Our AEW Rampage results for tonight include a holiday-themed show, and the end of an era. Not only is it AEW’s “New Year’s Smash” rendition of Rampage, but it’s also the final episode of AEW Rampage as a whole, for the time being, anyway.
Tonight’s action includes a one-on-one match between Chris Jericho and Anthony Bowens, Thunder Rosa and Leila Grey going at it in singles action, HOOK and Nick Wayne facing off in a grudge match between the two, and Private Party in action.
AEW Rampage Card
- Chris Jericho vs. Anthony Bowens
- Thunder Rosa vs. Leila Grey
- HOOK vs. Nick Wayne
- Private Party in action
- More
AEW Rampage Results
The King of New York And Bowens Go At It
Chris Jericho vs. Anthony Bowens
“The King of New York” comes down to the ring decked out in New York accessories, followed by Bowens who plays up to the crowd along with Max Caster. In the ring, the pair grapple for a bit before Jericho gains some of the upper hand after sending Bowens into the corner followed by a suplex.
Jericho is in full control, doling out some slaps to Bowens’ chest in the corner and taking him corner to corner for some action. Bowens finally gets some momentum in after countering a bulldog from Jericho and sending him groin first into the turnbuckle. The pair trade slaps to the chest, then Bowens fails at a dropkick as Jericho stops in the ropes. Bowens hits a twisting hangman DDT, but Jericho locks in a submission as we head to commercial.
Back from break and Jericho still has Bowens in the Lion Tamer, but Bowens finally reaches the ropes. Bowens goes up to the rope, and the referee gets distracted, allowing Caster to get in and help get some big hits in on Jericho, including a crotch shot. Jericho kicks out of the pinfall, and goes for the big punch, but Bowens counters for another near fall.
Chaos breaks out as The Learning Tree and Caster storm the ring. Caster tries to stop King from hitting Bowens with the ROH belt, but inadvertantly hits Bowens with it instead, allowing Jericho to pin him.
Winner – Chris Jericho
Grade – B-
This was a solid enough one. Jericho and Bowens didn’t really look like they were on their A game here, but it was fun enough to watch the chaos as things broke down at the end of the match.
Private Party Demolishes Opponents
Private Party vs. Leo Sparrow & Alec Pierce
This one is over immediately, as Party ends the match in about a minute with the Gin and Juice after getting in some hits.
After the match, Andretti and Lio Rush came out donned in spiky jackets, and Private Party were quick to storm the ramp and brawl it out. The two teams kept going at it when Top Flight came running out and also got into it. Eventually, security had to come down and clear the area.
Winner – Private Party
Grade – C
Uh…well, that was quick! This one was over literally instantly, and the brawl at the end was fun, but mostly a whole lot of nothing.
Thunder Rosa And Leila Grey Face Off
Thunder Rosa vs. Leila Grey
The next match on the docket is Rosa and Grey, and both superstars trade grapples before Grey takes Rosa down to the ground in a headlock, which Rosa reverses into a headlock of her own. Eventually, Rosa gets the momentum as we go to break, throwing a series of punches to Grey in the corner.
Back from break and Rosa is in control for the remainder of things, it looks like. She throws Grey into the corner and then sets up a big running knee. After Grey rolls into the lower ropes, Rosa delivers a big running stomp to her opponent, but Grey kicks out. Grey’s able to land a surprise Side Effect for a near fall, and an angry Rosa has had enough. She flips up Grey, stomps her, then locked in a Cobra Clutch for the quick tap out from Grey.
Winner – Thunder Rosa
Grade – B
Rosa continues to be a shining spot in All Elite Wrestling, and her showing emotion like she did at the end of the match was awesome to see.
HOOK And Nick Wayne Close Out AEW Rampage
HOOK vs. Nick Wayne
In the final match of the night, and the final match of AEW Rampage’s history as far as we know, HOOK and Wayne went at it in a match with a 30-minute time limit. They started off trading some athletic moves and posing for the crowd, and HOOK — wearing an arm cast — send Wayne over the rope and took some momentum.
Outside of the ring, Wayne quickly took control of things, throwing HOOK into the steel steps. With Christian Cage and the rest of his crew causing distractions, the referee stepped in and threw the group out. The crowd began chanting “Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye” as Cage and crew left, and Wayne got to work attacking HOOK’s cast.
We go to break with Wayne still going at HOOK’s cast, and by the time we’re back, Wayne has completely ripped it off and thrown it into the crowd. HOOK shocks Wayne with a quick suplex, then a near fall. HOOK sends Wayne flying in an incredibl flip, but Wayne bounces back by continuing to target HOOK’s hand at any given opportunity.
The pair trade more near falls as Wayne hits a suplex that HOOK no sells, and then hits Wayne with a big hit to drop him. Eventually, the Patriarchy tries coming down again, but out comes Katsuyori Shibata with a 2×4 to chase them out. Wayne counters a finisher from HOOK and rolls him up for a near fall, then hits a superkick and goes for a dive, only to land directly in the Red Rum hold. Wayne can’t do anything as the referee calls for the match.
Winner – HOOK
Grade – A-
This was a stellar match to close out the show. HOOK sold the stuff with his cast well, and the brief distractions involving the Patriarchy were super fun as well.
The Death Riders End AEW Rampage
Backstage, the camera cuts to Jon Moxley and the rest of the Death Riders as they beat up Darby Allin. They put Allin’s head into a chair and Claudio Castagnoli stomps on it before Moxley kicks him down a flight of stairs. The group then heads out to the ring.
In the ring, Moxley stood with a chair in the middle of the ring as the crowd chanted his name. He said he forgave the crowd for any hate they may have and told them to look inward, then took a seat. He said he’s had to make some tough decisions and difficult choices, and that while people in the back may not like him, he invited them to come out and air any grievances with it being the end of the year and all.
Komander made his way down and quickly got hit by Castagnoli, and then Top Flight came out to join in the brawl and quickly got beat down by the group. Orange Cassidy’s music then hit, and the cool superstar came out as Marina Shafir stared him down. Behind Cassidy, though, Willow Nightingale came running down and got into it with her. Cassidy comes down the ring just as Hangman Page and Jay White also appear at ringside, and all chaos breaks out.
The show comes to an end with the ring filled with superstars as more and more people pour into the ring, and the officials are trying to break up anything as all hell breaks loose. The camera pans up to the top of the Hammerstein Ballroom as Christian Cage watches over. PAC goes crazy and smashes the light system, plunging the Ballroom into darkness as Moxley and Shafir take a cameraman outside of the arena and superstars fight in the crowd.
Suddenly, the camera cuts to inside AEW’s production truck, which Moxley and Shafir have taken over. Moxley promises to take control of All Elite Wrestling at Worlds End, and says he’s officially putting an end to Rampage now, before demanding the show be taken off the air.
AEW Rampage Review
Grade – B+
Well, that’s all she wrote for AEW Rampage. Tonight’s show was a solid one, and it was nice to see the show go out with some great episodes to close out the broadcast. It’s unclear whether or not Rampage will be back, but if it isn’t, it was good to see them go out on a high mark.
