Johnny TV’s recent main event match in CMLL helped reinvigorate his love for wrestling — even if he lost his hair in the process.
The former John Morrison lost to Angel de Oro in a hair vs. hair match at CMLL’s Friday night Arena Mexico card on February 27. On a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, he reflected on the experience and how much it meant to him. Johnny TV feels “underutilized” in AEW right now, which he thinks is something a lot of people in wrestling are going through. Some people are inevitably going to get left out when there are so many wrestlers and only a few spots on television.
“That hair match, I feel like was one of the best matches I’ve had in years. It was the first time in a while that I felt like me again,” Johnny TV said.
“Kind of just being off or feeling unfulfilled, basically. Not just me, a lot of people in wrestling. But for me right now, in AEW, I feel underutilized. Can’t blame anyone, that’s just how wrestling promotions work. There’s only enough TV time for a certain amount of people. Those people at AEW, we’ve coined the term ‘the island.’ Those people are on the island, so to speak. And I don’t feel like I’m on the island with Tony [Khan] or AEW right now. So because of that, I feel like I’m doing like 10-20 percent of what I’m capable of, storytelling-wise, wrestling-wise, in the ring. With CMLL, I’m on their island. And so I got to do everything that I could, and it was cool. It made me realize, like, ‘Hey, yeah, I do love wrestling.'”
Johnny TV signed with AEW in 2023 and has been wrestling in AEW, ROH, and CMLL. He and his wife Taya Valkyrie are featured in the AEW YouTube show “Johnny Loves Taya,” which recently returned with its second season. It’s a scripted romantic comedy series.
During the appearance on Insight, the 46-year-old Johnny TV said he still feels like he’s capable of being a World Champion at this point in his career. Some of his dream opponents in AEW are “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, and Will Ospreay.
Putting his hair on the line is something Johnny has been thinking about for a long time. He initially thought about doing it in a hair vs. mask match while Fenix was still with AEW.
“You know, I’m liking it. I like all the feedback,” Johnny responded when asked if he’ll be keeping the shaved head going forward. “It’s a weird question. I’m a grown man — deciding if this is ‘my look’ moving forward.”
Taya Valkyrie is working to help the Los Angeles community as it continues to deal with devastating wildfires.
On Wednesday night, Valkyrie shared that she and husband Johnny TV (formerly known as John Morrison) had been evacuated from their home due to the fires but were safe. She then tweeted out a follow-up message yesterday thanking everyone who checked in on them. Valkyrie said their house was saved and they are now focused on trying to help others.
“Thank you to everyone who has messaged me and checked in. Our house was saved and now just trying to take care of our neighborhood and community,” she wrote. “It’s not over yet but we are extremely lucky. The sunset fire was pure insanity. Pray for LA, pray for those that have lost it all and do what you can to help them and the first responders. I love this city, it’s my home, my happy place.”
Valkyrie and Johnny TV are both signed to AEW, where Valkyrie is part of a team with Deonna Purrazzo. Johnny TV wrestles in both ROH and AEW.
Tonight (January 10), Valkyrie is appearing at an event at The Wild in West Hollywood for a Ru Paul’s Drag Race viewing party. Valkyrie and others associated with the event have been working to gather water, granola bars, socks, underwear, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and dog food, which they will be handing out for free tonight. Valkyrie thanked WWE star Chelsea Green for donating to those efforts.
Valkyrie said they will be accepting donations for the American Red Cross at the West Hollywood event tonight.
Ring of Honor TV Champion Atlantis Jr. will defend his title in a six-way Survival of the Fittest match on Friday’s Death Before Dishonor card.
The other five combatants are Lio Rush, Shane Taylor, Johnny TV, Brian Cage and Lee Johnson. As a preview, Atlantis Jr. will team with Rush against Johnny TV and Taylor on Thursday’s ROH TV.
It will be the second defense of the title the CMLL star won in June.
Here’s the current lineup for Friday’s streaming special from Arlington, Texas:
ROH World Championship: Mark Briscoe defends against Roderick Strong
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Queen Aminata
ROH TV Champion Atlantis Jr. defends against Lio Rush, Shane Taylor, Johnny TV, Brian Cage and Lee Johnson in a Survival of the Fittest match
ROH Women’s World TV Champion Billie Starkz defends against Red Velvet
ROH Pure Championship: Wheeler Yuta defends against Lee Moriarty
A new match has been added to the lineup for ROH Supercard of Honor.
