelphia's legendary Arena to the Tokyo Dome, and has included nine tag team championship matches!
But unfortunately due to medical protocols, that rematch 4+ years in the making will have to wait, but that doesn't mean we still won't get a taste of Roppongi Vice versus The Young Bucks on RAMPAGE! In his first singles match since fighting Bryan Danielson in October, and just his second in AEW's history, Nick Jackson will go one-on-one with Trent Beretta!
They've danced so many times, 56 of them since 2013 to be exact, in tag team and multi-man matches, but this will be the very first time Nick and Trent have ever had a singles bout! Will it be The Best Friend or The Buck who gets their hand raised in DC on this cold Friday night?
SINGLES MATCH...
HOOK vs. Serpentico
In less than ten minutes of bell-to-bell time, “The Cold Hearted” HOOK has captured the attention of AEW fans around the globe, and made Fuego Del Sol, Bear Bronson, and Aaron Solo submit to his will. With virtually no words, HOOK has caused pundits and coworkers alike to stand up and take notice. He has spoken in violence, and with nothing more than bag of potato chips, yet has garnered so much interest that fans chant the young man's name before an event even begins.
Well on this Friday night's edition of RAMPAGE, those people will get another chance to witness their new favorite in action once again, and it will be opposite the tremendous experience of Serpentico. His win-loss record may not be the shiniest in All Elite Wrestling, but it doesn't change the fact that Serpentico is quite the experienced athlete and will no doubt test the impressive rookie.
The pressure is on HOOK to keep up this impressive string of victories; can Serpentico be the one to make him crack?
RAMPAGE comes at you LIVE this Friday night at 10pm EST/9pm CST on TNT, and at AEWPlus.com for the international audiences. Mox returns to action! The Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice renew their old rivalry! HOOK steps back into the ring! And Jade Cargill defends her TBS Women's Title for the first time! You can get ready for the action by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from Wednesday night's DYNAMITE, the latest episodes of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, ROAD TO, as well as a new edition of the AEW CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone!