All Elite Wrestling delivered an action-packed episode of AEW Rampage on April 22.
As announced during the April 19 episode of AEW Dynamite, fans will hear from The Hardys, HOOK, and Isiah Kassidy as their feud with The Firm continues. Jeff Hardy specifically noted that he will address the fans for the first time since their return.
Plus, AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR will join forces with Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal to take on Varsity Athletes and Slim J. This comes after Varsity Athletes attacked Mark Briscoe backstage on Wednesday.
Kiera Hogan will take on Julia Hart, while TBS Champion Jade Cargill is confirmed to appear. Additionally, Jon Moxley will face Christopher Daniels. El Hijo del Vikingo will also defend the AAA Mega Championship against Dralistico.
The results are as follows:
Match 1: Jon Moxley defeats Christopher Daniels via submission
In the opening match, Moxley put away Daniels after a surprisingly close back-and-forth bout. Late in the match, Mox continued to try and lock in the bulldog choke, but Daniels would break out and get some elbow strikes in. Eventually, though, Moxley would lock in the bulldog strike and hook it in hard enough for Daniels to not be able to break out of it. The match ended with Daniels passing out, and the two superstars shook hands in the ring after the match.
In-ring segment: Jeff Hardy
The Hardys came out with HOOK and Isiah Kassidy to a roar from the crowd. Taking the microphone, Jeff Hardy was treated to a bunch of “welcome back” chants from the crowd as he said he’s worked so hard to return, and thanked them for the cheers. He said the smartest thing to do now, though, would be to retire…from screwing up.
Hardy said he plans to spend the rest of his career in AEW, and as Matt went to talk about The Firm Deletion, Stokely Hathaway appeared on the video screen. He said he wants to know more details about the match, before The Firm quickly ambushed the group. The segment ended with Ethan Page hitting Kassidy with the Ego’s Edge, and The Hardys saving him with some chairs.
Promo: Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes
The surprise tag team said they’ll be back in action next week on AEW Rampage, although it’s unclear who against.
Match 2: Julia Hart defeats Kiera Hogan via submission
In a relatively quick match, Hart was able to overcome some early offense from Hogan and drop her with a kick to the jaw. Afterward, Hogan got back up, but missed a big roundhouse kick late, allowing Hart to lock in her submission for the win.
After the match, Anna Jay came running down, and brawled with Hart in the middle of the ring for a bit. The segment came to an end with officials running in to break things up.
Backstage segment: Christopher Daniels
Following his loss to Jon Moxley, Daniels said he’s sick of losing when the Blackpool Combat Club shows up. After some jawing, Moxley attacks Daniels, ramming his head repeatedly into the lockers before saying that the Club hasn’t changed, but everyone else has “lost their minds.”
Match 3: FTR, Jeff Jarrett, and Jay Lethal defeat Slim J & Varsity Athletes via pinfall
Jarrett and Lethal dominated most of this match, although it did start out close as all eight superstars started brawling at the beginning of the match. In the end, Jarrett would hit The Stroke on Nese and then allowed Dax to make the pin and win.
After the match, Mark Briscoe came sliding into the ring and stopped FTR and Jarrett’s group from fighting with one another.
Match 4: El Hijo Del Vikingo (c) defeats Dralistico via pinfall
In the main event of the night, Vikingo defended his AAA Mega Championship in a huge win, taking down Dralistico in a high-flying, stellar close to the night. After the referee ejected all members of LFI from ringside, the two went at it one-on-one, and things got easier for Vikingo.
In the end, Vikingo managed to take a huge huracanrana from Dralistico to the floor outside before dealing some hits in before ending things with the 630 splash for the win.
After the match, LFI came running back down to the ring, ambushing and assaulting Vikingo and ending the night standing over him.
