AEW Rampage, Battle of the Belts VI Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights
Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of AEW Rampage and Battle of the Belts on April 7.
The first hour was the Rampage section of the show, and the second was the sixth Battle of the Belts special. Here is the full lineup from both shows:
- Hook vs. Ethan Page
- Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty
- The Acclaimed, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang in 8-man tag team action
- Anna JAS vs. Julia Hart
- Orange Cassidy vs. Darlistico (International Championship)
- Lucha Bros vs. QT Marshall and Powerhouse Hobbs (ROH Tag Team Championships)
- Jade Cargill vs. Billie Starkz
Let's take a look at what went down on Friday's show.
Hook vs. Ethan Page
1 of 7The show began with Hook vs. Page. The FTW champion was knocked off the apron when he got to the ring, so All Ego wasn't trying to keep things fair.
They fought into the crowd and up into the stands as Hook began to take control. As they made their way back to the ring, Page turned things in his favor.
Chairs and tables came into play, and Hook even hit Matt Hardy's Twist of Fate in an attempt to win. Hook countered the Ego's Edge into the Red Rum to score the submission victory.
This was a fun little hardcore-style bout and definitely Hook's most unorthodox match in his short career. He made sure to give the crowd one more reason to pop when he put Page through the table.
Winner: Hook
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Has it always been Falls Count Anywhere during FTW title matches? That doesn't feel like it has come into play before.
- For some reason, the Twist of Fate never quite looks right if it's not a Hardy doing it.
- We got a QTV segment after this to hype Marshall and Hobbs fighting for the ROH tag titles.
The Infantry, Bobby Orlando and LSG vs. The Acclaimed, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang
2 of 7In an attempt to recruit The Acclaimed to The Jericho Appreciation Society, Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang teamed up with Anthony Bowens and Max Caster for an eight-man tag match.
Their opponents were Shawn Dean, Charlie Bravo, LSG and Bobby Orlando. The match ended in just a couple of minutes and didn't even see everyone get a chance to be the legal man.
The JAS and Acclaimed won, but while they were celebrating, Jake Hager, Parker and Menard pulled a sneak attack and took out the former AEW tag champs.
This segment wasn't about the match. It was about everything that came after, but we are still grading the match, so unfortunately, there isn't much to work with here.
Winners: The Acclaimed and JAS
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- The name Bobby Orlando sounds like it should be used by a magician in Reno, not Las Vegas.
- You could tell Hager was going to attack Daddy Ass as soon as he went in for a hug. Hager rarely even hugs his allies, so seeing him hug someone he barely likes didn't make much sense.
- After the match, Swerve teased that he has joined forces with someone new but wouldn't reveal who until later.
Darby Allin vs. Lee Moriarty
3 of 7
Big Bill Morrissey accompanied Moriarty to the ring for his match against Allin, but nobody else from their group was seen at ringside. Sting was not present, so Taigastyle had a bit of an advantage before the ref even started the match.
They kept things technical early on. They only used holds, counters and takedowns, so both men had a chance to show off their mat skills. It took a few minutes for Moriarty to unleash the first strikes with a stomp and a few punches.
Since the risk-taker was giving up several dozen pounds to his opponent, Moriarty was able to play the role of a powerhouse for once, so he would occasionally take advantage of having someone he could throw around without much effort.
Allin may have had a bigger push during his AEW career, but both of these men are two of the best young stars on the roster. They each represent a completely different style, but they were able to mesh to create an entertaining performance this week.
Despite some interference from Big Bill, Moriarty was unable to kick out of the Coffin Drop. Allin, much like Sammy Guevara and Jack Perry, continues to score wins in an attempt to earn a world title shot.
Winner: Darby Allin
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Allin keeps reminding us that he can actually wrestle a technical style if he wants to whenever he faces guys like this. His best trait is his ability to match his style to that of his opponent.
- The look on Moriarty's face after Allin outwrestled him in one exchange was perfect.
- Something about Excalibur saying Allin had been kicked in the belly button is really funny for some reason.
- The way Allin was knocked off the top turnbuckle looked incredibly painful.
Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart
4 of 7
The main event of Rampage featured Jay taking on Hart in what was the first match for her in several months on AEW TV.
Hart has mostly served as the manager for The House of Black ever since she joined up with them, so seeing her step back into the ring for a match was a nice change of pace.
Tay Melo wasn't with Anna as she usually would be, so she only had herself to rely on this time. It's been over a year since Hart competed, so she got right to work by attacking Anna before the bell.
She beat the former wannabe magician up for a bit, but it didn't take Anna long to regain her composure and take control. She had a bit of a height and power advantage, so she made sure to use it whenever she could.
This bout definitely had some moments in which the lack of chemistry was evident, but they also had some hard-hitting offense and a few fun spots, like Anna whipping Hart into the barricade by her legs, so it wasn't bad. It just had some rough moments.
Hart hasn't wrestled much this year, and both women are only a few years into their careers, so they are still growing as performers. That said, they did a great job making this an easy watch, especially since they picked up the pace after the commercial break.
