
AEW Rampage is owned by All Elite Wrestling, Tony Khan, Shahid Khan, and TNT
Sure it’s the final episode of Rampage before the PPV, but you know what’s even BETTER about this? With this recap I’m fully caught up on AEW; just in time for Revolution! If nothing else, I feel VERY accomplished for pulling this off and hopefully, my efforts will be rewarded with a great PPV show! Does this final Rampage close up all the loose ends before Revolution, or should I not have even bothered trying to catch up and just jumped to the big show? Let’s find out!!
.
Sammy Guevara Vs. Darby Allin Vs. Andrade El Ídolo– TNT Title Three-Way Match
So you’re telling me that after both of these guys lost their title shots, and while both Scorpio Sky and whoever wins the Face of the Revolution Ladder match are waiting for their shots, Darby and Andrade just get another chance to win the belt? Well in their defense, this IS a really good match and a great way to kick off Rampage! Since Sammy and Darby are teaming up on the PPV in a Trios match against Andrade, it’s clear who the odd one out is and he knows it so his strategy is to try and keep his distance while Darby and Sammy beat each other to heck and back. What’s wild though is that while Darby and Sammy are clearly aware of this and do team up from time to time to attack Andrade, the plan ultimately works because they spend much more time fighting each other and this allows Andrade to save his strength and strike when it is most effective. There’s an early spot where Sammy has Darby on the turnbuckle and picks him up for some sort of Avalanche Pile Driver move, but then Andrade runs in and slides under Sammy for a Powerbomb. Showing an incredible amount of strength and balance, Sammy manages to hold Darby upright while Andrade walks them away from the corner before slamming both down onto the mat! A very cool (if a little silly) spot and it gives Andrade a chance to get the heat on both of them during the commercial. Unfortunately, he still seems to be underestimating them because he goes for several pins while he is in control, but they keep getting broken up because he doesn’t toss the other one out of the ring while he’s trying to win the match. Sammy and Darby team up once again and have Andrade on the ropes, but then they make the same mistake and start going after each other before finishing off Andrade. Darby Shoves Sammy out of a Springboard move to the floor below and Andrade is right here to Scoop Slam him in the middle of the ring! Still, Darby has his second wind now and starts getting dealing some Damage to Andrade; eventually putting him in the Tree of Woe which allows Sammy to hit a Coast to Coast Dropkick. They continue to work over Andrade whose whole strategy is finally collapsing, but this also means that Darby and Sammy are getting in each other’s way. After trading pinfalls for a bit, Andrade tries one last-ditch effort to steal a pin which ends with him eating a Stunner from Darby and a GTH from Sammy. As soon as Sammy hits his move though, Darby throws him out and goes for the pin which is broken up by a top rope splash from Sammy. Sammy then throws Darby off to get the pin, and with Darby feeling the effects of that Splash, Sammy is able to keep Andrade down for the three count to win the match and retain his title! A fantastic match that was definitely of PPV quality, but all is not well as Sammy tries to shake Darby’s hand and is simply blown off. Sammy has held onto his title and in the grand scheme of things that’s probably more important than the Trios match on Sunday, but it does not bode well for their chances. Frankly, I would have put this on the Sunday show and just forgotten about the Trios match, but I’m not gonna complain about having good wrestling!
Continue reading “Super Wrestling: AEW Rampage (03-04-2022)”


