Tag: AEW Dark Elevation

This week’s edition of AEW Dark: Elevation was filmed before last week’s Dynamite in Duluth, Georgia. Excalibur, Mark Henry, and Caprice Coleman were on the call.

Angelico & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) defeated Adrian Alanis, AR Fox & Liam Gray

Angelico started with Gray, showing off his technical prowess. The team of Alanis, Fox & Gray got some offense in, but things changed when Kassidy hit a tope onto Alanis. Eventually, Fox and Angelico got the hot tags. Fox got some really impressive offense in with a standing moonsault off the apron onto Quen, but the veteran got caught in Angelico’s Navarro Death Roll that caused the tapout.

Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose defeated Angelica Risk & Shalonce Royal

The impressive team of Shafir & Rose were looking for their second straight win in AEW. 

They went to work early on Risk and kept her in their corner. Rose hit Risk with a torture rack slam and went for the pin, but before the referee could count, Royal ran in to break it up. Shafir threw her out of the ring and hit the assisted spinebuster with Rose for the win. 

Toni Storm defeated Emi Sakura (w/ Baliyan Akki)

Sakura made her way to the ring with Akki, a Choco Pro regular in Japan. This was his official debut on AEW TV of any kind, but I believe he had a match at the previous AEW Dark taping that has yet to air.

When Storm entered the ring, Sakura used her cape to attack her and get the early advantage. She hit some Mongolian chops and sent Storm flying by her hair. Sakura also gave Storm a spanking for some reason? Sakura got a little too cocky and engaged in a chop battle. She went for one more chop, but faked out Storm and used her nails to claw away at her chest. They moved to the outside where Storm missed on two wraparound DDTs but eventually hit it on a third attempt.

Back in the ring, Akki helped Sakura get out of tough spots in the corner. Sakura connected with a backbreaker for a near fall. Storm countered another backbreaker with an Alabama Slam. She then used a hip attack, another wraparound DDT, and another pendulum DDT for the win. This was a really good match. 

Kris Statlander defeated Brittany

Brittany Jade, as she is known on the indies, was in action for the second straight week — this time against the 49-18 third-ranked Statlander. Statlander showed out with a Randy Orton-like snapping powerslam. She showed great power and hit a piledriver variation for the win.

Hikaru Shida defeated Robyn Renegade (w/ Charlette Renegade)

The former AEW Women’s Champion made her way to the ring with the Eye of Agamotto around her neck. Her necklace looked shinier than Dr. Strange’s. Shida used her knees for some early offense, but was quickly cut off by the twins on the outside. She eventually rebounded, hitting some of the best looking punches I’ve seen in awhile. She got a near fall off a springboard with double knees.

Robyn Renegade gouged the eyes of Shida and rolled out of the ring. The Renegade twins went for the ol’ switcheroo like the Bella Twins, but they look very different and were, in fact, wearing two different outfits. Referee Mike Posey eventually called them out, setting up a Shida axe kick and falcon arrow for the win.

Dark Order (Evil Uno & 10) defeated The Factory (Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto) (w/ QT Marshall)

Evil Uno was very grateful to the crowd to start this one out. He hit a delayed vertical suplex that stopped at 10, of course. This was followed by Excalibur saying, “That’s nine more seconds than (Solo) is accustomed to.” Mark Henry then followed with, “That’s what she said.”

Marshall continuously got involved on the outside. With his interference and different variations of Dark Order, I’m quickly getting tired of this small rivalry they have going. I feel like I have seen this match 1000 times. 10 got the hot tag, but the pin got broken up by Comoroto. A diving foot stomp by Solo got a quick two count. Not even two minutes after the previous hot tag, 10 got another but it didn’t work out so well this time. 

Solo went for a dirty Marshall-assisted pin, but the referee saw him and swiftly ejected him. The commentators sang Hit the Road Jack while 10 hit a discus lariat for the win.

Baron Black defeated Brandon Cutler

Cutler came out of the curtain with a mic and talked up his friendship with the Young Bucks. He called Black the biggest loser in AEW, but they both, in fact, have the same AEW record.

