And a good Friday to you all! Lee Sanders here and if I’m here that means only one thing, new AEW RAMPAGE! This week sees the continuation of build-up towards FULL GEAR next Saturday. Tonight’s card features Adam Cole vs. John Silver. Meanwhile, CM Punk & Eddie Kingston have their face-to-face encounter. And, Red Velvet vs. The Bunny in a TBS Women’s Title Tourney match. On a wrestling related note, I know folks were in a frenzy yesterday over the recent WWE releases. I dedicated an entire show looking at the releases and who could be AEW bound. Check it out on my YouTube channel by clicking here and feel free to subscribe!

Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Ricky Starks, Excalibur, Taz

MATCH 1: BRYAN DANIELSON VS ANTHONY BOWENS

Bowens and Danielson engage in a lockup as soon Bowens comes in with a strong start on Danielson with a couple of armdrag takedowns. Nice transitioning of counters from both men as the men come to a stalemate. Bowens gets in a lateral press and goes for a cover…only a two count. Danielson comes back with a nasty kick followed by working on the left arm of Bowens. Series of chops on Bowens now follows as Bowens gets Danielson in the corner to deliver chops of his own. Danielson gets in a cross armbreaker as Bowens quickly gets out of the submission attempt. Bowens drops Danielson face first into the ring apron as Max Caster quietly clotheslines Danielson outside the ring while the referee is distracted. Back from commercial break as Bowens has been on the offense during Picture in Picture. Danielson comes in with a big running elbow-strike to the face of Bowens. Danielson follows it up with his trademark YES! Kicks, followed by a cover as he only gets a two count. Danielson follows up with a series of chops and his trademark flying running knee. Danielson tries looking for another running attack but Bowens counters and gets him in the The Arrival which is modified spinning DDT while the opponent’s legs are caught in between the ropes. A pretty sweet move. Near fall for Bowens as he and Danielson continues us slugging it out. Danielson dropkicks Caster from outside the ring and sends Bowens crashing into Caster outside the ring. Danielson goes to the top turnbuckle to crash into both men. Danielson connects with a missed dropkick from the top rope. Danielson follows up with a series of stomps the Bowen’s face followed buy the LaBelle Lock as Bowens taps out!

Winner: Bryan Danielson (12:00)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Loved how they made Bowens come out looking competitive against Danielson. Not quite what I was expecting honestly as I thought it was going to be a squash match. Danielson continues to amaze me in his willingness to not only work with so many new faces, but also helping put them over as best he can.

Story time now as CM Punk is in the ring as he’s trying to settle his beef with Eddie Kingston. He invites Kingston to his ring as we hear his music but Kingston doesn’t show up. CM Punk feels maybe he needs to talk more to get the man to come out but Kingston finally comes out as he’s charging like a bull in a grocery store. CM Punk tells Kingston he’s owed an apology for interrupting him last week. Kingston apologies for being sick, thinking he had COVID and getting tested as result. He’s sorry for no CM Punk vs Orange Cassidy as he plays a small violin for his ass. Kingston demands to know who he is as Punk tells him he and the fans know exactly who he is. Kingston brings up Punk, Amazing Red, Homicide, and Samoa Joe. All guys he respected on the independents as they inspired him getting him into the business. Kingston calls Punk a narcissistic, low-life, two-faced bitch who judged Kingston. Kingston was trying to get brotherhood, free from his mental crap, free from the streets. Kingston feels Punk picked on him because maybe he was fat, didn’t kiss ass, become friends with the booker. So Kingston was wrong? Far as Kingston is concerned he’s not wrong. Punk comes right back and tells him it was him and all the men Kingston just mentioned felt negatively towards Kingston back in the day. That at the end of the day Kingston is the one who fell short of living up to his potential. Punk feels he is not wrong for seeing potential 15 years ago but won’t be a fool for holding him to the potential any longer because he feels Kingston is a bum. Ohhhhh we getting real here! Kingston comes right back with wondering if would a bum main event Full Gear, almost sell his house because of the pandemic to make it to AEW. Far as Kingston is concerned no one wants Punk in AEW but they too scared to confront him. Kingston is not afraid as he challenges him to a match at Full Gear. Punk comes right back telling Kingston Full Gear is below Kingston’s potential as Punk was hoping they fight on Elevation or Dark. Ouch! Punk asks the crowd if they want to see the match at Full Gear and the fans cheer for it. Punk tells Kingston he’ll see him at the ppv. Before Punk can leave Kingston tells him regardless of a win or defeat, he wants Punk to go away for seven years and never come back to the business as Punk and Kingston begin brawling. Pure chaos as he ends in an epic pull apart.

