With DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 in the rear view, and FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 less than 3 weeks away, we witnessed a wild Wednesday on DYNAMITE! The amazing AEW International Championship reign of Orange Cassidy continued after a victory over Swerve Strickland, The Blackpool Combat Club engaged in their trademark violence against CHAOS to send a message towards Kazuchika Okada ahead of his date with Bryan Danielson, Kris Statlander continued her TBS Championship reign with a victory over Anna Jay A.S., and AEW CEO Tony Khan delivered a huge announcement about COLLISION's first main event!
Those actions have brought us to this Friday night when RAMPAGE comes your way at 10:00PM ET/9:00pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences! The AEW faithful will bear witness to a #1 Contender's Match for Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Championship, Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action, The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass will take on The Spanish Announce Project, and The Lucha Brothers will team with Bandido to take on a former Firm trio! But before the show begins, be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDER...
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Nyla Rose vs. Skye Blue
What an intriguing bout this will be for Friday night's main event as four women battle it out to earn a shot at Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Championship next Wednesday in Washington D.C.! In Dr. Britt Baker and Nyla Rose we've got two former champions, the latter one who was actually involved in the original Women's Championship bout that took place in D.C. during DYNAMITE's premiere episode almost four years ago.
In Mercedes Martinez, we've got a world-traveled veteran, a former ROH Women's World Champion, and a competitor who, prior to taking time off after ROH's FINAL BATTLE 2022 event, was on an eight match winning streak in AEW competition. Finally, in Skye Blue, we've got a woman who earned her way into All Elite Wrestling through hard work and willpower, fighting everyone AEW placed against her inside the squared circle, and whether she won or lost, Skye took every opportunity as a learning experience, and earned the respect of both the AEW faithful as well as the women with whom she shares a locker room. In fact, in the face of The Outcasts utter disrespect of the AEW women, Skye is one who has stood up to their bullying no matter the consequences or numbers. Still, despite all that, to this day an AEW championship has alluded her, but it's something she hopes to change, and perhaps that begins on RAMPAGE.
Two women hoping for a second run at the top of the division, one veteran who has seen and done almost everything, and one young star chasing that experience her three foes have previously enjoyed in their careers. Which of these women will clash with Toni Storm next Wednesday night on DYNAMITE?
TRIOS ACTION...
Bandido, Penta El Zero Miedo, & Rey Fenix vs. Big Bill, Ethan Page, & Lee Moriarty
One may look at this match and question just why “All Ego” Ethan Page is involved in a trios bout with his former Firm allies given that Matt Hardy and company dismantled Stokely Hathaway's group by winning the Firm Deletion bout weeks ago. Furthermore, one may question how this has come to pass given that as a result of the match on the DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023: ZERO HOUR, Matt Hardy owns Ethan's contract and thus gets to dictate just how “All Ego” and with who. Well thankfully Matt is gracious boss as he is allowing Ethan to fulfill any obligations that were in place prior to Matt taking over Page's contract. That's why Ethan had the bouts he did in Tupelo and Huntsville on the HOUSE RULES events, and that is why he, Big Bill, and Lee Moriarty are going into trios action against the ROH World Tag Team Champion Lucha Brothers and former ROH World Champion Bandido!
THE BOOK...
Powerhouse Hobbs in action!
It's been a few weeks since we've seen Powerhouse Hobbs in action on AEW television, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been in action, scoring a pair of impressive wins last weekend over Shawn Spears during the HOUSE RULES tour. Still, as can be seen in the QTV video embedded above, his focus has been on preparing for the debut of COLLISION on June 16th and that is exactly what brings the former TNT Champion to RAMPAGE this Friday night.
As AEW's return to the United Center draws near, everyone involved with that Saturday night broadcast is going to be jockeying for position, and the best way to do that is win-win-win. Powerhouse Hobbs is stepping up to the plate on Friday to make sure that heading into COLLISION, his name is one of ones on the tip of everyone's tongue!
LISTEN...LISTEN...
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Daddy Ass vs. The Spanish Announce Project (Angelico, Luther, & Serpentico)
At DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass came up short in their bid to claim the AEW World Trios Championship from The House of Black. It put an end to their five match win streak, stopped the momentum from their Tres de Mayo Battle Royale victory, and put the trio back at square one in their hopes of claiming the titles from The House.
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass start anew upon that road to a title opportunity, start building victories towards earning another shot at Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews. Up first, The Spanish Announce Project of Angelico, Serpentico, and Luther and while they may not have the greatest win-loss record, they are quite experienced as individuals, Luther and Serpentico as a team, and each bring a unique skill set to the table. Luther is a Deathmatch Icon, and quite the unhinged individual from those experiences as well as his time training in the Hart Dungeon. Serpentico is fast, versatile, and quite willing to be used as a human tackling dummy at Luther's hands, and that leaves Angelico who is quite deadly in that Yaveo style of wrestling taught by Negro Navarro.
It's not the easiest road for Bowens, Caster, and Gunn to get back on the winning track, but they are three strong-willed individuals with a goal in mind that they won't stop until they achieve. Will RAMPAGE be the beginning of a new championship trek, or can The SAP upset their apple cart?
This past Wednesday night fans saw Orange Cassidy continue his epic AEW International Championship reign, they witnessed Kris Statlander retain her TBS Championship for the fourth time in a ten days, heard Tony Khan's COLLISION announcement, and Starks settle his issues with Jay White with FTR and Juice banned from ringside!
As AEW and NJPW head towards FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, RAMPAGE comes to the AEW faithful at 10:00pm ET/9:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW's international fans, and it will showcase four women battling for a shot at Toni Storm's championship next Wednesday in D.C., The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass in Trios action against The SAP, Powerhouse Hobbs, The Lucha Brothers, Ethan Page, and more!
Before the show begins, make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week's episode of DYNAMITE, as well as the latest editions of ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!