AEW World Trios Championship Tournament continues on Rampage
Published
Best Friends (Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor) meet the Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J and Parker Boudreaux) in the first round of the AEW World Trios Championship Tournament. Plus, Hook defends the FTW Championship against Zack Clayton and Swerve in Our Glory (Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland) put the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the line against Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy). You can catch AEW Rampage at 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.
AEW World Trios Championship Tournament match: Best Friends ("Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor) vs. The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J and Parker Boudreaux) (w/ Sonny Kiss) - Orange Cassidy got to know the Trustbusters very well last week on Rampage. After defeating Ari Daivari, he was on the receiving end of a beatdown from Slim J and Parker Boudreaux before the intervention of Sonny Kiss. "The Concrete Rose" was in action earlier in the evening and lost to Boudreaux decisively. Instead of assisting Cassidy to get some revenge as was expected, Kiss promptly kicked him low and joined in on the beating and aligning with the Trustbusters. On Friday night, Cassidy can not only avenge that attack, he, Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta can advance in the AEW World Trios Championship Tournament. As a trio, Cassidy, Beretta and Taylor are 4-2 all-time in AEW competition. The experience edge is vast with the Trustbusters having competed as a three-man unit only once before. The winner of this match will move on to take on the winner of the Dark Order vs. House of Black match. Which three men will emerge victorious?
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AEW World Tag Team Championship match: Swerve in Our Glory ("Limitless" Keith Lee and Shane "Swerve" Strickland) (c) vs. Private Party (Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy) - Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland put their titles on the line for the very first time on Friday night when they take on Private Party. The duo won the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the July 13 edition of Dynamite in a three-way match over the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) and Team Taz (Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs). While this will be the first time these four men have met in a tag-team match, it's not the first time they've shared a ring together. On the June 14 edition of AEW Dark, the team of Lee, Swerve and Trent Beretta was victorious over Quen, Kassidy and The Butcher in trios action. This will be the fourth time that Private Party has fought for the belts, having come up short previously against then champions SCU (Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky), Kenny Omega and "Hangman" Adam Page and Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus). Could the fourth time finally be the charm for Quen and Kassidy? Lee and Strickland will want to avoid the fate they condemned the Jacksons to in being defeated for the titles in their very first defence of them. Will Private Party finally taste gold or will Lee and Swerve kick off their reign in style?
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FTW Championship match: Hook (c) vs. "The Reality" Zack Clayton - It's a night of first title defences on Friday evening. Just as Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee are defending their tag titles for the first time, Hook will defend the title his father made famous against Zack Clayton on Rampage. "The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil" won the first championship of his young career on the July 27 Dynamite, defeating Ricky Starks. Clayton stepped up to the plate and issued the challenge to Hook on last week's Rampage. After appearing a number of times on AEW Dark and AEW Dark: Elevation, Clayton will be making his in-ring Rampage debut. While he might be unfamiliar to AEW fans, he is undoubtedly familiar to fans of reality TV. Clayton is the fiance of Jenni "JWoww" Farley of Jersey Shore fame and has made a number of appearances on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. A win over Hook would certainly put Clayton on the map, but that might be easier said than done with the former NCAA Div. I lacrosse player still undefeated in AEW. Can Clayton pull off the massive upset or will Hook keep his streak going?
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"The Fallen Goddess" Athena vs. "Superbad Girl" Penelope Ford - Penelope Ford made her return to AEW on last week's edition of AEW Dark: Elevation following being sidelined for six months with an injury. She will be tested early in her return on Friday night when she takes on Athena in a first-time ever meeting. Athena will be headed to the ring on her own. Her ally in her ongoing feud with TBS Champion Jade Cargill and the Baddies, Kris Statlander, will be out of action for the next several months as she prepares to undergo knee surgery. Undeterred, Athena will attempt to use Friday's match as a message to Cargill, who she believes is ducking her for a title shot. Athena intends to make her championship credentials undeniable. She would do well to not overlook Ford, though, who is riding an emotional high after coming back to action after such a lengthy layoff. Will Athena remain undefeated in singles competition or will Ford derail her chances for a title match?
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PLUS:
- We hear from ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli
- House of Black's Buddy Matthews (w/ Julia Hart) is in action