AEW Rampage Holiday Bash Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of the Holiday Bash episode of AEW Rampage on Christmas Day.

To help celebrate the holidays, AEW put together four matches for us. Gold was on the line when Sammy Guevara put the TNT Championship on the line against former champion, Cody Rhodes.

Everyone's favorite new star was back in action when Hook took on his biggest test to date both literally and figuratively, Bear Bronson.

Legit Leyla Hirsch was in action against Kris Statlander, and Jungle Boy took on Private Party's Isiah Kassidy. Let's take a look at everything that happened on this special Saturday edition of Rampage. 

Rampage opened with Jungle Boy making his way to the ring to face Kassidy, who received a jobber's entrance for this bout. Matt Hardy, Marq Quen, Luchasaurus and Christian were all at ringside.

Quen interfered early to give his partner an unfair advantage. Jungle Boy threw a boot up to stop Kassidy from charging at him in the corner. This led to JB hitting a few quick moves to take control.

Kassidy hit a springboard cutter to hang Jungle Boy up on the top rope. He followed up with a corkscrew crossbody over the top rope to the floor.

We returned from a break to see Kassidy run into a back elbow. Jungle Boy unloaded with chops to the chest followed by a huge clothesline that turned Kassidy inside out. 

Kassidy hit an impressive poison rana for a close two-count. Christian and Luchasaurus fought with the rest of HFO at ringside while Jungle Boy locked Kassidy in the Snaretrap for the submission victory. 

Grade: B+

Analysis

These are two of AEW's younger stars, but both men have been with the company since day one. They started off with a quick pace and kept the energy high the entire time.

Kassidy was especially impressive during the first half of the match with some of the high-flying spots he pulled off. Jungle Boy sold everything a little more than usual to sell his injured ribs and hamstring, which were both heavily bandaged. 

Other than one or two moments where they needed to slow down to avoid a simple mistake, this was a solid way to start the show. Both men looked great and displayed chemistry that could carry over into a tag team feud with Quen and Luchasaurus if either team wins the titles in 2022. 

Many pro wrestlers have fought bears over the years, including Bryan Danielson, so it was only appropriate for Hook to battle one in the form of Bear Bronson.

They locked up and the big man applied a wristlock. Hook counted but the powerhouse countered right back. Hook took him down by the leg but Bronson grabbed the rope to force a break.

The young competitor cornered Bronson for some body shots, but Bronson came back with some shots of his own. Hook took him down again and applied another submission, but Bronson used the ropes to force a break again.

The big man planted Hook with a piledriver, but Hook stood right up and told him to bring it. The son of Taz went after him with a clothesline and a northern lights suplex before he hit a unique side suplex.

After some forearms shots, Hook applied a rear-naked choke for the win. 

Grade: B+

Analysis

The crowd was super into Hook and he did not let them down. The newcomer not only displayed even more skill than he did in his debut, but he also showed off some unexpected power.

Bronson sold well for him and made him look like a star. While it would have made more sense for the bigger competitor to be in control a bit more, it wasn't a huge issue.

The way AEW has handled Hook's first few weeks as a competitor has been great. If he can maintain this level of popularity and put on some great matches, he will have a title around his waist in no time. 

Hirsch and Statlander shook hands before locking up. Taz spoke about how these two have teamed up in the past and have a good friendship.

Statlander backed Hirsch to the corner, but she quickly came back and took the alien down. Statlander knocked her down with a shoulder, so Hirsch took her down by the legs and unleashed a flurry of strikes.

Statlander hit a snap powerslam out of nowhere for a two-count. Hirsch applied a nice armbar, but Statlander powered her up and drove her into the corner. Hirsch trapped her arm in another armbar over the top rope for a full five seconds until she was forced to break.

Hirsch hit a moonsault and drilled Statlander with a running knee for a near-fall. She slapped the taste out of Statlander's mouth, but it just pissed her off.

Statlander grabbed her legs and applied a submission for the win. Hirsch refused to shake her hand again after the match was over. 

Grade: A-

Analysis

These are two of the most powerful and versatile workers in the women's division, so nobody should be surprised that they had a good, physical match.

Hirsch's amateur background allowed her to make up for the size she gave up to Statlander. At no time did she feel like an underdog. In fact, she controlled the pace a little more than her opponent.

Everything they did was done with precision. This might have been the best showing for Hirsch since joining AEW despite losing in the end. Statlander continues to be a bright spot in the division and is going to head into 2022 as a potential title contender. 

The main event saw Guevara defend the TNT Championship against the only previous two-time champion, The American Nightmare. David Crockett was on hand to present the winner of the match with the belt once it was over. 

Guevara charged at Rhodes with a dropkick as soon as the bell rang. He hit a second dropkick after a nice backflip over Rhodes. He knocked Rhodes out of the ring and did a little spin move to celebrate while the challenger took a break in the crowd to regroup. 

Guevara hit a powerslam that looked a lot like the one Dustin uses on a regular basis, but Rhodes came back with a springboard Cody cutter. They took the fight outside and Guevara almost took out Arn Anderson when Rhodes moved to avoid a shooting star press from the apron.

The American Nightmare took control and applied a short-arm scissor. We returned from a break to see Rhodes hit a nice delayed vertical suplex. He climbed up to the top rope but Guevara avoided the moonsault. 

Guevara hit a nice cutter from the top rope for another near-fall. Rhodes caught him in an attempted hurricanrana and powerbombed into the crowd onto what must have been a group of fake fans planted at ringside. 

Rhodes hit the Disaster Kick and soaked in the boos. Guevara countered the Cross Rhodes but he wasn't able to avoid it a second time. Rhodes rolled him over but only got a two-count. Guevara hit the GTH but couldn't keep Rhodes down for the pin. 

Rhodes blocked a 630 with his knees and hit Cross Rhodes twice followed by a Tiger Driver 98 for the win to become the new champion. 

Grade: A

Analysis

Rhodes might as well make the full heel turn. The crowd is booing him louder each week and if he keeps trying to act like a babyface, this is going to be John Cena all over again. Then again, maybe that is the plan.

Guevara pulled out all of his big high-flying spots for this one, and he hit all of them perfectly. The more we see of him, the better he gets at using these moves at the right time.

On a night full of great wrestling packed into one hour, this match stood out as the most complete. They told a nice story and made each other look great. This bout would have been right at home on a pay-per-view.