Black hit a quick spinning chop to shut Cutler up. They should have sent it home here, but Cutler had to get some offense in. After striking back and forth, Black hit a deadlift powerbomb for a near fall. Referee Rick Knox had to get involved, so Cutler used it as an opportunity to use the cold spray, but Black rolled up Cutler to get his first win in AEW.

Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake

The two main event competitors had some great back and forth to start. The former DDT star really seemed over with the crowd. He hit a beautiful flying clothesline after some chops from Drake. A missed knee from Takeshita sent him flying to the outside. Drake took the advantage with a right hand on the outside for a near fall. 

Takeshita connected on a huge german suplex, but Drake was quick to hit the cannonball and moonsault off the top for another near fall. He also bit at Takeshita’s forehead which was just injured last week in his match with iJon Moxley. Takeshita turned it around into a blue thunder bomb and a high-flying knee for the win.

Final Thoughts:

AEW Dark: Elevation and AEW Dark used to be really easy to watch, but now it just highlights all the things that are wrong with AEW. You have wrestlers that are Dark “regulars” getting more screen time than most of the guys on the shows. Not only that, you have competitors like Takeshita and Sakura that have been in some really big matches in AEW history. Now they’re having nothing happening matches on YouTube. Hopefully, they figure out how to get things working again.

This week’s AEW Dark: Elevation was taped before last week’s Dynamite in Savannah, Georgia, at the EnMarket Arena. 

Excalibur, Mark Henry and Caprice Coleman were on the call.

Bobby Fish defeated Blake Li

This was Fish’s first match in a month due to being out with an injury and Li’s fourth AEW match overall (0-4). (You might recognize Li as Shoot Taylor from the indies.) The reDRagon veteran got the contest started with his amazing technical wrestling, later hitting a springboard senton for a near fall. They moved to the outside where Fish swept the legs of Li and then knocked a poor fan’s beer out of his hands. Fish threw Li back into the ring and locked in the kneebar for the submission win.

Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose defeated Brittany & Skye Blue

The team of Shafir and Rose dominated Brittany in their own corner to start the match. There was a quick tag to fan favorite Blue. She showed some great offense with two clotheslines and a high cross off the top. But, Shafir made sure to put a stop to that quickly.

Shafir hit Blue with a scary-looking release german suplex. This started to get ugly with a lot of botches from both women. They got out of there quickly with Shafir locking in her nasty finisher she calls the “Greedy.” This team with Shafir and Rose could be something, but they already lost to Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm so I’m not sure what to think.

Julia Hart defeated Amber Nova

It’s been very normal for Hart to be aggressive ever since she joined the House of Black back in May. That’s exactly what she did here against SHINE regular Nova. She was on the offensive the entire match and eventually locked in her modified neck crank submission for a quick tap.

Hart has now won eight of her last ten and is 3-0 since joining the House of Black.

Ethan Page (w/ Dan Lambert) defeated Leon Ruffin

Ruffin, the former Leon Ruff in NXT, took advantage of his latest AEW opportunity and made the most of it. He got the crowd into it, looked great, and had tons of charisma, but we all know “All Ego” wasn’t gonna let that fly for too long.

Page connected on a backbreaker and a snap suplex, but Ruffin fought his way back in. He hit a beautiful spinning cutter off the top rope for a near fall that might have gotten the biggest pop on of this entire show. Ruffin kept rolling up Page and I think people actually thought he might have a chance at this one — especially after he kicked out of another powerslam. Page finally ended the match with a superkick and Ego’s Edge.

Dark Order (Evil Uno & 10) defeated Terrell Hughes & Terrence Hughes

The Hughes Brothers were making their tag team debut in AEW this year, but they are 0-9 in their AEW careers. The Dark Order team dominated to start this match, punctuated by both 10 and Uno hitting their own delayed vertical suplex. The twins got the upper hand and tried to take out Uno, but he turned it around into a hot tag for 10. He connected with a discus lariat on Terrell for the win.

Angelico, The Butcher & The Blade (w/ The Bunny) defeated Brandon Bullock, Bryce Cannon & Jameson Ryan

Angelico started the match with Cannon who had a very interesting hairstyle. The corners were almost like revolving doors. Eventually, Butcher and Blade were in the ring with Bullock when they hit the Drag the Lake. Everyone entered the ring at this point, but Angelico was the legal man. He hit the Navarro Death Roll on Bullock for the quick tap. This was a nice quick match to get Butcher and Blade back into the win column after losing to Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland last week.

