BRM Reviews the 8/13/2021 Rampage

[Big Red Machine]

Fifteen seconds into the show and I am already sick and tired of hearing Jericho yelling.


IMPACT WRESTLING WORLD HEAYYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Kenny Omega(c) (w/Don Callis) vs. Christian Cage- 8/10
Tonight they called this a “world championship,” despite seemingly like they were purposely avoiding doing so on Dynamite.
Both guys worked the head and neck, and they had lots of great twists and turns. I certainly didn’t see Christian getting the win here. I had figured that Christian challenging Omega at All Out was a red herring and they were going to give the match to Punk or Dragon, but this makes me rethink that.

MARK HENRY INTERVIEWS CHRISTIAN CAGE (& JURASSIC EXPRESS)- great!
The only negative here was Orange Cassidy lounging around in the background. I guess he didn’t learn his less from the beating the Inner put on him last time he did this. If you want a title shot, why don’t you wait off camera until the new champ is done talking, and then approach? Waiting in the background of someone else’s big moment is rude… and that’s assuming that OC even wants a title shot. He never said anything or even made eye-contact with Christian, so it’s possible he was just being an asshole for no reason at all.

FUEGO DEL SOL VS. MIRO VIDEO PACKAGE- bad
Who the f*ck is this guy and why should I care about him? Why the hell did they give this nobody this title shot instead of just spending an extra week or two building up Lee Johnson for his title shot?

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH IN WHICH IF FUEGO DEL SOL WINS, HE EARNS AN AEW CONTRACT: Miro(c) vs. Fuego Del Sol- DUD!
Fuego Del Sol jumped the bell on Miro. Why would I want to see him win a title or get a contract if he has to cheat in order to do so?
Fuego Del Sol hit some Tornado DDTs and got a false finish out of it. The went for a fourth one but Miro countered it with a Samoan Drop, hit the Machka Kick and locked in Game Over for the win. You want to give Miro a dominant win? Fine. But you can tell your wacky story about the Tornado DDT being Miro’s weakness without having a babyface cheat. And seeing as how all this match was was that story and they failed at making me want to see the babyface win, I’m giving it a dud.
After the match, Miro ripped up the contract that was waiting for Fuego Del Sol. Good. That cheater doesn’t deserve a contract.

POST-COMMERCIAL POST-MATCH SEGMENT- They still haven’t learned a damn thing.
After a commercial break, Sammy Guevara and Tony Khan come out. Jericho tells us that Sammy Guevara and Fuego Del Sol are best friends. Apparently not best friends enough for Sammy to comment on Chavo and Andrade beating him up last week, though.
Sammy jokes that Fuego Del Sol is 1-50. I looked it up, and he’s not far off. He’s now 1-44, and the win wasn’t even in a singles match. But the fans like him, so they’re going to offer a contract to this COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER. That’s not me being mean to the guy. It’s a f*cking statement of fact!
So yeah. Apparently back in February when I asked if AEW could have possibly done a worse job at telling the Lee Johnson story, Tony Khan read the post and said “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

THEY PLUG WHATEVER DARDBY WILL BE DOING AT THE CHICAGO SHOW- fine

MARK HENRY CONDUCTS AN INTERVIEW VIA SATELLITE WITH BRITT BAKER AND RED VELVET-
Mark asks why Red Velvet rudely interrupted Britt on Dynamite. Red Velvet says it’s because Britt attacked her with a crutch? Oh yeah? Will if that’s the case, then WHY DIDN’T YOU BRING THAT UP ON DYNAMITE?! Doing it like this makes it feel like Red Velvet (and, out of kayfabe, the booker) is pulling something out of her ass to try to justify her dickish behavior.
Britt cut a fine promo. Mark Henry comes off like the nicest human there has ever been.

AEW WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE MATCH: Britt Baker(c) (w/Rebel) vs. Red Velvet- 6.75/10
Britt’s arm got worked over but she still won. The completely immoral crowd was happy with this despite Rebel’s copious interference. His was fine, but Red Velvet is not someone I would have put in a main event spot on the premiere episode of a show.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- meh
Britt attacked Red Velvet after he match and was going to stomp her head into the belt, but Kris Statlander made the save. Jamie Hayter jumped the guardrail or something to help Britt. She was wearing a disguise, but it wasn’t necessary because no one recognized her when she took it off. Even Excalibur wasn’t sure if he was right at first. They beat the babyfaces up and Britt stomped Red Velvet’s face into the belt.


Why did they decide to call the second episode of Rampage “The First Dance?”

This show started off great, but by the end, it was the usual AEW mix of good wrestling and Creative problems.

[NWK2000]

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH IN WHICH IF FUEGO DEL SOL WINS, HE EARNS AN AEW CONTRACT: Miro(c) vs. Fuego Del Sol- DUD!
Fuego Del Sol jumped the bell on Miro. Why would I want to see him win a title or get a contract if he has to cheat in order to do so?

