4 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage (April 5 - Results & Review)

Ups...

4. Really Good Opener

Malakai Black Christopher Daniels
AEW

Thankfully, Khan has a killer roster to fall back on.

The boss knows he can slap pretty much any combo of names on a sheet of paper and it'll make for a fine match. On Friday, the opener between Christopher Daniels and Malakai Black was so slick and well-worked - it was a bout between two pros who really know their craft and visibly enjoy working.

It's also always a treat to see Daniels wrestle these days, because the dude's defo in the twilight years of a celebrated in-ring career. Black met his vigour halfway, and was typically giving throughout. As a result, it became clear that Malakai had to scratch, bite and claw to earn his win here. That's a good thing.

Sure, it may sound contradictory to blast AEW's formatting then praise all of the matches on Rampage, but the men and women on All Elite's roster take the praise for that. Now, can you imagine if their talent was matched by storytelling know-how and character development?

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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.