Tony Nese (w/ Mark Sterling) defeated John Walters

“The Premier Athlete” was coming off a great match last Friday against Orange Cassidy where he did take the loss. Walters was making his AEW debut, but Coleman was quick to recognize him from his ROH Pure Wrestling Title run in 2004.

Nese started on the offensive with a shoulder tackle and some boasting pedal kicks in the corner. Walters came back and showed off what made him famous so many years ago with that “pure” wrestling. (See what I did there?) This one ended quickly as Nese hit Walters with the running knee in the corner for a quick pin.

Final Thoughts:

If you’ve got some extra time on your hands, check out Page vs. Ruffin. It was super fun and some of the best heat on a Dark show I have seen in awhile. Everything else was mostly a squash and I don’t see anything coming from this episode except for the continuing push of Hart.

This week’s AEW Dark: Elevation was taped before last week’s Dynamite in Rochester, New York.

Emi Sakura defeated Paris Van Dale

Sakura started the match by showing her strength and technique to mock Van Dale. She even handed Bryce Remsburg some fake tea. Van Dale, a Northeast Championship Wrestling regular, got some offense in with a bulldog and a facebuster. Sakura countered a suplex and hit the delayed backbreaker for the win.

Dante Martin defeated JD Drake

The story of the match started with Drake’s strength against Martin’s high-flying offense. Martin went for a tope just for Drake to knock him out of the air. Some great striking from Drake was followed by a belly-to-back suplex where Martin got dropped right on his neck.

They went back and forth until Martin hit a high cross from the top for a near fall. A big boot and a huge clothesline got Drake another two near falls. Martin counterd the cannonball senton and hit his finish for the win.

Julia Hart defeated JC

JC was super terrified of Hart. She was able to turn it around for a little bit until Hart just decided to sit in full guard and choke her. She locked in an arm lock submission that Tony Schiavone called Don’t Let Go JC for the quick tap.

Ethan Page defeated Colin Delaney

“Let’s go Colin” chants rang out to start the match and a couple of deep arm drags for Delaney made the crowd pop. Page got the upper hand and started beating down Delaney for a near DQ. Delaney fought back again with a beautiful cutter, but eventually Page hit the Ego’s Edge for the win.

Anna Jay defeated Shawna Reed

The Factory’s Anthony Ogogo joined commentary for this one. Reed got out of the gates hot, but Jay fought back and didn’t let up for the rest of the match. She locked in the Queen Slayer for the submission win.

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) defeated The Factory (Aaron Solo & QT Marshall)

Ogogo remained on commentary. Taylor and Solo started and Taylor locked in an ankle lock and Solo was quickly out of there. Best Friends then started to dominate by beating down on Marshall and hitting a double suplex in tandem, but some celebrating and distractions gave The Factory the heat. 

The Factory went for the Best Friends hug and the hard cam still hit the quick zoom out.

Taylor finally got the hot tag, hitting a couple of clotheslines into a tope. A blind tag by Beretta got him back in the match, but The Factory took advantage again with some dirty offense and Comoroto taking out Taylor on the outside.

They ended the match with all hell breaking loose and the Best Friends taking out both Comoroto and Marshall on the outside. They hit the Strong Zero on Solo for the three count.

Welcome to your 4th of July edition of AEW Dark: Elevation taped last Wednesday in Detroit, Michigan, with Tony Schiavone and Mark Henry on the call.

I would say expect some fireworks, but that would be too much of a dad joke.

Anna Jay (w/ Negative 1) defeated Megan Myers

This was Myers’ second appearance in AEW. Schiavone clued us in that she has quite a dance background and is also a fan of horror movies. She definitely has a unique look and approach that would support both of those statements.

This wasn’t good. Jay managed to miss/botch two straight corner moves and got the Queenslayer submission to end a short match. We’re two years into her AEW run and while she’s young at just 23, I’m not seeing the progression. I think part of that is she’s only worked 55 matches in those two years. She needs more ring time and four minute matches on Dark/Dark: Elevation aren’t going to cut it.

Best Friends defeated Isaiah Broner & GPA

This was the first match for Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta together since March as the latter reunited with Rocky Romero in Roppongi Vice as of late.