Johnny TV vs. Dalton Castle in a Fight Without Honor will take place on the show. The news was revealed in a video ROH posted on Sunday involving a backstage confrontation between the two rivals.
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) March 31, 2024
In the above video, Castle is auditioning replacements for the boys he recently lost custody of. While wearing masks, TV and Taya Valkyrie audition for the parts and impress Castle. However, a pull-apart ensued after TV and Valkyrie revealed their true identities. Lynn then entered the scene and made the match official.
ROH Supercard of Honor takes place Friday, April 5 at The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. It will air live on HonorClub.
ROH Supercard of Honor 2024 announced lineup —
ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston defends against Mark Briscoe
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defends against Hikaru Shida
ROH TV Champion Kyle Fletcher defends against Lee Johnson
ROH Women’s TV Championship tournament finals: Queen Aminata vs. Billie Starkz
Fight Without Honor: Dalton Castle vs. Johnny TV
Mina Shirakawa, Maika, & Mei Seira vs. AZM, Tam Nakano, & Saya Kamitani
The first-ever Ring of Honor Women’s TV title tournament will kick off on next Thursday’s ROH on HonorClub.
No matches or bracket was released, but based on past weeks, Red Velvet, Billie Starkz, Rachel Ellering, Leyla Hirsch and Taya Valkyrie all made their intentions known about their involvement in the tournament.
In mid-December 2023, AEW & ROH head Tony Khan announced the creation of the title, even unveiling the new belt for the first time. It will be the second women’s title in the promotion behind the ROH Women’s title currently held by Athena.
The show will also feature the latest chapter in the simmering feud between Dalton Castle and Johnny TV. A match between TV and Castle’s mystery friend was set to take place on Thursday’s show, but it was Castle in disguise. The two bickered with TV saying he would reveal what it would take to get a match with him as part of next week’s show.
Here’s a look at the current card:
ROH Women’s TV title matches
Johnny TV to give stipulations for future Dalton Castle match
Ring of Honor presents its 50th episode in the post-Tony Khan era tonight with an angle involving Johnny TV and Dalton Castle set to continue as TV is scheduled to wrestle Castle’s mystery friend on the show.
Also booked: a singles match between Ethan Page and Aaron Solo, two four-corner survival matches, an eight-man tag, and Lee Johnson vs. Gravity. Billie Starkz, Taya Valkyrie, The WorkHorsemen, and Penta El Zero Miedo & El Hijo Del Vikingo will all be in action as well.
Tonight’s episode was taped at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, on Saturday. Spoilers from the show are available here.
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The WorkHorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) defeated Sayrus & Brillante RB
Chants of “lucha” filled the arena as the match began with Brillante and Henry. Brilliante was tossed to the outside and Drake and Sayrus battled on the side of the ring. The WorkHorsemen controlled the flow of the match with Drake isolating Sayrus in the corner for big, big chops. The WorkHorsemen were looking to move toward an ROH Tag Team title shot, and dominated the two luchadores. Drake’s size was a big factor here as coupled with Henry’s athleticism, they picked up an easy victory.
Ethan Page defeated Aaron Solo
Kyle Fletcher’s ROH TV Title was on Page’s mind as the match began. Solo rejected Page’s Code of Honor, instead kicking his hand away. A hard slap from Page remedied that. Page laid fists into Solo’s face in the corner. Solo reversed and tried to deliver a few shots of his own, but Page was able to overpower him. Page caught Solo in a cradle and slammed him hard into the canvas. Solo’s quickness kept Page on his toes (and then his back) in the ring.
Page later reversed a suplex into a brainbuster, but Solo came back with a spinning kick for the two-count. Switching gears, Solo locked in a sleeper, putting Page’s five match win streak in jeopardy. Page fought back and whipped Solo into a clothesline, then a catapult powerslam for a two-count. Solo tried to get a pin using the second rope as leverage, but the ref caught it and the confusion gave Page a chance to hit the Ego’s Edge for the win.
Penta El Zero Miedo & El Hijo Del Vikingo defeated Jon Cruz & KM
It’s always great to see Penta and the crowd chanted his name as he and Cruz started things off. KM tried to get a “Jon Cruz” chant going, but no one was having it. With a little help from KM on the outside, Cruz got a leg up on Penta. Vikingo tagged in, just in time to eat a shot from KM. KM’s size advantage was on display as he locked Vikingo in a chin lock.
