AEW Dynamite & Rampage Live Report (March 20, 2024)
Before The Show
AEW is live in Toronto at the old Ricoh Coliseum, now Coca-Cola Coliseum and I am live with my good friend on this snowy Wednesday night! I haven’t been to this arena since last October when I saw Kim Petras. This show will not be that great, but I think it will be a lot of fun.
I am usually lower on AEW, but Mercedes Mone’ is there now, and I am getting a Deonna Purrazo and Mariah May match, as well as a women’s street fight. The one women’s match a show rule SUCKS, but at least these are matches that should get time.
So, let’s get onto the pre-show!
Ring of Honor
- Anna Jay squashed Nikita
- Nyla Rose squashed Alexia Nicole
- Evil Uno beat London Lightning
- Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) beat Christopher Daniels, Jack Cartwheel, & Matt Sydal
The first two matches were pure quick squashes, but it was nice some locals got a payday.
Evil Uno wrestled a lot in Toronto in the past, so that helped him here. He did some good heel work, I thought, but I guess he’s a babyface, and it got pops, so I don’t know if I understand wrestling anymore. He won.
The trio’s main event was a flippy, divey, fun, energetic match. If you like that stuff, it’s pretty good.
Before The Dynamite
Justin Roberts came out and read signs. Throughout the show, he did that during commercial breaks and got the crowd to cheer for some of the usually nameless staff. That part was nice, although the sign reading was lame.
Tony Khan came out, and he was very popular. I feel very uncomfortable with how popular billionaires are. He talked about loving Toronto and showed how much he loved it by mentioning that his Daddy owns the nicest hotel in town.
Dynamite
We start the show with Mercedes Mone’ doing another intro promo. It’s nice, and she’s popular. She brings up the injury to Willow Nightingale. They had good chemistry in that match before the injury, so Willow should be a good first opponent. Skye Blue and Julie Hart interrupt, but Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander interrupt to tease the Rampage main event Street Fight. Willow also teases hitting Mone’ with the chair, but she is found out.
The Young Bucks and Okada talk with someone backstage and make some jokes to hype the upcoming Eddie Kingston match. The Bucks say they will be producing the match. Is this a Vince Russo promo?
Let’s note this here because it’s a problem all night. The sound system AEW uses is garbage. It’s really hard to hear anyone on the mic throughout the show, whether they are in the ring or backstage or whatever.
AEW Continental Champion Match
Eddie Kingston (c) vs Kazuchika Okada
The crowd was red hot for this for both folks. It seemed like a solid enough match, and if I cared about either person, I bet I’d be into this, too. Okada wins and ends the Triple Crown. PAC comes out to seemingly challenge for the title, leaving poor Kingston as an afterthought. Looking around online, nobody was super into this, so I don’t have to justify not being that into it, either.
Swerve Strickland is backstage with Prince Nana and he wants a big man to prove he can beat Joe.
Backstage again, Willow and Kris Stat are with Stokley Hathaway, hyping their Street Fight. Mercedes teases the Willow match.
Hook vs Chris Jericho
Seeing Jericho was next, I went to the bathroom and only caught the finish. Jericho looked bad. Hook looked good. Hook won.
Adam Cole was in a fancy chair and seemingly publically had a talk he should have had with Wardlow in private.
Jericho is next with Renee and cuts a shitty promo setting up things nobody wants to see for next week with Hook.
Next, Will Ospreay does a promo with Tony Schiavone, and it’s actually a pretty good one. It sets up the Bryan Danielson match. He rightfully points out that he was way more successful in Japan than Danielson was.
Toni Storm & Mariah May vs Deonna Purrrazzo & Thunder Rosa
I love three of these wrestlers, and Toni Storm is pretty okay with a fun gimmick. They have a pretty fun tag match, with everyone getting to look good. They teased that Thunder Rosa was going to take Purrazzo’s spot as the number one contender by having her do a blind tag toward getting the win. Give everyone here more matches, please.
Swerve Strickland vs The Butcher
The Butcher answers the open challenge. I saw The Butcher in a local Toronto show once come out and do some choke slams and say he was training to start wrestling. He’s done pretty well at it. Strickland should be up there with Mone’ as the stars of the company. He wins in a good little match.