Broner and GPA showed some fight, but Taylor got the win after hitting a spinning piledriver. After failing to give the people what they want, they did just that after the match. This is actually their ninth straight win as a tag team, a streak dating back to October 2020.

Jay Lethal & Satnam Singh defeated Ren Jones & James Alexander

This was Singh’s second match. Both Jones and Alexander begged Lethal not to tag him in which got a laugh from the crowd. As expected, he didn’t do a lot but dominated with everything he did do. He laid out Alexander with a helicopter spin. We now await the official confirmation for Lethal vs. ROH TV Champion Samoa Joe at this month’s Death Before Dishonor.

Anthony Ogogo defeated Pat Monix

The Ogogo push from last year’s Double or Nothing feels like it was 10 years ago at this point. This was Monix’s AEW debut and the crowd came to life getting behind him as they didn’t care for Ogogo’s heel tactics. The end came as it always does: a pop-up punch to the face for the knockout stoppage. This is another guy who just needs to keep working wherever and whenever he can.

Hikaru Shida & Yuka Sakazaki defeated Heather Reckless & Laynie Luck

This marked Shida’s return and first match since she went to Japan and was removed from the women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament due to “injury.”

Dark veterans Reckless and Luck jumped Shida and Sakazaki before the bell, but they didn’t have it for long. Action broke down and Shida/Sakazaki hit several stereo moves like a bodyslam and vertical suplex and running forearm strikes. Shida picked up the win after hitting a falcon arrow.

Feels like the longest-reigning AEW Women’s Champion should get a little more respect than this for her reintroduction, but it doesn’t feel like there’s a solid plan for her.

Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds & 10) (w/ Negative 1) defeated The Factory (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto)

Stu Grayson and Alan Angels’ Twitter handles are still in the Dark Order namebar. 

I feel like I’ve seen this match about 50 times in different variations, but it’s actually just six. Still, neither faction is going anywhere hence why they are stuck on the Monday and Tuesday shows.

Henry said it cost him $128 to fill his truck’s gas tank. Celebrities really are just like us.

10 got the hot tag and cleaned house, hitting a delayed vertical suplex on Solo. Marshall broke up a full nelson attempt and action continued with all three Factory members taking out 10. Dark Order eventually rallied with 10 using an assisted wheelbarrow stun gun to set up a discus lariat for the win for the rapidly dwindling Dark Order.

Other than Lethal and Singh, no one on the show has a program going on the main shows. Neither Dark or Dark: Elevation feels relevant or buzzworthy so it’s a tough explanation as to what the need is to watch.

It’s Monday and you know what that means: a seven-match AEW Dark: Elevation taped last Wednesday at the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri.

Excalibur and Mark Henry were on the call tonight.

Nyla Rose defeated Max the Impaler

This was Max’s AEW debut. Rose started strong, but Max was able to withstand Rose’s strength. Despite Max initially being able to match Rose’s power, it was not enough. The former AEW Women’s Champion picked up the win after a massive Beast Bomb to improve her overall record to 70-28.

Private Party defeated Camaro Jackson & SK Bishop

Private Party used a new finisher — a combination of a neckbreaker and shooting star press — to win this squash.

Ortiz defeated Anaya

This was Anaya’s AEW debut and it was a short one. Ortiz used a fisherman’s buster to get the win as he heads into Wednesday’s hair vs. hair match against Chris Jericho.

ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez & Serena Deeb defeated Miranda Gordy & Tootie Lynn

Gordy is the daughter of the late wrestling legend, Terry Gordy. Martinez did an impressive delayed standing suplex on Lynn which the crowd always goes nuts for. This was a very easy match for the veterans and there was nothing Gordy and Lynn could do about it. Martinez used the Brass City Sleeper on Lynn to earn the submission win.

Matt Minard & Angelo Parker defeated Danny Adams & Warhorse

The former 2point0 destroyed Adams which helped build to a Warhorse hot tag that the crowd loved. Minard and Parker used double DDTs on Warhorse to get the win with yet another five-star performance, improving their tag team record to 11-3 this year.

