AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from September 8
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Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on September 8.
This week's show continued the ongoing Grand Slam Eliminator tournament with two matches. The first was between Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe, and the second was between Jay Lethal and Penta El Zero Miedo.
The Young Bucks were in action against Daddy Magic and Cool Hang Ang, and we also see a six-woman tag match with Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue and Britt Baker taking on Taya Valkyrie, The Bunny and Anna Jay.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Friday's episode of Rampage.
Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Jay Lethal
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- Penta brought out the white gear for this match.
- It's kind of funny that Lethal has been associated with the two most famous wrestlers who strut, Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett.
- Penta's chops might not make a ton of sound because of the gloves he wears, but they look like they hurt.
- Penta's piledriver rules.
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The show got right to the action with Lethal and Penta already in the ring and ready to go as soon as the broadcast began. They did a little posturing and taunting, but they didn't waste much time.
Lethal's entire crew was at ringside, so Alex Abrahantes wasn't enough to even the odds for Penta. It took less than five minutes for Double J to make his presence known by attempting to trip Penta.
The interference made sense considering who was involved, but it still hampered the match a little. The stars in the ring are capable of great things, so it would have been more enjoyable if this was a bit cleaner.
Despite having his mask pulled off and having to put it back on, Penta was able to get the win to advance in the tournament. This was roughly 12 minutes and mostly enjoyable, but it could have been so much better.
Winner: Penta El Zero Miedo
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
Shida, Blue and Baker vs. Valkyrie, Bunny and Anna Jay
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- Jericho saying Anna won't talk to him backstage was kind of sad.
- Valkyrie's hair stands out so much. It's hard not to focus on it whenever she is on screen.
- Valkyrie's power compared to most women means her spear always looks a little more convincing than most who hit that move.
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Skye Blue, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida teamed up to take on Anna Jay, The Bunny and Taya Valkyrie in a trios match this week.
Blue and Bunny started the match, but it didn't take long for the heels to start tagging in and out to keep the Chicago native isolated from her partners.
This match had the usual level of chaos for an AEW trios bout. It was decent but definitely had some sloppy moments that could have looked better.
DMD was able to get the win for her team, but Shida was upset and left after refusing to bump fists.
Winners: Baker, Blue and Shida
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
The Young Bucks vs. Matt Menard and Angelo Parker
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- Having an active wrestler also work as an announcer every week can have pros and cons. A big pro is that he can address his own storyline multiple times when matches feature former group members.
- Hager feels so lost without being Jericho's muscle.
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Jake Hager accompanied Menard and Parker to the ring for their match against Nick and Matt Jackson. Jericho talked about them on commentary fondly even though they are still on bad terms.
Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang got in a little offense, but this match was almost all Young Bucks offense. They scored the win after taking out Hager and both opponents. This wasn't much, but it got the Bucks on Rampage and that is something we don't see very often.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy
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- No matter where he is, Hardy will always be one of the most over people on any roster. He has a special connection to wrestling fans that's hard to describe.
- Joe could play literally any role in pro wrestling and be great at it. Wrestler, manager, announcer, interviewer. He will always have a place in this business.
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The main event of the night was the second match in the Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament between Samoa Joe and Hardy.
As expected, the Samoan powerhouse dominated the tag team specialist from the moment the ref called for the bell.
These two have worked together in WWE, TNA/Impact and now AEW, so they are well-versed with the way each other works. They know how to make each other look good while still making themselves look good in the process.
This was a solid match that went about 12 minutes to close the show. Predictably, Joe scored the win to advance to the next round.
Winner: Samoa Joe
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
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This week's Rampage certainly didn't help fix the perception that it's the C show in the AEW lineup, but it wasn't a total loss.
Most of what we got here was inconsequential to the majority of the storylines addressed, but the two Grand Slam tourney matches were enjoyable from an in-ring perspective.
Jericho addressing his own storyline from the commentary table was interesting because he had multiple chances to talk about the former members of his stable without addressing them to their face or in a promo.
If you only pick one thing to watch from this week's show, it would be a coin toss between the opening and closing matches.
Grade: C+
