AEW Rampage kicked off with a dream match scenario between New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Tomohiro Ishii and AEW’s Adam Cole in an Owen Hart Cup qualifying match. Both stars made their presence felt early on, but Cole got a bit ahead of himself with some taunts, and that let Ishii sneak up behind him and send him to the outside. Cole would return the favor though, slamming Ishii’s arm into the ring post and then slamming him into the barricade before rolling hitting him with punches back in the ring.
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Cole followed it up with knees to the back and then locked in a hold. Cole then taunted Ishii again with slaps and punches in the corner, but he just stood back up and waited for his chance to strike. Then he leaned into the punches and kept moving before throwing a hard shot of his own to the face of Cole that knocked him down in the corner.
Cole stopped Ishii with a forearm but then Ishii came back and slammed Cole down on his back. A suplex followed but Cole kicked out of the ensuing pin. Cole got Ishii up on his shoulders and brought him down hard on the mat, and then went for the pin but Ishii kicked out. Ishii caught Cole on the top rope and then joined him up top and lifted him up before slamming him down with a Superplex into a cover, but Cole kicked out.
Cole hit a Superkick and then went for a knee but Ishii dodged it and hit a Lariat into a cover, but Cole kicked out. Ishii lifted Cole but Cole kicked him and then turned him around and brought Ishii down on his knee, but Ishii kicked out of the pin attempt that followed. Cole went up top and then hit a Superkick but Ishii came back with a headbutt. Then they both hit Enziguri’s and a tooth also seemed to fly. Ishii hit another headbutt and Cole hit a Superkick, but then Ishii slammed into Cole.
Then Jay White took out Rocky Romero on the outside and as the referee looked at the distraction Cole hit a low blow on Ishii. That allowed Cole to pin him and get the win, and now Cole joins Samoa Joe and Kyle O’Reilly in the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament.
What did you think of the match? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
