3 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Royal Rampage (July 21)

Ups...

3. An Inventive Finish

Darby Allin Swerve Strickland
AEW

At least the finish was creative.

Darby realised Swerve had already spilled over the top rope towards the end of 'Royal Rampage', so decided to dive at him and spear Strickland through the ropes. That was a nice moment, one almost spoiled by Chris Jericho getting it wrong and suggesting Allin only won because Swerve "hit first".

Excalibur had to correct things by pointing out that Darbs went through the top and middle ropes, so wouldn't have eligible for elimination anyway. Jericho, likely palming his own forehead at the gaffe, went silent for a few seconds after that.

In fairness, that didn't wreck the finish or anything. People liked seeing Allin use his daredevil tactics to get the last laugh. His going-for-broke dive nailed Strickland sweetly in the ribs, and the heel careened backwards to hit the floor with a satisfying thump.

Great spot.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.