Ruby Soho defeated Heidi Howitzer

Howitzer had the early advantage because of her massive size advantage. Soho lost her temper and worked a more aggressive style than the one we are used to seeing with her. Soho used Destination Unknown to get the job done.

Dark Order (Evil Uno & Ten) defeated The Factory (Aaron Solo & QT Marshall)

This was another chapter in The Factory vs. Dark Order feud. The Factory went to their heel shenanigans per usual, but the Dark Order boys were always one step ahead of them. Ten did an impressive delayed vertical suplex that lasted ten seconds to Solo and Evil Uno followed it up with a delayed vertical suplex of his own that lasted just one second. Ten used his full nelson on Solo to get the win.

This was the best match on the show.

It’s Monday and you know what that means: a four-match AEW Dark: Elevation that was taped last Wednesday at the legendary Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California.

Tony Schiavone, Mark Henry and Paul Wight were on the call tonight.

The Factory defeated Dark Order’s Evil Uno, John Silver, Ten & Alan Angels

Nick Comoroto called out Silver from the start, but Silver was able to overwhelm him quickly. The Factory’s strategy was to isolate Reynolds. Marshall tried to use a chair on him, but Evil Uno intercepted it and unfortunately, Audrey Edwards caught him and threw him out of the match. This is the first time we’ve seen that rule being applied in AEW.

The Factory proceeded to dominate thanks to the numbers advantage. Anthony Ogogo used the Gov’na’s Hammer to Alan Angels to get the  win and improve The Factory’s eight-man record to 2-0.

Frankie Kazarian (w/ Christopher Daniels) defeated Serpentico

This was the fourth time these two have faced each other in an AEW ring.

Kazarian and Daniels (the former SCU) got a great reception before the bell rang. Kazarian dominated most of this bout, hitting an out of nowhere slingshot cutter to get the win and up his overall record to 72-31.

Nyla Rose & Serena Deeb defeated Miyu Yamashita & Skye Blue

This match was the AEW debut of Yamashita from Tokyo Joshi Pro. Once again, Blue and Rose faced off again in a tag team match on Elevation. Deeb and Rose’s strategy was simple and effective by isolating Blue, but this would end up building up for a Yamashita hot tag.

Yamashita showcased her awesome striking with her kicks. Deeb worked the legs of both of her opponents with several dragon screws, but Deeb, in particular, worked over Yamashita’s left knee. In the end, Deeb used the Serenity Lock on Blue to get the win.

Death Triangle (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated The Wingmen

From the onset, he crowd went nuts for Death Triangle. PAC, Penta and Fenix dismantled Cezar Bononi quickly in a match that was all about hitting cool moves. Penta and Fenix used a combo Fear Factor to Peter Avalon to pick up the win.

Final Thoughts:

The show featured a great video package about AEW hosting their first show in such a legendary arena like The Forum and the AEW roster being excited for performing there. The show also had a video package highlighting Sonny Kiss which they will hopefully show on TV.

Four matches is the right number for this show as they are able to do more and showcase a more from the wrestlers. 

Rose & Deeb vs. Yamashita & Blue is a match worth watching, as well as the main event because of all the cool stuff Death Triangle did.

It’s Monday and you know what that means: a two-match AEW Dark: Elevation that was taped last Wednesday at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It was odd due to it having just two matches. Despite that, it was a breeze to watch and left most people wanting at least one more match.

Paul Wight and Mark Henry were on the call tonight, joined by Caprice Coleman later on the show.

Konosuke Takeshita defeated Ryan Nemeth (w/ Peter Avalon)

Takeshita got a great reception before the match began. Avalon tried some heel shenanigans to help Nemeth, but it wasn’t of much help. He tried to ground Takeshita with some amateur wrestling, but his showboating was his downfall and the beginning of the end. 

Avalon tried to intervene once again but it distracted Nemeth and set up Takeshita (5-3) for his jumping knee to end the match.

ROH Women’s Champion Mercedes Martinez defeated Mazzerati to retain the title

Martinez’s size was a big factor from the start as Mazzerati had trouble dealing with it. Martinez worked her left arm for a portion, but it didn’t factor into the match. The biggest spot of the match (and of the episode) was Martinez’s delayed standing suplex, which got a near fall. 

Martinez used the Brass City Sleeper for the submission to retain the title and improve her overall record to 9-3.