A full nelson slam on Vikingo gave KM the chance to tag in Cruz. Vikingo slipped through the ropes and spun into a hot tag to Penta. Stereo dives to the outside by Vikingo and Penta laid out Cruz and KM. Momentum shifted as the two luchadores double teamed KM into a pin attempt which was broken up by Cruz. A double stomp from the top rope by Penta onto Cruz’s junk led to a package piledriver and a win for Penta and Vikingo.
Johnny TV (w/ Taya Valkyrie) vs. Dalton Castle’s mystery friend never started
Earlier in the show, Lexi Nair interviewed Jerry Lynn outside of Dalton Castle’s friend’s dressing room. Dalton stuck his head out of the dressing room, but claimed his friend was busy. The chat was interrupted by Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie. Lynn then banned Castle from interfering in the match between his friend and TV.
TV and Valkyrie went to the ring to face Castle’s “mystery friend” Pavo Real de Montana, who was actually just Castle in a fake beard, glasses and coat. He wailed like a Sasquatch on the way to the ring. TV called out the fact it was just Castle in disguise and refused the match. “Montana” tried to convince everyone that he wasn’t Castle but no one bought it. Castle took off the disguise and TV declared that Castle was not “TV ready.”
Castle begged for the chance to smash TV’s face, but TV said that Castle doesn’t have anything he wants. Castle asked him what he wanted, and TV promised to tell everyone…next week.
Later, Nair was outside Castle’s friend’s dressing room and interviewed Castle about what TV might want next week. Castle was befuddled and suggested it could be his worm farm or buckets of his “perfect” blood. Castle then grabbed his chest and Nair suggested calling a doctor. Castle asked for cheese instead and then climbed into a dryer with Nair slamming the door behind him.
Billie Starkz defeated Araya Thorn
Earlier, Starkz was warming up backstage when she was handed a folder by Nair. It was from Nyla Rose and its contents, telling her to tell Rose to find her after her match, enraged Starkz.
A mean streak from Starkz emerged in this match as she ragdolled Thorne around the ring. A few quick kicks and a slam got Starkz to a two count, but Thorne held her own. Starks showboated a bit more than usual before a big dive into Thorne on this outside. Suddenly, Rose appeared and headed to the ring with a table. She set it up on the outside while Thorne tried to steal a quick win. Starkz kicked out, but her attention was split. Starkz got Thorne in a submission hold and she tapped quickly.
Rose climbed into the ring with a mic and asked if Starkz would be a good minion or if she will have to put Starkz through a table. Starkz grabbed the mic and said that she had a surprise for her. Suddenly, Athena’s music hit and the ROH Women’s Champion appeared in the ring behind Rose and put her through the table instead. Athena and Starkz then stepped over Rose on their way up the ramp to add insult to injury.
Diamante defeated Leyla Hirsch (w/ Rachael Ellering), Kiera Hogan and Trish Adora in a four corners survival match
Diamante and Hogan made a beeline for each other and started trading blows. Adora and Hirsch let them have at it, saving their energy for later. Hirsch and Adora each tried to steal a pin before they locked up. Hirsch’s speed gave her an advantage over Hogan, but Adora re-entered the ring and used her size to take down the other three in the match.
Diamante suplexed Adora onto Hogan and Hirsch before distributing kicks to all. Diamante stacked up the other three women in the corner and then found herself in the middle of three simultaneous dropkicks. Adora hit a spinning backbreaker on Hogan and Diamante got a quick two-count on Hirsch. She grabbed a chair, but Rachael Ellering interfered and Diamante used the ropes to get the 1-2-3 on Hirsch.
Later in the show, Nair interviewed Hirsch and Ellering. Hirsch was bummed by the loss, Ellering apologized, and they are still good with each other…maybe.
Shane Taylor Productions (Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty), Griff Garrison & Cole Karter (w/ Maria Kanellis) defeated The Iron Savages (Boulder & Bronson) and The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
Before the match, Nair found Kanellis backstage who drew her attention to Serpentico getting beaten up by Karter and Garrison. It turned out to be a fake Serpentico, who lured Angelico into a beatdown before the real Serpentico arrived. You could tell this because he was in his black mask as the imposter still maintains possession of the real mask.
Kanellis held Serpentico’s green mask like a trophy as “her boys” Garrison and Karter walked to the ring. A trip to a certain city was promised as the Iron Savages met their teammates The Infantry in the ring. Garrison and Bravo started the eight-man match off. Quick tags between the Infantry members led to a backbreaker double team. Boulder entered the match against Karter and Kanellis jumped up on the apron to distract the Savages. Moriarty and Karter attempted a double team, but Boulder was just too big. Bronson was stunned and thrown outside by a shot from Taylor.