I can overlook this. He's fighting for a contract against probably the most dominant wrestler on the roster. Morality or no, he'd be fool not to take any advantage he could. However....

POST-COMMERCIAL POST-MATCH SEGMENT- They still haven’t learned a damn thing.
After a commercial break, Sammy Guevara and Tony Khan come out. Jericho tells us that Sammy Guevara and Fuego Del Sol are best friends. Apparently not best friends enough for Sammy to comment on Chavo and Andrade beating him up last week, though.
Sammy jokes that Fuego Del Sol is 1-50. I looked it up, and he’s not far off. He’s now 1-44, and the win wasn’t even in a singles match. But the fans like him, so they’re going to offer a contract to this COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER. That’s not me being mean to the guy. It’s a f*cking statement of fact!
So yeah. Apparently back in February when I asked if AEW could have possibly done a worse job at telling the Lee Johnson story, Tony Khan read the post and said “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

Completely agree here. This "lose but win a contract anyway" bullshit started with "Please sign Cedric" except people who imitate it forget that actually came off as organic because Hunter came out with no fanfare after every person in Full Sail was chanting "Please sign Cedric". Hell, I wouldn't have even been opposed to Fuego picking up the duke here, because I can't remember the last time we had a genuine, "Spike Dudley beats Bam Bam Bigelow" moment in wrestling. (maybe Leon Ruff?) But instead they did something in which no one advanced. Hell even a double count out, and Tony Khan making a slightly controversial call of "eh fuck it it's a draw, sign him anyway" would've been preferable to how they handled things.

[Big Red Machine]

AEW TNT TITLE MATCH IN WHICH IF FUEGO DEL SOL WINS, HE EARNS AN AEW CONTRACT: Miro(c) vs. Fuego Del Sol- DUD!
Fuego Del Sol jumped the bell on Miro. Why would I want to see him win a title or get a contract if he has to cheat in order to do so?

I can overlook this. He's fighting for a contract against probably the most dominant wrestler on the roster. Morality or no, he'd be fool not to take any advantage he could. However....

Well, by that logic, "morality or no, he'd be a fool not to poison Rusev before their match;" "Morality or no, he'd be a fool not to shoot Rusev in the face while the referee was distracted and win by stoppage;" Morality or not, he'd be a fool not to hire people to kidnap Rusev's family and threaten to have them murdered if Rusev doesn't forfeit." Morality is important! You can't just throw it away with "morality or no."

POST-COMMERCIAL POST-MATCH SEGMENT- They still haven’t learned a damn thing.
After a commercial break, Sammy Guevara and Tony Khan come out. Jericho tells us that Sammy Guevara and Fuego Del Sol are best friends. Apparently not best friends enough for Sammy to comment on Chavo and Andrade beating him up last week, though.
Sammy jokes that Fuego Del Sol is 1-50. I looked it up, and he’s not far off. He’s now 1-44, and the win wasn’t even in a singles match. But the fans like him, so they’re going to offer a contract to this COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER. That’s not me being mean to the guy. It’s a f*cking statement of fact!
So yeah. Apparently back in February when I asked if AEW could have possibly done a worse job at telling the Lee Johnson story, Tony Khan read the post and said “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”

Completely agree here. This "lose but win a contract anyway" bullshit started with "Please sign Cedric" except people who imitate it forget that actually came off as organic because Hunter came out with no fanfare after every person in Full Sail was chanting "Please sign Cedric". Hell, I wouldn't have even been opposed to Fuego picking up the duke here, because I can't remember the last time we had a genuine, "Spike Dudley beats Bam Bam Bigelow" moment in wrestling. (maybe Leon Ruff?) But instead they did something in which no one advanced. Hell even a double count out, and Tony Khan making a slightly controversial call of "eh fuck it it's a draw, sign him anyway" would've been preferable to how they handled things.

I see this as different than the Cedric thing because
1) Cedric was booked to look like he had a real shot at winning (and without having to cheat)
2) Cedric had actually won some matches beforehand over credible opponents (that's was the second or third round, and he also won a qualifier on an EVOLVE show)
3) "If Cedric wins, he gets a contract" wasn't a stipulation of the match, so having him lose and then still get the contract anyway isn't annoying.

[NWK2000]

Well, by that logic, "morality or no, he'd be a fool not to poison Rusev before their match;" "Morality or no, he'd be a fool not to shoot Rusev in the face while the referee was distracted and win by stoppage;" Morality or not, he'd be a fool not to hire people to kidnap Rusev's family and threaten to have them murdered if Rusev doesn't forfeit." Morality is important! You can't just throw it away with "morality or no."

