The Elite have been mainstays on AEW television ever since they returned to action after their suspension. They were in action on the recent episode of Rampage and after their match, the House of Black confronted the EVPs. The segment was slammed by former WWE manager Dutch Mantell.
The Young Bucks took on the Aussie Open in the opener of AEW Rampage in a high-octane clash. After delivering a BTE Trigger to Kyle Fletcher, the current AEW Trios Champions emerged victorious. The lights went out and the House of Black surrounded the ring.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell criticized the segment for not having more of a story behind it.
"My question is, how long has this been booked, these two teams? Seems like they would have done something before this. And then this could actually just fill in somewhere. I don’t know what Tony is doing or who’s helping him, but it's almost become a hotshot. He’s almost hot-shotting it as he goes. It needed something because when the lights went out, the people were drawn to that. It was actually pretty good. They expect someone to be coming. When it happened, the second time, there’s no meat to it. It’s just a match," Dutch Mantell said. (54:45 - 56:18)
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
Check out the full video down below:
Dutch Mantell continued talking about the AEW Rampage segment
The former Zebb Colter continued talking about the segment, stating that even if the eventual clash between the two factions will be good, it needs a good story behind it to sell tickets.
"Great matches really don’t sell tickets. Great matches are great to start off, then you fill in the story and have a story. The match can be less than perfect, actually a lot less than perfect as long as you’re following your story," Dutch Mantell continued. (56:24 - 56:45)
Shortly after Rampage, it was confirmed that the House of Black will challenge the Elite for the AEW Trios Championship at the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view.
Apart from the Young Bucks vs Aussie Open, there were three other matches on AEW Rampage. Lance Archer destroyed Bryce Saturn upon his return to in-ring action alongside Jake Roberts.
Toni Storm defeated Willow Nightingale while Sammy Guevara dispatched Action Andretti in the main event.