Dean was isolated in the corner as all four men took turns raining down blows. Finally, Dean got a hot tag on Bravo who had just sipped the Savage Sauce. Bravo cleaned house and dove onto Taylor on the outside. A missed axe kick gave Taylor an opening to take Bravo out. After a quick tag to Karter, Boulder caught him and Garrison in a double suplex. Taylor and Boulder slapped meat in the ring with Taylor coming out ahead. Moriarty was the legal man who jumped in the ring and got a pin on Dean for the win.
Afterward, Serpentico attempted to retrieve the mask that Kanellis, Garrison, and Karter took from him two weeks ago. However, he fell victim to the numbers game and Garrison and Karter ended up putting him through a table.
Lee Johnson defeated Gravity
The crowd did not like the slow start, but things started to pick up with a flying headscissors by Gravity. He kept the pace slow, offering a second Code of Honor handshake to Johnson. The two reset and traded waistlocks: about ten of them in fact. Gravity’s strategy was to keep Johnson grounded, but all that got him was a frog splash from the top rope. Johnson got a two count as they traded chops.
Slow-moving punches and whips led to a Gravity leap to the outside on Johnson. Gravity tried a couple of pinning attempts, but the crowd barely noticed. As the match reset a third time, the crowd was getting restless. Johnson got a three count off of a slam and it was over. This was not a great showing from two promising talents.
Taya Valkyrie (w/ Johnny TV) defeated Killa Kate
Kate didn’t even get entrance music, which seemed a bit insulting. Valkyrie’s size and experience came into play early as she tossed Kate from post to post. A meteora in the corner got Valkyrie a quick two count. A second and third kickout at two was the most offense that Kate showed. With each two-count, Valkyrie’s smile grew, she was just toying with Kate at this point. A dose of Shania Pain knocked Kate to the ground and gave Valkyrie the win.
Komander defeated AR Fox, Jack Cartwheel and Willie Mack in a four corners survival match
The three smaller men ganged up on Mack, but it was not to last as Komander and Fox traded blows in the corner. Fox avoided a clothesline from Mack like he was in The Matrix and sent him to the outside. Cartwheel and Fox traded really fun flips off the top rope and Cartwheel managed a two count. Mack re-entered the ring and caught Cartwheel playing to the crowd, laying in some massive chops.
Mack dominated Cartwheel and Fox in the ring while Komander laid low. Komander caught Mack off guard, pulling down the top rope and sending him to the outside. Mack made it back into the ring and hit a sky high on Fox. He went for the pin, but Cartwheel broke it up. The crowd began demanding tables. Cartwheel sent Mack to the outside and traded blows with Fox. Suddenly, Komander zipped into the ring and tried to get a pin on a dazed Fox. It was just a two count and Cartwheel hit a Spicolli driver on Komander until Fox broke up a pin attempt.
After a Mack dive over the top rope onto Komander and Fox, Cartwheel hit a plancha on the three outside the ring. A cartwheel press into Mack was followed by a 450 splash on Mack from Fox. Komander flew in out of nowhere for a Canadian destroyer on Cartwheel and a splash from the top to get the win.
During the main event, we learned Athena wanted some time to address the crowd after the match. We went backstage where she was joined by Starkz and Nair. Athena asked them to go get the car ready before addressing Rose directly. Athena assured her that she was just an ant in her kingdom and that she needs to bow down. Rose appeared out of nowhere and drove Athena through a nearby table, leaving her laying as the show closed.
Next week: The ROH Women’s TV Title tournament begins
On Valentine’s Day, a new series will debut on AEW’s YouTube channel.
It was announced today that “Johnny Loves Taya” will premiere on AEW’s YouTube channel next Wednesday (February 14). After that, new episodes will be uploaded every Wednesday. It’s being promoted as wrestling’s first romantic comedy.
The scripted series stars AEW/ROH wrestlers and real-life married couple Johnny TV (former WWE wrestler John Morrison) and Taya Valkyrie.
The trailer is available to watch below:
Coming to #AEW's YouTube channel on Valentine's Day, it's Johnny Loves Taya! Watch the debut of wrestling's first romantic comedy on Wednesday, February 14th, with new episodes every week 💕@TheRealMorrison | @TheTayaValkyriepic.twitter.com/KbAT3nYOwa
Johnny TV (real name John Hennigan) and Valkyrie (Kira Magnin-Forster) have been married since 2018. Outside of the ring, both have had experience in acting.
