5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Rampage (Jan 5 - Results & Review)
2. Erm…Judges?
Right, so Justin Roberts laid out the rules for an ROH Pure rules match before the main event. The AEW ring announcer loudly stated that closed fists are disallowed during such bouts. Later, Wheeler Yuta cracked Komander with a closed fist right in front of the referee, and yet nothing happened.
The heel wasn't punished for cheating. OK then.
Worse, all three judges flashed up on screen to look confused about what had just gone down. It came across that Christopher Daniels, Pat Buck and Jimmy Jacobs knew Yuta had cheated but were powerless to do anything about it. Why even have judges there if they can't affect meaningful change then?!
Also, what's the point in even having that closed fist rule there if a heel like Yuta can blatantly ignore it to gain an advantage mid-match? It's not like Wheeler did this slyly behind anyone's back. He smashed Komander right in the face at ringside in front of everybody.