6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage: New Year's Smash
Rampage closes 2021 with a bang; AEW's women shed buckets of blood; Cody Rhodes = heel.
Holy f*ck.
There's been a lot of criticism hurled at AEW's female ranks since the promotion launched in 2019. Indeed, this writer has been very frosty on the women's division as a whole, and he didn't actually like it at all until Britt Baker seized the championship and started getting over as a swaggering tweener.
Friday's Rampage, the final wrestling show of 2021, reminded everyone what the division is capable of. In the (bloody) hands of Anna Jay, Tay Conti, The Bunny and Penelope Ford, the future looks bright - all four stole the show this weekend, and they sent the year out with a real bang.
This, according to Tony Schiavone, was the first Rampage to emanate from Daily's Place. AEW's go to venue gave the night a lively atmosphere as part of the promotion's 'New Year's Smash' festivities, and the roster on hand didn't disappoint by delivering three fun matches that made this one of the best editions yet.
AEW gave fans a hot opener, a weapons-filled brawl and a TNT Title match to close out 2021. The result was an almost-perfect episode of Rampage that raises the bar heading into 2022.