Nightingale, Takagi in action on Rampage on TSN+
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Willow Nightingale meets Serena Deeb in an Owen Hart Foundation Cup quarter-final match. Plus, New Japan Pro-Wrestling superstar Shingo Takagi is in action. You can catch AEW Rampage on Friday at 10pm et/7pm pt streaming on TSN+.
Owen Hart Foundation Cup quarter-final match: Willow Nightingale vs. "The Professor" Serena Deeb - It's almost impossible to provide Willow Nightingale any more motivation for her Owen Hart Foundation Cup matchup with Serena Deeb than what she already has. If it weren't enough that Nightingale is the 2023 Owen winner and could become the first person to win the tournament in consecutive years, the 2024 winner earns an AEW Women's World Championship shot at All In at Wembley Stadium in August. And if that weren't enough, a win against Deeb on Friday night means that Nightingale would face former friend-turned-archrival Kris Statlander in the semis. Statlander advanced to the final four on Wednesday night's Dynamite with an impressive victory over "The Native Beast" Nyla Rose. After Statlander turned on Nightingale following the loss of her TBS Championship to Mercedes Moné at Double or Nothing last month, Nightingale has been waiting to get her shot at payback and winning on Friday night is the fastest way to do that. But Deeb won't be a pushover. Still smarting from her AEW Women's World Championship loss to "Timeless" Toni Storm at Double or Nothing, Deeb knows that winning this tournament is her fastest way back up the mountain and she'll do anything to ensure another shot at that championship that has eluded her. Friday night's match will be the first-ever singles meeting between the two women. Can Nightingale set up her date for revenge or will Deeb take one step closer to another title shot?
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TNT Championship qualifying match: Lio Rush vs. Action Andretti - Two of the industry's premier high-flyers take to the ring with a shot at gold on the line when Lio Rush meets Action Andretti in a TNT Championship qualifying match. The winner will move on to take part in the six-way ladder match for the vacant TNT Championship at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 30. The title became vacant when "The Rated-R Superstar" Adam Copeland broke his leg during his cage match defence against Malakai Black at Double or Nothing. Thus far, "The Scapegoat" Jack Perry, "The Alpha" Konosuke Takeshita, ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe and Dante Martin have qualified for the match. Both Andretti and Rush will feel like they are tailor-made for a ladder match and will do their best to outdo the other. While Friday night's match will be the first time these two men have met in AEW, it will not be their first-ever meeting. Rush and Andretti faced off in the summer of 2021 in Maryland Championship Wrestling where Rush successfully retained his MCW Rage Television Championship by disqualification. Much has changed in three years and each man will be eager to show the other that he's taking on a far different opponent on Friday night. One thing is for certain - this match will take place at breakneck speed. Which of these two men will advance to the ladder match?
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Shingo Takagi vs. A.R. Fox - Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi makes his AEW singles debut on Friday night when he takes on A.R. Fox. The Los Ingobernables de Japon member is gearing up for a dream match in the Owen Hart Foundation Cup at next weekend's Forbidden Door against "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. Friday night's match will be the first time Takagi is back in the ring since dropping the NEVER Openweight Championship to HENARE at last week's New Japan Pro-Wrestling Soul show. Friday night's match won't be the first time that Takagi and Fox have done battle, but it will be the first in quite some time. The two men crossed paths on a number of occasions in Dragon Gate where Takagi was one of the promotion's most decorated champions. During his time in Dragon Gate, Takagi held the Open the Dream Gate Championship, the company's top title, on four occasions. Not only did Fox and Takagi do battle in the past, the two also teamed up on a number of occasions. Only once did they have a singles match and that came back in 2011. Takagi was a victor over Fox in Kagawa. Friday night's match marks first in AEW since November and his first appearance on Rampage since February of 2023. Will Fox make his return a successful one or will Takagi let Danielson know what he's up against?
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Private Party ("Brother Zay" Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) vs. Metalik and Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes) - Back in action on Rampage, Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen are looking to bounce back ahead of a big match on Collision. The duo will take on the luchador team of Metalik and Komander on Friday night before meeting For the World Champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho and "The Redwood" Big Bill on Saturday night. On the June 7 show, Private Party fell to the Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) and are looking for their first ever victory on Rampage. Private Party has not won on the show in 11 matches. They hope that changes this week with a match against Jericho and Big Bill in the immediate future. Kassidy and Quen have run afoul of Jericho, Bill and "The Bounty Hunter" Bryan Keith in recent weeks after turning down the chance to sit under Jericho's Learning Tree and embarrassing the eight-time world champion on the June 12 edition of Dynamite. Still, Kassidy and Quen can ill afford to take their focus off the challenge of Metalik and Komander who will give them all they can handle with their combination of speed and agility. Which of these two teams will come out on top?
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PLUS:
- Rey Fenix (w/ Alex Abrahantes) is in action