Afterward, he cuts a great promo about his growing hate of Samoa Joe, who comes out. Don Callis interrupted, and I could not hear a single word he said.
Swerve says something after, but the sound system is not good, so I have no idea. Reading reports, I guess a match with Takeshita.
AEW TNT Championship
I Quit
Christian Cage (c) vs Adam Copeland
It must have been pretty cool for these two to do this match in their hometown.
Yes, this match went too long, but it was still a big blast. They really pandered to me personally with all the Leafs and hockey spots. They tried to pander to me by going all TLC with tables, ladders, and chairs, but even though the TLC matches they had hit me at the right age, it didn’t hit my interest.
They did bleed and brawl all over the arena and backstage. One thing I never saw before was a monkey flip from the ramp onto the floor. The match suffered after the original run-in from the heels and the faces running in for the save. That was fine, but the faces put in too much offense and helped Edge handcuff everyone to the ring. They stuck around for the finish, too. Trim about 5 minutes from the match, and the too much faces helping in the end, and it’s an all-time classic. Also, Edge pulled out the spike and got like 8 ball shots with it before Christian submitted. Christian really should have submitted before being hit at all. Small complaints about a great match, though. The crowd really added to it too, we were very into it.
Rating: 8.5/10
Rampage
There was some wacky pool promo with a skeleton going down a slide, followed by The Acclaimed coming out for some promo. I went to the washroom to skip it.
AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament Wild Card Match
Powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher vs Orange Cassidy & Trent
This was a solid tag match, especially when Hobbs was in control or Cassidy was in the ring. The other two do a little too much of the showy, jumpy offense I don’t care about. It had a lot of energy and a nice little win by Cassidy in the end.
Katsuyori Shibata vs Kevin Matthews
For a wrestler who had his brain physically removed and then put back into his head, it’s impressive that Shibata is even in the ring now. This was a squash.
Rocky Romero vs Konosuke Takeshita
I’ve been really impressed with Romero’s run in CMLL, so it was nice to see him here. This was essentially a competitive squash but a good one with a good amount of time.
Street Fight
Julia Hart & Skye Blue vs Willow Nightingale & Kris Statlander
This was a hell of a brawl with blood and tables, lots of chairs, and so many tacks. It had to deal with the fact it was the second wild street fight of the night and the inexperience of Hart, who spent so much time searching under the ring. It was incredibly distracting.
Ignoring that, it was a great match, like we’ve grown accustomed to in these women’s street rights matches. Willow took herself out of the finish by making a big move on Blue through two tables, which allowed Hart to get the win.
Rating: 7.5/10
Overall, this was a really fun evening of wrestling, and it didn’t hurt having my good buddy Dave with me. I bet it turned out well on television.
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The Best Matches I’ve Watched This Month (February 2024)
A fun month of watching as I transitioned from 1996 to 1992. The current stuff is weird. Stardom is dying. CMLL brought in Tessa. WWE is hot, but maybe with Mania closer, I’ll watch more. AEW is hinting at pushing women more, so maybe. I don’t know. 1992 has been a lot of fun, though!
#25
Miyuki Takase (c) vs Nagisa Nozaki
“AWG Championship”
AWG Beginning Pro
March 15, 2020
From the 2020 Joshi Yearbook Volume 3 post:
I loved the early brawling in this. After the brawling segment, it became a fun go for the win type title match that was very enjoyable and high energy!
Rating: 7/10
#24
Mr. Hughes & Vader vs Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner
WCW Clash of the Champions XVIII
January 21, 1992
Steiners throwing around huge dudes is always a fun match. This is before the big Vader push, so it feels kind of weird seeing him losing in the opener, although they did keep him looking strong.
Rating: 7/10
#23
Konami & Unagi Sayaka vs Masato Tanaka & Minoru Suzuki
Unagi Sayaka Produce Tono Wa Goranshin: 1-Ban Venus
January 7, 2024
A fun match where Konami and Sayaka work from underneath and do a great job of inserting hope spots throughout. Sayaka is one of my favourite underdog working around, and she shone here. I really want to see a Minoru Suzuki vs Unagai Sayaka singles match now!
