Sanders’ AEW Rampage Review 7.19.24

Happy Fantastic Friday, everyone! Lee Sanders is back with you all, because it’s AEW Rampage time! Let’s do this!

Location: Simmons Bank Arena
Location: Little Rock, AR
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

Strong and Reilly clash in this opener, trading holds and reversals. Cassidy and Taven are tagged in as Cassidy hits a few arm drags. Taven is sent into the ropes as Ishii is tagged in and hits everyone with shoulder tackles. Bennett and Taven eventually jump him from behind. They attempt a double suplex as Cassidy and Reilly come to the rescue. Cassidy & Friends reverse and hit them with a back body suplex! Ishii, with a pinfall attempt after a setup by Cassidy, only gets a near fall as we head to commercial. We’re back as Strong hits a backbreaker on Ishii. Strong follows up with chops and right hands to the face. Taven is tagged in as he hits a snapmare and is distracted as he turns his back to his opponent. Ishii is able to hit a German suplex to tag in Reilly. All men are in the ring as it’s pure chaos! The referee can’t get control as he lets a lot of things slide. A sick kick and the proton pack only get Kingdom a near fall. Strong continues to punish Ishii as Cassidy tags himself in, sending Bennett and Taven over the ropes. Cassidy tries to dive between the ropes to slam into both men. They eventually catch him and send him into the barricades. Roderick Storm hits a dropkick through the ropes, staggering Cassidy. More commercial breaks, folks. We’re back as Kingdom isolated Cassidy during the commercial break. Strong misses a running knee as Ishii gets tagged in! Suplex on Bennett! Super brainbuster on Taven as Strong breaks the pin! Strong and Reilly trade punches now. Everyone is mixing moves as Cassidy gets tagged in. Cassidy gets sent into the ropes by Bennett as Cassidy counters with a DDT. High and low from Cassidy and Reilly! Cassidy, with the orange punch on Taven, secures the win!

Winner: Orange Cassidy and Friends (16 minutes)
Judgement:**
Decent opener. Way too long for my taste, as some of the time of this match could have been spent on other matches on the card.

After the match Kyle Fletcher attacks Cassidy when Mark Briscoe comes out to save him. Strong hits him with a knee to take him down while Kingdom stands tall over his body. Elsewhere Saraya is with Harley Cameron as Saraya talks about how AEW is trying to hide her. She feels like they are trying to keep her away from TV and ALL IN: London. Saraya promises that she will be there even if she has to step on someone to get there because she is a legend!

Jericho is wearing his slacks and texting on his phone ringside while wearing his watch. What an asshole! I’m starting to accept this character as Big Bill is doing all the work. I wonder if Jericho is trying to figure out where his Grubhub delivery is while Big Bill is destroying the Outrunners. Big Bill splashes both men followed by big boots. Floyd hits a chokeslam as Jericho comes in and swings, hitting a brutal pin across Floyd’s chest for the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho and Big Bill (3 minutes)
Judgement:NR
PUMPKIN…MONEY…MONEY!!!

Suzuki demands Butcher chop him silly, as the first few chops do nothing. Suzuki laughs at him as Butcher throws more stink on the next move to stagger Suzuki. Butcher tries a half-Nelson suplex, but Suzuki reverses it into a sleeper. Suzuki hits his signature piledriver for the win.

Winner: Suzuki (3 minutes)
Judgement:NR
I love both men, but this was a…SQUASH…SQUASH…SQUASH!!!

A backstage segment features Mark Briscoe promoting his upcoming match against Roderick Strong, but first Ishii takes on Strong in the upcoming AEW Collision.

Spinning clothesline hits Winnell as Statlander follows with punches and stomps in the corner. Back suplex follows. An uppercut hits as Sydni comes back with a few clotheslines until she is caught by the ropes. Winnell was looking for a crossbody as Statlander hit The Staternight Fever to end this match.

Winner: Statlander (2 minutes)
Judgement:NR
The word for today is…SQUASH!!

Fenix ​​and Kassidy open with Fenix ​​connecting with his signature kicks before Kassidy hits a few of his own. Kassidy misses a cutter as Quen is tagged in. Quen attempts a rollup and there is a kickout as Penta is tagged in. Everyone is now in the ring, superkicks and dives off the top rope. All four men are in place as we go to our final commercials. We are back. Kassidy hits Penta with the Silly Strong. Private Party hits Fenix ​​with a neckbreaker combo. Kassidy tries to cover Fenix ​​but can’t close the deal as he kicks out! Quen is tagged in as they were thinking gin & juice but no mas! Penta hits a pair of sling blades as Private Party hits Fenix ​​with gin & juice! The cover attempt is made as Penta hits a destroyer on Kassidy to break up the attempt. Lucha brothers with a pair of stereo kicks on Private Party. Fear factor & stomp combo on Marq Quen secures the win.

Winner: Lucha Brothers (9 minutes)
Judgement:**
Solid match but what hurt the most was the picture in picture break which I consider a commercial break. This match should have been given more time as a main event. You had the right guys in place for a magical tag match.

End of the show

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