This week’s edition of All Elite Wrestling’s Rampage saw more fallout from All Out and began to build new feuds. A card that featured Andrade El Idolo taking on Pac for the first time, exclusive interviews with Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson, and Brian Pillman Jr. took on Max Castor in the main event. With an interesting card for an hour of action, let’s see what happened. 

To open the show, Andrade El Idolo took on Pac in a match that had been months in the making. Starting the match, the two exchanged blows, but El Idolo would gain the upper hand with a shoulder tackle. Pac responded to the take-down by kicking up and staring down El Idolo. Pac then picks up the pace with an arm drag into a hurricanrana into a dive over a top rope. Pac built on this momentum by throwing El Idolo into the barricade and landing a series of chops in the corner. El Idolo would respond, with a boot to the face into a DDT into a springboard dive. El Idolo got Pac tied up on the turnbuckle, allowing him to hit a devastating super stomp to the chest of Pac. The turning point for Pac came when he executed a top rope hurricanrana. This allowed Pac to hit a moonsault on the outside. Pac then looked for the Black Arrow, but El Idolo countered with a backflip Pele kick and tried the Hammerlock DDT. Pac escaped El Idolo’s finisher by hitting a German suplex and a belly-to-belly suplex. Pac locked in the Brutalizer, but one of El Idolo’s managers distracted the referee allowing Chavo Guerrero to hit Pac with an iPad. This allowed El Idolo to pick up the win. Overall, this was a great match to start the show: it was fast-paced, full of offense, and left the audience wanting more. The only thing that hurt the match was the manager run-in but not enough to ruin it. 

Grade:7.5/10

Next, Darby Allin and Sting came to the ring to address Tully Blanchard’s challenge. Allin immediately went after Shawn Spears, saying he’s nothing without Blanchard. Sting then cut a promo on Blanchard sayin,g “Tully, you want to talk about riding coattails didn’t you ride the coattails of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson?” Blanchard then came out and exchanged words with Sting. This led to Spears coming out of nowhere and performing a hit and run on Allin before Sting could stop him. Blanchard went on how he planned that out and told them to watch their back. It was a short and simple segment, and it was good for the flow. It was different from the traditional heel-babyface standoff but it worked; I’m interested in where it goes from here.

Grade: 6/10

Next was a video package of interviews with Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson. Cole built up the Elite nicely, saying they are talented, and he trusts the Bucks and Kenny Omega. Cole continued by saying that Christian Cage and Danielson are great, but they can’t keep up with him. The interview then transitioned to Danielson, who said the Elite is insecure. Danielson talked about how he wasn’t going after the entire Elite; he was only going after Omega. He wants Omega to be his first match in this company. It was a nice video package, it highlighted the events that happened at All Out, where the lines are drawn for Cole and Danielson, and it builds interest. The only thing that would have been better were actual sit-down interviews, but this works. 

Grade: 6.5/10

Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Rebel took on Ruby Soho, Kris Statlander, and Riho. Baker and Riho started the match and after Baker tossed her into the corner Riho tagged out. In came Statlander, and it was an even matchup in terms of strength. Statlander forced a tag and fended off Hayter and Rebel’s attempts at a suplex by reversing it into a double suplex. There was more back and forth between the teams but the turning point came when Riho hit a double stomp on Rebel then dove through the ropes to take out Hayter. This allowed Soho to hit a heel kick on Rebel for the win. This match was just there: nothing interesting, and the crowd wasn’t into it, but Hayter was protected, so that’s a plus. 

Grade: 5.5/10

The main event featured Max Castor taking on Brian Pillman Jr. It was fast right off the bat, as Pillman Jr. didn’t finish his entrance and went straight after Castor. Pillman Jr. had control of the match until Anthony Bowens tripped him up on a springboard attempt. From there Castor controlled the match and slowed the pace grounding Pillman Jr., preventing him from feeding off his hometown crowd. Bowens attacked Pillman Jr. when the referee was distracted, which played well into the story of the hometown hero overcoming the odds. The turning point came when Pillman Jr. pushed Castor off the top-rope and hit Bowens with a crossbody. This did allow Castor to get an upper hand, but Pillman Jr. dodged an elbow drop allowing him to hit a springboard lariat for the win. Pillman Jr. was then attacked by Castor and Bowens after the match, but fellow Cincinnati native Jon Moxley made the save. The show ended with Moxley and Pillman Jr. standing tall. This match was good for the eight minutes it was given it played to the hometown crowd, and Pillman Jr. stood tall. I just wish they got more time, but it was still a nice way to end the show.

Grade: 6.5/10

Overall, this week’s edition of Rampage started hot but stayed steady throughout as a standard feud-building show and ended with a feel-good moment.Final Grade:6.4/10