The Acclaimed, Gunn in trios action on Rampage on TSN+
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The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are in trios action. Plus, Swerve Strickland teams with Brian Cage to take on Dark Order's John Silver and Alex Reynolds and IWGP World Tag Team Champion Kyle Fletcher is in singles competition. You can catch AEW Rampage on the special night of Saturday Friday at 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
The Acclaimed ("Platinum" Max Caster and "The Five-Tool Player" Anthony Bowens) and "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn vs. The Butcher, The Blade and "Superbad" Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford) - Fresh off of winning the Tres de Mayo Trios Battle Royale last week on Dynamite, the team of Max Caster, Anthony Bowens and Billy Gunn return to trios action on Rampage against the team of The Butcher, The Blade and Kip Sabian, one of the five other teams they defeated to win the battle royale. While Caster, Bowens and Gunn's experience as a trio is limited, they are undefeated as one. They defeated the Jericho Appreciation Society team of Jake Hager, "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker on the Apr. 19 Dynamite before picking up a victory against the team of Cameron Stewart, Dante Casanova and Ryzin on the Apr. 28 Rampage. The challenge of Andy Williams, The Blade and Sabian will be a more difficult one with that trio having teamed regularly for the last several months. In their one match against The Butcher and The Blade, Caster and Bowens were victorious as they successfully defended the AEW World Tag Team Championship in a match that also included Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) last fall. A victory here for either team could help cement a case for a shot against the current AEW World Trios Champions, the House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews). Which three men will pick up the win?
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IWGP World and New Japan Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion Kyle Fletcher vs. Action Andretti - It seems as if Aussie Open's recent string of championship collection could extend into singles titles. On this past Wednesday night's Dynamite, Orange Cassidy retained his AEW International Championship for the 22nd time in a hard-fought encounter with Daniel Garcia only to be laid out backstage by one half of the IWGP World and New Japan Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions, Kyle Fletcher. While Fletcher and Aussie Open partner Mark Davis have already made it clear that they have their eyes on the AEW World Tag Team Championships currently held by FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler), Fletcher clearly has designs on Cassidy's title. Before he can get a shot at that, though, he is faced with the challenge of Action Andretti. Andretti comes into the match as a loser of two of his last three singles matches in AEW, having fallen to Juice Robinson and Sammy Guevara. A win over Fletcher would help him steady the ship, but the Sydney native is on a heater right now. Fletcher has won six straight matches of any kind since a trios loss late last month when the United Empire team of Fletcher, Davis and Jeff Cobb fell to The Mighty Don't Kneel's Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls. Can Andretti slow him down or will Fletcher keep rolling his way towards a shot at Cassidy?
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Toni Storm (w/ Ruby Soho and Saraya) vs. Allysin Kay - Before the Outcasts (Toni Storm, Ruby Soho and Saraya) face off with The Killer and The Pillar (AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD) and Hikaru Shida in a trios street fight on next week's Dynamite, Storm is faced with stiff competition on Rampage. Her opponent, making her AEW debut, is Allysin Kay. Kay is a decorated competitor with championships in numerous promotions. She's a former Impact Knockouts Champion and a former NWA Women's World Champion and has held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championships with Marti Belle as The Hex. Storm heads into the bout at 5-1 in her last six singles matches with the lone blemish coming in a Mar. 1 loss to fellow former AEW Women's World Champion Riho on Dynamite. While it might be tempting for Storm to look ahead to her match with archrivals Hayter and Baker next week, failing to give Kay her undivided attention could result in disaster for her. Will Storm pick up a win ahead of her grudge match or will Kay mark her AEW debut with the upset?
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The Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland and ROH World Six-Man Champion "The Machine" Brian Cage) (w/ Prince Nana) vs. The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) - While the recent merger of Swerve Strickland's Mogul Affiliates and Prince Nana's Embassy might have come as a surprise, it's undoubtedly made both entities more dangerous. Swerve's boundless ambition is now backed by the considerable power of Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona and Prince Nana now has himself a championship-calibre singles wrestler in Strickland. Championships are undoubtedly Swerve's end focus, but for now, there is the matter of Naturally Limitless ("The Natural" Dustin Rhodes and "Limitless" Keith Lee). Lee and Swerve managed to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championships, but the partnership didn't last, largely due to Strickland prioritizing himself. The clash between the former partners is long overdue at this point, but both men have backup now and a tag match also appears to be inevitable. Strickland can use Saturday night's encounter with the Dark Order's Alex Reynolds and John Silver as a tune-up and see just how he and the monstrous Cage can operate as a unit. Of course, Silver and Reynolds are no shrinking violets and have teamed together for over a decade. The chemistry that Swerve and Cage will need to develop is the kind that Silver and Reynolds already have in spades. Though Swerve and Cage have a distinct size and power advantage, Silver and Reynolds have the kind of heart and tenacity that few other teams in AEW possess. Which team will leave Saturday night with their hands raised and which team will end the night staring at the arena lights?
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PLUS:
- We will hear from the Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) about what's next for the former AEW World Tag Team Champions