AEW Rampage and Collision results: Copeland challenges Cage, Yuta wins Pure Title, Dante Martin returns, Continental Classic Blue League kicks off

November 25, 2023 Neal Flanagan NEWS, Show Reports
Image Courtesy: AEW

AEW put a three-hour block of live programming up against stiff competition from the WWE Survivor Series on Saturday night.

AEW Rampage was shifted from its regular Friday spot by the NHL game between Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild. Instead, both it and AEW Collision aired live back-to-back from 7 pm ET at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

AEW Rampage

● Rampage opened with Hook defeating Rocky Romero with the Red Rum after a competitive match.

● Former TBS Champion Kris Statlander then got back to winning ways with a victory over Diamanté. Mercedes Martinez was at ringside. She and Diamanté attacked Statlander after the bell, with Willow Nightingale running out to make the save.

● The Kingdom were in action next. Mike Bennett and Matt Taven cut a promo about “No Neck November” on the way to the ring. Taven also said that MJF is The Devil and that The Kingdom were coming for the ROH Tag Team Championships. They then quickly defeated local talents Ganon Jones Jr. and Duke Davis.

● The main event saw Katsuyori Shibata lose his ROH Pure Championship to Wheeler Yuta in the match of the show. The pure rules judging panel consisted of Christopher Daniels, Jimmy Jacobs and Jerry Lynn.

It was an excellent example of the pure rules concept, with heel Yuta quickly using up his warning for a punch to the head to disrupt Shibata’s early mat-based dominance. A ref bump allowed Yuta to hit a low blow and and a DDT to win the title. As he continued to attack Shibata after the bell, HOOK came out to help.

AEW Collision

● Collision began with the usual promos to camera, and then straight into the first match of the Continental Classic Blue league. Claudio Castagnoli and Daniel Garcia kicked off the show with a treat for AEW fans who resisted the lure of Survivor Series. Castagnoli won the competitive match with the Ricola Bomb.

● The former Luchasaurus then made his in-ring debut as Killswitch, making short work of both The Boys in a two-on-one match.

● After the bell, Killswitch continued the attack until Adam Copeland appeared with a chair and took the dinosaur out with a series of shots and a ConChairTo. When Killswitch stirred, Copeland hit him with a kerb stomp and a second ConChairTo.

● After a commercial break, a furious Copeland cut a promo direct to Christian Cage into a backstage camera. He said he would change Christian’s soul. He challenged him to a match for the TNT Championship on Wednesday, December 6th at Dynamite in Montreal.

● The House of Black’s Buddy Matthews and Malakai Black defeated the team of Komander and Gravity in a very entertaining tag match. Matthews got the eventual pin on Komander.

● Darius Martin and Action Andretti were shown backstage. They were joined by the returning Dante Martin, who simply said, “I’m back.”

● The TBS Champion Julia Hart was in action next in a House Rules match with Lady Frost. It was clarified before the bell that the stipulation would be no count-outs. Hart submitted Frost with the Hartless submission.

● Lexi Nair was backstage with Powerhouse Hobbs and Don Callis. Callis wanted to know why Omega and Jericho got a tag team title shot. Hobbs said he was big, black and jacked, and was coming after both the Tag Champions.

● FTR vs. The Righteous was next. Despite The Righteous getting in a lot of offense, especially via Dutch’s size, Wheeler and Harwood prevailed with a Shatter Machine on Vincent. After the bell, Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews returned. Malakai said the House of Black could come to the ring and no one would save FTR, not even CM Punk. In the end, they left after the lights went out briefly.

● Tony Schiavone interviewed AEW Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks and Big Bill in the ring. Schiavone wanted to know why they attacked Chris Jericho. Big Bill said the Golden Jets were more like the Golden Girls. He then cut a babyface-type promo about beating alcohol addiction and making it back to the top.

● We got promos from Wednesday’s Continental Classic Gold League competitors.

● Next up was Keith Lee vs. Lee Moriarty. Pittsburgh native Moriarty got a nice reception on his way out. There was to be no upset, however, as Keith Lee got the victory despite taking some punishment via quick strikes from Moriarty.

● Next Wednesday’s Continental Classic Gold League matches were announced for Dynamite. They are: Mark Briscoe vs. Rush; Jay White vs. Swerve Strickland; and Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal.

● Keith Lee said he was tired of misrepresentation and mistreatment, and was coming for “him”.

● The main event saw the second match in the Continental Classic Blue League, between Eddie Kingston and Brody King. Before the bell, Nigel McGuinness confirmed that Kingston had “effectively relinquished” the ROH World Championship and NJPW STRONG Openweight Title.

It was a hard-hitting match that spilled out of the ring at times, and included the expected high number of heavy chops. Kingston worked underdog for much of the match, effectively selling the larger opponent’s size and power. 

A brutal chop battle swung the momentum back to Kingston, who hit a series of suplexes but only for a near-fall. Kingston then took a piledriver, but the count was interrupted as his leg was under the rope. The reprieve was temporary, though, as King was able to hit the Gonzo Bomb for the pinfall.

AEW Rampage results, November 25th

  • Hook def. Rocky Romero
  • Kris Statlander def. Diamanté
  • The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) def. Ganon Jones Jr. & Duke Davis
  • ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta def. Katsuyori Shibata (c)

AEW Collision results, November 25th

  • Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli def. Daniel Garcia
  • Handicap Match: Killswitch def. The Boys
  • Malakai Black & Buddy Matthews def. Komander & Gravity
  • TBS Championship (House Rules – no count-outs): Julia Hart (c) def. Lady Frost
  • FTR def. The Righteous
  • Keith Lee def. Lee Moriarty
  • Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King def. Eddie Kingston

Announced for AEW Dynamite, November 29th

  • AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Mark Briscoe vs. Rush
  • AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Swerve Strickland
  • AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal
About Neal Flanagan 1100 Articles
Based in Northern Ireland, Neal Flanagan is a former newspaper journalist and copy editor. In addition to reporting for POST Wrestling, he co-hosts The Wellness Policy podcast with Wai Ting and Jordan Goodman.
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