EWC Season 24 Preview: Rampage

We’re back for Day 4 and tonight we’re featuring the home to the BORT – our resident green brand – Rampage!

Our friends on Friday Nights have been busy in the front office, bringing in new signings like Luke ‘The Joker’ Saito and bringing back former Prime staple Kendrick Kross to the roster. Duggan has been hard at work, inking renewal deals for many of the green brand’s up and coming stars including Andrea Hernandez, Morgan Payne, and the elusive former United States champion Darna Dare.

Unlike his blue and orange counterparts, when the Network inquired to Duggan if there were any changes coming to Rampage this season, the bearded fuck simply told us that if it ain’t broke? Don’t fix it. So with that said, look forward to Rampage still coming to you Live on Friday Nights on HBO and you can still hear “Asking For It” before the series of bangers guaranteed to land the action right in your lap.

And speaking of action!

We’ve got a phenomenal lineup in the first round on the Rampage season opener. We fire right out of the gate with a match pitting two former Undisputed champions against one another as Ace King lines up challenger number one on the evening – taking on the EWC Hall of Famer herself, Ruthless Aggression.

Our second Legend of the Ring matchup sees one half of the former EWC Tag Team Champions Jamie Love vie for his first shot at the Undisputed championship by taking on the champion herself, Melody Malone in match six on the night.

And what would a season opener be without more championship gold on the line? Match five sees HBO Champion Moxie defend against former HBO Champion Phoenix Winterborn in a 2 out of 3 falls match – while our main event on the night is match number two for Ace King as he defends the United States championship in a rematch from Wrestlefest against the former champion and 2022 BORT winner, Lavender.

News & Rumors

• One Final Run?
  • After a great run for Season 23, EWC Hall of Famer Ruthless Aggression was asked if her emotional send off at Wrestlefest was her swan song. Sources tell us that while she’s anticipating it being her final run, you can never say never in this wild industry. She noted that going forward, she would be returning to her roots as Ruthless Aggression, and embracing the surname of her long lost father, Michael “The Flash” Anderson. Should she lace the boots up once more, Ruthann is determined to prove, the name doesn’t make the legacy.
• Thunder Rumbling to Rampage!
  • While former Thunder participant, Luke ‘The Joker’ Saito has been inked to Rampage,  his girlfriend-turned-wife Luna Knight Saito, however will not be joining him on the green brand. Cousin to Jason Anderson, Saito is already feeling the pressure of living up to the hype.
• The Queen coming to Paramount?
  • Network executives have learned that during the off season, the resident Queen of EWC stepped in front of the camera for a new venture on Paramount+. Details are slowly coming out of Hollywood, and we can confidently reveal that she’ll be playing the antagonist Melisandre in a pilot for an eleven part mini series based on the book series ‘Kushiel’s Legacy’. Should the pilot receive good reviews, could this disrupt the schedule of our current Undisputed Champion?
• Cutting Family Ties?
  • The former Jason Hunter, now going by Jason Anderson, recently spoke to Network officials from his current residence, confined at Rikers Island. When asked if he would be following in his mother’s footsteps with regard to his grandfather, Jason had this to say. “Sometimes you just get a gut feeling about somebody. My father wasn’t the man I thought he was. And at the end of the day, when I think about who shaped me into the man I am today in the ring? It wasn’t him. It was my mother. She raised me in and out of that ring on her own, she’s why I became HBO champion. I don’t need his name attached to me, I’m an Anderson.”

Champion Spotlight

Queen Melody Malone – EWC Undisputed Champion

How would you sum up your 2022 season?

• Inevitable and undeniable. I dare anyone to tell me who’s had a better season in the last five years in this entire industry, let alone EWC – the most competitive company on the planet. I had my share of low points, but every single one of them led to me going higher and farther than anyone dared imagine I could. The numbers don’t lie, 2022 was the most prolific and successful year I’ve ever had.

Has being champion changed your perspective on being in this industry?

• Being champion never changed my perspective – losing championships made me change my perspective. It’s easy to get focused on getting to the top of the mountain, but what most people fail to understand is that the entire paradigm shifts once you get there. You were hungry, what are you now? Satisfied? Complacent? The hardest thing to do after you’ve done the impossible is to figure out where to go from there. Winning the Rumble to retain my championship? Uncharted territory. No one had ever done it before. And frankly… myself notwithstanding, I don’t see anyone doing it ever again.

What can we expect to see from you in 2023?

