4 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (Aug 13)
Ups...
4. A Perfect Squash
Squash matches done right are a humble joy.
AEW nailed the pre-match vignette before Miro vs. Fuego Del Sol. The latter passionately spoke about his need to earn a contract, and vowed to do everything in his power to slay the beast. Then, Miro arrogantly dismissed the flyer as a bug he was about to literally squash. It was beautiful.
Better yet, Fuego hit three consecutive spinning DDTs on Miro out of the corner before the reigning champ overpowered him, almost ripped him in two and then did tear up his AEW deal. This simple-but-effective strategy made everyone look great; it also means the unnecessary post-match nepotism is even harder to stomach.
Credit where credit is due: AEW has turned a corner with Miro. This is the kind of wrecking machine people wanted to see from him as Rusev in WWE, but Vince McMahon wanted to bring "more personality" out of him. Screw that. This is the guy at his best.