AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 3
Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on February 3.
Two former Ring of Honor champions were in action against each other this week when Christopher Daniels battled Rush.
Saraya and Toni Storm competed in a tag team match, Swerve Strickland took on Brian Pillman Jr., and Ethan Page teamed up with Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy to face Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's show.
The Elite vs. The Firm (Trios Titles)
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Nick Jackson and Kassidy began for their teams in this Trios Championship match between The Elite and The Firm.
Hardy and Omega later squared off and had a nice exchange of counters for some of their signature moves. Hardy was setting up for a moonsault when Page took out Omega for him. All Ego lived up to his name by only caring about stealing everybody else's glory.
While this match definitely had some double and triple-team moments, it didn't devolve into chaos the way trios matches usually do in AEW. We actually saw people obeying the ref and making clean tags for the most part.
The match started off relatively tame but increased in intensity as time went on. Kassidy came close to winning toward the end, but The BTE Trigger ultimately put him away to give The Elite the win.
This was a fun opener with some creative spots and storytelling. It might not be the most memorable trios match, but the crowd definitely loved it.
Winners: The Elite
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Not having The Elite's entrance on TV feels like an oversight considering how popular their song is.
- The double-team hurricanrana spot from the Bucks looked great.
- Hardy still makes the Side Effect look good every single time he hits it.
- Hardy refusing to break too many rules but still trying to win for his team is a fun detail of this story. It's not as simple as Hardy trying to sabotage his team because he is unhappy.
Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Swerve Strickland
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Swerve and Pillman were up next and had an energetic exchange to get things going. Both men are quick on their feet, but they still make every move look good.
Surprisingly, Pillman gained the upper hand as the show cut to a commercial. Swerve's associates tried to get their hands on him, but the former Varsity Blonde was too quick for them.
However, Swerve's viciousness and experience allowed him to turn things around relatively quickly. He began to pick apart Pillman's knee, and Parker Boudreaux helped him capitalize on that by taking out Pillman's legs while the ref was distracted. This allowed Swerve to hit his double stomp finisher for the win.
This is one of the better matches Pillman has had in quite some time. It wasn't overly long, but it still allowed both men to have some time to shine. Everyone did their job perfectly. Dustin Rhodes saved Pillman from a post-match beatdown.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Pillman's mullet is pretty epic, but it might hold him back in his career because it makes him too much like his dad, which is obviously his intention.
- The way Swerve does things so effortlessly is truly something to behold. He makes every move look like it's second nature to him.
- Swerve hit a stiff right hand, and you could actually hear the impact on TV. All of his strikes always have a pop to them.
Saraya and Toni Storm vs. Renegade Twins
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Charlette and Robyn Renegade made another appearance on AEW television this week in a tag team match against Saraya and Storm.
Despite Robyn trying to put up a fight early on, Storm and Saraya easily dominated the match and ended up winning without giving up much offense to the Renegade Twins.
This might not have been very long, but it wasn't quite the squash match we have grown accustomed to on Rampage every week. The Renegades weren't able to do much, but they survived longer than expected.
The winners spray painted a big letter L on each of their fallen opponents to end the segment.
Winners: Storm and Saraya
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- There is something that doesn't work about Storm being a heel. She is too likable and doesn't appear convincing with her mean face.
- The hip attack Storm hit to send Robyn off the apron was executed perfectly. Robyn sold it well.
- Storm has one of those finishers that looks good sometimes, but it's easy to screw up if her opponent doesn't take the move properly.
Rush vs. Christopher Daniels
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The main event of the evening saw Daniels fight Rush in a battle of former ROH world champions.
They felt evenly matched for the most part, so it took until the commercial break for either competitor to gain a clear advantage. Daniels hit a beautiful suicide dive, but interference from Preston Vance allowed Rush to take control.
As soon as the former member of The Dark Order got involved, it started to go downhill a bit. They relied a little too much on outside interference, which only made the referee look more gullible.
The Fallen Angel had a late-match comeback after avoiding Vance and Jose's attacks, but he could only fight the numbers game for so long before it became too much for him.
Rush blocked the Best Moonsault Ever with his knees and hit a running dropkick in the corner to score the win. This was a competitive match between two skilled performers, but the antics at ringside took away from the quality a bit.
Winner: Rush
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Jose feels like the most inconsequential manager in AEW. His team just doesn't need him anymore. At least he caught Rush's jacket when he threw it out of the ring.
- They seem to have done away with the split-screen pre-match interview but still have Mark Henry say his line every week.
- Daniels always has great gear. His ring jacket was especially cool this week.
- It's always kind of funny when opponents have ring gear that looks like they coordinated before the match. Too many people use red and black as the main colors of their gear these days.
- Slapping a man with a wad of cash in your hand is a bold move.
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