Briscoe teams with The Hardys in trios action on Rampage on TSN+
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Mark Briscoe teams with the Hardys for the first time ever to take on the trio of The Butcher, The Blade and Kip Sabian. Plus, Wheeler YUTA defends the ROH Pure Championship against Komander. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday sat 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
The Hardys (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) and Mark Briscoe vs. The Butcher, The Blade and "Superbad" Kip Sabian - One half of one of the greatest brother tag teams of all-time teams up with another as Mark Briscoe and Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy take on The Butcher, The Blade and Kip Sabian in trios action. While Briscoe and the Hardys have faced off in a ring before, this match will mark the first time they've teamed up. The Hardys and the Briscoes (Mark and his late brother Jay Briscoe) wrestled on two occasions in tag-team action with Matt and Jeff picking up the victory both times, including a successful defence of the ROH World Tag Team Championships in 2017. Though the Hardys have been teaming with Private Party's Brother Zay in recent months in trios action, it's Briscoe with more trios experience. The Briscoes held the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships on two occasions with Toru Yano. That experience could come in handy with their opponents, The Butcher, The Blade and Sabian, having a significant chemistry advantage. The Butcher, The Blade and Sabian have teamed up on 11 occasions and even had a title shot for the AEW World Trios Championships against The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) and Billy Gunn in which they ultimately fell short. Still, they should provide a formidable challenge for Briscoe and the Hardys on Friday night. Which of these trios will leave the ring with their hands raised on Rampage?
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Hikaru Shida vs. Anna Jay - Two of the AEW women's division's most tenured competitors look to position themselves as contenders in 2024 as former three-time AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida takes on Anna Jay. Shida is working her first televised singles match since losing her championship to "Timeless" Toni Storm at the Full Gear pay-per-view in November. Shida was a winner over Jay in trios action on the Dec. 1 edition of Rampage when she teamed with Kris Statlander and Skye Blue to defeat Jay and the Outcasts (Saraya and Ruby Soho). Over their time in AEW, it's not unfair to say that Shida has had Jay's number. The trios loss in December was the fifth time in five meetings that Jay fell to Shida. Three of the five matches were singles encounters with two coming in AEW Women's World Championship matches. Jay just seemingly can't get the better of Shida and will need to try something different on Friday night. Jay has won her last two singles matches heading into Rampage. Will a sixth time be the charm for her or will Shida continue her mastery over Jay?
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ROH Pure Championship match: Wheeler YUTA (c) vs. AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) - Wheeler YUTA is not a double champion. The Blackpool Combat Club's cockiest member failed to unseat Hook as the FTW Champion at World's End and took a beating in doing so under FTW rules. But YUTA still has his ROH Pure Championship and will defend that on Friday night against a former double champion who is out for more gold in Komander. Currently the AAA World Cruiserweight Champion, Komander also recently held the AAA World Tag Team Championship alongside Arez before dropping them to Nueva Generacion Dinamita's Sanson and Forastero in November. He can get himself another belt to wear on Friday night if he can defeat YUTA under Pure rules. Once again, a brief outline of Pure rules: Each competitor man has only three ropebreaks, which means if those three are used, the ropes cannot save you from a pin or submission attempt. Punches (closed-fist strikes) to the head and face are not permitted. After a warning for first use, the second use results in an automatic disqualification and, unlike most championships, the Pure title can change hands on a DQ or countout. Outside interference results in automatic termination from the roster for the offending party. If no winner can be determined for the time limit is reached, the victor will be determined by a three-person panel. Former ROH World Champion "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs and Pat Buck will serve as Friday's judges. Can YUTA stop Komander from once again wearing double gold?
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PLUS:
- Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale are in tag-team action.