4 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Rampage (31 May - Results & Review)

1. Squashes Miss The Point With Kyle O’Reilly

Kyle O'Reilly AEW
AEW

Anyone who pays attention knows what Kyle O'Reilly's strengths are. He shines as a character babyface with a never-say-die attitude during gruelling matches. That's when Kyle's technical skills and heart come to the fore. Y'know when he doesn't shine? In squash matches like this win over Jordan Cruz on Friday.

O'Reilly squashes Cruz flat in less than 90 seconds.

Kyle is no physical wrecking machine, so this was confusing. Also, it was deployed as a means to build towards AEW's latest quickfire title match on Collision. Having O'Reilly run through somebody like Cruz at this stage in his run won't make anyone say, 'I gotta tune into Saturday's episode'. This match meant nothing.

There was a better squash elsewhere on Rampage, and it'll shock some that it featured someone way less-skilled than O'Reilly. However, having Kyle on programming in this sort of scenario feels like a waste of time. He gained nothing by squashing Cruz.

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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.