This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, All Elite Wrestling fans were witness to quite the shocking turn of events when Don Callis played a role in the conclusion of Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley's Steel Cage Match. Plus, Mox's BCC partner Claudio Castagnoli defeated Rey Fenix to earn a future ROH World Tag Team Championship match, Julia Hart bested Anna Jay A.S. in the first No Holds Barred match in the Women's Division, and we heard from all four pillars involved in the AEW World Championship match at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 on May 28th!
This Saturday RAMPAGE comes to the AEW faithful at a special time of 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, and features four spectacular bouts! The Tres De Mayo Trios Battle Royale last week culminated with The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass eliminated Butcher, Blade, and Kip Sabian to win the contest, and now these six men will collide in a traditional Trios bout! Plus, former AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm will be in action and following his attack on Orange Cassidy, IWGP Tag Champion Kyle Fletcher will be in singles competition against Action Andretti while The Mogul Embassy will be in tag team action with The Dark Order!
Before the action gets started, be sure to visit 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!
TRIOS BOUT...
Anthony Bowens, Billy Gunn, & Max Caster vs. Kip Sabian, The Blade, & The Butcher
During the Tres De Mayo Trios Battle Royale on May 3rd, these two trios comprised six of the final seven men left in the ring, and it would be the elimination of Max Caster by The Butcher that started the dominoes falling. The seventh man, John Silver, would get dumped by The Blade 90 seconds after Caster, leaving Kip, Blade, and Butcher with a man advantage over Bowens and Daddy Ass, but that did not deter the two in the least. Bowens would rally on his units behalf, dumping out both The Blade and Kip Sabian within a minute of one another, leaving Billy Gunn to dump The Butcher out and score the win for their trio.
That brings us to this Saturday night on RAMPAGE where, in the heart of the Motor City, The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass will battle Kip Sabian, The Butcher, and The Blade in trios action! Both teams are relatively new to competition as a trio, but they are all quite familiar with one another as competitors. Bowens, Caster, and Gunn are clearly the fan favorites heading into this one, as well as the favored unit for victory, so this is a prime opportunity for Kip, Blade, and Butch to rip the fan's hearts out, and deliver a shock to their foes!
SINGLES MATCH...
Toni Storm vs. Allysin Kay
It's been two and a half years since the last time Allysin Kay appeared inside an AEW ring, the FULL GEAR 2020: BUY-IN to be precise, and in that time she has grown immensely as a competitor. She competed in the 2021 tournament to crown the first ROH Women's World Champion, she reigned as one-half of the NWA Women's World Tag Team Champions, traveled to the UK for competition in EVE, RevPro, and Target Wrestling, fought in BLOODSPORT, and even returned to ROH competition at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2022: ZERO HOUR to battle Willow Nightingale.
Suffice to say, “The AK-47” has kept herself quite busy since her last AEW appearance against Serena Deeb, and is bringing all that experience to bear this Saturday night when she meet Toni Storm in singles competition for the very first time!
Now Storm has a lot on her plate already, trying to fight the majority of the AEW Women's Division alongside Ruby Soho and Saraya, and now looking towards a huge Trios match this coming Wednesday in Austin (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-dynamite%2Frampage%3A-austin) when The Outcasts battle AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, and Hikaru Shida!
With that in mind, Toni Storm has to remain focused on the task at hand when she steps into the ring with Allysin Kay on Saturday, because this is a woman with all the tools needed to best Storm on any given night. The only thing Kay is lacking going into this battle is a pair of allies at ringside willing to insert themselves into the action whenever they see fit. It's a quite a bit for Allysin Kay to contend with, but if there's anyone who can find a way, it may be “AK-47”! Can she handle the odds and pull off the upset this Saturday night?
ONE-ON-ONE...