Rating: 7.25/10
#22
Devil Masami & Hikari Fukuoka (c) vs Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano
“JWP Tag Team Championship”
JWP on February 9, 1997
The future Carlos Amano stepped it up big time in this match. A really cool moment had Devil on so match of a rampage that she had to be held back. She’s really the master of getting the most out of these JWP tag matches! The finishing segment was absolutely great!
Rating: 7.25/10
#21
Mankind vs The Undertaker
“Buried Alive Match”
In Your House: Buried Alive
October 20, 1996
The WWF was so sanitized at this time, but this had a real fight feel. Maybe the dirt and shovels tricked my brain. The weapons and vicious moves around ringside looked really gritty though. There was even a nice nearfall in this, which was surprising. The finish was a little abrupt, and the post-match stuff was super silly, but this is pretty damn good.
Rating: 7.25/10
#20
Chihiro Hashimoto (c) vs Syuri
“Sendai Girls World Championship”
Sendai Girls Don’t Forget That Day
March 8, 2020
From the 2020 Joshi Yearbook Volume 3 post:
These two are always awesome against each other: the kickboxer vs the wrestler. They didn’t hit the high levels they had in other matches, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good match.
Rating: 7.25/10
#19
Jushin Liger vs Rey Misterio Jr.
WCW Starrcade
December 29, 1996
A real dream match at the time that was both disappointing but really good. The expectations for the two greatest juniors of all time squaring off for the first time were probably too high. Liger plays bully heel, which is fun, and Rey was amazing working underneath. There was a little disconnect between them and definatelwy the crowd that drags this down.
Rating: 7.25/10
#18
Kenta Kobashi (c) vs Stan Hansen
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Summer Action Series II
September 5, 1996
These two have had absolute classics before, but this does not hit that level. There are a lot of fun elements, and it’s absolutely hilarious to see Kobashi win with a lariat.
Rating: 7.5/10
#17
Cactus Jack vs W*ING Kanemura
“Barbed Wire Barricade Spider Net Glass Crash Death Match”
FMW Fighting Creation: 7th Anniversary
May 5, 1996
I am always very hit or miss on deathmatches, and I am still not sure what the key ingredient is to make one great or good or bad. It’s one of those undefinable things. This was violent and brutal and looked like it was a bad time for everyone involved. It did build well, but it’s not a match for someone who dislikes deathmatches.
Rating: 7.75/10
#16
Chigusa Nagayo vs Mayumi Ozaki
GAEA Victory Road
February 23, 1997
The Oz Academy and GAEA feud wages on, this time with the two head bosses having a vicious brawl. They use a pipe, table, a chain and have blood. Both pull out all the stops and work towards their strengths, speed and flying, with Ozaki and Chigusa being more grounded and power-based. It goes a little long, and at some point, Ozaki has problems with her bottoms and throws on some random pants to finish the match. Ozaki going for a top rope splash and Nagayo catching her with a kick to the head was one of the best versions of that I have ever seen. The finish was cool, too. Post-match, the feud continues!
Rating: 7.75/10
#15
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bigelow vs Masa Saito & Scott Norton
NJPW Masters of Wrestling: DRAGON THE REVIVAL
July 8, 1992
This ruled. Both Norton and Saito did the beat up one guy and call in the other because they proved the dude they were facing was nothing! When Vader came in to face Norton, they did a pose off. The first five minutes ruled of just big stiffs beating the shit out of each other with nobody backing down. It remained cool the rest of the way, although the finish was a tad flat. I think Vader-Norton is magic every time they are against each other.
Rating: 7.75/10
#14
Akira Hokuto & Chigusa Nagayo vs KAORU & Maiko Matsumoto
GAEA Winning Road
February 16, 1997
Hokuto and Nagayo vs a youngster and a rookie is the most OP match ever, but that doesn’t matter as it rules! The first half is Matsumoto getting destroyed by the heelish legends until she can finally make a hot tag to KAORU, who does her awesome flying. The rest is hope spots and the young team trying to battle back, but not having enough to overcome.
