Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 15

The Doctor Chris Mueller

Thanks to an extra hour on YouTube, this week's episode of AEW Rampage was doubled to two hours.

The Buy-In on YouTube and the main show on TNT each featured three matches. Here is the full lineup from Friday night:

Let's look at everything that happened on Friday's show. 

Tay Conti vs. Santana Garrett

Conti and Garrett locked up and traded some missed kicks. Garrett hit a few arm drags before Conti countered a single-leg takedown and brought Garrett into a submission. 

Conti hit a bicycle kick to the face for the first two-count of the match. Garrett hit a stiff right to the face and got some boos from the crowd. She followed up with a cartwheel elbow and a suplex. 

Conti caught her with another kick to the face as she fired herself up. She nailed three more running boots and the DDTay for the win. 

Grade: C+

                           

Analysis

Conti and Garrett only had about five minutes but that was enough for them to each show off some of the skills that got them to where they are.

Conti has improved by leaps and bounds since leaving WWE, and Garrett was already known as a good worker, but there was something off about how they worked together.

It takes time for opponents to develop chemistry, so any missteps were probably a result of them trying to figure each other out as performers. 

Lee Moriarty vs. Bobby Fish

Moriarty looked pumped for his Rampage debut against Fish. They circled each other before trading some strikes. Fish caught a kick, but Moriarty was able to keep his balance.

Chants of Bobby broke out before Fish took control with a kick to the chest. Moriarty came back with his own takedown into an ankle lock. Fish reversed the hold to begin a series of reversals and transitions. 

Fish broke it up with some lefts and rights. They kept trading control back and forth to keep the match competitive. Fish picked him up and drove him into the corner as dueling chants broke out in the crowd. 

Moriarty began to build some momentum with a quick sequence of strikes and power moves. He hit a big double stomp at the end for a close two-count. Fish unloaded on him with kicks and a Saito suplex for a near-fall. Moriarty captured his arm and hit his own suplex for another two-count. 

Fish hit an exploder suplex into the ropes before taking Moriarty's head off with a huge kick for the win. 

Grade: A-

                            

Analysis

Fish and Moriarty had zero buildup for this match, but they managed to tell a fun story of a young up-and-coming talent trying to take down an aging veteran.

Their technical precision and the variety of moves they used was awesome. Fish's strikes were stiff, and Moriarty's submissions were clean.

This is a pairing AEW should revisit in the future. They seem tailor-made for each other as opponents. 

Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki

Danielson and Suzuki had a brief staredown before the ref called for the bell. The crowd was on its feet before they even made contact. 

They locked fingers for a test of strength. Suzuki got the upper hand and brought Danielson to his knees. Danielson countered into a wristlock. He tried to put Suzuki in an abdominal stretch, but the Japanese legend reversed it and applied his own. 

Suzuki avoided a kneebar by rolling to the ropes right away. The American Dragon picked the ankle and took Suzuki off his feet. He hit one kick to the leg, and Suzuki just smiled at him. He dared Danielson to hit him, so he did. This began an exchange of different strikes as they tested each other's resolve. 

Suzuki hit a huge forearm smash that finally took Danielson off his feet. When he got back up, Danielson unleashed a flurry of kicks and elbows to the veteran. 

They took the fight out of the ring, where Suzuki regained the upper hand. Danielson reversed an Irish whip to send him into the ring post before he drilled him with a knee from the apron. 

The American Dragon applied the Cattle Mutilation and turned it into a pin for a near-fall. Suzuki hit a few running kicks, but Danielson refused to stay down. The King of Pancrase seemed dumbfounded at his resilience. 

They exchanged forearms until Suzuki put his hands behind his back and dared Danielson to give him his best shot. The American Dragon obliged, and they ended with right hands that took each other down. After a long back and forth, Danielson hit the flying knee for the pin. 

Grade: A+

                           

Analysis 

This match has been highly anticipated since the moment it was announced—and for good reason. This has been one of those bouts we never thought was possible until recently. Thankfully, Danielson and Suzuki made sure it lived up to the hype.

At times, it felt like they were indulging themselves and the crowd a little too much, but it never really took away from how enjoyable the match was. Certain moments stood out as illogical but never at the expense of the action. It's a fine line to walk.

The strikes were hard, the submissions were deep and the bruises are going to be real in the morning. This match was fun from start to finish, and that's the best we can hope for with any pro wrestling contest. Go out of your way to see this if you didn't watch it live. 

CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal

Before the match got started, Sydal talked about how the spotlight should be on him instead of Punk because he has worked everywhere Punk has worked and held titles around the world. 

They shook hands before locking up. Punk took Sydal down in a headlock, but the high-flyer had a counter ready for him. Sydal showed off some technical skills with a series of takedowns and a crucifix pin for a two-count. 

