With REVOLUTION 2024 just two days away, this Friday night's edition of RAMPAGE comes your way from the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, MO, and drops at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT! The BCC and CMLL battles continue on as Claudio Castagnoli battles Rugido, the original AEW Women's World Champion returns to take on rising star Trish Adora, The Righteous and Lance Archer will be in Trios action ahead of Archer participating in Sunday's Meat Madness, and Rugido's tag team partner Magnus will also be in action as he takes on Matt Sydal for a spot in the All-Star 8-Man Scramble on Sunday night!
Before the action begins, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's assorted social media sites, to catch up on highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER! All roads lead to REVOLUTION 2024 this Sunday night LIVE on pay-per-view beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, with the ZERO HOUR launching on the aforementioned YouTube channel roughly an hour before showtime!
BCC VS. CMLL...
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mexican National Tag Team Champion Rugido
One-half of the Mexican National Tag Team Champions as Los Depredadores (The Predators) with Magnus, Rugido (Roar) comes to AEW with a style described as technical with a dash of high-flying, a description that could also be applied to the man welcoming Rugido to AEW: The Blackpool Combat Club's Claudio Castagnoli!
Though Claudio has his plate quite full with the impending FTR tag Sunday night at REVOLUTION 2024, not to mention the tremendous trios fight he experienced on DYNAMITE against FTR and Eddie Kingston, Claudio is never one to turn down a challenge, especially not if it gives him another opportunity to put down a CMLL luchador. The BCC have clearly made it a point to engage the CMLL contingent at every possible opportunity, taking affront to their mere presence in All Elite Wrestling, and even heading to Mexico in full force on March 29th with intent to infiltrate CMLL's HOMENAJE A DOS LEYENDAS event for an Eight-Man 2/3 Falls bout against Blue Panther, Mistico, Ultimo Guerrero, and Volador Jr.
This is just the latest battle in the bitter war that's erupted between The BCC and CMLL, one that has largely tilted in favor of Blackpool Combat Club thus far, but can Rugido be the first of his lot to score victory over a BCC member?
ALL-STAR 8-MAN SCRAMBLE QUALIFIER...
Mexican National Tag Team Champion Magnus vs. Matt Sydal
The other half of the Mexican National Tag Team Champions will also be in action this Friday night when Matt Sydal steps up to the plate against CMLL's Magnus! Cousin of Mistico, the man who beat Sydal three weeks ago on RAMPAGE, Magnus has been fighting inside the squared circle for fifteen years despite being just thirty-one years of age. During that time he's largely called CMLL his home, but has also competed across Mexico for various independent companies, partook of February's FANTASICA MANIA 2024 tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and was even featured on a reality TV show called El Luchador that aired on A&E Latinoamericano.
He's a powerful man, and Matt Sydal is going to have his work cut out for him with this battle, but if Sydal has proven anything, it's that he does not back down from a fight. He gave Mistico everything he had three weeks ago, and he will do the same thing with Magnus this Friday night on RAMPAGE! Outside of BCC members, Matt Sydal has been the only man to step up to the CMLL crew in singles competition, something that speaks strongly to his character and desire to stand up for AEW, perhaps this fight with Magnus will pay off where the Mistico one did not!
And now the payoff has been boosted because, with the postponement of the Meat Madness match, an All-Star 8-Man Scramble Match has been announced for REVOLUTION 2024, six of the competitors have already been set, and the winner of this bout will earn the seventh spot in that fracas!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Riho vs. Trish Adora
The AEW faithful have not seen the original AEW Women's World Champion since WORLDS END 2023 where she fell to Toni Storm in their title fight, but this Friday night on RAMPAGE, Riho is back home with All Elite Wrestling!
For her return to the fold, Riho is not taking it easy either, instead she's stepping into the ring with the perpetually-improving Trish Adora! They first battled way back on the 11/22/21 edition of DARK: ELEVATION, a bout Riho won in 135 seconds, but to say that version of Trish Adora was unprepared for what the bright lights of AEW would bring was clearly an understatement. In the time since, Adora has grown immeasurably as a competitor, found support in The Infantry of Capt. Shawn Dean and Carlie Bravo, and has been working tirelessly to build her name both in AEW and Ring of Honor competition.
Though she just found herself eliminated from the ROH Women's World TV Championship Tournament by Mercedes Martinez, Adora doesn't plan to stew on that elimination, instead looking to this fight with a former AEW Women's World Champion, the original champion at that, as a means to show and prove. This could be the biggest night in Trish Adora's AEW career...
ALSO FEATURING:
-Lance Archer & The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) IN TRIOS ACTION!
Springfield, MO and the Great Southern Bank Arena play host to Friday night's edition of RAMPAGE, the last one before REVOLUTION 2024 and it comes to you beginning at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT! In addition to the return of former AEW Women's World Champion Riho, we will also see The Righteous and “The Murderhawk Monster” in Trios competition as well as two AEW versus CMLL clashes! In one, Claudio Castagnoli takes on half of the Mexican National Tag Champions with Rugido, while in the other contest it will be Rugido's partner Magnus fighting Matt Sydal one-on-one!
Before the first bell rings to start the show, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's assorted social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus the latest CONTROL CENTER! Then be sure to join us Saturday night for COLLISION and, most importantly, this Sunday night on PPV for REVOLUTION 2024 where we bid farewell to the in-ring career of “The Icon” Sting!