3 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 26 - Results & Review)
AEW is bringing EVEN MORE wrestlers to TV; Jon Moxley comes through on Rampage.
Rampage is AEW's definite 'C' show, so it's perhaps understandable when it's a little underwhelming or seems phoned in. That's annoying for regular viewers, of course, but more creative energy should go into Dynamite and Collision by default. Somewhat incredibly, the latter suffers from similar struggles to Rampage.
Tony Khan is seemingly obsessed with booking short mini-stories that last approx one week then get brushed aside for something else. It's a trope All Elite fans are all-too-familiar with; wrestler wins number one contenders match out of nowhere > there's a promo or two > Excalibur hypes the match as must see > match happens on the next TV > people forget about it > rinse and repeat.
Yes, everyone on the roster should want to challenge for gold, but a little more thought needs put into things than that. These aren't stories with any meat on the bone more than bite-sized chunks that all become samey and repetitive, and it's a real problem. That sort of thing won't grow audiences for shows like Collision.
There were positives on Rampage though. As usual, they came because AEW's roster works damn hard to put on a show between the ropes. Here's all the good and bad from Friday's latest!