AEW Rampage Preview for April 28th, 2023

This past Wednesday night's edition of DYNAMITE was loaded with plenty of underhanded activity; MJF and Sammy Guevara did their best to insure that “The Spanish God” won the Four Pillars Tournament, shafting Darby Allin in the process, but also setting up a huge tag match for next week's show in Baltimore. Jeff Jarrett and company screwed over Dax Harwood, Jade Cargill and her entourage cost Taya Valkyrie her TBS Championship opportunity, and of course The Jericho Appreciation Society tried to play their numbers game against Adam Cole in lieu of Jericho actually getting physically involved with Cole, but instead they were met with the arrival of Roderick Strong to All Elite Wrestling!

Wednesday night's excitement continues on Friday when RAMPAGE comes your way this week at the special broadcast time of 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences! Before the action gets underway, pay a visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest from AEW DARK, ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH...

Jay White & Juice Robinson vs. Ricky Starks & Shawn Spears

Jay White and Juice Robinson, collectively referring to themselves as BULLET CLUB GOLD, have taken a particular interest in making “Absolute” Ricky Starks' life hell over the last several weeks. They laid waste to Starks when “Switchblade” arrived on the scene, and they attempted to do the same to Shawn Spears following White's victory over Komander.

It was only the timely arrival of Starks that saved “The Chairman” from serious injury, and it's only the fact they've got shared foes which is bringing Starks and Spears together for this tag team affair. They aren't pretending to be friends, they aren't trying to build a tag team, they just want to punch Jay and Juice in the face repeatedly, and will work together to make that happen this Friday night on RAMPAGE.

This BULLET CLUB GOLD tandem is only just beginning to make waves in AEW, just as Shawn Spears is only just beginning to rebuild his All Elite career after being away from the grand stage to focus on his family, and Starks was hoping to continue building on his victories over Chris Jericho coming out of REVOLUTION 2023 en route to championship successes.

So will The BC GOLD duo make an impact in their first match in AEW as a team, and their first since October 28th of last year? Or will the makeshift duo of Starks and Spears stop any Club momentum before it gets out of the gate?

NATURALLY LIMITLESS...

“The Natural” Dustin Rhodes and “Limitless” Keith Lee are just beginning to scratch the surface of their potential as a team, and though they'll be in action this Friday night during RAMPAGE, they've got to keep in mind that some ghosts are still haunting, specifically that of Swerve Strickland.

Even though it seemed Lee had decided to move on, clearly Swerve has decided that he's not finished with his former championship partner, and now that he's merges Mogul Affiliates with Prince Nana's Embassy, there are so many resources at hand to throw at Keith Lee and likely his newest ally as well. Come Friday night, Rhodes and Lee will have to stay focused on the task at hand, winning this tag team bout, and worry about what Swerve may do after the fighting is done.

THE ACCLAIMED & DADDY ASS...

Daddy Ass, Anthony Bowens, and Max Caster have a lot on their minds after everything that has happened over the last two months, starting with losing their AEW World Tag Team Championship to The Gunns and escalating to the explosive events with The Jericho Appreciation Society. They've certainly got a lot going through their heads, and a lot of frustration to take out as well! We shall see what's stewing in their camp this Friday night on RAMPAGE!

ONE-ON-ONE...

Anna Jay A.S. vs. Ashley D’Amboise

Anna Jay A.S. has been quite wrapped up in business with The House of Black's Julia Hart over the last several weeks, ever since The Jericho Appreciation Society and The Elite challenged The House for the World Trios Championship last month. The interaction between the two women during that Three Way Title bout has spun out into a heated rivalry, one in which “The Black Hart” scored first blood on April 7th, defeating Anna in their first singles collision.

Anna would retaliate following Julia's victory over Kiera Hogan, but now she must focus on her own battles separate from the issues with Hart, as this Friday night Anna Jay A.S. will go one-on-one with a very game Ashley D'Amboise. Ashley hasn't scored a win in her AEW tenure, but she's demonstrated the potential to evolve into a threat within the division, all it takes is that first big victory to get the ball rolling, and if Anna is distracted by her House issues, this could be D'Amboise's opportunity!

SINGLES BOUT...

AEW World Tag Team Champion Cash Wheeler vs. Jay Lethal

***Special Enforcer: Mark Briscoe***

Well, to the surprise of none, Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh did whatever they needed to do in order to score a victory over Dax Harwood on Wednesday night, and it is clear by The Last Outlaw's antics after the match, that he and Lethal have the AEW World Tag Team Championship on their minds.

Knowing that, Cash Wheeler will enter into rare singles competition this Friday evening on RAMPAGE, taking on the other half of that contingent, Jay Lethal. Cash hasn't competed in a one-on-one battle since meeting Jeff Cobb last June, and the only other singles bout he's had in AEW was against his own partner as part of the 2022 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

But that doesn't mean Cash is just going to lay down facing as accomplished a singles combatant as Jay Lethal, if anything it's likely going to make him fight even harder, knowing that even with Mark Briscoe serving as an enforcer, he'll still be fighting great odds with Satnam, Jarrett, and Dutt shadowing Lethal. Should Cash pull out this victory, it puts the two teams even in their singles collisions, but if Lethal scores the “W”, then he and Double J have an excellent case for being owed an AEW World Tag Team Championship opportunity.

This week RAMPAGE comes a bit earlier on Friday night with the broadcast beginning at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT, well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW's international fans, so before the afternoon festivities begin, visit by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from previous editions of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest from AEW DARK, ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!