Though I didn't know it at the time, I entered wrestling at the absolute worst possible time. It wasn't really my fault, just the nature of when I was born, but by 2010, when I first discovered the business through the SmackDown vs Raw games and replays of the Nexus angle, most of the important, industry-altering events were well in the past. Anything I learned about the enormity of wrestling was all framed in the past, like Goldberg's undefeated streak, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's rise to stardom, the death of the territories, or even the dual world title victories of Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Wrestling fans were growing more and more disinterested by the day, with the WWE in the creative doldrums, Ring of Honor losing every star they had grown, and TNA slowly withering after the woeful decision to challenge Vince McMahon on Monday nights. It really felt like wrestling might never truly matter again, but at the darkest hour, a single spark of light shown through: CM Punk. While you can create the creation of AEW largely to two men; Chris Jericho, who broke promotional lines to wrestle Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12, and Cody Rhodes, who took on the challenge of Dave Meltzer to create and promote All In, in my opinion, a significant chunk of AEW's success is owed to Punk. In his famous "Pipebomb" in 2011, Punk gave so many lapsed fans a voice, and a hero to latch onto. It's important to stress that Punk isn't perfect; yes, he's grouchy, yes, he struggles to listen to criticism, like most wrestlers, but Punk didn't have to be perfect. What he was was a shining beacon of hope, proving that the heart and soul of wrestling could still be felt, and proving that Vince McMahon wasn't the unimpeachable emperor of the business. For many years, it seemed like that beacon had gone out; in 2014, physically and mentally exhausted, Punk left the WWE and the industry at large, and while his reasons were understandable, it was hard for many to not see it as a betrayal. But Punk had experienced something we all had, at a point in our lives; frustration and depression. For 7 long years, CM Punk transformed into the incomprehensible. A legend, a myth, an icon, a pariah. History no longer existed in the past, it was shaped by the present, and as Vince continued to lose support, the seeds that Punk planted blossomed. For 7 long years, we watched, and we waited. On one magical night, our hero came home.
- The August 20th, 2021 edition of AEW Rampage comes to you from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Bulls and host of WWF SummerSlam 1994. WWE, when in the Chicago area, would generally always avoid the United Center, booking the Allstate Arena instead, which is cheaper and doesn't have any scheduling conflicts, plus has about as many seats. AEW making this selection in venue is a bold choice, as it was, and currently still remains, the largest venue they've ever ran. Almost 16,000 seats were available, and on the strength of reports flooding the internet heralding Punk's return to wrestling, AEW sold out the building in just four minutes. It's safe to say the needle was moved. Excalibur, Taz, and Mark Henry are joined on commentary by Jim Ross, as Chris Jericho is taking the week off to sell a loss in the main event of the previous episode of Dynamite.
- There was absolutely no point for AEW to pretend that Punk's debut in their company would be a surprise, I honestly don't think they ever wanted it to be, and making the fans wait for Punk had a chance to ruin the rest of the show, so let's get right to it. The first few seconds of airtime, after the intro video, are quickly filled with chants for Punk, and the building shakes for the opening bars of "Cult of Personality". It's going to be difficult for me to truly describe the first 20 or so minutes of this show, as Punk's return brought with it emotions that I can't properly convey. The now-iconic image of the crying fan in the crowd, reaching out to Punk, is probably the best visual summary of this moment, and even though I wasn't personally at that level, the enormity of the moment still knocks me to the floor, almost a month later. I loved that Punk couldn't keep himself from smiling, and his promo was absolutely perfect (sorry, Booker T). Punk dissects his past, taking a few shots at the WWE, but mostly focusing on why he left and why he's back. As someone who has listened to Punk's infamous appearance on Colt Cabana's podcast multiple times now, I can tell that Punk's a very different person. He's clearly much better off mentally, and seems more relaxed and jovial than I can ever recall. It's clear that his personality was just never going to mesh in the WWE system, and the freedom Tony Khan offers suits him so well. For what it's worth, this promo is as organic as it could be; Tony only wanted Punk to mention Darby Allin, and their match at All Out, with everything else left completely up to Punk. I though Punk put Darby and their match over really strong, running through some of the insane things Darby has done, before declaring that Darby would be in an even more dangerous situation, wrestling Punk in Chicago. The finishing touch of offering free ice cream bars to everyone in the arena was brilliant, a generous gift from Punk that also cleverly played off his legitimate push to try and bring back the WWE ice cream bars back in the day. I've heard they were delicious, too.
