AEW had their 4th show of the week tonight as the long awaited hour known as AEW Rampage finally hit our screens. The show was originally announced way back in January 2020 when AEW signed their new extended deal with WarnerMedia but was delayed due to the pandemic. But here we are 19 months later, and boy did AEW stack this hour. But was it worth the wait? Here’s what happened on the show.

TITLE CHANGE! Christian Cage defeated Kenny Omega w/ Don Callis via Pinfall (15:43) to win the Impact World Heavyweight Championship

This match started very slowly and very deliberately but by the end, was as fast and as furious as the trios match Kenny had with the Young Bucks against Dante Martin and the Sydals on Dynamite this week. The match goes back and forth but hinges on Omega’s cheating coming back to bite him. Callis distracted the ref for a long time. In that time, Kenny gave Christian a low blow, the Bucks came out to deliver a chair to Omega, who seems to have lost all faith in his One Winged Angel to get the job done. Omega sets up the chair, and gets Christian in position to OWA him onto the chair but Christian manages to turn it into the Killswitch on the same piece of furniture. He pins Kenny as the referee turns round and we have a new Impact champion. Jurassic Express come out to celebrate with him.

#ANDNEW @IMPACTWRESTLING World Champion, @Christian4Peeps!

Tune in NOW to the world premiere of #AEWRampage LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/WEvJApJoak

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021

Mark Henry Interviews Christian Cage

We come back from break to find Christian backstage with Mark Henry, he’s flanked by Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus who pop open a little bit of the bubbly to celebrate. Christian tells Kenny he’s in his head and he’s coming for the AEW title at All Out.

Fuego Del Sol Video Package

The most over free agent in pro wrestling (assuming Bryan and Punk have signed) tells us how important this match is for him and his family. He tells Gods Favourite Champion that he’s about to be baptised by fire.

It’s the biggest match of @FuegoDelSol’s life! Will he win an #AEW contract and the TNT Title from @ToBeMiro TONIGHT?

Tune in NOW to the world premiere of #AEWRampage LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/jd57Dfos55

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021

Miro defeated Fuego Del Sol via Submission (2:03) to Retain the AEW TNT Championship

Fuego comes out hot and hits a Tornado DDT before the bell has even rung. Miro is wobbly but gets to his feet as the ref starts the match. A second Tornado DDT sends the redeemer spilling to the outside. He looks shocked. The referee reaches a 9 count as Miro sneaks under the bottom rope. The third DDT was better than the first two and Miro looked out. He kicked out at two. He then proceded to completely dominate and destroy poor Fuego before the Game Over claimed another victim. Miro is a stone cold killer at this point.

Fuego Del Sol is All Elite

Nothing I can say can match the words of Sammy Guevara so I’ll leave it to him below. A really nice moment in a company that’s becoming synonymous with them.

Dream do come true! Welcome to the team…@FuegoDelSol is #AllElite!

Tune in NOW to the world premiere of #AEWRampage LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/wRDJ2UlKUo

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021

Britt vs Velvet Interview

A really nicely framed interview here. The content was okay but I really liked the way they shot this with Henry inbetween the two competitors.

It’s about to boil over between #AEW Women’s World Champion @RealBrittBaker and @Thee_Red_Velvet. The #AEWRampage MAIN EVENT is NEXT!

Tune in NOW to the world premiere of #AEWRampage LIVE on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/HNYu4sZRnd

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021

Dr Britt Baker D.M.D. W/Rebel defeated Red Velvet via Submission (10:34) to Retain the AEW Womens World Championship

This match was far better than I expected and Red Velvet is now challenging Tay Conti and Anna Jay for the womens divisions fastest learner. Velvet was much more heelish than usual given how over Britt was in her home state and the dynamic worked well. Britt’s injured wrist was the main crux of the in ring story with Velvet originally reluctant to target it but soon realising she had to in order to stand a chance. The hand also happens to be the one that goes into the mouth on the lockjaw adding more drama to how exactly DMD was going to win. In the end, she reversed it really nicely to complete the move with her other hand and get the submission victory.

Post-Match

After the match, Kris Statlander jumps from ringside where she was watching earlier in the broadcast to make the save after Baker continues to attack Red Velvet but then she gets taken out herself by a blonde woman in a hat. Its Jamie Hayter who hasn’t been seen in AEW since 2019. She takes out Statlander and Baker gives Velvet the Kerb Stomp as the show ends.

Jamie Hayter (@jmehytr) is here and looks to have aligned with @RealBrittBaker! pic.twitter.com/I21vG5G79V

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) August 14, 2021

No idea how AEW managed to pack so much in to an hour but I’m very impressed. What did you make of the debut of AEW Rampage? See you all next week to do it all over again!