AEW Rampage: The Firm deleted at the Hardy Compound

The Firm found themselves at the infamous Hardy Compound on Friday’s episode of AEW Rampage. Their leader, Ethan Page, is the one who put them in this position.

Over seven months ago, Page purchased the contracts of Matt Hardy and Private Party after the latter team lost their match. The story played out mostly on AEW Dark (RIP) where Page’s ego made Hardy’s life hell. He wouldn’t allow Hardy to use the Twist of Fate and if he did, he’d be fined $50,000 (Page was allowed to use the move). Hardy kept defying his new boss, so Page decided to go for Hardy’s “kids”, Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen.

Eventually, Hardy and Page seemed to become good friends. This was all a ruse as Hardy had been biding his time, waiting for the return of his brother, Jeff. When HOOK wrestled Page for the FTW Title, Matt hit Page in the face with the belt. This put the wheels in motion for the Hardy Compound match.

On last week’s Rampage, The Firm abducted Kassidy to force Matt to set a date for the match. The Hardy Compound has hosted matches beginning in IMPACT Wrestling. Three matches in the Hardy Universe took place during the Broken Hardys time there. When Matt returned to WWE and was “Woken”, he and Bray Wyatt had “The Ultimate Deletion”.

Back in 2020, “The Elite Deletion” aired on the Full Gear pay-per-view. Hardy beat Sammy Guevara at the Hardy Compound. We also saw Vanguard 1 murdered by Chris Jericho in the middle of the ring by beating it to death with his baseball bat, Floyd.

“The Firm Deletion” aired as the main event of Rampage (when it should’ve gotten the full hour). Upon arriving at the Hardy Compound, they were greeted by Vanguard1, who raised from the Lake of Reincarnation with the help of the Seven Deities.

Fans of past “Deletion” matches were hoping for appearances of the Skarsgard, the dilapidated boat at least got to see the “Mower of Lawns”, the casket, and the chair where the wrestling ring is located. King Maxel and Wolfie chased down Stokley Hathaway. There were appearances from Gothic Baby, Bartie, Reby, and Señor Benjamin.

Multiple referees were on hand for the match that took place all over the compound. There were two special referees from The Hardy’s O.M.E.G.A. days, Marty “First name Cham, last name Pain” Garner, and Caprice Coleman.

This match was Jeff’s first match back since his return. The cinematic match let him get in some bumping (and choking out Big Bill with a tree branch) without doing anything too crazy. He’s still recovering from eye surgery, so this was a good way to ease himself back in.

After the Hardys, Kassidy, and HOOK defeated The Firm, Brother Nero left to go to an open field. There was a massive Hardy Boyz symbol carved into the ground that he lit on fire. The others met up with him and celebrated their victory. Jeff tossed his head back and yelled, “Thank you, God!” before the screen faded to black.

Shortly after airing on TV, the extended cut of “The Firm Deletion” was made available on Bleacher/Report. It’s a shame fans weren’t treated to the whole thing on TV. If you’re a fan of Hathaway, you’ll love the full match.

Overall, “The Firm Deletion” was great. It was a lot of fun and showed the creativity of everyone involved. The match was the perfect end to Hardy and Kassidy’s saga with Page. They are free to move forward without Page’s control. The Firm now has to pick up the pieces and figure out what to do next.