AEW is adding a third hour of television to its weekly schedule with the debut of Rampage on Friday, Aug. 13. We have less than one month to go until the big premiere on TNT, so AEW is getting the hype machine going.
Here is their first trailer for the new show:
In addition to many bolts of lightning, the video is filled with all of AEW’s top stars. That includes Sting, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Hikaru Shida, Chris Jericho, and so forth. AEW really wants to convey the message that Rampage will not just be another show filled with lesser stars and squash matches like their YouTube shows (Dark and Elevation). No, Rampage will be where the big boys (and girls) play.
Tony Khan has said that Rampage will be an ‘A’ show equivalent to Dynamite, so he pretty much has to regularly include these top stars, or create new top stars fast, to live up to those words. But it’s easy to get vibes of WCW Thunder while watching this trailer. And it didn’t take long after its debut until Thunder became a clear ‘B’ show.
The biggest hurdle facing Rampage isn’t the AEW roster depth, which is adequate to take on the challenge. It’s the Friday night time slot of 10 pm ET that makes Rampage feel destined to fall short of Khan’s words. It will be difficult for Rampage to approach Dynamite’s live viewing audience at that time.
Has the first trailer for Rampage changed your expectations for what the show will be?