4 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (April 20 - Results & Review)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. Kyle O’Reilly’s Threat

Kyle O'Reilly AEW
AEW

Ooft! What a finish to the main event trios bout.

Kyle O'Reilly locked an arm bar on Roderick Strong, and his old mate tapped immediately. Fans popped, but Roddy wasn't the legal man and scurried away to safety as Mike Bennett (who was legal) came in to meet the same fate. He also tapped instantly, which served to make Kyle's submission look killer.

Nigel McGuinness covered for Strong by saying he tapped because he knew he wasn't legal and didn't want to incur an injury before Dynasty. Bloody hell, that was some clever heel commentary work from Nigel. Giving the heel an excuse and making them look cerebral all at once? What a pro.

The big story coming out of Rampage is that O'Reilly looks every bit the threat to Roderick's International Title. The way Strong clutched his belt desperately as the show went off the air put over his concern as well. Bonus points for the way AEW's cameras framed both guys; they got close up on Roddy to show his panicked expressions, but shot O'Reilly from below to depict him as an unstoppable force coming for the title.

Great stuff.

What did you think of this week's AEW Rampage? For more wrestling, check out AEW Dynasty 2024: 10 Things That Must Happen and AEW Dynasty 2024: 10 Nightmares That Could Come True!

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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.