MATCH 2: TBS WOMEN’S TITLE TOURNAMENT QUALIFYER-RED VELVET VS. THE BUNNY

Red Velvet runs down the ramp like Ultimate Warrior as she tackles Bunny to the canvas and lays in a series of punches on her. Jade Cargill and Smart Mark Sterling are sitting ringside watching the action as Bunny manages to escape briefly before Velvet takes her down. Velvet gives a tongue lashing to Cargill as Bunny comes back and spikes Velvet face first into the steel steps with her boot. Action back inside the ring as Bunny does a dropkick to Velvet from behind. Cover attempt by Bunny as it’s a near fall. The two women now trade off on strikes as Velvet connects with a stunner on Bunny for a near fall. Bunny connects with a Death Valley driver for a two count. Bunny follows up with a thrust kick as Velvet comes back with the Final Slice to advance to the quarter finals round.

Winner: Red Velvet (7:00)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Nice little match with just the right amount of time. The right woman went over I personally feel given the history between Velvet and Cargill. Makes great entertainment honestly as the two of them have great chemistry. Bunny is continuing to get better in the ring. Having good opponents like Red Velvet helps.

MATCH 3: JON SILVER VS BUDGE ADAM COLE

John Silver tries to play around and do his rendition of Adam Cole’s entrance but is screaming BUDGE when Cole kicks him silly. Silver is off to a solid start offensively. Silver manages to get in a kick on Cole before being countered by Cole with some kind of a snapmare as Silver crashes to the canvas. Cole gets Silver in a camel clutch as Young Bucks deliver their trademark kisses to the face of Adam Cole.
Back from commercial break as both men been slugging it out as Silver is still on the offense. Nice Irish whip into ropes as Silver catches Cole and plants him with a sit down powerbomb that only gets him a near fall. Silver and Cole trade off elbow strikes. Cole connects with a pump kick as Cole comes back with enzuigiri. Nice sequence of moves here. Silver connects with a running punt to Cole’s head and goes for the cover as one of the Bucks puts Cole’s leg on the rope before the three count is made. Referee is distracted as Cole tries to go for a low bow but Silver counters with a low blow of his own. Silver follows up with a Liger Bomb only for a near fall! Cole tries looking for Panama Sunrise but it’s countered! Silver tries looking for a series of flying charges but Cole comes in with a series kicks followed up with THE BOOM to pick up the victory.

Winner:Adam Cole (10:00)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: I love that the attack Adam Cole experienced on Wednesday’s Dynamite carried over into this match and why ultimately John Silver proved to be a challenge for him here tonight. Good psychology from that standpoint. It was a decent match and nice to see John Silver get a rare breakout opportunity to mix it up in singles action with guys like Adam Cole. As surprising as this may sound to some I actually gained newfound respect for Silver.

End of Show

THE FINAL SCORE:  REVIEW

VERY GOOD

Gotta agree with the early buzz so far on social media, especially having watched it with my own two eyes and that’s what really was the MVP, the true gem of RAMPAGE tonight was Punk and Kingston’s mic segment. That segment alone adds another score to the overall show this week. Minus the segment however? I’d have to give it a 7/10. Love the somewhat seeds planted of an eventual heel CM PUNK as he did get some blowback from fans on key things he said about Kingston, be it true or not. An 8/10 though for me this week as honestly this was about highlighting guys like Anthony Bowens, Red Velvet, and John Silver. These are folks that don’t get much play on DYNAMITE or RAMPAGE, usually just DARK and ELEVATION. Nice change of pace seeing them get an opportunity to shine as they all in their respected ways scored good tonight in their singles matches. If you’re a fan these three then you got some treats. To those not interred in any of these guys well…there’s always next week.