4 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Rampage (24 May - Results & Review)

2. Erm…Referee?

Rush Isiah Kassidy
AEW

This was bad.

Rick Knox merely admonished Rush for choking the life out of Isiah Kassidy with a cable on the floor around ringside. Erm...what? A five count won't cut it there, ref. You're supposed to enforce the rules, and Rush was using a weapon to literally choke his opponent. That's an automatic DQ, surely?!

Even the commentators were puzzled by everything going on. Schiavone meekly offered: "...but you got the five count, right?". Well, yeah, but not for something as vicious and illegal as choking someone on the floor with a damn cable. Knox didn't even continue his count to threaten Rush with a disqualification.

Man, the standard of refereeing in this company is downright dreadful sometimes. Refs come across as inept, lazy and completely powerless. If heels don't get DQ'd for things like this, then what's the point in having rules at all? Horrible, horrible moment in the show.

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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.