Rating: 7.75/10
#13
Arn Anderson, Beautiful Bobby, & Larry Zbyszko vs Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, & Ron Simmons
WCW Clash of the Champions XVIII
January 21, 1992
This is Windham’s return and revenge match against Zbyszko for injuring his hand. It’s fast-paced, with a lot of heat done in a traditional tag format. Dustin plays face in peril, and he’s one of the best at this ever. The heels bump so well for all the babyface hope spots and comebacks, and the finish is perfect revenge, where Windham uses the cast for the win.
Rating: 7.75/10
#12
Akira Taue & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
AJPW New Year Giant Series
January 26, 1992
The young underdogs fight like dogs from underneath against the badass team of Taue and Tsuruta. The fire shown by Kobashi & Kikuchi was great but not matched by the badassness of Taue & Tsuruta. Great, more southern style tag, and the only flaw was Kikuchi getting a little too many kickouts at the end. Great match, though!
Rating: 8/10
#11
Black Tiger vs Shinjiro Otani
“Best of the Super Junior III: Block B”
NJPW Best of the Super Junior III
June 5, 1996
Eddie Guerrero starts off with fire and destroys Ohtani’s leg so well with amazing selling by Ohtani. The match progressed very well! Ohtani is just on fire during this period, with his mannerisms setting him above everyone else, and the crowd is so into him, making this feel even more special.
Rating: 8/10
#10
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs Akira Taue
“Triple Crown Championship”
AJPW Super Power Series
May 24, 1996
It was fun to watch as Taue relentlessly tried to put Misawa down, and it felt like time to end Misawa’s year-long reign. Misawa fights for his life basically just fending off Taue, but never really having control. It’s short and has an absolutely great finish, with Taue catching Misawa, who came off the top into a choke slam. The pop is great for Taue’s win!
Rating: 8/10
#9
Devil Masami vs Sakura Hirota
GAEA War Cry
January 19, 1997
This is the best sub five minute match ever! Hirota throws EVERYTHING at Masami and actually catches her off guard until Masami regains herself and crushes her! Chigusa Nagayo, Hirota’s second, jumps into the ring and hypes her up! Hirota is ready to run through walls and charges, which lasts a few seconds before Masami power bombs her to death!
Rating: 8.5/10
#
Bestia Salvaje vs Negro Casas
“Hair vs Hair 2/3 Falls”
CMLL on Televisa
October 18, 1996
From the opening moments of Salvaje attacking before the bell, this was a whirlwind of a match. A tremendously great selling performance by Casas. He was a great underdog fighting back for his life and to save his hair. Salvaje was relentless, and they kept this shorter and nonstop!
Rating: 8.5/10
#8
Mei Sera (c) vs Hazuki
“High Speed Championship”
Stardom 13th Anniversary Supreme Fight: Osaka Minami Rebellion
February 4, 2024
This was a classic High Speed match, and they work with such intensity and speed it’s a thing of beauty. Hazuki was so great controlling the match, but Sera not only held her own but was amazing in this, too. I loved the segment outside the ring with Hazuki just tossing her like garbage outside before diving on her and the strike exchange, but the submission win nearfalls building to the finish was my favourite.
Rating: 8.5/10
#7
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs Trick Williams
“NXT Championship”
NXT Vengeance Day
February 4, 2024
This was about as good as WWE storytelling can get. Carmelo Hayes at ringside was perfect, supporting his friend but looks shot of envy throughout. Him picking him up to hype him up for the comeback was great too. Dragunov was a beast and Williams is a tremendous babyface who fought so well from underneath.
Rating: 8.75/10
#6
Jushin Liger (c) vs Shinjiro Otani
“IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship”
NJPW Hyper Battle
March 17, 1996
The first segment was Otani working the arm and Liger the leg, which was fine, but the match really picked up after the mat stuff. The nearfalls here were amazing. Liger and Otani were the most Liger and Otani I may have ever seen, as Liger was such a jerk and Otani such a goofball. Any match with a springboard dropkick to the arm is a massive plus for me, too. The selling by Otani of the big moves was unmatched here, especially on the palm strike finish.
