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The ROH World Championship was on the line during Claudio Castagnoli's battle versus Komander on this week's programme.
Shawn Spears squared off against The Blade, Hikaru Shida faced Taya Valkyrie, and Matt Hardy and Brother Zay faced off against QT Marshall and Johnny TV, the AEW's newest recruits.
It’s A LOT so let's review what transpired on the AEW show on Friday night.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Komander
Claudio Castagnoli and Komander were already in the ring and prepared to begin their ROH world title match when this week's Rampage began.
The high-flyer was able to recover and defeat the Swiss behemoth with some perilous manoeuvres after the Swiss powerhouse had the upper hand for the first few minutes.
No matter how many powerful blows Komander delivered, Castagnoli always managed to take the upper hand and defeat him. Despite being a tremendous underdog, no one predicted the luchador would triumph in this contest.
Without going too far, they had enough time to make this enjoyable. As excellent as both of these guys are, a 30-minute barn burner wasn't what we needed. It was an opportunity to show Castagnoli as a deserving champion while also making Komander look good in this match. It was successful in achieving both objectives.
After a tough 15-minute championship match, Komander jumped over the top rope into a devastating uppercut, and the referee called it a knockout. Castagnoli reclaimed his title.
The Blade vs. Shawn Spears
This week's show's second battle featured Spears competing against The Blade in singles action. The Bunny was not present, but The Butcher was at ringside.
In recent months, Perfect 10 has made intermittent appearances in professional wrestling as a babyface. His fellow Canadians welcomed him with open arms.
There was some initial taunting, but it didn't take them long to move the fight outside of the arena and begin taking advantage of the surroundings.
The Butcher intervened behind the referee's back to temporarily give his partner the advantage. Spears instantly recovered and started launching chest chops at The Blade in response.
They didn't have enough time to play a lengthy game, but they made the most of the time they did have. Spears won with a three-count to put an end to the brief but entertaining match.
Johnny TV and QT Marshall vs. Matt Hardy and Brother Zay (I KNEW YOU'D COME!)
In preparation for Johnny and QT's match against Hardy and Isiah Kassidy, Harley Cameron led the QTV crew to the ring. Hardy had instructed Ethan Page to be there.
Because they have the greatest common history from their time in the WWE together, Hardy and Mr. TV kicked off the match for respective teams, which was fitting.
They were able to do all of the typical tag team clichés, such as isolating a member of the babyface team with double-team moves, because they were granted the majority of two segments and a picture-in-picture commercial break.
Because of their mentor-like relationship, Hardy and Zay made good partners. It will take some time for Marshall and Johnny to click as a team because they are fresh to working together.
This was a passable contest to pass the time, but it won't be the match that makes viewers remember this show. When Johnny applied a split-legged corkscrew to Zay for the pin, his team won.
Johnny eventually defeated Page, causing The Acclaimed to rush over and chase the QTV crew away.
Hikaru Shida vs. Taya Valkyrie
The main event of this week was Shida versus Valkyrie. Valkyrie may have joined AEW as a babyface, but she has since made a name for herself as a heel.
La Wera Loca utilised her superior strength to corner Shida and slam her to the ground, but the former AEW champion didn't stay there for very long.
She sprung up and started attacking her opponent with lefts and rights right away.
Despite the fact that both of these women are excellent wrestlers, their attention was more on striking. They were able to display their tenacity and it gave the game a hard-hitting atmosphere.
As a result of Shida's ability to reverse a pin combination, this feud is now eligible for a further match.
Shida's celebration in the aisle to end the show angered Valkyrie, who was furious.
Rampage has started to settle into a grove, could you miss it and still know whats going on? Of course! It's enjoyable though and offers "wrestling" fans...well wrestling! I am glad I get to watch it week in week out because of this.
See you all tomorrow for COLLISION!
