4 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage: Beach Break (Jan 28)
Downs...
2. A Slight Step Backwards?
Boo! Hiss! Yeah, it sucks to put this in as a 'Down', but Jade Cargill mowing down Julia Hart was a step backwards after her competitive showing with Anna Jay on last week's show. Can Jade still do squashes? Sure, though AEW might want to be a tad more ambitious with her more often now she's TBS Champ.
This squash didn't really need to be on Rampage.
Julia isn't credible enough yet for it to mean anything either, so this maybe wasn't quite the statement All Elite figured it would be. Dunno, perhaps that's harsh, but the two-minute procession of power from Cargill fell flatter than it normally does. Fans didn't seem all that interested, being honest. They've seen this.
No, more competitively-spirited bouts like ones against Jay and Ruby Soho are the way to go with Jade. This came across like AEW said, 'Sh*t! We don't have a women's match on the show!' - it was a panicky insert rather than a vital watch.