AEW Rampage recap & reactions (July 5, 2024): Mariah May advances to Owen Hart Cup final

AEW Rampage (July 5, 2024) emanated from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. The Beach Break special featured Mariah May advancing to the Owen Hart Cup tournament final, Rush bonding with Don Callis over hatred flowing through their veins, and more.

Let’s jump right in with a recap followed by reactions.

Excalibur and Tony Schiavone were on commentary with Don Callis and Roderick Strong cycling in. Arkady Aura handled ring announcer duties.

Rush vs. Komander

Rush unleashed aggression inside the ring and outside the ring.

Komander rallied for a blitz of dives with a moonsault, a suicide dive, a springboard moonsault, and a shooting star press. Rush kicked out of the pin, so Komander kept on the pressure. Rush turned the tide back in his favor with a belly-to-belly suplex off the apron. El Toro Blanco charged for the Bull’s Horns dropkick to win.

Rush defeated Komander.

The Kingdom referred to the Conglomeration as an abomination. Worst of all is they bamboozled Kyle O’Reilly on their side. Roderick Strong sent a reminder that Kyle is better with the Kingdom. Strong also called out Tomohiro Ishii to settle unfinished business in the ring.

Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher vs. Private Party

Private Party surged with high-flying escapades. They ran off Gin & Juice to Takeshita, Silly String to Fletcher, and a 450 splash from Marq Quen on Takeshita. The Alpha kicked out on the cover.

The Callis Family kept their composure to execute power offense. Takeshita intercepted Isiah Cassidy for a Blue Thunder Bomb, while Fletcher crunched Quen on a tombstone piledriver variation to win.

Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher defeated Private Party.

Don Callis met with Rush for a sales pitch to join forces. Rush was receptive for a manly handshake, and Callis was giddy over the hate he felt flowing through El Toro Blanco.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. GPA

Domination via armbar. Afterward, O’Reilly bailed on the Kingdom’s attempt to celebrate with him.

Kyle O’Reilly defeated GPA.

Samoa Joe had words of warning for Chris Jericho. Joe pondered how much faith Jericho has in his fellow man. Joe is going to torture Jericho all over the building next week in Calgary. It will be a massacre. The question is if Jericho has enough faith that anybody will step up to stop the bleeding.

Newsreel for Toni Storm to hype her match against Trish Adora on Collision. Storm will sink Adora’s battleship.

Enough talk. It’s time for the main event.

Owen Hart Cup semifinal: Mariah May vs. Hikaru Shida

The winner advances to face Willow Nightingale in the final. Toni Storm and Luther were ringside. Mariah fought blow for blow with Shida, then the Shining Samurai took control by countering a powerbomb into a hurricanrana on the floor. Shida followed with a running knee lift.

Shida increased her intensity and used veteran experience to pummel the understudy. Mariah showed heart to rally, but Shida caught the running hip attack to counter for a German suplex. Mariah channeled fighting spirit to rise up with fury for a German suplex of her own. Shida regained control for a Falcon Arrow slam, however, Mariah shocked everyone by kicking out at one.

Mariah was on the warpath for a back suplex and a running hip attack. Shida wouldn’t go down easy, and she had one more ace up her sleeve. Or so she thought. When Shida unsheathed the Katana strike, Mariah countered for a fancy roll-up to win. Upset city, baby!

Mariah May defeated Hikaru Shida.

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Grade: B

The main event was the star of the show. The tournament match had baked in value, while Hikaru Shida and Mariah May delivered the emotion side of the story. The undercard served its purpose for strong wins by the stars.

The journey of Mariah May is coming together nicely. Hikaru Shida carried the match, in the sense that her actions allowed Mariah to react. Because Shida was so intense, Mariah had to pick up her game to match that attitude. It was eye opening to see Mariah fire up and kick out of the Falcon Arrow at the count of one. We hadn’t seen that level of fighting spirit from Mariah yet, and that’s why the moment worked so well. The winning pinfall was pretty slick execution from Mariah.

One piece of caution for the final. If AEW rolls with Mariah to win the Owen Hart Cup, then she needs to beat Willow Nightingale with a strong move. Both of Mariah’s tournament wins have been by roll-up. That works for her inexperienced character learning on the fly. The bigger picture is making me believe she’s ready to challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Roll-ups are fine, however, it is now time for Mariah to take the next step in her evolution inside the ring.

Rush continues to be a badass. Komander is no easy out, and El Toro Blanco made it look like light work. Of course, Komander scored some flash on offense to make it exciting, but this was always Rush’s match to win. It’s funny how Rush and Don Callis bond over hatred. That was some proper villain shit. I wonder if Callis would turn into a shriveled husk of a man if he learned how to love. Hate is entrenched so deep in his soul at this point. Rush should make a good addition to the Callis Family. I just hope AEW figures out a purpose for the group beyond gatekeepers to the stars.

Private Party looked good in defeat. Even though they continue to lose, the performances are coming off closer to a breakthrough rather than their previous role of glorified jobbers. Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen could use a mid-card feud to boost their status.

Samoa Joe is a beast. The way he worked a psychology angle to steer his promo was very effective. Joe pumped me up with anticipation to see him massacre Chris Jericho.

Share your thoughts about Rampage. How do you rate it? What were your favorite moments from the show?