Movies

AEW Rampage Recap and Reactions (October 14, 2022): Maria’s Kingdom

October 15, 2022

AEW Carnage (October 14, 2022) emanated from the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, Canada. The show featured the surprise arrivals of Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven, Chris Jericho’s next challenger for the ROH World Title, Hardy Party contracts on the line, and more.

Let’s start straight with a recap of the show followed by reactions.

Excalibur, Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone were commentators. Dasha Gonzalez handled ring announcer duties.

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Butcher & Blade

William Regal was on the commentary. Bunny had a ringside seat. Hangman Page watched Moxley in action from a backstage monitor. The villains used team tactics to isolate Claudio. Hot tag to Mox for a cutter to Blade and a suicide dive to Butcher. Moxley continued his run with a superplex and a piledriver. Blade exploded on the cover. Mox tapped his foot to the head, but Butcher made the save with a running crossbody. As B&B picked up Moxley for a teamwork finisher, Claudio ran to rip his partner’s body like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder to carry him to safety. The two teams faced off in the center of the ring. Blackpool Combat Club landed double lariats, stomped the lead and closed for the win. Mox planted Blade on a Death Rider DDT, while Claudio pinned Butcher on a Ricola Bomb.

Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli defeated Butcher & Blade.

Afterwards, Moxley cut a promo with Claudio as the hype man for the AEW World Championship defense against Hangman next week on Tuesday night. dynamite. Mox threatened that if the hanged man did not intervene, the cowboy would be stepped on.

Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee focus on winning back tag team gold. Swerve missed out on his win over Billy Gunn and Mark Sterling by stealing the scissors gimmick. Lee was more serious. He viewed Swerve’s actions as a reflection on himself. Lee didn’t approve of cheating. He warned that Swerve is going the wrong way.

Dark Order will recover from the heartbreaking loss of the trios to honor Mr. Brodie Lee. Jose The Assistant interrupted his attempt to convince 10 to join the AFO. 10 wants to be left alone, so he challenged Rush. If 10 wins, then AFO will leave him alone. Dark Order clasped his hands for a hurray, then another hand joined in. The camera pulled back to reveal Stu Grayson. He wasn’t going to miss the Dark Order in Canada.

Jericho Appreciation Society Celebration

Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Daddy Magic, Cool Hand and Anna Jay were in high spirits with the reunited family. Daddy Magic’s nipples were hard at the thought of JAS being together forever. Garcia explained that she fucked Bryan Danielson. He learned heart, guts, and fighting spirit from his hero, but he learned how to win from his mentor. Garcia came to this conclusion after Jericho hit him with the title belt to win their tag team match last week. It was then that he realized that sports entertainers beat professional wrestlers every time.

Jericho has spoken beating every ROH champion that has ever existed. Enter Dalton Castle and The Boys. Castle is a former world champion, and it makes him sick to see the title around Jericho’s waist. Castle was pumping peacock power through his veins and challenged Jericho next week on dynamite. The Champion accepted. All honor the Ocho.

Hype package for Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida for Interim Women’s Championship on dynamite to determine who is the best.

Anna Jay vs. Nyla Rose

The Native Beast won the stolen TBS Championship for an unofficial title fight. Vickie Guerrero, Marina Shafir, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand had front row seats. Vickie seduced Cool Hand then broke her suspenders. Sorry! Nyla’s power was too much for Anna to handle. Anna had a fiery attitude for a running neck breaker. When she applied the Queen Slayer choke, Nyla rejected her. Anna left for a flying attack. Nyla grabbed it to finish off the Beast Bomb.

Nyla Rose defeated Anna Jay.

Afterwards, Jade Cargill and the Baddies came on stage to take over the TBS title. Security blocked the bad guys, so Cargill beat those peons. Nyla and her crew fled with the gold during Jade’s Rage.

Ari Daivari wanted to buy the FTW title for $50,000 in the envelope that Hook tore up. Since that offer was declined, Daivari will win the title by defeating Hook next week on Carnage.

Ethan Page vs. Isiah Kassidy

If Page wins, Matt Hardy’s contract belongs to the firm. If Kassidy wins, private parties are free. Stokely Hathaway, Marq Quen and Matt Hardy were at ringside. Page attacked with a low kick before the opening bell. He drove through Kassidy until arrogance got the better of him. Kassidy rallied for a DDT and tornillo tornado on the outside. Hathaway blocked Kassidy’s path to buy Page recovery time. Kassidy took off and missed a swanton. Page pounced for a Twist of Fate then the Ego’s Edge to win.

