3 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (Mar 11)
Rampage features a major in-ring debut; The Hardy Boyz show up; AEW's women falter.
Shane Strickland's AEW career has bags of promise.
The former Hit Row man made his debut at Revolution, but the company saved his in-ring bow for this week's Rampage. That shows how much Tony Khan values the third hour - he knows it's the ideal platform for tightly-focused moments like this. Sadly, Swerve's first match didn't happen on the best episode.
Had somebody told you when Rampage kicked off last August that ex-WWE stars like The Hardy Boyz, Keith Lee, Andrade and Shane Strickland would be part of the same hour on TNT, you'd have called them a liar. Well, it happened on Friday night, but...things fell a little flat at key points of the program.
There's a worrying trend of overkill pulsing through All Elite's broadcast style at the moment. They're so eager to please that some segments/matches aren't getting the necessary room to breathe. That was 100% the case with this week's nostalgia kick.
On the plus side, Strickland smashed it, the opener was fun (aside from one pesky spot) and Keith Lee excelled yet again. He really could be on his way to becoming a Rampage MVP if this keeps up. Sorry, Sammy Guevara - you might get ousted!