AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From Dec. 29 (2024)

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on December 29.

Due to the Worlds End pay-per-view airing on Saturday, there will be no Collision this week, so this was the go-home show for AEW heading into this weekend's festivities.

AEW advertised three matches for Friday's show:

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's Rampage.

Rampage almost always opens with a match, but this week's show changed the pattern and featured Chris Jericho kicking things off with a promo. He brought out Sammy Guevara to talk about how his perspective changed while he was out of action. They officially mended fences and hugged it out.

We also got a quick interview with Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard before Soho made her way out with Saraya and Harley Cameron. Shafir had Nyla Rose by her side to keep things even.

They started with a quick pace. Soho scored the first takedown but immediately got out of the ring when she realized Shafir got right back to her feet.

When Saraya tried to get involved, The Native Beast chased her through the crowd. Soho used the distraction to hit No Future for a two-count.

This match was a bit overbooked but had some fun moments. It was surprising that Angelo Parker wasn't involved somehow, but it was nice to see Soho get the win.

Result: Ruby Soho defeated Marina Shafir

Grade: C

Notable Moments and Observations

The ROH Pure Championship was on the line in the Yuta vs. Sydal match, so naturally, it was also contested under Pure Rules.

This means they only had three rope breaks each and could only use one closed-fist punch. If a decision could not be reached within the time limit, a trio of judges would decide the victor.

Yuta and Sydal aren't that different in size but work very different styles. Sydal is a high-flyer and striker while Yuta is a technician and submission specialist, although he is also a well-versed striker in his own right.

This was a fun, fast-paced and physical matchup that highlighted both men's strengths. Yuta has grown so much over the past couple of years, so he felt right at home in the ring against a veteran like the 40-year-old, age-defying Sydal.

With only one rope break used by Sydal, Yuta won the match in just under 10 minutes by pinfall. This wasn't as long as expected, but we also got a post-match segment with Danhausen. He claimed Yuta cheated and tried to disqualify him, but Yuta took him out. Hook ended up coming out to make the save.

Result: Wheeler Yuta defeated Matt Sydal

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

The main event of this week's show was a trios match with Top Flight and Andretti taking on Romero, Cassidy and Beretta.

All six of these men are capable athletes with varying degrees of experience, but the one thing they all have in common is the ability to work at a brisk pace.

Dante, Darius and Andretti hit most of the high-risk moves, so their opponents had the task of breaking their fall every time they left their feet.

This match definitely favored high spots and quick sequences over storytelling, but that is not a bad thing when those high spots and quick sequences are as fun as they were in this bout.

Dante ended up scoring the win for his team by pinning Romero. The show ended with the victors standing tall.

Result: Top Flight and Action Andretti defeated Rocky Romero, Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

Opening Rampage with a promo instead of a match changed the pace of the show, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Jericho and Guevara were given a good amount of time, so AEW only had three bouts on the card instead of the usual four. Each match felt like it had the right amount of time, with the main event getting the longest segment of the show at almost 20 minutes.

The trios match that closed Rampage was the best performance on the show, but the Pure Rules bout was a fun display of Yuta's progression.

While none of the matches or segments were weak, we also didn't see anything that stood out. The main event was good, but with Worlds End coming up on Saturday, it's going to be overshadowed within 24 hours.

Grade: B-