All Elite Weekly – Rated FTR edition – 23/12/24 – 29/12/24
Happiest of holidays everyone and welcome to the absolutely strange time of year between Christmas and New Years. We have a wild journey this for AEW as we went into the historic Hammerstein Ballroom as well as ending the week in Orlando for Worlds End. Let’s get right into the details.
DYNAMITE
RESULTS
This week we are on a taped episode of Dynamite due to the Christmas holidays, but we are coming to you from the historic Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and a returning Taz are on the call for this one
C2 Gold League – Brody King vs Will Ospreay
We are kicking off this show with an absolute monster of a match and the crowd is hot tonight. Ospreay has his work cut out for him here as he takes on the big dog from the HOB. During the match, King and Ospreay battle around the ringside area for a bit and give everyone in attendance a show. The match is extremely solid and both men seem to be able to work really well together and Brody shows that he can hang with the “flippy” guy. Ospreay manages to hit a Styles Clash on Brody as well as two Hidden Blades before finally putting the big man down with the Storm Breaker.
Winner – Will Ospreay
C2 Gold League – Ricochet vs Darby Allin
The start of this match was a slower pace than you expect from Darby, but it does eventually pick up and we get the usual action from him. Ricochet is not loved by this crowd, and it shows with how toilet paper was thrown at him. Excellent showing of both men’s skills throughout the match but this really went down to the wire.
Winner – No Contest
C2 Gold League – Claudio Castagnoli vs Komander
Before the match starts, Darby whispers something into Komander’s ear as he is heading down the ramp and we will find out later in the match exactly what he said. This match looks like it could be an easy win for Claudio who will utilize the size difference between them. Komander tries to use his aerial skills to take advantage in the match, but Claudio is not having any of it. Clauido sends Komander to the outside and we find out what Darby whispered to Komander as he goes under the ring and grabs Darby’s jacket and pulls out the brass knuckles from the pocket. Komander clocks Claudio with the knucks and a top rope Shooting Star for the win.
Winner – Komander
C2 Blue League – Kazuchika Okada vs Shelton Benjamin
An absolute solid wrestling match here. No frills attached. The pacing was a little slower than expected, however it suited the match in the end. There is a reason Okada is a tournament king, and he showed it in this one
Winner – Kazuchika Okada
Taya Valkyrie vs Toni Strom
The rookie – Toni Storm is here and the crowd are so happy to see it. Taya starts off the match with a few cheap shots only for the crowd to start a “she’s a rookie” chant. Toni secures the win with a roll up
Winner – Toni Storm
C2 Blue League – Daniel Garcia vs Kyle Fletcher
Fletcher is a god damn star and AEW is doing everything right in portraying him that way. This was by far the MOTN here on Dynamite and they could easily run this back in the future with the TNT Championship on the line. Garcia tried his best in this one, but Fletcher was just too damn good for him
Winner – Kyle Fletcher
My Thoughts
AEW has had a problem with their PPV lead in shows over the past few months, but this was completely different. This show felt like the pacing was perfect and that the matches on the show continued to tell a story leading into the big show. The smaller Hammerstein Ballroom was absolutely perfect for this show as well as it was intimate enough but also gave that classic ECW / ROH style vibe. I love what we are getting from Toni Storm with this “rookie” character, and I am sure it will pay off when the time comes. For me this was probably one of the best Dynamite’s of the year and it really felt like AEW has found what made them special.
RAMPAGE
RESULTS
We are once again taped due to the Christmas break, but we are coming to you from the Hammerstein Ballroom for the final Rampage of 2024 as well as the final Rampage for the foreseeable future.
Chris Jericho vs Anthony Bowens
Bowens is getting a chance to show his skills here against Jericho in what could potentially lead to a ROH World Title shot in the future. Unfortunately, it was a standard paint by numbers style match with the dodgy finish including Caster hitting his own partner in the face with the ROH World Title.
Winner – Chris Jericho
Private Party vs Alec Price / Leo Sparrow
A relatively quick outing for the tag champs here. Nothing too special in this match.
Winners – Private Party
Thunder Rosa vs Leila Grey
A mainly dominant showing by Rosa through this one. Leila got some minor offense in but not enough to warrant her walking out with the win.
Winner – Thunder Rosa
Nick Wayne vs HOOK
A decent main event from the young guys of AEW. Hook was wearing a cast for this match and Wayne targeted it early. The Patriarchy get involved in the match, but we still have some decent action. Eventually, Hook manages to lock in Red Rum for the submission
Winner – HOOK
My Thoughts
A lack luster card for the final Rampage, however the show ended perfectly with DeathRiders taking care of “destroying” the show.
WORLDS END ZERO HOUR
RESULTS
Toni Storm vs Deonna Purrazzo
The young and upcomer, Toni Storm is getting her chance to be on a big card. Even if it is the pre-show. A decent performance between both ladies. Toni is really playing into this amnesia story, and it is brilliant.