Hart was able to get the win, but she had to resort to using the black mist to get it.
Winner: Julia Hart
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- RJ City mediated the meeting between Jade Cargill and Taya Valkyrie backstage, so of course it fell apart almost immediately.
- Swerve Strickland revealed he has joined forces with The Embassy when he had Brian Cage attack Allin after his match.
- The sound was messed up for the first couple of seconds of Hart's video package before the match began.
- Anna's new catchphrase is going to make a great t-shirt slogan for getting detention in middle school.
- Hart's entrance was awesome.
- Both of these women are technically heels, but it felt like AEW wanted us to cheer for Hart with the way both women were presented before the match.
Orange Cassidy vs. Dralístico
5 of 7
The first match of the second hour saw Dralístico take on Cassidy for the International Championship. The rest of LFI was at ringside to watch, so the champion made sure to bring Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta with him.
The luchador threw his jacket at Cassidy, but it didn't phase him one bit. They started off with a fast-paced change that saw both men score takedowns and taunt each other.
Jose The Assistant got involved and caused a fight to break out between LFI and Best Friends. They all fought up the ramp to the back, so Jose was left as the lone man at ringside while his client took over in the ring.
Freshly Squeezed came close to losing several times before he was able to hit the Orange Punch for the win. This was a great match to kick off the Battle of the Belts hour. Cassidy sold that his hand was still damaged from his last match after he won.
Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews delivered a promo after the match challenging Cassidy to defend his title against Matthews.
Winner: Orange Cassidy
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The look Julia gave Cassidy when he made his entrance was great. A character like her absolutely would hate a guy like him.
- Dralístico has a beautiful hurricanrana. He actually hooks his legs behind his opponent's head, so it's a lot more believable that he could take someone down with that move than it is when most people do it.
- Cassidy setting Dralístico up by hitting some weak chops as a joke before hitting one hard chop was a fun sequence.
- The announcers used to just say Cassidy was lazy, but now they are talking about how his style is built around playing mind games with his opponents. It goes a long way toward making him seem like a smart competitor instead of a goofy gimmick.
Jade Cargill vs. Billie Starkz
6 of 7
Cargill may be the undefeated TBS champion, but Starks may have become the first high school student to ever fight for a title on live television when she entered the ring for this week's match.
Leila Grey and Mark Sterling were with the champ as usual, so the challenger was at a disadvantage in almost every way except experience. She had actually had more matches and been wrestling longer than Cargill.
Starkz did her best, but Cargill owned her during the early part of this match. She was able to get in more offense during the break, but this bout was mostly her trying to combat Cargill's superior strength.
They had some moments that looked great, but the moments that didn't look good really stood out. Neither of these stars is a veteran and they are still learning the business, so it's not surprising that their first encounter had a few bumps in the road.
This was one of Cargill's longest matches, and in some ways, it was also one of her best. Some credit is owed to Starkz, too. In the end, the champ retained her title with a bicycle kick followed by Jaded for the pin.
Winner: Jade Cargill
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Cargill was all over this week's AEW programming. She appeared on Dynamite, Rampage and Battle of the Belts.
- Starkz has been all over the place lately. This girl is going to be one of the biggest stars in the business if she can stay healthy and keeps improving at this rate.
- The spanking spot was meant to play into Starkz's age, but it just felt like a bad comedy spot.
- Cargill has improved a lot, but she still has a lot of rough edges to sand down. The sunset flip spot left a lot to be desired.
- Cargill being so strong really helps with spots like Starks countering Jaded into a hurricanrana.
The Lucha Bros vs. Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall
7 of 7
The main event of the night was the ROH tag title bout between the Lucha Bros and the newly formed duo of Hobbs and Marshall.
The TNT champion was looking to add another belt, but he is used to being the only one responsible for the result of his matches. This week, he had to rely on a partner, and that may have been his biggest mistake.
This match unfolded exactly how you would expect. When Hobbs was in the ring, he was usually dominating with his power. When it was Marshall's turn, Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo were able to get in some of their spots.
This was a well-paced and competitive match, but it was also predictable in more ways than just the outcome. A lot of matches are predictable in how they will play out, but it almost felt like you could predict exactly which spots would come next in this one.
Fenix and Penta are among the best luchadors in the world, so everything they did looked clean. Marshall is a great technician, and Hobbs has made tons of improvements, so even though it was predictable, it was also fun to watch. It was easy to forgive everything else.
Hobbs and Marshall came close more than once, but The Lucha Bros ended up retaining the ROH tag titles when Fenix pinned Marshall with a hurricanrana.
Winners: The Lucha Bros
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- It seems weird that AEW keeps sticking Hobbs with someone else. He is good enough to be a solo act. He doesn't need the QTV crew behind him.
- Seeing the side-by-side interviews return with Mark Henry this week was nice.
- The level of disdain in JR's voice when he said the name Marshall was hilarious.
- Fenix needs a singles run in AEW at some point.
- The destroyer spot from Penta looked great.
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