- Following that up is the tallest of tasks, but Private Party and the Jurassic Express did a splendid job trying, as the two teams face off in the first match of a mini-tournament. The winners would go on to face either the Lucha Bros or the Varsity Blondes next week on Rampage, with the winners of that match heading to All Out to challenge the Young Bucks for the tag titles in a Steel Cage match. Jungle Boy puts on a show in this one, walking the top rope early on, leaping off the back of Marq Quen to hit a dropkick, and deftly coordinating a heck of a spot with Isiah Kassidy, where Jungle Boy takes a Canadian Destroyer off the shoulders of Luchasaurus. You can tell all four guys are doing their damnedest to take advantage of the spotlight that has been afforded them, and might push a little too hard for spots at times, the most glaring miss coming from Marq Quen's springboard Shooting Star Press to the floor, which is as gorgeous as always from him but almost completely misses Luchasaurus. I did love Kassidy's energetic attempt to steal a win off the distraction from manager Matt Hardy, grabbing a huge handful of Jungle Boy's tights and gaining rope leverage, which worked as a convincing near fall. Jungle Boy countering the Gin and Juice with a Tornado DDT was impressive, and the finishing Jurassic Express tandem move, where Luchasaurus sends Quen flipping through the air, was the perfect exclamation point on this match.
- Jade Cargill is seemingly being built up for something big in the AEW women's division, and she certainly has an eye-catching look, though this short squash win over Kiera Hogan didn't do anything to show off any potential she might have. Hogan looked like a future star in Impact Wrestling, so it's disappointing to see her be thrown to the wolves like this, though at least she got in a big running lariat in the corner before falling to the Glam Slam (which is apparently called Jaded).
- Main event time, as Jon Moxley squares off Daniel Garcia, an impressive young technician who has made waves on the independent scene and is getting a solid midcard push here in AEW. Garcia's focus on crippling Moxley's knee was good, and he's incredibly smooth and convincingly stiff while on offense. Moxley was tremendous in this one, as unhinged as ever due to an attack by Garcia and his mates, 2.0 (Jeff Parker and Matt Lee, signed after being released from NXT), and a fiery Moxley might well be my favorite performer in the world. I loved Moxley egging Garcia on while being forearmed in the face, and the series of headbutts that followed were eye-watering, the type of stuff that'll put hair on your chest. The finish was great, Moxley fighting through what looked like a seated Sharpshooter by Garcia to snatch a Rear Naked Choke, quickly cinching back to force the tap. Darby Allin and Sting then send the crowd home happy, thwarting a post-match attack by 2.0, who take a double Stinger Splash, a Scorpion Death Drop, and a double Coffin Drop from Darby to end the night out right. The match was fun and an easy watch, and Darby gets put over strong heading into the biggest stage of his life. Before I end this review, I'd like to give a shout-out to "Wild Thing" as Moxley's entrance music, which I thought was far better than the generic rock theme he had before. I know that might be a hot take, but I love the song, and it's a perfect fit for a maniac like Moxley after deathmatch legend Atsushi Onita used it for so many years. I suppose you have to have an appreciation for puroresu to get behind an intimidating wrestler entering to J-pop, and luckily, I do.
10/10
What flaws can possibly be found on a night like this? This was one of the best hours of wrestling I've ever watched, possibly only rivaled by points during WrestleMania cards, and did it's job as well as any weekly wrestling show ever produced. The atmosphere was electric, Punk's return will go down as a transcendent moment in wrestling history, and the wrestling was quality, even if the matches were short. This is as good as it gets.
Next time on AEW Rampage: Jurassic Express fights the Lucha Brothers in a number one contender's match, and Christian Cage and Kenny Omega cross paths once more after trading short promos on this night. See you soon.
- Henry
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