Rating: 8.75/10
#5
Sting (c) vs Van Vader
“WCW World Heavyweight Championship”
WCW The Great American Bash
July 12, 1992
Sting starts off hot and takes it to Vader. It’s kind of nice to see Sting as the smaller guy. It allows him to do more of his fun flying. The real bulk and great part of the match is Vader destroying Sting, which was littered with hope spots. All of that is great. The finishing run had one spot I’m not sure I love or hate. Vader is on the top, and Sting puts him on his shoulders and walks him to the middle of the ring, and then just stands there. Forever. Just holds him up, struggling, before finally doing a Samoan drop. It was odd. Anyways, Vader ducked a Stinger Splash, where Sting gets busted open on the post and Vader power bombs him to death. After the post, they did a few moments of Sting having a concussion, which, in retrospect, is not fun to watch. Nitpicks aside, it’s a great star-making title change match!
Rating: 8.75/10
#4
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bigelow (c) vs Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto
“IWGP Tag Team Championship”
NJPW Explosion Tour
May 1, 1992
It featured Has had one of the best face-in-peril segments ever, where he bled so much while the monsters destroyed him. A hilarious moment is after Hase makes a comeback; Muto comes in and says, lets so move together and tells Hase to do a bridging suplex on Vader. It’s a few minutes before Muto is actually tagged in! It led to some fun moments, but was funny. It built well from there with nearfalls from both sides. Vader and Hase were the stars here and the finishing choke slam by Vader ruled.
Rating: 8.75/10
#3
Atsushi Onita, El Hijo del Santo, & Tarzan Goto vs Horace Boulder, Negro Casas, & Tim Patterson
“Best 2/3 Falls”
FMW in Los Angeles w/ WWA
May 16, 1992
A famous and insane match. It’s 2/3 Falls with two referees like a lucha match, but this is no lucha match. Well, it kind of is, as Santo and Casas put on a lucha clinic. However, the others do wild and crazy brawling all around them and the arena. It really needs to be seen to be believed.
Rating: 9/10
#2
Big Van Vader vs Sting
“King of Cable Tournament Final”
WCW Starrcade
December 28, 1992
This one takes the blueprint from GAB and ups it! They added a Vader beatdown segment to start the match before Sting unloads! The way Vader gets back on offense, with Sting missing a Stinger splash into the guardrail, is great! Vader’s control segment is even better here, and Sting fights back so well. Although the rope and dope moment was not paid off, the finish of Sting caching Vader off the top into a slam ruled.
Rating: 9/10
“The Best Match I Watched in February 2024”
#1
Masahiro Chono vs Rick Rude
“NWA World Heavyweight Championship G1 Climax Final”
NJPW G1 Climax
August 12, 1992
To me, Rick Rude feels like the most American style wrestler ever. Chono is one of the most NJPW style wrestlers ever. They’ve had a match in WCW that was dogshit, but I knew this was good because I saw it like two decades ago. Watching it now, I was blown away. Rude adjusts to NJPW so well, but doesn’t give up his essence, he just adds more fighting spirit spots and more stiffness. He even still does some of his overselling silliness and his prematch promo! The knack on this match is the middle gets a little routine, before they start hitting their huge moves to bring this home. The crowd was so into Chono which made all the nearfalls hit even harder. Really a tremendous match and an amazing Rude performance.
Rating: 9/10
You can discuss this on Twitter!
Discord
We also have a lovely discord community to discuss the greatest wrestler ever project and anything else under the sun. It’s an open and welcoming group, and I am very proud of it. Everyone is welcome:
Join:
We also do weekly watch-along parties with chat!
How Can You Help?
Callen-Lorde is the global leader in LGBTQ healthcare. Since the days of Stonewall, we have been transforming lives in LGBTQ communities through excellent comprehensive care, provided free of judgment and regardless of ability to pay. In addition, we are continuously pioneering research, advocacy, and education to drive positive change around the world because we believe healthcare is a human right.
Please donate to Callen Lorde!
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