Twice now, we have seen the veteran Matt Sydal take on the rookie Dante Martin in incredible matches. First it was on Dark, second it was on Dynamite. Now tonight on AEW Rampage, we get the third match in this series – but it wasn’t supposed to be this. We were supposed to see the tag team debut of Lio Rush & Dante Martin taking on Mike & Matt Sydal, but an unfortunate injury Mike shut those down. However, this will be another fantastic match between two top highfliers!
Eddie Kingston Is Irate About Another Referee Stoppage – CM Punk Thinks This Is Unprofessional, Offers To Put Him To Sleep Again
Before we’d get to that match, we caught up with CM Punk. Fresh off his first win on AEW Dynamite, he was interrupted by an irate Eddie Kingston. Kingston was pissed that the match with Bryan Danielson ended with a stoppage. He got into the face of CM Punk – which used up his time on Rampage, which is plain unprofessional.
Punk & Kingston are not strangers, and that was the passion of Kingston. He wanted to keep fighting, but his body gave up. Punk offered to put him back to sleep, and that very well could be another CM Punk classic that is coming in AEW. They’ve never actually met over their careers, making this something of a hidden dream match.
Dante Martin Surpasses His Original Mentor
Sydal & Martin would lock up in the ring after a handshake, with Sydal getting control of an armlock. Martin would land on his feet out of a snapmare, and this opening stretch was full of counter wrestling, they know each other well after two matches. He’d pull out something new with a unique headscissor takedown in the corner before a Swan Dive dropkick.
Sydal went outside, but wasn’t safe as Martin hit a perfect moonsault. Back in the ring, he slowed things down with some strikes. This was a mistake, as Sydal would apply the Delirious Cobra Clutch to take him down before moving into a reverse half crab. Martin can outspeed Sydal, but he can not out-wrestle the veteran who has forgotten more than Martin has learned.
A sliding dropkick would set up a Bow & Arrow Stretch, with Sydal bending Martin and trying to break him, before tilting into a double stomp to the back. He’d keep the pressure on with a cravate, but Martin broke free and got moving. Martin would get rocked by a back heel kick and a lighting speed knee strike in the corner. The standing sky twister senton landed, before Martin would be cut down by kicks and rolled up for a two count.
He’d come back with a perfect Sunset Flip for a two count, before using the bottom rope to launch over Sydal with a flip. Martin nailed a massive double stomp out of the corner to Sydal, but when he’d go up top Sydal would take him down with a frankensteiner. Sydal looked for Lightning Spiral, but Martin countered the move that ended their last two matches and nailed a stunner and double springboard moonsault for the win!
A slower match than their last two, showing more the wrestling skill of both men than simply their spectacular high flying. Dante Martin is just getting better and better, proving his AEW signing was an amazing rookie get for the company. Match Rating: 4/5 (****)
Is Dante Martin the best young name in AEW? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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