Hennigan debuted for AEW in May 2022 and later signed a contract with the company. AEW announced the signing of Valkyrie in March 2023. She’s a former champion for Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA, and MLW and also previously wrestled for WWE NXT.
Valkyrie wrestled on AEW Dynamite last week, losing to Deonna Purrazzo.
Hennigan and Valkyrie are currently paired together on-screen in ROH. They will both be in action on the ROH television episode that airs on HonorClub tonight (February 8).
A four-way match for a shot at the ROH World Championship will take place on Rampage this Friday.
Johnny TV, Komander, Lince Dorado, and Penta El 0 Miedo will battle it out to determine the first challenger for Eddie Kingston’s ROH World Championship. On Dynamite, Stokely Hathaway, who is on the ROH Board of Directors, appeared and announced that Kingston would be doing commentary for the match.
This will mark the AEW debut of Lince Dorado, formerly of WWE, who has appeared in MLW, Impact, and CMLL recently.
Also announced for Rampage is a tag match with Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida teaming up to take on Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir. An eight-man tag team match will also take place, with Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker taking on The Hardys and The Best Friends.
Here is the updated lineup for Friday’s Rampage:
Four-way match for ROH Championship shot: Johnny TV vs. Komander vs. Lince Dorado vs. Penta El 0 Miedo
Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir
Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia vs. The Hardys and The Best Friends
The AEW International title will be on the line as part of Friday’s AEW Rampage.
Orange Cassidy will be gunning for his 28th title defense as he faces Johnny TV of QTV. The former John Morrison is looking for his first AEW gold of any kind while Cassidy is two months away from a year-long reign as champion.
In the second of three qualifying matches for an AEW Women’s title four-way at All In, Saraya will take on Skye Blue. The winner will join champion Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm who have already qualified with one final match (Britt Baker vs. The Bunny) taking place this Wednesday.
Darby Allin will face Brian Cage of The Mogul Embassy days after it was announced that Allin & Sting will take on the group’s Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match at All In.
ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open will face The Outrunners in non-title action.
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Taped in Columbus, Ohio.
Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho and Excalibur were on commentary.
Darby Allin defeated Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) (10:46)
Allin started out fast with Cage and hit him with a high speed tope, but Cage soon overpowered Allin to take control. On the floor, Cage picked up Allin for a vertical suplex, then walked up the ringsteps and dumped Allin back in the ring. Cage then dead-lifted Allin into a superplex while standing on the middle rope.
The fight went back to the floor. Allin had Cage in a sleeper, and Cage broke the hold by throwing himself and Allin through the time keeper’s table. Cage dumped Allin onto the ring apron with a back suplex.
Cage dominated Allin through the split-screen break. After the break, Cage hit a pair of powerbombs for a near fall. Allin tripped Cage on the ring apron with his belt, then came off the top with a Coffin Drop that sent both guys tumbling to the floor. Back in the ring, Allin hit a code red for a near fall. After interference from Nana, Cage hit the F-10 on Allin, but Cage didn’t hook the leg and Allin kicked out. Cage took Allin up to the middle rope for what looked like a super samoan drop, but Allin countered that into a crucifix bomb. Cage went for a suplex, but Allin caught Cage with a small package to get the pin.
After the match, Luchasaurus ran in and chokeslammed Allin to remind the audience about the only match booked for All Out. Christian (with the TNT belt over his shoulder) watched approvingly on a monitor in the back.
–In the back, Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D told Renee Paquette she respects Bunny working hard to come back, but she will beat her next week to take her place in the “historical” women’s title match at All In.
– A brief video package highlighted NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston’s run in the G1 tournament.
Orange Cassidy defeated Johnny TV (with the QTV crew) to retain the International Title (8:25)
Harley Cameron sang the entrance music for Johnny TV. This was Orange Cassidy’s 28th straight successful title defense. Tony Schiavone chided Jericho on commentary for the way the Jericho Appreciation Society abandoned him on Wednesday.
Harley Cameron distracted the referee with her feminine wiles, and the QTV guys entered the ring from all sides to jump Cassidy. Just as they were about to pounce, Cassidy turned the referee around, and he ejected the entire QTV crew from ringside. Wheeler Yuta came out of the crowd to distract Cassidy, and TV caught him with a springboard kick to take control.
During the split-screen break, Wheeler Yuta joined the commentary team. Yuta continued the tradition started by William Regal of calling Excalibur “The Man in the Mask.”
