AEW Rampage Preview for April 8, 2022

Wednesday night on Dynamite, fans finally witnessed the rematch between FTR and The Young Bucks, only this time instead of the AEW World Tag Team Titles on the line, it was BOTH the AAA and Ring of Honor Tag Team Titles up for grabs! The fight was every bit the instant classic fans had hoped for, an absolute must-see, and a defining moment for Cash and Dax as they defeated Matt and Nick to retain their two championships!

In addition, Captain Shawn Dean upset Shawn Spears in part thanks to Wardlow's distraction, Adam Page challenged Adam Cole to a Texas Death Match for the AEW World Title, Samoa Joe was the first man to qualify for the Men's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, and the Kingston/Ortiz/Santana trio (after throwing some fists and TVs) had some words for The Jericho Appreciation Society!

Now come Friday night, Rampage is bringing to fans both Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley in singles competition against Trent and Yuta respectively, the Women's Owen Hart Tournament Qualifiers continues, and plenty more on tap! It is coming your way at 10:00pm EST/9:00pm CST, and also at AEWPlus.com for our international audience! So prior to Friday night, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel and get up to speed with Dynamite highlights, as well as the latest episodes of Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, Road To, and the latest Control Center with Tony Schiavone!

BLACKPOOL SINGLES MATCHES...

“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Trent Beretta

Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta

Much to the chagrin of his friends in The Best Friends contingent, the people who really brought him not just into AEW, but wrestling as a whole, Wheeler Yuta has been making eyes at the Blackpool Combat Club. It started when Bryan Danielson mentioned Yuta's name as part of his pitch to Moxley prior to Revolution 2022, grew stronger after Yuta and Chuck Taylor's tag match with The BCC led to Wheeler being slapped across the face by Regal, and became an undeniable desire for Yuta after his fight with Danielson on Dynamite. Yuta had clearly raised the interests of William Regal, Mox, and Danielson, so much so that Regal said he would be keeping an eye on Wheeler challenging Josh Woods for the ROH Pure Title at Supercard of Honor 2022.

That night, knowing some important eyes were upon him, Yuta stepped up his game to the next level and dethroned “The Technical Beast” live on pay-per-view. Between that championship fight, the match with Bryan, and Yuta's guts to step into the face of Regal after the slap, it was safe to say Wheeler had impressed two-thirds of The BCC, but as The Rogue himself said in the above interview, there was still Jon Moxley.

Mox and Yuta have had two prior matches, but won by the former AEW World Champion, and the first ending in a humiliating forty-seven seconds for the young Yuta. The second go saw Yuta put up a much stronger fight, lasting nearly eight minutes before he succumbed to AEW's Purveyor of Violence, and that fight was after a last minute change to events put Yuta back in the ring with Jon. This third dance though, this time there is so much more on the line for Yuta, because this his chance to really prove to The BCC what he has inside, what kind of violence he can dig out from his guts to show he belongs breathing their rarified air. And Wheeler wants that, he wants to be with the best, to learn from the best, and become better himself as a result. The best way to do that is to go to war with the best, and ride with the best, but in this case, that does not mean best friends.

And that is where Trent Beretta comes into the equation for this fight with Bryan Danielson, their first time in the ring together in eleven years, and just their second ever one-on-one match. See Trent has made it expressly clear on multiple occasions he did not want Wheeler Yuta around in the first place, and now this situation with The Blackpool Combat Club has just reinforced Beretta's feeling. It was obvious to anyone with eyes or ears that Trent merely tolerated Yuta's presence because of Chuck and Orange, but now, with Yuta looking elsewhere for his knowledge, Trent feels validated in what he's thought since day one. But as a result of what Yuta is doing, Trent is now wrapped up in a fight he didn't ask for, but he damn sure will not shy away from taking. It's a rare singles match for Trent, and even though he's faced Moxley, Penta, and Jay White (among other) in those, this one may be the toughest fight of them all.

It's The Blackpool Combat Club in singles competition as Jon Moxley battles Wheeler Yuta in the main event, while Bryan Danielson and Trent Beretta will kick off the night's action! Will Wheeler take that final step in proving himself to The BCC? Will Trent slay the Dragon? Tune in Friday night to watch two top shelf contests between four of the best athletes in All Elite Wrestling!

OWEN HART FOUNDATION WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT QUALIFIER...

Red Velvet vs. Willow Nightingale

The field for the Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament continues to grow as former AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida earned her spot after besting Julia Hart on Wednesday night. This Friday, two more athletes will fight it out to qualify for participation in the tournament that officially kicks off in Long Island on May 11th.

After impressing against Mercedes Martinez at ROH's Supercard of Honor 2022, as well as in her previous AEW appearances, Willow Nightingale has earned a shot at joining Toni Storm, Jamie Hayter, and Shida in the tournament, all she has to do is make it past one opponent. Unfortunately for Willow, that foe happens to be one of the most successful, and prolific, competitors on the Women's roster in Red Velvet.

Within the division, Red is only second behind Nyla Rose in total number of matches, she's in the top five for most overall wins, and just outside that top five for most singles wins. There's a clear, strong case to be made with Red Velvet's AEW career that she deserves to be spoken of alongside the likes of AEW Women's World Champion Thunder Rosa, Nyla Rose, Dr. Britt Baker, and Kris Statlander, as the dominant ones in the division, she just needs that statement victory to drive the point home. Winning the entire Owen Hart Foundation Tournament would be exactly that kind of victory, but first Red has to qualify for the field, and that means getting past Willow on Friday night.

Can Willow score a statement victory of her own at Red Velvet's expense, or will it be Red who rises to the top in pursuit of the prize at the end of this road?

ONE-ON-ONE...

Swerve Strickland vs. QT Marshall

QT Marshall and Swerve Strickland have one thing in common; people around Taz do not like either of them. HOOK dispatched Marshall at Revolution 2022 after tolerating all manner of trash talk from his “trainer” for weeks on end. FTW Champion Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs have their issues with Strickland that stem from nothing more than jealousy and marking their territory, and as clearly seen in the video above, the Team Taz pair have no problem trying to sneak one over Swerve. Thankfully Keith Lee is there to show Strickland some support when needed, and he will likely have his eye on this one for some dirty tactics as well given that Ricky Starks and Taz will be sitting at commentary for Rampage.

But it's not like QT doesn't have his own goons for Strickland to worry about; be it Aaron Solo or Nick Comoroto, there always seems to be at least one person on Marshall's side of the ring to try and sway the fight in their trainer's favor. Still, fighting the odds is nothing new to Swerve, he's been doing it on some level his entire career, and Friday night will be no different when he and QT go one-on-one for the first time ever!

The Rampage action gets started Friday night at 10:00pm EST/9:00pm CST on TNT, as well as on AEWPlus.com for international audiences, and features the continuation of the Women's Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, the Blackpool Combat Club members in singles competitions, and plenty more for your viewing pleasure! And be sure to hit up the official AEW YouTube channel for Dynamite highlights, as well as the latest episodes of Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, Road To, and the latest Control Center with Tony Schiavone!