That's an exaggeration. My point is that If you're in a fight with a guy double your size, and your livelihood was on the line, you'd bend every rule in the book to make sure you won, while not going over the line so much as to g et arrested or something. I just hate it when fans expect babyfaces to follow the rules to the letter in a very high stakes match.

POST-COMMERCIAL POST-MATCH SEGMENT-


I see this as different than the Cedric thing because
1) Cedric was booked to look like he had a real shot at winning (and without having to cheat)
2) Cedric had actually won some matches beforehand over credible opponents (that's was the second or third round, and he also won a qualifier on an EVOLVE show)
3) "If Cedric wins, he gets a contract" wasn't a stipulation of the match, so having him lose and then still get the contract anyway isn't annoying.

That's fair, but in my mind this felt like a direct ripoff of Cedric's signing and the combinaiton of what I said and you said made me irrationally angry.

[Big Red Machine]

Well, by that logic, "morality or no, he'd be a fool not to poison Rusev before their match;" "Morality or no, he'd be a fool not to shoot Rusev in the face while the referee was distracted and win by stoppage;" Morality or not, he'd be a fool not to hire people to kidnap Rusev's family and threaten to have them murdered if Rusev doesn't forfeit." Morality is important! You can't just throw it away with "morality or no."

That's an exaggeration. My point is that If you're in a fight with a guy double your size, and your livelihood was on the line, you'd bend every rule in the book to make sure you won, while not going over the line so much as to g et arrested or something. I just hate it when fans expect babyfaces to follow the rules to the letter in a very high stakes match.

Yes it's an exaggeration, but the logic holds. Not cheating (unless the opponent cheats first) is an essential part of being a babyface.
Using your logic, CM Punk was right to pay off Brad Maddox to help him beat Ryback because Ryback was so big and strong and undefeated. "Bend the rules" in order to make sure you win a high-stakes match is a classic way to turn heel!

[NWK2000]

Using your logic, CM Punk was right to pay off Brad Maddox to help him beat Ryback because Ryback was so big and strong and undefeated. "Bend the rules" in order to make sure you win a high-stakes match is a classic way to turn heel!

Ya know, in mewling over this, a question arises, why not make it No DQ? Avoids so many logistical problems.

[Big Red Machine]

Using your logic, CM Punk was right to pay off Brad Maddox to help him beat Ryback because Ryback was so big and strong and undefeated. "Bend the rules" in order to make sure you win a high-stakes match is a classic way to turn heel!

Ya know, in mewling over this, a question arises, why not make it No DQ? Avoids so many logistical problems.

Make what no DQs?

[NWK2000]

Using your logic, CM Punk was right to pay off Brad Maddox to help him beat Ryback because Ryback was so big and strong and undefeated. "Bend the rules" in order to make sure you win a high-stakes match is a classic way to turn heel!

Ya know, in mewling over this, a question arises, why not make it No DQ? Avoids so many logistical problems.

Make what no DQs?

Fuego vs Miro, or for that matter any match where a contract on the line. Seems like one of those stips that has to have a definitive winner and loser.

[Big Red Machine]

Ya know, in mewling over this, a question arises, why not make it No DQ? Avoids so many logistical problems.

Make what no DQs?

Fuego vs Miro, or for that matter any match where a contract on the line. Seems like one of those stips that has to have a definitive winner and loser.

Disagree. Count-outs and DQs are definitive finishes. Fans have just been trained to whine about them. I agree that there is a distinction between beating your opponent through your own efforts and you opponent losing via violation of the rules, which is why I'm fine with titles not changing hands on a count-out or a DQ, but for the purposes of pretty much anything else, any form of losing should be treated as equal under the rules. If you have a match for a contract and one side loses because of Toru Yano "tie you t the guardrail" bullsh*t where it's clear the guy didn't really beat his opponent, then management can just book a rematch with a stip to prevent it, no different than booking a title rematch in a cage so the heels' friends can't interfere.

Or, if you don't like that argument, then think of it this way: Most of the matches anyone will be wrestling will be under standard rules, so it only makes sense that to be worthy of a contract, you need to prove that you can win under standard rules.

Also, I don't find the contract stip to be that important. AEW used Fuego del Sol almost fifty times before they gave him a contract. They used tons of wrestlers who aren't under contract every week. Other promotions do, too, from jobbers to wrestlers coming in for tryouts to people they bring in to fill out space in a tournament. For us as viewers, what's the difference between someone being used with or without a contract?
The closest I've seen to making this matter from the viewer perspective is what Gabe did a few times in the formative years of ROH where you would have a match between two guys who had essentially been "regional" guys with the stipulation that the winner would start getting flown to all of the shows instead of just booked on shows he was willing to drive to, so fans had a real interest in seeing the guy they enjoyed watching more get the win.