5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 5 - Results & Review)

3. YIKES!

Hikaru Shida Anna Jay AEW Ref Botch
AEW

Fans did not like the referee blatantly stopping his count during a near fall spot mid-Shida vs. Anna. Hikaru visibly failed to kick out, so she probably deserves most of the blame. Regardless, it was the official who took flak from a ticked off live crowd for that flub.

The botch threatened to derail an otherwise-decent match, so that's why it's mentioned and enters 'Down' territory. Things were moving along quite nicely until that mistake. In fairness, the workers deserve some praise for keeping things together even when the fans were audibly frustrated with the ref.

That isn't always guaranteed.

A 'Down' is deserved though. Shida rarely makes errors like this, and she pretty much left the ref looking foolish because he knew that wasn't supposed to be the end of the match. It's amazing how switched on to things like this pro wrestling crowds are now. They spotted it instantly.

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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.