6 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Rampage (Oct 22)

5. Referencing The Past

Powerhouse Hobbs Orange Cassidy
AEW

Props to AEW's producers for digging through the archives and airing that clip of Orange vs. Will Hobbs from the 7 July 2020 edition of Dark. There, Cassidy beat the future Team Taz man in just 12 seconds. Literally nobody would've remembered it without the footage, but both guys wanted to make that part of the story here anyway.

So, like he did on Dark, Hobbs charged in straight after the opening bell and tried to catch Orange sleeping. Unlike 2020 though, Cassidy couldn't catch Powerhouse out with his Orange Punch. What a kick ass, subtly-clever way to reference your shared history together without going too deep into the weeds.

Nice work from all involved to use that history as a tool for this match. The story was that Hobbs has grown exponentially since being embarrassed by Cassidy on Dark, and the extended beatdown he gave the underdog babyface reflected that.

Simply magic attention to detail.

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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.