AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from September 9
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Friday's Rampage lineup (Credit: AEW)
Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on Sept. 9.
Wednesday's Dynamite was certainly an eventful show. Not only did Tony Khan vacate the world championship and the trios titles, but we already saw new champions crowned for the trios belts and the announcement of a tournament to crown a new world champ.
One of those tournament matches took place this week when Sammy Guevara battled a man he has faced multiple times, Darby Allin.
We also saw Serena Deeb take on Madison Rayne, and Dax Harwood had a chance to add another belt to his collection when he faced Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH world title.
Let's take a look at what happened on Friday's show.
Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
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- The lockup at the beginning was not believable. Allin would never be able to put up that much of a fight in a test of strength against Guevara. The Spanish God has the height, leverage and power advantage.
- The sequence with both men suplexing each other looked good.
- Guevara catching Allin with a cutter during a suicide dive looked as good as most of the RKOs we have seen from Randy Orton. It was sudden, performed with precision and looked brutal. The springboard cutter Guevara hit later on looked good, too.
- Allin taking Guevara's wedding ring and walking around with it seemed a bit out of character for him.
Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin (Credit: AEW)
This week's show opened with Guevara and Allin in the ring and ready to go. They locked up and went back and forth trying to gain the upper hand for a long time, which is much different than how you would usually expect these two to begin a match.
The painted grappler got in a few good moves before The Spanish God gained a firm upper hand. Allin had moments here and there when he would begin to mount some offense, but Guevara would either take him down or Tay Melo would do something to help her husband.
Both guys brought out some big spots for this match, but compared to their past encounters, this one didn't feel quite as chaotic. That actually worked in its favor. The match felt more structured, so each move made a little more sense.
Anna Jay provided a distraction that allowed Guevara hit a low blow before he powerbombed Allin onto his own skateboard. The GTH secured him the win to advance in the tournament. This match had way too much interference, but most of the action looked great.
Winner: B-
Grade: Sammy Guevara
Notable Moments and Observations
Serena Deeb vs. Madison Rayne
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- Deeb got some decent heat during her entrance.
- We might know her for her technical ability, but Deeb is a good striker, too. Her hits look stiffer than most. There was one clothesline in this match that looked especially good.
- The way Deeb slammed Rayne's knee into the mat several times before applying her submission was great.
Serena Deeb and Madison Rayne (Credit: AEW)
Samoa Joe came out to give a promo about how he has been away for a little while, and predictably, he was soon interrupted. Mark Sterling came out to ask for a title shot for Josh Woods, and Joe agreed that he deserves an opportunity at the belt, but the match will happen next week.
Deeb and Rayne were out next in a match that saw AEW's head coach of the women's division take on the Professor of Pro Wrestling.
The former NWA women's champion had control early on with a few nice holds and counters, but Rayne didn't let her get in too much offense without responding with some of her own.
The Professor scored the submission win in a decent bout that was on the short side. If anyone in the women's division could carry a longer performance, it's these two. They deserve a chance to do more.
Winner: Serena Deeb
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Dax Harwood
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- Caprice Coleman mocking Chris Jericho for always yelling on commentary was hilarious.
- Castagnoli's uppercuts have been lauded for a long time, but Harwood hits a nice one when he uses it. He just tends to focus more on punches.
- The way Harwood crashed to the floor after going under the bottom turnbuckle looked painful.
- The sequence with both men using the Sharpshooter was fun.
Claudio Castagnoli and Dax Harwood (Credit: AEW)
After a more respectful pre-match interview than usual, Harwood and Castagnoli met in the main event for the ROH World Championship.
They locked up and immediately started struggling for control. These two men were both looking to prove something, so there was no feeling out period. They were going at each other hard from the moment the bell rang.
These guys had the last 20-plus minutes of the show to work with, so they were able to put on a fantastic showcase of textbook pro wrestling. There were no high-flying spots that didn't make sense, and both men sold for each other to make their offense look good.
After we saw piledrivers, powerbombs and superplexes and plenty of other moves that can take a toll on a man's body, Harwood was forced to tap out to the Sharpshooter. This was a great TV title match and both men came out of it looking like badass competitors. Seeing William Regal show Harwood some respect after the match was a nice touch.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
