ALL ELITE WRESTLING RAMPAGE PREVIEW 12/31 (Spoiler-Free): Continuation of New Year’s Smash, Cody vs. Page for TNT Championship, Anna & Tay vs. Penelope & Bunny in a Street Fight, Darby vs. Bowens
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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

ALL ELITE WRESTLING RAMPAGE PRIMER
DECEMBER 31, 2021
JACKSONVILLE, FL. AT DAILY’S PLACE
AIRS ON TNT NETWORK, 10:00 p.m. EDT, 9:00 p.m. CDT
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Taz, Ricky Starks (various combinations)

Match Results and Key Segments from Last Week

  • Jungle Boy (Jurassic Express) defeated Isaiah Kassidy (Private Party).
  • Hook defeated Bear Bronson (Bear Country).
  • Kris Statlander defeated “Legit” Leyla Hirsh.
  • Cody Rhodes defeated Sammy Guevara to win the TNT Championship

Arena

New Year’s Smash continues tonight on Rampage, which was recorded at Daily’s Place following this past Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite. Three matches were announced, along with Taz showing a “technique” with his son Hook. Hook defeated Bear Bronson in his second televised match last week. Speaking of the technique, here’s a tweet from Daniel Garcia that may or not have anything to do with the segment, but I noticed it:

Darby Allin (w/Sting) vs. Anthony Bowens (The Acclaimed)

Darby Allin goes one-on-one with Anthony Bowens of the Acclaimed. This was set up on Dynamite using backstage pre-taped segments. Bowens said, and I quote, he would be Darby’s “my chemical romance ass looking all over Jacksonville.” Darby responded with Sting, who said he treated every match in his career like a main event whereas some wrestlers of today treat them casually, and that’s food for thought. Darby said no matter if his match is first or last, he takes them seriously.

Darby and Sting teamed with CM Punk on the Holiday Bash edition or Dynamite to defeated MJF and AAA Tag Team Champions FTR.

Frank’s Analysis: This is just a match to keep Darby busy and feature Anthony Bowens, who wrestled Bryan Danielson not too long ago. I look forward to it. It’s hard to know if anything major storyline comes out of this. It’s ok to just have some matches for the sake of having them.

Street Fight: Tay Conti & Anna Jay (TayJay) vs. Penelope Ford & The Bunny

Things will come to a head for Tay Conti & Anna Jay and Penelope Ford & The Bunny as they head towards a Street Fight. Things have been going on for a while with these four women. Two weeks ago on Rampage, Tay defeated Penelope in a submission match. Prior to that, Penelope & Bunny were on the winning side of a Trios match with Nyla Rose as their partner defeating Tay & Anna along with Ruby Soho. Ruby is headed to the finals of the TBS tournament and will face Jade Cargill to determine the champion.

Anna & Tay defeated Diamante & Emi Sakura on Dark Elevation this week. Anna defeated Reka Tehaka while The Bunny defeated KiLynn King on Dark.

Frank’s Analysis: I’m ready for everyone involved to do something else. The submission match Tay and Penelope a few weeks ago came out of nowhere, and it felt like the feud was over. This feels like a way of dragging things out, but we’ll see what happens. There is a calling for the women of AEW to shine.

TNT Championship: Cody Rhodes (champ) vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page

One week after winning the TNT Championship for the third time, Cody Rhodes defends the title against “All Ego” Ethan Page of the Men of the Year.

This match was announced during Dynamite. Dan Lambert, along with the Men of the Year (Page and Scorpio Sky), came out to discuss his disfavor once again with Cody. He talked about his wife Brandi having the name of a stripper, and Arn Anderson being one of his favorites of the past but now he’s kissing Cody’s ass. He said AEW fans may be stupid, but must hate the “shit sandwich” they’re being fed. Brandi came out and accused Dan Lambert of being a bad Paul Heyman impersonator and said she would whoop Dan’s ass. Dan said he’s a black belt, but Brandi said she was a black bitch.

Dan has been pushing for either Page or Sky to get a TNT Championship match, and tonight he gets his wish.

Frank’s Analysis: I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained. The problem is, it’s for the wrong reasons. Dan is supposed to be drawing heat, but he’s speaking the truth about Cody and Brandi let’s be honest. The only reason the crowd eventually cheered Brandi is when she said “bitch.” It’s like a dog whistle. I don’t know what they’re doing. I’d like to think there’s a plan, since WWE fans spent the last 15 years booing John Cena and Roman Reigns, but they better get to it soon or people may not be as sympathetic.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!