• Exactly what you all witnessed at Wrestlefest. Again. Complacency kills. And I’m going to make sure I’m not the victim this season. I’ve gone a year and a half without being pinned. Nearly two whole years without tapping out. I plan on extending those records into the stratosphere.

Do you have your eye on any particular challengers next season?

• You’ve got it all wrong. I don’t have my eyes on anyone, they’ve all got their eyes on me. Legend of the Ring is going to make the Hunger Games look like an episode of Gambit. And when you look at my record last season, and what I’ve done to get myself to the top of the mountain? Then to the rest of the pack, all I can say is may the odds be ever in your favor.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are now, next season?

• Be prepared to fail, because as long as I’m on the top? You’re not getting here. And like I told Gabi Vee last season – I will happily be the iron to sharpen you all. I relish in making my opposition squirm and struggle beneath my boot – because losing to me? It’s going to make them better, and it’s going to send them on to do great things. It will be what bolsters the entirety of the EWC into undeniable juggernauts in the ring… and when everyone has to look at that field and go “I don’t know if I can beat any of them” they have to remember… that one person can. And has. And always will.

Any final thoughts?

• At Rampage #511, after Stranglemania… I hope you’re all ready to bear witness to greatness. When they crown me as the Legend of the Ring… there’s going to be a little special something for everyone to witness that night. Book your tickets now. Nobody is going to want to miss this

Ace King – EWC United States Champion

How would you sum up your 2022 season?

• Challenging, to put it lightly. Statistically, it was the worst season of my career, but holistically, it was a year where I had a lot of question marks around whether or not I was capable of keeping up, let alone being a champion again. It ended on a high, so we’ll see how long I can ride that momentum into 2023.

Has being champion changed your perspective on being in this industry?

• It’s not as much changing my perspective as much as it’s actually kept me in it. Being the United States Champion again is bringing that fire back and showing me I’m still capable of being something in the business, so I’m going to fight my heart out for it as long as I can.  

What can we expect to see from you in 2023?

• That’s a great question. Considering I had one foot out the door before Wrestlefest, there’s no way to know what I’ve got in the tank, but I know you’ll see everything I’ve got.

Do you have your eye on any particular challengers next season?

• I’m well aware of Lavender having a rematch available, and now that she’s lost both her championships, she’ll be even hungrier to get one back, so I have to keep my head on a swivel around her. After that, I’m sure Moxie will come calling again at some point, but otherwise, I have to have my eyes on everyone, so bring them all on.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are now, next season?

• Stick it out when things are bleak and be open to anything, because the hard work will eventually be rewarded. That was evident with a number of first-time Champions and rising contenders last season, and with the talent pool being as deep as ever, anything is possible, but only if you’re there to make it happen.

Any final thoughts?

• While I’ve openly questioned myself in the past, there should be no question of my motivation for 2023: Reminding everyone of exactly who I am, and what I’m capable of. I’ve taken pride in being a fighting champion over the years, and that won’t stop now. It’ll be more difficult now being on the wrong side of 40, but I’ve found ways to make things happen before… I dare anybody to doubt me.
  Also, while I might be a Champion again, I can no longer lay claim to being the best of this generation… and the very thought of that makes me sick, so a third Undisputed Championship run is something I covet. As I’ve said many times before, if you’re not here looking to be the best of the best, what are you even doing here?

Moxie – HBO Broadcast Champion

How would you sum up your 2022 season?

• It’s been well-documented by just about everyone that I missed the first half of the season due to recovering from injuries I picked up the last season, regardless I wanted to return with a bang and build on the impressive last season I had. There were bumps along the road but I can say that I’m satisfied with how the 2022 season worked out for me.

Has being champion changed your perspective on being in this industry?

• No, it hasn’t. I’ve always had the mindset of crushing everyone that stands opposite me inside the ring so if anything, being the defending HBO Broadcast Champion raises the opponent’s game which makes my victory that much sweeter in return.  

What can we expect to see from you in 2023?

• You can expect Moxie to continue to make history, when the next EWC season kicks off I’ll be sitting pretty close to Asriel Buzzard’s reign of 140 days as HBO Champion, but overtaking second place isn’t going to be enough for me. I’ve got my eyes on The Titaness’ record of 224 days as Champion in my sights.

Do you have your eye on any particular challengers next season?

• Being a Broadcast Champion means you could end up fighting anyone so I’ve only got my eyes on my next opponent and that’s Phoenix Winterborn on the Season Premiere of Friday Night Rampage.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to be where you are now, next season?

• My advice would be to steer away from my firing line and settle for something else. I’m not willingly letting go of this Championship unless I absolutely have to.