4 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Rampage (June 30)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. A Kommanding Victory

Claudio Castagnoli
AEW

Apologies for the truly rubbish wordplay.

That knockout uppercut from Claudio looked special though. It was a no-nonsense moment, looked great and came across as totally believable. Credit to the referee ('cause AEW refs eat a lot of sh*t online) for taking his time to check on Komander before informing Castagnoli it was a wrap.

You don't often see finishes this believable in pro wrestling these days, so it was welcome. Komander went high risk, caught a forearm to the jaw, hit the mat hard, then couldn't answer when the official asked if he was fit to continue. Claudio's shrug of the shoulders afterwards only added to the moment.

That opener is exactly the kind of match the BCC man does well. He's a solid base for flyers, can shift himself, but enjoys blending technical attacks with meaty strikes to get the job done. Hopefully, Claudio vs. Komander will encourage a few fans watching to check out some ROH stuff again.

What did you think of this week's AEW Rampage? For more like this, check out AEW: Fight Forever - 10 Things You MUST Do First and AEW: Fight Forever - 15 Best Looking Characters!

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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.