Tag: aew dark

This week’s AEW Dark action was filmed at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, in January.

Blake Christian defeated Serpentico 

Christian locked in an arm hold early on, but Serpentico responded with a few chops and a flatliner. Serpentico surprisingly had control of the bout until Christian rocked him with a corkscrew kick that sent him out of the ring.

After a quick dive onto Serpentico, Christian rolled him in the ring and nailed him with a Spanish fly. Moments later, he hit a moonsault and picked up the win.

Rush defeated Aiden Park

Rush nailed Park with a forearm that sent him outside of the ring to start things off. Rush then threw him into a few guardrails before whipping him a few times with a cable cord.

Once the match made it back in the ring, Rush charged Park in the corner with a pair of double knees. He finished Park off by hitting him with the Bulls Horns for the win. He moves on to face Bryan Danielson on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

Kiera Hogan defeated Megan Meyers

Hogan was able to make quick work of Meyers as she started off by hitting her with a few hip attacks. Hogan then hit her with a sliding dropkick in the corner, followed up by an inside cradle suplex to score the win.

Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys) defeated Dante Casanova

Castle was a bit overwhelmed with Casanova’s offense at first, but after taking a short breather, he came back and landed a series of suplexes that resulted in a near fall. Castle then hit Casanova with a Bang-A-Rang to pick up the quick win.

Mascara Dorada defeated Slim J (w/ Jeeves Kay & Sonny Kiss)

Dorada took Slim J to the mat early on and applied a bow submission, which got a big reaction from the crowd. After rolling out of the ring, Dorada tried a dive, but J ducked out of the way at the last moment to prevent it.

Once they both were back in the ring, J tried to work Dorada down with a few different holds. Dorada would respond by hitting J with a springboard back elbow, sending him back outside of the ring. Dorada then completed his torpedo dive, but this time he landed on all of The Trustbusters.

In the final moments, J attempted a moonsault, but missed. Dorada took advantage and hit his own moonsault to pick up the victory.

The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) defeated Logan Cruz & Tyshaun Perez

Perez and Magnum started out, and Floyd came in moments later, taking down Perez with a shoulder block, prompting him to tag out to Cruz. Cruz would immediately get planted into the mat with a powerslam. Seconds later, Floyd and Magnum hit Cruz with a powerslam/neck breaker combination for their first AEW win in five outings.

Baliyan Akki defeated Rico Gonzalez

Akki countered one of Gonzalez’s headscissors attempts early on and decked him in the head with a stiff kick. Gonzalez continued to try and ramp up the pace, but Akki slowed things down with various submissions.

After kicking out of a dropkick from the top rope, Gonzalez fired back with a series of chops. This wouldn’t stop Akki’s momentum as he went on to nail Gonzalez with a fisherman’s brain buster. Akki went on to finish off the match by hitting Gonzalez with a splash from the top rope for his first-ever AEW win in five outings.

Konosuke Takeshita defeated EJ Nduka

This aired just a few hours before Nduka’s challenge of MLW Champion Alexander Hammerstone aired on the debut of MLW Underground on Reelz.

Takeshita tried to lift Nduka up for a suplex, but Nduka responded with an elbow strike. He followed up with a great spear that quickly got the crowd into the match. Nduka looked like he had full control at this point as he nailed Takeshita with a blue thunder bomb for a near fall.

Takeshita would go on to respond with his own blue thunder bomb, but he wasn’t able to put away Nduka. Takeshita followed up with a high knee strike, a brainbuster, and a running knee strike to pick up the win. He moves on to face AEW World Champion MJF in a title eliminator on Wednesday’s Dynamite.

The following matches were taped in December at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Britt Baker (w/ Rebel) defeated Billie Starkz

Baker and Starkz went head-to-head as the match began, allowing Baker to throw a couple of stiff elbows. Baker had full control of the match until Starkz was able to get a big boot in. Starkz then went to the top rope, but Rebel jumped in the ring and took a swanton from Starkz.

As the two stars began to trade shots back and forth, Baker’s nose was busted up. Baker would eventually gain the advantage, hitting Starkz with a Canadian destroyer. Moments later, she hit Starkz with her signature curb stomp for the win.

Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silve  & Alex Reynolds) defeated Marcus Kross, Vary Morales & Baliyan Akki 

Silver and Morales started out. After sending him to the mat with an armdrag, Silver again took Morales down with a uppercut. Silver then tagged out to Uno who allowed all members of the Dark Order to hit Morales with a strike.

Morales then motioned to tag out to Akki and Uno immediately went to work on him. Reynolds then entered as did Kross. Kross was quickly on the receiving end of a pendulum bomb from all three members of Dark Order, giving them the win.

Tony Deppen defeated Serpentico (w/ Luther & Angelico)

Serpentico took down Deppen with a shoulder tackle early on as the two ran the ropes together. Deppen then rolled out of a running attack before following up with a dropkick to the head. With distractions from both Luther & Angelico, Serpentico regained control of the match quickly, but referee Bryce Remsburg would go on to eject both of Serpentico’s pals from ringside.

This allowed Deppen to throw Serpentico across the ring with an armdrag which turned into a quick pin for the win — Deppen’s first in AEW.