IWGP Tag Team Champion Kyle Fletcher vs. Action Andretti
Based on his actions in the video embedded above, The United Empire's Kyle Fletcher clearly has his sights set on a new prize! As one-half of the IWGP and NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Champions alongside Mark Davis, this Aussie Open member now has the AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy in his sights, and this may be the best opportunity anyone has had yet to claim that championship from “Freshly Squeezed”!
But before he can get there, Fletcher has to step into battle with one of AEW's hottest young prospects of 2023, Action Andretti! Andretti forced his way into the spotlight when he beat Chris Jericho, and ever since has been proving he's got all the tools to be the future of All Elite Wrestling, as well as found some allies in Top Flight's Martin brothers.
Andretti, still relatively young in the wrestling world, has garnered plenty of experience over the months since he scored the biggest upset AEW has ever seen, but the time has come for Action to become more than just the kid who upset “The Ocho”. To really step up his game, Andretti needs to put together victories against top-tier opponents, and a man carrying to NJPW-connected championship certainly qualifies!
As for Fletcher, Cassidy has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't turn down any challenges, no matter his physical condition, but that doesn't mean Kyle can just coast into the title fight on nothing more than his outside accolades and his assault on the champ. He's still got to show he's a man worthy of an International Championship fight, but in Action Andretti, Fletcher's got a fight on his hands this Saturday night!
TAG TEAM MATCH...
The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage & Swerve Strickland)
vs.
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
With the loss of his Mogul Affiliates, it came time for Swerve Strickland to find himself a new unit to ally with, and what better partnership is there than Prince Nana and his Ghanian resources? Nana has steered his Embassy through highs and lows for 20 years now, but with the group he's amassed since coming to ROH/AEW, he may have the most powerful version of The Embassy there has ever been. Brian Cage, Kaun, and Toa Liona stand as the ROH Six Man Champs and there is likely not a more physically imposing force in all of professional wrestling than those three men.
Now take the connections Swerve Strickland has amassed during his career, add in his top-tier in-ring skills, and there is no question that Swerve was a must-get for Nana's Embassy as well. Put them all together, and this Mogul Embassy has the potential to be the most dominating force All Elite Wrestling has ever experienced.
But taking Swerve into the fold does not come without cost; he has his own share of built-in enemies, ones he's amassed since debuting in AEW, and in particular one former “Limitless” partner. Strickland has made it no secret he's the one poking the bear with Keith Lee, he's the one who decided that business was unfinished, and now the entire Mogul Embassy will have to eventually handle the Naturally Limitless problem that is Lee and Dustin Rhodes.
But perhaps they can handle it; we will all see this Saturday night when Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage team-up for the very first time to take on one of AEW's stalwart tag teams, Alex Reynolds and John Silver! These Dark Order members have been fighting the good fight in AEW almost since the beginning of DYNAMITE's existence, and absolutely have the abilities to become top players in the division.
Will the nascent Mogul Embassy pairing prove Nana's investment worthwhile, or will the far more experience Dark Order duo score the victory? However it goes, it's reasonable to think Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes will have their eyes on this one!
FIRM DELETION FALLOUT...
With the Firm Deletion in their rear view, The Hardys and Isiah Kassidy will be in the house this Saturday night to talk about their future! They've got every reason to celebrate, having decimated The Firm, having freed themselves from any contractual ties to Ethan Page or Stokely Hathaway, so what is next for Matt, Jeff, and Isiah? Tune in this Saturday night to see what they've got to say about their next step in All Elite Wrestling!
RAMPAGE comes to you this Saturday night at 10:00pm ET/9:00pm CT, well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW's international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on highlights from this week's episode of DYNAMITE as well as the latest editions of ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more! This weekend, fans will witness The Embassy Affiliates take on The Dark Order, The United Empire's Kyle Fletcher in singles action, The Outcasts' Toni Storm in singles competition, and The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass in trios competition against Kip Sabian, The Butcher, & The Blade! It's all heading towards DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 on May 28th, live on PPV from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV!!!