Ethan Page defeated Isiah Kassidy.

Best Friends called out Death Triangle for a trios title match on dynamite. The fight has been made official.

Mark Henry interviewed key event attendees. Brian Cage saw this match as Top Guys vs. Top Body Guys. Shawn Spears shut down Cage as a charisma vacuum. Spears needs to right some wrongs, and that starts with FTR. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler never back down from a fight. Enough talk. Henry concluded with “It’s main event time!”

FTR and Shawn Spears vs Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona

Prince Nana was in the front row. The embassy used shady tricks to isolate Spears. Hot tag to Dax Harwood for a spinebuster on Kaun. Cage kicked to regain control. Kaun planted Harwood on an air raid crash and Cage landed a flying elbow. Spears made the save on the cover. The Pinnacle found their rhythm for a triple set from Sharpshooters to Cage, Kaun and Nana. Liona rushed to break it. The action spilled out. Liona collided with the steps of the ring. Spears DDT’d Cage on the ground. FTR executed the Hart attack on Kaun, then Spears finished with the C4 pilot Death Valley for the win.

FTR and Shawn Spears defeated Brian Cage, Kaun and Toa Liona.

After the main event, Maria Kanellis appeared on stage. The first lady of professional wrestling was joined by Mike Bennett and Matt Taven. She called out FTR for never facing The Kingdom for the ROH and IWGP tag titles. FTR was open to the challenge.

The embassy attacked the Pinnacle. The Kingdom joined him. Wardlow and Samoa Joe evened the odds. The wicked have dispersed to safety.

Welcome Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven to the mix. It was a surprise I didn’t see coming Carnage. Kudos to AEW for creating these kinds of moments. In general, the Kingdom should have positive additions as roster depth. In this specific story, OGK’s arrival makes a lot of sense to take on FTR. The matches will be good.

The main event was solid. FTR and Shawn Spears made the most of the Canadian atmosphere on the finish with a tribute to Hart Attack and the home territory hero took home the pin. Brian Cage has been doing his shit with Kaun and Toa Liona continuing to thrive in the spotlight. Even if the result was never in doubt, the Embassy benefits from the exhibition.

Coming into the series, I expected Spears to do a deceitful turn. Now that the teams are evenly matched, I accept that Spears is trying to reconcile with her Pinnacle pals. His performance in the main event convinced me as he struggled selflessly. A babyface race is probably for the best. Spears has exhausted its reception as mid-range fodder for top stars. A roster change should open up more possibilities for being entertaining. The Canadian crowd was fully on their 10 gimmick.

The JAS segment covered their basics explaining Daniel Garcia’s actions. The idea of joining the JAS is debatable, but what’s done is done. Garcia took to his current direction with more energy as a sports entertainer than a vapid professional wrestler. His explanation was sufficient. It’s time to turn the page on the next chapter in Garcia’s story.

When Tony Khan bought ROH, there were a few games I was hoping to see. Topping the list was FTR against the Briscoes. Luckily TK served this dish twice. After seeing Chris Jericho trade a promotional duel with Dalton Castle, this match took second place on my list. Few can surpass Jericho on the scale of flamboyance. Castle is one of them. His promo was electric. Two over-the-top sports entertainers with a keen sense of legitimate wrestling should produce a special deal.

Ethan Page versus Isiah Kassidy was disappointing. AEW crafted a story with a hook when Private Party and Matt Hardy’s contracts were on the line. I was legitimately curious to see how this contest would pan out. There was compelling action potential based on the direction of the story. The match turned out to be a quick one with little drama. No exciting false finishes, no burning desire to fight for freedom. AEW had the chance to build Kassidy to begin to burnish Private Party’s image as losers. Instead, he looked like an idiot with flashy moves in defeat. Why would the firm even want Private Party contracts after that? At least with Hardy, they can make money from his merchandise sales and find joy in putting him down.

House of fire Jade Cargill is a winning formula. Seeing her cut shit to destroy the security guards was a rowdy scene. It’s going to be a lot of fun once Jade gets her hands on Nyla Rose. This story goes in the right direction to produce some hot anticipation for the eventual showdown.

Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Butcher and Blade had the best game of the night, in my opinion. The aggression was strong with a creative finish. Newsflash, smooth. The Blackpool Combat Club has reminded the world that they are still badass. I enjoy the teamwork aspect of watching each other’s backs.

Category B

Carnage provided an enjoyable and effective show overall. The surprises created the intrigue, and the story beats anticipation for the future.

Share your thoughts on Carnage. How would you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show?