Punk wrestled him down, but Sydal used his speed to keep Punk on his toes. He rolled Punk into a bow and arrow submission until Punk rolled over into a pin for a near-fall. 

Punk tried to play to the crowd and hit a couple of body slams, but Sydal took him down with an arm drag and hit a few stiff kicks to the thigh. The Straight-Edge Superstar countered Sydal's finisher and hit a dropkick for another two-count. 

Punk slammed Sydal on the edge of the apron and hit a rolling senton after bringing him back into the ring. The fans chanted for the GTS, but Punk decided to hang him in the tree of woe instead. They ended up fighting on the top turnbuckle until they knocked each other down to the floor. 

Punk hit his signature corner knee and clothesline combo for a two-count. Sydal escaped the Anaconda Vice by getting his leg on the ropes. He nailed Punk with a huge kick to the head and hit the Lightning Spiral for a close two-count. Punk countered a crucifix and hit the GTS for the win. 

Grade: A

                         

Analysis

Sydal's high-flying ability has been well documented, but his technical ability is on par with the best, too. He could work a whole match without ever leaving his feet and it would still be great.

They took each other to the limit in this almost 20-minute classic. On a night when we got Suzuki vs. Danielson, Punk and Sydal made sure nobody forgot about them.

The announcers did a good job adding a story to this match by mentioning their past encounters and how Sydal has come up short every time. Their post-match hug felt earned. 

The Bunny vs. Ruby Soho

The Bunny looked unimpressed as Ruby made her way out to the crowd chanting her name to her music. They locked up and fought for control until coming to a clean break in the corner. 

They shoved each other a bit before Soho grabbed Bunny's finger and kicked her in the ribs. Bunny blocked a hip toss, but Soho kept the upper hand with a knee to the face. 

Bunny ran Soho's face into the middle turnbuckle and followed up with a dropkick for a close two-count. We returned from a break to see Soho hitting a flurry of forearms shots.

She put Bunny's face into the middle turnbuckle and hit a few running kicks to the head. Bunny tripped her on the middle rope and pinned her head to deliver a superkick. She hit a German suplex from the middle rope, but Soho kicked out at two. 

Ruby countered Bunny into a backslide to get the pin. 

Grade: B

                           

Analysis

Soho and The Bunny were given a lot of time, and they made the most of it with a hard-hitting and competitive match. 

The Bunny looked especially good with some of her maneuvers. She has clearly made significant strides as a technician since joining AEW.

The post-match beatdown with Penelope Ford helping The Bunny keeps their feud going with Soho for the time being. All three of these women are going to want to be the first TBS champion, so we will probably see them collide again during the tournament. 

The Inner Circle vs. Men of the Year and Junior Dos Santos

Dan Lambert flipped out at the fans for not singing Page, Sky and Dos Santos to the ring the same way they did for The Inner Circle. 

Sky and Guevara kicked things off for their teams. Sky hit a kick to the gut and a series of elbow strikes to take control. Guevara rolled him up for a two-count and hit a leaping kick from the middle rope. 

Jericho and Dos Santos both tagged in, and JDS took him to the corner with a flurry of body shots. He kicked Jericho as he jumped off the middle rope. Hager tagged in, and the two MMA stars squared off. 

Dos Santos backed Hager to the corner, but the powerhouse lifted him up for a slam. They cornered Hager so Sky could tag in. Hager ran him over with a clothesline and then tagged Jericho.

The former AEW champion rolled out of the ring and had some words with Jorge Masvidal before Page took him out with a knee from the apron. 

We returned from a break to see Jericho hit Page with a kick out of desperation. Sky and Guevara both got the tag, and the TNT champion hit a springboard cutter and a shooting star press for a two-count. 

All hell broke loose as everyone started fighting at ringside. Hager put Dos Santos through a table, and Jericho put Sky in the Liontamer. Masvidal came in and hit a flying knee while the ref was distracted, giving Sky the chance to cover him for the win. 

Grade: C+

                            

Analysis

There was too much going on here, but most of it was fun to watch. This would have worked better as a two-on-two tag match, but it's understandable why AEW would want to pack everyone into one bout.

Guevara and Sky were the most impressive performers, but Dos Santos is going to get a lot of attention for how he looked. He took to pro wrestling surprisingly well, but his time in the ring was also limited to cover up and shortcomings he may have.

Considering every other match had a clean finish on this show, having one with some shenanigans wasn't too much. The post-match beatdown means this feud is nowhere near finished. 

The two-hour Rampage packed a lot of great action on to the show while also featuring some solid video packages for different feuds. It wouldn't be shocking if AEW did this more often moving forward. 

   

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