4 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 14)

3. First Title Defence Down

Nobody believed that Alex Reynolds and John Silver were leaving Friday's taping with the AEW Tag-Team Titles, but they still managed to work a nifty main event with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus. Everything flowed well, and there was even a moment or two for Christian Cage.

Crucially, Cage got involved without gobbling up much airtime or hogging the spotlight. This alliance with Jurassic Express is the best spot for him right now; Christian comes across as an important mentor to the team, and he has serious credibility as a tag legend.

The Dark Order idea needs to go away, but they are an established AEW act. That's why this gets a firm 'Up' in the end. Lucha and JB got to enjoy their first successful title defence, fans got to witness a neat match, and the Reynolds/Silver combo has enough tenure behind it by now that they were credible opponents.

This was better than a squash over some no-names would've been.