AEW Rampage Debuted Five Years Ago Today
AEW Rampage would’ve turned five years old today.
When AEW first came about in 2019, Dynamite was their one and only weekly show every Wednesday night. They expanded onto YouTube with Dark and Dark: Elevation, something many fans saw as a nice add-on to catch more action. Then, after that came Rampage, their Friday night show on TNT. Premiering at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on August 19, 2021, and it would’ve turned five years old today.
The inaugural event had a three-match card that’s still fondly remembered today, especially for its main event, where Christian Cage defeated Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship.
The one-hour show had multiple purposes, not the least of which was to give fans more matches during the week, as well as to advance certain storylines and showcase more of the roster. It served as their secondary weekly event until AEW Collision came into existence in 2023, which is now the promotion’s key number two show.
It’s worth remembering that Rampage played host to some of the company’s biggest moments, the biggest of which being CM Punk’s debut on August 20, 2021. Alongside that, many fondly remember the bloody match between Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta in which the younger wrestler earned Moxley’s respect and eventually join the Blackpool Combat Club.
Some fans would like Rampage to return in the future, though that wouldn’t be a call for founder Tony Khan to make. The show wasn’t renewed when Warner Bros Discovery made their new deal with AEW, and thus, if it were to return, it’d need to be included in the next contract that would come in 2028.
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As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on AEW’s TV schedule and its history as soon as we hear more.