Winner – Toni Storm
Jeff Jarrett vs QT Marshall
Not an overly exciting match, but you don’t really expect all out bangers from JJ and QT at this point in their careers.
Winner – Jeff Jarrett
Outrunners / Top Flight vs Murder Machines / Action Andretti / Lio Rush
This match was to get the guys on the show. Action and Lio are looking to make themselves those cocky and slimy style of heel team. Even their tag partners were not happy with them at the end of the match.
Winners – Action Andretti / Lio Rush / Murder Machines
WORLDS END
RESULTS
Worlds End is the final major event for AEW in 2024 and is coming to us live from the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando. We have a jam-packed house and are going to kick it off with the semifinals of the C2.
Continental Classic Semi Final 1 – Will Ospreay vs Kyle Fletcher
An unbelievable opening match to start off this show. Ospreay is busted opened up early and wears the crimson mask for almost the entire match. Fletcher proved why he is definitely going to be a big name in the coming years, and you could feel that this rivalry still has plenty of fuel left in its tank.
Winner – Will Ospreay
Continental Classic Semi Final 2 – Kazuchika Okada vs Ricochet
Okada did not come here to mess around. We got to witness the NJPW version of Okada here and part of the reason he is a tournament warrior. Ricochet’s mocking of the fans cost him in the end.
Winner – Kazuchika Okada
AEW Women’s World Championship – Tijuana Street Fight – Thunder Rosa vs Mariah May
A gimmick match for gimmick matches sake. However not the worst of gimmick matches. The staple of any gimmick match, thumbtacks were brought into play via a pinata.
Winner – Mariah May
Dynamite Diamond Ring – MJF vs Adam Cole
A feud that has been over a year in the making, even though some fans are confused on the stances of both men. This was a good quality blow off match for the two and of course there were some shenanigans at play here.
Winner – MJF
AEW International Championship – Konosuke Takeshita vs Powerhouse Hobbs
A meaty fest of meat. Hobbs and Takeshita put on a powerhouse (excuse the pun) display. There were some scary moments where things could have gone wrong, but they managed to pull it together in the end.
Winner – Konosuke Takeshita
AEW TBS Championship – Mercedes Mones vs Kris Statlander
Mercedes is definitely not a fan favourite in AEW and the crowd let her know it. She does however now hold the record along with Statlander for the longest women’s match in AEW. This was probably the best showing Mercedes has had and it is great that Statlander is able to bring it out of her.
Winner – Mercedes Mone
AEW Continental Classic Championship – Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay
Ospreay came into this match already injured and lacking, but he did not disappoint. This was a NJPW classic type of match on American soil, and it was worth every second of it. The respect that these two men have for each other’s careers really showed here and it was nothing short of being MOTN.
Winner – Kazuchika Okada
AEW World Heavyweight Championship – Jon Moxley vs Orange Cassidy – Jay White – Hangman Page
If you were hoping for an all-out war here, unfortunately you will be a little let down. White, Cassidy and Hangman do team up for a while to try to curb the common threat of Mox but that doesn’t last long once they put him through a table.
We get DeathRiders interfering in the match and taking the fight to the crowd. Mox has had the back of his head busted open from the table spot and it definitely affected him. We do get a wild spot where White hits the Bladerunner on Marina before being taken out by Yuta.
Winner – Jon Moxley
Aftermath
After the match, Claudio and Yuta putting the boots to White and try to put his head inside a chair for their now traditional take-out spot. That is until FTR’s music hits and they come out and stop at the top of the ramp.
The lights go out and we get a new graphic on the screen showing RATED FTR as Metallingus hits the speakers and Adam Copeland is back.
All three men run to the ring, and we get a brawl between RATED FTR and DeathRiders. Mox and Copeland stand face to face before a spear to Moxley and a crossface with a piece of a chair.
Yuta pulls Mox from the ring and Copeland gets a microphone and calls Mox a kid and says this Wednesday on Dynamite it’s RATED FTR vs DeathRiders.
My Thoughts
AEW is always amazing when it comes to PPV and this was no different. The main event did feel like it was more of furthering the DeathRiders angle, but that is not to say that it was bad. The returns of Kenny Omega and Adam Copeland felt right and were perfectly timed for what they needed to do. The Continental Classic delivered yet again, and it really didn’t feel like there was a super bad match on the card.
Hello, I’m Scott aka RAZ. I’ve been an avid wrestling fan for over 30 years and have dabbled in both the world or pro wrestling and music. Previously commentated for Iron Fist Pro in South Australia, I now focus on more of the mainstream wrestling and run a few shows on YouTube where I breakdown the most recent happenings. Glad to be part of the team here at PWdownunder.com.
