Statlander defends against Cargill on Rampage on TSN+
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Kris Statlander puts her TBS Championship on the line against former champion Jade Cargill. Plus, the Hardys and Lucha Bros. team up in an eight-man tag and AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are in action. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday at 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
The Hardys (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) and Lucha Bros. (Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo) (w/ Alex Abrahantes, "All Ego" Ethan Page and "Brother Zay" Isiah Kassidy) vs. The Butcher, The Blade, Jay Lethal and "The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett (w/ The Bunny, "Superbad" Kip Sabian, "The Superbad Girl" Penelope Ford, Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett) - Two sets of brothers team up in an eight-man tag on Friday night as Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy link up with Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo to meet the challenge of The Butcher, The Blade, Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett. Of course with this combination of eight competitors, there will be a very large group of people outside the ring considering their respective entourages, which means this situation could get combustible in a hurry. For the Hardys, the match is the opportunity to put two high-profile losses behind them. Matt and Jeff are coming off of defeats to the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) and Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) with the latter having been an ROH World Tag Team Championship match. It's an important match for Fenix, as well, with a match against Jon Moxley for the AEW International Championship set for Wednesday night at Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY. It was, of course, Moxley who caused Fenix to miss the Stadium Stampede match at All In through a vicious attack and now the former AEW World Tag Team and World Trios Champion has revenge on his mind. But before he can even contemplate that, he needs to navigate a tricky match with four dangerous competitors on the other side of the ring. Combined, the eight men in Friday's match have amassed an impressive collection of championships over their careers. All told, there will be 20 world championships and 38 tag-team titles among the octet set for action. Which set of four men will pick up the win in what is sure to be a volatile encounter?
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The Kingdom (Matt Taven and Mike Bennett) vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal - It's a minor miracle that Matt Taven and Mike Bennett can even bring themselves to work a match on Friday night with their minds clearly on the condition of Roderick Strong and his neck. The duo was party to another ridiculous display on Wednesday night when Strong "needed" to be stretchered out following his match with Samoa Joe with Taven and Bennett quick to once again blame Adam Cole for Strong's "injury." As obnoxious and goofy as Taven and Bennett can be, they're also a formidable team and are looking to position themselves as contenders in a deep tag-team division in AEW. But the pedigree is there with the duo having formerly won the ROH World Tag Team Championship, the IWGP World Tag Team Championship and the Impact World Tag Team Championship. Bennett is also a former Impact X-Division Champion, while Taven has held the ROH World Television Championship and is a former ROH World Champion. Their opponents on Friday night are no slouches, either. Christopher Daniels is the first Grand Slam Champion in ROH history, having claimed the ROH World Championship, the ROH World TV Championship, the ROH World Tag Team Championship (four times) and the ROH World Trios Championships as a member of SCU. Not only was Daniels one half of the inaugural ROH tag champs alongside Donovan Morgan in 2002, he has also held the titles with Sydal, defeating the Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) for them back in 2006. For his part, Sydal is also a former WWE Tag Team Champion (with Kofi Kingston) and a two-time IWGP World Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with Ricochet). A string of victories would be enough to put Daniels and Sydal into the title picture, too. With Friday night's match clearly of consequence, which team will pick up a potentially vital win?
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TBS Championship match: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Jade Cargill (w/ "Smart" Mark Sterling) - With rumours swirling about her future, Jade Cargill made her return to AEW last Saturday night on Collision when she helped Kris Statlander fend off the Renegade Twins before laying out the woman who took her TBS Championship with Jaded. It was Cargill's first appearance since she lost her title to Statlander at Double or Nothing last May in Las Vegas. Not only did Cargill lose her title that night, she suffered her first loss as a pro wrestler after starting her career on a Goldberg-esque 61-0 streak. So the question is, what kind of ring shape will she be in not having competed in nearly four months. While she's been on the sidelines, Statlander has been turning away all comers. Since defeating Cargill, Statlander has successfully defended her title on 11 occasions, having beaten the likes of Taya Valkyrie, Ruby Soho and Nyla Rose. The rematch with Cargill could be Statlander's most difficult task yet, but she is undoubtedly up for the challenge. Will Cargill get her title back or will Statlander continue to roll?
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PLUS:
- AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed ("Platinum" Max Caster and "The Five-Tool Player" Anthony Bowens) and "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn are in action