AEW Rampage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 26
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Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of AEW Rampage on May 26.
This is the final AEW program before Sunday's Double or Nothing pay-per-view, so in addition to all of the action, the company was making sure to hype the PPV.
This week was all about tag team action as every match was either a tag or trios bout. Most of the teams were comprised of friends, but one was a bit of an odd couple pairing.
Former rivals Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida teamed up to battle Nyla Rose and Marina Shafit.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on the go-home episode of Rampage before Double or Nothing.
LFI vs. The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass
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- Caster's rap was decent this week. Not his best but nowhere near his worst.
- Chris Jericho claimed he beat up Britt Baker on commentary even though it was Saraya who did it. Why would any man want to take credit for hitting a woman, especially when it's not true?
- Bowens ended up sitting in the lap of a few fans after getting knocked over the barricade by Rush.
- A closeup shot showed that Gunn was bleeding from his hand after fighting at ringside for a bit.
- Sometimes it's hard to tell if Jose is trying to be annoying or if he is actually just annoying.
- Bowens cut a promo against The House of Black to hype the Trios Championship match at Double or Nothing.
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Rush, Preston Vance and Dralistico were already in the ring when the show began, but Anthony Bowens, Max Caster and Billy Gunn got a televised entrance so Caster could rap about how Rush's hair looks like pubic hair.
Bowens and Dralistico started for their teams, but they quickly tagged out to Caster and Vance after a short exchange. Daddy Ass made a big show out of tagging in and taking off his shirt when it was his turn.
La Faccion Ingobernables attacked their opponents all at once and took control as the show went to a break. Both teams had periods of control, but the heels had the upper hand a bit more than the babyfaces. Caster scored the win for his team with The Mic Drop.
A lot of AEW trios matches have a break-neck pace, but this bout actually allowed each moment to breathe. It never felt like they were rushing, even when they were having a fast-paced exchange.
The pacing allowed them to do a little storytelling, but the action in the match was down the middle. Everyone did a good job, but it's doubtful this match will be remembered next week after we get through a PPV.
Winners: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Gunns and Ethan Page vs. Three Jobbers,
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- The Gunns' entrance is cooler than it has any right to be.
- The guy who took the finisher from The Gunns almost landed on his head.
- AEW needs to do more with Hook. He is so popular and it feels like we barely see him.
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Ethan Page and The Gunns got in a little warmup against three jobbers before they battle The Hardy Party at Double or Nothing.
Even though this wasn't a total squash, it was barely more than an exhibition. The Gunns and Page easily picked up the win.
Page gave a quick promo after the match to brag about taking out Isiah Kassidy. He claimed it would be a three-on-two match this Sunday, but the Hardys showed up with Hook to prove him wrong.
The match itself didn't serve much of a purpose, but this segment allowed the Hardys to set up Hook as Kassidy's replacement, so at least it accomplished that much.
Winners: The Gunns and Ethan Page
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir
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- Nyla is a former champion and has a great entrance. It sucks to see her not being given a televised entrance.
- It's always a little scary whenever a wrestler chooses to work barefoot. There are so many ways they can injure their feet. That's why Miro stopped doing it.
- One of the things Baker has improved the most since joining AEW is her selling. She used to make everything look a little too dramatic, but she has found the right balance and sells everything really well now.
- Rose slamming Shida on top of Baker and Shafir to break up a pin was a fun spot.
- JR was right. Baker's swinging neckbreaker looked great. Shafir did an excellent job selling the landing.
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Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida kept their partnership going on this week's Rampage with a tag team match against Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir.
The two former women's champions had some early offense, but once Rose and Shafir took control, they kept it for several minutes. All through the commercial break, we saw DMD taking punishment through picture-in-picture.
Once Shida was able to tag in, she took over and beat down Shafir in the corner before nailing her with a textbook missile dropkick.
We didn't see anything special in this match, but it ended up being more than expected. This could have been a quick three-minute encounter, but thankfully, it ended up lasting through a commercial break to take up two segments.
Baker was able to get the submission victory over Shafir with The Lockjaw.
Winners: Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Best Friends vs. Big Bill and Lee Moriarty
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- It's still weird to have a name like Big Bill in AEW. It feels so much more like what WWE would name somebody. Plus, AEW had Big Bill Collier on a show, so it's a little unfair to him since he has been using that name for a lot longer.
- Best Friends used a few heel tactics during the match, which was kind of unusual to see. They typically follow the rules.
- It's great to see Big Bill looking so healthy after he had some issues a few years ago. He has been a solid addition to the AEW roster.
- Mark Sterling was shown watching the match with some of his clients.
- Chris Jericho complaining about somebody else needing to put on a shirt is comical when he has been going shirtless under his jackets for the past few years.
- Taylor's piledriver looked great. It was quick and effective.
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The main event of the night featured Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta taking on Big Bill and Lee Moriarty. Taylor and Moriarty began for their teams with a little exchange of takedowns and counters, but Beretta tagged in when it became clear Taigastyle was outwrestling Taylor.
He did the same thing to Beretta and did a little dance. Beretta tried to sucker him into a kick by offering a handshake, but Moriarty saw it coming and blocked the impact.
After we came back from a commercial, Beretta hit a trio of German suplexes on Moriarty, but when he attempted a suicide dive, Big Bill caught him by the neck and chokeslammed him onto the apron.
In what many would call an upset, Bill and Moriarty scored the win when the big man hit a Chokeslam on Taylor. The show ended with a huge brawl breaking out with most of the participants in the upcoming Blackjack Battle Royal.
Winners: Big Bill and Lee Moriarty
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
