Takeshita returns on Rampage on TSN+
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Back from the G1, Konosuke Takeshita is in four-way action. Plus, the GYV take on the Outrunners and Private Party meets the Undisputed Kingdom and Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in a three-way tag match. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday at 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
Konosuke Takeshita (w/ Don Callis) vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Lio Rush - While it was Zack Sabre Jr. who claimed the 2024 G1 Climax in the end, you could hardly call Konosuke Takeshita's tournament a disappointment. Making his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut, Takeshita competed in the B Block and managed to finish in the top three to advance to the knockouts. In round-robin action, Takeshita picked up victories over Jeff Cobb, HENARE, Ren Narita, El Phantasmo and Yota Tsuji. Tsuji would get his revenge in the quarter-finals, though, when he hit the Gene Blast to end Takeshita's tournament in the quarters. Returning to his home promotion on Friday night, Takeshita finds himself in a very intriguing encounter alongside three very different opponents in the Beast Mortos, Komander and Lio Rush. While Komander and Rush bring speed and aerial prowess, Mortos possesses a surprising agility to go along with his ample power. Though there's nothing official on the line on Friday night, all four men are jockeying for position in a crowded men's division and every match is a potential opportunity to put yourself in line for, at the very least, a prominent spot on the card, if not a title match. Mortos is coming off of an unsuccessful title challenge against ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe and would love nothing more than to quickly get back in the win column. None of these men is a stranger to championships. Takeshita has a laundry list of honours from DDT Pro-Wrestling, including holding its top prize, the KO-D Openweight Championship, on five occasions. Mortos is a former AAA Latin American Champion. Komander only recently lost his AAA World Cruiserweight Championship to Matt Riddle earlier this month, while Rush has held the WWE Cruiserweight Championship, the TNA X-Division Championship and CZW World Heavyweight Championship among his many accolades. Friday night's match will be must-see pro wrestling.
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Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake) vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum) (w/ Erika Leigh) - It's a battle between young vets and the Youngest Men Alive as the GYV make their Rampage debut against Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum, the Outrunners. The GYV made their return to AEW at last Saturday's All In after the current AEW World Tag Team Champions, the Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) retained their titles over FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) and The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens), laying out FTR. But as video from Saturday that was aired this past Wednesday night on Dynamite, Zack Gibson and James Drake made it very clear their actions weren't to impress the Jacksons. They let the Jacksons know that they're coming for their titles and put the rest of the tag division on notice. Former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, Gibson and Drake have made one previous appearance in AEW, falling to Caster and Bowens on the Apr. 27 edition of Collision. While that appearance was a surprise, Friday's isn't as the GYV have called their shot and let everybody in AEW know to expect them. Can Gibson and Drake mark their return with a victory or will the Speedboat Dreamboats make them regret coming back?
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"The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal (w/ Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett) vs. The Undisputed Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) (w/ Roderick Strong) vs. Private Party ("Brother Zay" Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) - A funny thing has happened with Jeff Jarrett over the past several weeks. In embracing the memory of his dearly departed friend Owen Hart, Jarrett has found himself being embraced by the fans. A 12-time world champion, Jarrett's status as a legend is unquestioned, but the WWE Hall of Famer has always had a contentious relationship with the fans for much of his career. Things seem to have changed and Jarrett clearly believes it's been for the better. Jarrett has received some of the loudest ovations at AEW events over the past several weeks and that continued with the shows in the United Kingdom. On Friday night, he teams with another former world champion in Jay Lethal to take on a pair of teams with something to prove in three-way action. Both of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett and Private Party are coming off of different kinds of embarrassment. The Undisputed Kingdom lost their ROH World Tag Team Championships on the Aug. 17 edition of Collision to the team of Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara. In fact, the duo is in the midst of a five-match losing streak. While Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen were left red-faced this past Wednesday night on Dynamite, it didn't have anything to do with a match. Private Party was laughed out of TBS Champion Mercedes Moné's backstage celebration by the champion, Kamille and the AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada. Private Party getting booted from a, ahem, private party was not a good look for Kassidy and Quen. Friday's match, then, offers both the Undisputed Kingdom and Private Party to save some face, but it won't be easy with momentum on the side of Jarrett and Lethal. Which of these three teams will pick up a win?
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PLUS:
- "The Native Beast" Nyla Rose is in action
- For a second straight week, Mina Shirakawa will have a match