Blackpool Combat Club in trios action on Rampage on TSN+
Published
It's a night of trios action when the Blackpool Combat Club meets Best Friends and Bandido, while The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn take on the Varsity Athletes and Ari Daivari. Plus, Dustin Rhodes faces Bishop Kaun and TBS Champion Jade Cargill issues an open challenge. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday at the special time of 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt streaming on TSN+.
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA) (w/ "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson) vs. Bandido and Best Amigos ("The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) - The Blackpool Combat Club's viciousness seemingly knows no bounds, but they might have kicked the hornet's nest on this one. On this past Wednesday night's Dynamite, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler YUTA and Bryan Danielson were challenged to an "Anarchy in the Arena" match at May 28's Double or Nothing pay-per-view by the reunited Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson). It will be violent, it will be messy and it will be something that they brought on themselves by their relentless assaults on all four members. Before the quartet collides with an Elite who have vengeance on their minds, a difficult trios encounter awaits on Friday night in the form of Bandido, Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta. A former ROH World Champion, Bandido has aligned with the Best Frie - uh, Best Amigos in recent weeks after he took on Orange Cassidy in an AEW International Championship match at the end of April. Bandido, Taylor and Beretta have wrestled as a trio on one other occasion - on the May 10 edition of Dynamite when they unsuccessfully vied for the AEW World Trios Championships against the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews). Friday night's match will likely be as hard-hitting as their first outing and, even though there's no gold on the line, a victory over three men who have held numerous championships would go a long way to establish themselves a players in the trios division. As for the BCC, they're obviously focused on their upcoming PPV match, but they could be in for a rude awakening if they don't give their undivided attention to Bandido, Taylor and Beretta. Which three men leave Friday night with their hands raised?
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"The Natural" Dustin Rhodes (w/ "Limitless" Keith Lee) vs. ROH World Six-Man Champion Bishop Kaun (w/ Prince Nana, "The Machine" Brian Cage and Swerve Strickland) - The bitter rivalry between Naturally Limitless (Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee) and the Mogul Embassy continues on Friday night when Rhodes goes one-on-one with one third of the ROH World Six-Man Champions, Bishop Kaun. This will be Kaun's first appearance in an AEW ring in over a month, having last competed in tag-team action alongside Toa Liona as the Gates of Agony on the Apr. 4 edition of Dark: Elevation, and his first singles match for the promotion in over a year. He meets Rhodes who has been rolling of late. The ageless wonder has not lost a match since unsuccessfully challenging Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship last August. Friday's match will likely be emotionally charged as Kaun is a stablemate of Swerve Strickland, the man who's been making life hell for Rhodes and Lee over the past several months. In fact, there's a high likelihood that Swerve could get involved at some point should the opportunity strike him on Friday. Lee's presence at ringside will hopefully be a neutralizing factor for Rhodes. While Rhodes frequently has the power advantage in his matches, that won't be the case against the physically impressive Kaun. Can Rhodes pick up a win in his continued battle with the Mogul Embassy or will Kaun help his faction continue to heap misery on Rhodes and Lee?
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The Acclaimed ("Platinum" Max Caster and "The Five-Tool Player" Anthony Bowens) and "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn vs. The Varsity Athletes (Josh Woods and "The Premier Athlete" Tony Nese) and Ari Daivari (w/ "Smart" Mark Sterling) - Max Caster, Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn will find themselves across the ring from men they have absolutely no love for on Friday when they meet Josh Woods, Tony Nese and Ari Daivari. Outside the ring will be the man they can't stand the most in "Smart" Mark Sterling. Recall that it was Sterling who attempted to stop Caster, Bowens and Gunn from "scissoring" when he took out a trademark on it back in the fall. It was only in defeating Sterling's men that they were able to get back to scissoring. In recent weeks, the Acclaimed and Gunn have begun to pick up wins in the trios division. They emerged victorious from the Tres de Mayo Trios Battle Royale on the May 3 edition of Dynamite and followed it up with a victory on last week's Rampage over The Butcher, The Blade and "Superbad" Kip Sabian. With the current AEW World Trios Champions the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) still without opponents for Double or Nothing, a win on Friday evening should firmly ensconce Caster, Bowens and Gunn in the title picture. Will they set themselves up for a title challenge or will Sterling's men throw a wrench into their plans?
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PLUS:
- TBS Champion Jade Cargill (w/ "Smart" Mark Sterling and Leila Grey) issues an open challenge
- We will hear from Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy and Brother Zay