5 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage (Oct 15)
2. The Match Matt Sydal Needed
Sydal also sorely needed a showing like this.
His AEW run has been a bit spotty since he joined on with the company, and being best-known for a pay-per-view botch never sat well considering he's one hell of a talent. Matt didn't only exorcise those demons here - he showed what a valuable addition he can be to the roster, and what he's capable of when motivated.
Sydal can be proud of this one. It had to feel damn good for him to share the ring with Punk again (they last wrestled a singles match on the 11 October 2010 episode of WWE Raw; that one went approx two minutes. This one was significantly longer), and revisit some fond memories from the indy hopeful days.
Fingers crossed Sydal can use this to earn some credit backstage and force his way into more meaningful spots on TV. It remains to be seen if his frosty on/off alliance with Lio Rush will bear any fruit, or if it's another false dawn for someone who once seemed like such an exciting get for AEW.