Cassidy went for a tornado DDT, but TV blocked it and hit a neckbreaker for a near fall. TV then hit an even more convoluted neckbreaker for another near fall. TV missed “the Superstation” (his finisher) and Cassidy came off the top with a diving DDT. Cassidy hit the tornado DDT, an Orange Punch adn the Beach Break to get the pinfall.
After the match, Yuta slowly skulked back to ringside, and Cassidy grabbed the house mic to challenge Yuta. Soon the rest of the BCC surrounded the ring. The BCC didn’t attack Cassidy and leave him beaten and bloody (like they could have, according to Yuta), but instead Yuta challenged Cassidy for the International Title at Dynamte in Nashville next week. That should be very good.
– Ian Riccaboni ran down the history of the Ring of Honor World Tag Team championship. This was unintentionally the best commercial for HonorClub they’ve ever done.
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open defeated The Outrunners (2:12)
The Outrunners are Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd and they’re “channeling the 1980’s” according to their graphic. Aussie Open destroyed the Outrunners. I don’t think the Outrunners got one offensive move the entire match, and Aussie Open won with the Coriolis.
After the match, Aussie Open mocked MJF and Adam Cole (which got the crowd to chant “Double Clothesline!”) and accepted the challenge from MJF and Cole for Zero Hour.
– Jeff Jarrett announced the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match Championship” as a tie-in to a video game that’s coming out. Leatherface may be at Dynamite for a Death Match between Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy. Spoiler alert: the winner will be Jeff.
Saraya (w/ the Outcasts) v. Syke Blue to qualify for the AEW World Women’s title match at All In.
Blue and Saraya went back and forth exchanging pin attempts early. Blue went for a sunset flip, but Saraya shifted her weight to cradle Blue, which she countered by shifting her weight back, and this went back and forth for a bit. Saraya went to the floor to regroup. Blue tried to follow her out with a cannonball, but Saraya dodged her and Blue hit the floor.
Saraya got all the heat during the split-screen break. Saraya got a near fall after a pair of knees. Saraya then locked in a chinlock. Blue came back with a tijeras and her own running knee for a near fall. Blue escaped a suplex attempt, hit a superkick and caught Saraya with the Code Blue, but Toni Storm distracted the ref. Ruby Soho got Blue’s attention on the other side of the ring and sprayed her in the face with spray paint. Saraya hit her old finisher, the “Rampaige” and got the pinfall. She ended Rampage with a Rampaige! I love it. Excalibur might have called it the “Good Night” instead, which I like a little less but I understand.
After the match, the Outcasts beat up on Saraya to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
Happy two-year anniversary for Rampage. This wasn’t as exciting as that first episode two years ago, but it was a perfectly cromulent hour of wrestling.
The following are spoilers for this Friday’s AEW Rampage, taped after Wednesday’s Dynamite in Columbus, Ohio.
These come courtesy of PWInsider:
Darby Allin defeated Brian Cage. The Mogul Embassy attacked Allin after the match, but Sting made the save. It was announced on Dynamite that Sting & Allin will face Swerve Strickland & AR Fox in a coffin match at this month’s All In.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defeated Johnny TV (John Morrison) to retain the title. After the match, the Blackpool Combat Club came out to stare down Cassidy.
In a four-woman tournament to advance to a four-way AEW Women’s title match at All In, Saraya defeated Skye Blue. Afterward, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho joined in an attack on Blue until Madison Rayne returned to make the save. Rayne has been out of action with an injury.
ROH Tag Team Champions Aussie Open defeated The Outrunners, accepting the challenge from MJF & Adam Cole for All In.
John Morrison returned to AEW on Rampage, aligning himself with the QTV crew.
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (Billy Gunn) were celebrating after winning a match when Harley Cameron and two masked men came out. Cameron proceeded to do a rap, saying she was better at it than The Acclaimed. QT Marshall came out on the stage and distracted The Acclaimed, who exited the ring. One of the masked men then attacked Billy Gunn, revealing themselves to be Morrsion. Excalibur referred to Morrison as “Johnny TV” as QT and Aaron Solo attacked the Acclaimed from behind, the segment ending with the QTV crew celebrating in the ring.
Morrison made several appearances for AEW in 2022 under the name Johnny Elite. He was a part of last year’s Owen Hart Foundation men’s tournament, losing to Samoa Joe in the first round. He later defeated Marq Quen in a match for AEW Dark, then lost to Miro on the June 1 edition of Dynamite. In the last year, he’s also made appearances for AAA, MLW, Warrior Wrestling, and GCW.
