AEW Announces Early Start Time For Next Friday's Rampage

By Sai Mohan
Ricky Starks Spears On AEW Dynamite AEW

Next week's "AEW Rampage" is being preempted due to coverage of the NBA All-Star Weekend on TNT.

AEW announced Friday that next week's show will air at a special start time of 7 p.m. ET, three hours earlier than the regular slot of 10 p.m. ET. Dubbed "Rampage: Slam Dunk," the show is already slated to feature two grudge matches, pitting Ricky Starks against Daniel Garcia, and Swerve Strickland versus Dustin Rhodes.

Garcia had defeated Starks on this week's "AEW Dynamite" thanks to outside interference from Chris Jericho, who invaded the match dressed as a fan in a luchador mask. As such, Starks will have the opportunity to redeem his loss against Jericho Appreciation Society's Garcia. While not confirmed by AEW, all signs point to a Jericho vs. Starks rematch at the upcoming Revolution pay-per-view.

Also on the show, Strickland will wrestle Rhodes for the first time in a singles bout. Strickland and his Mogul Affiliates have carried out a series of verbal attacks on Rhodes over the past few weeks, with Strickland making it clear that he's determined to eradicate nepotism from the wrestling business. As part of the storyline, Strickland also undermined Cody Rhodes' Royal Rumble victory last month on social media. 

On the 2/10 "Rampage" episode, Dustin called out Strickland for constantly disrespecting him and his family. 

"He's crossing a line," Dustin said of Strickland's recent comments. "Swerve, listen, you can talk about me all you want. But when you mention my father's name, brother's name, or the Rhodes name, in particular, you've crossed the line. I have been doing this for longer than you've been alive. For five decades, I've been through everything! I'm not scared of you!"

The promo segment ended with Parker Boudreaux and Trench of Mogul Affiliates jumping Rhodes in the backstage area. Strickland then stood over a lifeless Rhodes and issued a challenge for next week.

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