4 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 27)

Ups...

4. The Book Of SQUASH!

Regulars will know just how little time this writer typically has for squashes on Rampage. They're a bit out of place on a one-hour show, and they take time away from some of the other bouts that could use those extra minutes. That's why this Powerhouse Hobbs segment was so surprising.

It worked.

The match was short enough that it didn't gobble up too much time, and it actually got Hobbs back in the ring rather than more of those pre-taped vignettes that were getting a little old. Also, big pop for Chris Jericho's obvious joke about Tony Mudd ("His name is mudd in this town!").

It'd be cool to see Hobbs get a few more of these wins under his belt before moving onto bigger challenges. Obviously, AEW can't kick the arse out of that - nobody needs six weeks of squashes, but this was totally fine for what it was and what it was supposed to accomplish.