Matt Sydal defeated Cezar Bononi (w/ Peter Avalon)

Bononi got Sydal on the mat early and laid in some stomps. Bononi then lifted Sydal up and attempted to toss him into the turnbuckle pad but Sydal hit the actual turnbuckle instead.

That wouldn’t matter in the end as Sydal could Bononi in a cradle pin moments later to score the victory. After the match, Top Flight saved Sydal from a beatdown at the hands of The Wingmen.

Harley Cameron defeated Brittany J

Cameron was confident early on, but J’s arrogance really canceled that out. Cameron was quick to work around J’s offense, allowing her to hit her with a superkick for a near fall. Cameron then hit her opponent with a lariat, followed up by a backstabber for the pin and win in her return to AEW.

Madison Rayne defeated Kaci Lennox

Rayne was stiff with her strikes in the opening moments, but Lennox still was able to plant her with a samoan drop for a near fall. Rayne quickly regained control and hit Lennox with a rotating facebuster for the victory.

Action Andretti defeated Bronson of the Iron Savages

Andretti escaped Bronson’s waistlock by jumping onto his shoulders moments after the bell rang. Andretti then nailed Bronson with a twisting springboard senton for a near fall. When Andretti tried to follow up, Bronson clipped him and took him off the apron. Bronson then proceeded to hit his own dive, which allowed him to take control of the bout for the time being.

After delivering a few more slams, Bronson went to the top rope. Andretti was able to get up and meet him on the top, sending Bronson crashing to the mat with a superplex.

The final moments saw Andretti catch Bronson with a springboard back elbow for another near fall. Andretti yet again tried to put away Bronson with a thrust kick, but the Iron Savages member was able to get his shoulder up just in time. 

After some more back and forth, Andretti nailed Bronson with a running shooting star press for the win.

Mascara Dorada defeated Anthony Henry

In his second AEW outing, Dorada tried to speed up the pace of the match early on, but Henry was able to slow things down with his methodical pace. Henry applied a variation of holds to Dorada before teeing off on his back with a stiff kick followed by a few to the chest.

Dorada began to fight back, sending Henry crashing to the mat with a dropkick that had great air. Henry responded with a great power bomb for another near fall. Henry then tried to hit a top rope stomp, but Dorada rolled out of the way and instead got caught with a boot in the corner.

Dorada and Henry ended up on the middle turnbuckle together, allowing Dorada to hit a springboard facebuster. Moments later, Dorada followed that up with a springboard elbow drop to score the win.

This week’s AEW Dark was taped recently in Portland, Oregon.

Kiera Hogan defeated Danika Della Rouge

Rogue showed a lot of passion and fight early as she was able to take down Hogan and connect with a few punches. Hogan quickly regained control and hit Rouge with a hip attack, followed by a few clotheslines.

After scoring a near fall on Rouge with a leg drop, Hogan planted her opponent with a backdrop suplex to score the quick win.

Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Carl Randers

Cage immediately picked up Randers at the sound of the bell and let him fall to the canvas face down. After nailing him with a superkick, Cage destroyed Randers with three separate variations of a power bomb. Seconds later, he hit Randers with a lariat to pick up his third straight victory.

Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia defeated Deimos & Brian Cook

Garcia and Deimos started out and after exchanging a few holds, Deimos tagged out to Cook, prompting Guevara to ask for a tag in. 

Guevara started a series of offense by hitting Cook with a snap suplex which only scored him a near fall. Guevara tagged to Garcia and then sent Cook to the outside. While holding Cook for a dive, Garcia ran the ropes, but instead of diving, he stepped out of the ring and chopped him. 

The finish of the match came moments later when Guevara came back in and nailed Cook with a GTH for the win. Garcia faces Action Andretti this Friday on Rampage.

Action Andretti defeated Ari Daivari

Daivari started by offering to protect Andretti from the Jericho Appreciation Society if he purposely lost the match. Andretti was seemingly going to accept until he baited Daivari into a small package for a near fall.

Daivari controlled the mid portion of the match as he dragged Andretti’s bruised face across the top rope to gain an advantage. Andretti was able to regain his footing after wiping out Daivari with a great dive, which was followed by a split legged moonsault.

Andretti went on to score the win after nailing Daivari with a running shooting star press for the victory.

Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Jaiden

Hobbs’ first few attempts at offense were reversed by Jaiden, but the fun stopped when Hobbs planted him with a spinebuster. Hobbs went on to finish Jaiden rather quickly with a torture rack slam.

Matt Menard & Angelo Parker defeated Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson

Menard and Parker jumped their opponents at the bell. They beat up Gibson for a bit before planting him with an elevated DDT for the win. It’s also worth mentioning that Menard and Parker wrestled the entire match in their JAS jackets.

Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) defeated The Butcher & The Blade (w/ The Bunny)

Castagnoli and Blade squared off outside the ring while Yuta and Butcher dueled it out on the other side of the ring. After choking Yuta in front of a child, Butcher began to assist Blade with a beatdown of Castagnoli.

The match returned to the ring shortly after, finally starting the match. After nailing Castagnoli with a gutwrench suplex, Blade tagged out to Butcher. At this point in the bout, Yuta was still nowhere to be found. 

As the bout went on, