AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 21
0 of 4
Rampage.AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on July 21.
This week's show aired head to head with the final hour of ROH Death Before Dishonor, so Tony Khan was splitting his audience a bit on Friday night.
This show featured three matches, but the main event was the big attraction. The Royal Rampage bout featured over a dozen stars vying for a shot at the TNT Championship.
We also saw Kris Statlander put the TBS title on the line against Marina Shafir, and Johnny TV teamed up with QT Marshall and Aaron Solo to take on The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass.
Let's take a look at what went down during Friday's show.
Royal Rampage
1 of 4
- Sonjay Dutt is always operating like he drank six Red Bulls. It's hilarious.
- This match had two rings because they were still set up from Blood and Guts.
- Suzuki took so long with his entrance that the next guy was about to come out when he finally got in the ring.
- This match included a few people who also appeared on the ROH PPV on Friday because it was filmed on Wednesday with Dynamite.
- If WWE's Royal Rumble and WCW's World War 3 had a baby, it would be the Royal Rampage.
- Swerve helping Wayne eliminate Big Bill was a fun moment.
- There are dangerous spots, and then there are stupid spots. Allowing yourself to be powerbombed onto the wheels of a skateboard is a stupid spot. That is more dangerous than the majority of what we saw during Blood and Guts.
Royal Rampage.AEW
The opening match on this week's show was the Royal Rampage to find a new No. 1 contender for the TNT Championship. The bout started with two men in each ring. Swerve Strickland and Nick Wayne were in the ring with blue ropes while Darby Allin and Jay Lethal were in the ring with red ropes.
Other stars like Minoru Suzuki, Brian Cage and The Butcher entered the match at regular intervals. It took a while before anyone was eliminated, so the rings kept filling up as each new competitor arrived.
Battle Royals are harder to rate than normal matches because they aren't necessarily about the quality of the wrestling. These bouts are about individual spots and eliminations, so it all comes down to how many memorable moments the match produced.
All Elite Wrestling @AEWPowerbomb. Skateboard.<br><br>Watch <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AEWRampage?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWRampage</a> on TNT!<a href="https://twitter.com/DarbyAllin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarbyAllin</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/swerveconfident?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SwerveConfident</a> <a href="https://t.co/bzYCt3N3ft">pic.twitter.com/bzYCt3N3ft</a>
Allin seemed to be the main focus of a lot of the competitors in this match, but he ended up surviving all of them to win the whole thing by last eliminating Swerve.
The first half of this was nothing special but it picked up in the back half when we started seeing more eliminations.
Winner: Darby Allin
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Acclaimed vs. QTV
2 of 4
- The Acclaimed will face The House of Black for the Trios Championships on Collision, so it made sense to give them a win here, but it's a little weird that Johnny TV is already losing this early in his AEW run.
- Solo's last name used to be spelled Solow. It feels unnecessary to drop the W. It made his name more distinct.
- Marshall had a huge bandage on his back due to being in an ambulance match he had in AAA last weekend.
- Caster's rap about Cameron was a little on the mean side, even for him.
Rampage.AEW
Anthony Bowens, Max Caster and Billy Gunn Battled Marshall, Johnny TV and Solo in a trios match that also had Harley Cameron at ringside.
QT and Daddy Ass traded some quick moves early in the match to show that even though they are the elder members of their respective groups, they still have some gas left in the tank.
They really picked up the pace in the second half, but a few of the multi-man spots we saw seemed a little too contrived instead of feeling spontaneous.
Still, this was a solid performance that gave The Acclaimed a win before they face the trios champions this weekend, so it was effective in that regard.
Winners: The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Kris Statlander vs. Marina Shafir
3 of 4
- AEW should have given Statlander a special version of the TBS title, They have for a bunch of the TNT champions, so it only seems fair.
- Wrestling with bare feet is one thing, but wearing socks and shoes to the ring just so you can take them off is kind of odd.
Rampage. AEW
The main event of the show was the TBS Championship match between Statlander and Shafir. Nyla Rose accompanied Shafir to the stage but did not stay at ringside for the match.
Shafir gave up a little size but she did not let that stop her from whipping and throwing Statlander around with some judo throws.
This is arguably the most dangerous Shafir has looked in an AEW ring. It feels like she is finally putting all of the pieces together to combine her MMA and wrestling abilities into one set of skills.
Even though Shafir put up a good fight, this was never going to end any other way than Statlander having her hand raised.
Winner: Kris Statlander
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
4 of 4
There was a stretch where Rampage did not feel like appointment viewing, but over the past few months, we have seen an increase in effort and quality in the show.
Unfortunately, every episode can't be a classic. Most of the shows over the past couple of months have felt more important, but this week's show fell short.
Allin winning a shot at the TNT title was the biggest moment of the show. The Acclaimed and Statlander winning their matches was logical, but also extremely predictable.
With SmackDown and Death Before Dishonor also on Friday night, there was a total of six hours of wrestling between the three promotions. It wouldn't be surprising if a lot of people skipped Rampage this week.
Grade: C
