AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From Dec. 1
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Rampage. AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on December 1.
2023 is coming to a close and with it will come the new Worlds End pay-per-view on December 30. Between now and then, we can expect AEW to do a lot to build up the card.
This week's show featured well over 20 active wrestlers competing in tag, trios and eight-man matches.
The biggest bout on the card was Best Friends, Hook and Danhausen teaming up to take on The Dark Order, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's show.
Best Friends and Hookhausen vs. Dark Order, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang
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- It's usually a bad sign for one side when they don't have a televised entrance but their opponent does.
- There was a weird moment with Daddy Magic when he went to attack Hook from behind but held back for a couple of seconds for reasons that are unclear. He might have been waiting for Hook to regain his balance.
- Hook's T-bone suplex is about as good as it gets. He gets a full rotation with it every time.
- Danhausen taunting Jake Hager with his old hat was hilarious.
The Dark Order was already in the ring when the show began, but Hook, Danhausen and Best Friends got televised entrances.
Evil Uno and Danhausen started things off. Uno had the upper hand at first due to his significant power advantage, but Hook tagging in changed the pace.
Hookhausen and Best Friends teaming together makes sense due to the history between some of the characters, but the other team seemed very random. The Dark Order working with Matt Menadrd and Angelo Parker makes almost no sense.
As Hook was clearing the ring, Wheeler Yuta came out on the stage, paving the way for Menard to take advantage of the distraction. Yuta joined the commentary team before the break.
This was the typical eight-man tag match. Everyone spent a little time in the ring, but Hook was clearly the focus on the babyface side. The crowd popped for a few fun spots and moments, too.
Danhausen scored the pin for his team, which was nice to see after he spent so much time on the shelf.
Result: Best Friends and Hookhausen won
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Sting Promo, Don Callis Family in Action
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- The segment with Flair and Sting was edited to exclude something Flair said that would not have been received well.
- Callis was getting a ton of heat during his post-match promo.
Rampage.AEW
Sting and Ric Flair came out to give a promo and talk about their history together. Sting talked about facing Flair on the first and last episodes of Nitro. He also gave Bam Bam Bigelow a shoutout.
After the promo, Konosuke Takesh*ta, Powerhouse Hobbs and Kyle Fletcher defeated three guys in a squash match.
Result: The Don Callis Family won
Grade: Incomplete
Notable Moments and Observations
Saraya, Ruby Soho and Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander
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- Stat doing sign language before her matches is a nice touch.
- Blue has made so many improvements to her game over the past year. It's almost like watching a different person because she has grown so much.
- Something about Saraya's voice allows it to be more audible than most during matches.
Rampage. AEW
The third match of the night featured Saraya and Ruby Soho teaming up with Anna Jay to take on Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue and Kris Statlander.
Stat and Jay started for their teams. The former TBS champion immediately overpowered her and tagged in Shida four a double-team sequence.
Stat and Blue had a bit of a confrontation when a blind tag was made, but Shida tried to play peacemaker to keep the team together.
This bout addressed a couple of different feuds and storylines, but no real advancements were made. This match was fun and had good energy. It was nice to see so many women being featured at once, especially since the bout lasted two segments.
After Ruby accidentally kicked Anna, the babyfaces were able to get the win when Blue pinned her.
Result: Blue, Statlander and Shida defeated Saraya, Soho and Jay
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Brian Cage and the Workhorsem*n vs. Penta, Komander and Vikingo
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- AEW's luchadors always have awesome gear. Komander definitely stood out this week.
- Vikingo's dragon rana looked awesome, but moves like that can sometimes take too long to set up. It looks cool, but if the opponent has to wait for them to get their balance, then it just seems awkward.
- Drake throwing Vikingo across the ring was a cool spot.
- Penta launching Henry over his shoulders so Vikingo could hit a dropkick from the top rope was the highlight of the match.
Rampage. AEW
Two very different kinds of trios did battle in this week's main event. Brian Cage teamed up with JD Drake and Anthony Henry to take on Penta El Zero Miedo, Komander and Vikingo.
While Cage and Drake are both much larger than their opponents, they are also more agile and quick than they look. Combine that with Henry's athletic ability and you have two teams that are relatively evenly matched in skill.
Henry, Cage and Drake had the upper hand for longer periods of time, but the luchadors explosive offense allowed them to fit more moves into less time.
This was definitely the right choice for the main event. All six men did some great work and gave the crowd plenty of reasons to cheer.
Cage ended up leaving the match early, which left Henry and Drake to fight all three opponents. It was ultimately too much for them and Vikingo scored the pin with a beautiful 630 senton.
Result: Penta, Komander and Vikingo won
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
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Three of the four matches on this week's show helped fill some time, but the main event was the best part of AEW's weekly Friday night show.
Henry and Drake are one of the most underrated tag teams in all of pro wrestling. They looked awesome in this bout, but it's yet another loss on their record.
The promo from Flair being edited to leave out the unsavory line about women coming to his hotel room was smart, but the damage may have been done.
This week's show isn't going to set the world on fire, but you should definitely check out the trios match that closed it. You won't regret it.
Grade: C
