Welcome to Bleacher Report's coverage and recap of All Elite Wrestling Rampage on August 5.
We might have Battle of the Belts coming up on Saturday, but we still saw some of AEW's champions in action Friday night.
Jon Moxley battled Mance Warner in an AEW world title eliminator match, Madison Rayne made her AEW debut, and the tag team champs Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland took on Tony Nese and Josh Woods.
Let's take a look at what happened during Friday's show.
Rampage opened with Warner making his Rampage debut against the interim AEW world champion, Moxley.
The champ couldn't wait for him to get to the ring and went after Warner on the ramp, but the MLW regular was not easy to take out. Every time Mox did something to him, Warner returned the favor.
They used some traditional wrestling moves here and there, but for the most part, this was a fist fight between two guys who really enjoy hitting people.
This is not the kind of match everyone will enjoy. It was energetic and chaotic, but there wasn't a lot of selling from either guy, so all of their big offense looked like it was having little to no impact after a second or two.
Moxley was able to get the win by choking Warner out after a brutal fight. They sold a bit more toward the end, especially when Warner began to bleed, but this bout still sacrificed a bit in favor of the mayhem that ensued. It was fun, but it fell a bit short of expectations
Winner: Jon Moxley
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Rampage usually opens with the competitors in the first match already in the ring, but AEW was smart to allow Moxley's full entrance to be shown for this one.
Warner's pre-match promo was short but did a perfect job letting those unfamiliar with him know exactly who he is.
The suplex Moxley did that landed on the steel chair looked great.
Warner's cowboy boots do not look like they would be comfortable wrestling shoes, but they also look like they are not normal boots, so they might be nicer than they look.
Ryan Nemeth was already in the ring when we returned from a break to see Konosuke Takeshita make his entrance for this match.
While the brother of Dolph Ziggler tried his best to get the upper hand right away, Takeshita was able to easily thwart his attacks.
Peter Avalon tripping him is what forced Takeshita to go on defense for a bit, but he was right back in control after a Blue Thunderbomb
As expected, Takeshita scored the win. Avalon tried to take him out when it was over, but his plan failed almost immediately. This was short but had good energy. It was a good way to showcase Takeshita without needing to put him in a long bout.
Winner: Konosuke Takeshita
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Takeshita is about as over as you can get right now. The crowd went nuts for him.
It feels like it has been years since we saw Avalon on AEW TV.
The running knee that ended the match looked great.
Fresh off being hired as the head coach of the AEW women's division, Madison Rayne made her in-ring debut for the promotion in a match against Leila Grey.
Rayne took control at first, but Grey used a lot of heel tactics to put herself in a better position. Stokely Hathaway was there with her to make sure she had an even greater advantage.
Both women worked hard to make this match feel competitive, but you could also tell there was a bit of unfamiliarity between them. Most of what they did looked fine, but the stuff that didn't work stood out.
Rayne was able to hit her finisher to get the win in her first match on AEW TV, but she was immediately confronted by Jade Cargill. The TBS champ invited Rayne to accept an open challenge for the belt on Wednesday. Kiera Hogan tried to attack Rayne, but it ended with her getting taken out instead.
While a lot of this felt rushed, it's nice to see the TBS title being featured again. It felt like AEW forgot about it for a little while.
Winner: Madison Rayne
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
It's so much fun just to watch Hathaway at ringside with his clients. He is great at what he does.
Rayne had a huge smile on her face at many points. You could tell she was excited about this.
There was an arm drag that Rayne hit that could have been embarrassing had Grey not adjusted and taken the move on the fly.
The main event of the night featured the AEW tag team champions, Lee and Swerve, taking on Woods and Nese, who were both accompanied by Mark Sterling.
This was a Street Fight, so the normal rules were thrown out the window. They began fighting at ringside instead of trying to have the usual standoff in the ring. It helped make the match feel slightly more personal.
While all four of these guys are known as spectacular in-ring workers, they barely spent any time using the skills that made them famous. This was all about weapons, big spots and violence.
This was the most exciting and entertaining match of the night. Everyone showed up and put in a great effort, but Nese and Swerve may have stood out the most for their efforts.
Despite having Sterling there to interfere, Nese and Woods ended up on the losing end of this one when Swerve pinned Woods.
Winners: Swerve in Our Glory
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
It's hilarious how people still love Mark Henry's weekly catchphrase. Henry is one of those guys who is going to be appreciated a lot more over time than he was when he was an active wrestler. He's great.
Nese using protein powder as a weapon was hilarious. It's reminiscent of when Mr. Fuji used to throw salt in the eyes of opponents.
Swerve throwing a toolbox at Nese as hard as he could was kind of scary.
The headbutt Lee hit on Nese looked awesome. The camera was at the perfect angle.
The German suplex Woods used to put Lee through two tables was a great spot.
