CMLL stars in eight-man action on Rampage on TSN+
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Four CMLL stars make their AEW in-ring debuts in eight-man tag-team action. Plus, the Dark Order meets Ricky Starks and Big Bill in an AEW Tag Team Eliminator Match. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday sat 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
CMLL World Trios Champion Mistico, CMLL World Trios Champion Volador Jr., NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion Mascara Dorado 2.0 and Hechicero vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand Ang" Angelo Parker - We knew some of the stars of CMLL were headed to AEW, but we didn't know it was going to be this soon. On this past Wednesday night's Dynamite, Mistico, Volador Jr., Mascara Dorada and Hechicero were seated at ringside to watch Jon Moxley take on Jeff Hardy. At one point during the match, the action spilled to the outside and Moxley exchanged words with the quartet of luchadors. After Moxley was victorious, the argument continued and it broke down into a brawl as the four men jumped Moxley. With the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club ("The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA) not in the building, Moxley was outnumbered until the intervention of Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, who arrived to even the odds. Now on Rampage, those four men take on the CMLL crew in what should be a very entertaining match. Of the eight man in Friday night's match, only three have shared a ring together before. Mistico defeated Sydal by countout in a Monday Night RAW match in 2011. Then at a New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best of the Super Juniors show in 2018, the team of Sydal, KUSHIDA and Richochet defeated Volador Jr., Tiger Mask and Jushin "Thunder" Liger in a six-man match. The quartet from CMLL will obviously be looking to make a statement on Friday night, but must also be aware that Jon Moxley isn't a man who forgets quickly. Can the CMLL team pick up a big win before Mox and the BCC come looking for a receipt?
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AEW Tag Team Title Eliminator Match: AEW World Tag Team Champions "Absolute" Ricky Starks and Big Bill vs. The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) - The AEW Rankings returned at the end of January and at No. 2 on the tag-team side were John Silver and Alex Reynolds. While that ranking wasn't enough to get the duo a title shot at Ricky Starks and Big Bill, it did earn them a Tag Team Title Eliminator Match. So the stakes for the Dark Order on Friday are simple - beat Starks and Bill and earn a title match against them down the road. What could work in their favour is a pair of distracted champions. On Dynamite this Wednesday, Starks and Bill are set to defend their titles against the undefeated team of "The Icon" Sting and Darby Allin. This past Wednesday night, Starks made it crystal clear how personal this upcoming defence was for him and the last thing he would need right now is to be embarrassed by Reynolds and Silver. But this Dark Order team is talented enough that the smallest opening from a preoccupied opponent is all they need to take advantage. Should Silver and Reynolds win Friday's match, they would earn the first tag title shot in nearly two years. Will Dark Order set up a date with gold or will the champs send a message to Sting and Allin?
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Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) vs. Top Flight (Dante Martin and Darius Martin) (w/ Action Andretti) - Private Party made their long-awaited return to action on the Jan. 17 edition of Dynamite with a victory over Top Flight. The match was Marq Quen's first since November of 2022 and while it was great to see Private Party back in action, the victory was a tainted one. Quen was able to pin Darius Martin, but he had the help of the ropes to do so. On commentary, Excalibur and Taz were unsure if this was deliberate or just instinct that kicked in, but either way, the Martins couldn't have been too pleased with the way that match ended for them. They get a shot at retribution on Friday night when the two teams run it back. What also might be sticking in the Martin brothers' craw is that the win for Private Party helped propel them into the AEW Rankings at No. 4 in the tag-team division. Top Flight was unranked. Friday night's rematch might also shed some light on whether or not Quen's choice to cheat last month was deliberate or not. If Private Party once again looks for shortcuts against the Martins, you can be sure it absolutely was. Can Private Party make it two in a row or will Top Flight get their win back against Kassidy and Quen?
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Willow Nightingale (w/ Kris Statlander) vs. Queen Aminata - You've heard this before, but Queen Aminata is close to a breakthrough in AEW. The Guinean competitor has had a series of good showings in recent weeks, but she just hasn't been able to get over the hump. Since the end of December, Aminata has pushed the likes of Skye Blue, Mariah May, Thunder Rosa, Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander to their limits, but has walked away with a loss each time. On Friday night, she'll have another opportunity to chase that elusive victory when she meets another of the AEW women's division's top competitors in Willow Nightingale. While the two have never met in AEW before, they have faced off as opponents once before in their careers. In 2021, Nightingale defeated Aminata in a match for the Capital Championship Wrestling promotion in Delaware. While that means the two aren't strangers, a lot has changed in three years and Aminata knows she's getting close to that big win. Nightingale is undoubtedly aware of what Aminata brings to the table and the kind of form she's been in in recent weeks, so she'll be extra vigilant to ensure an upset isn't on the cards. Will Aminata finally earn a big victory or will it once again be close, but no cigar?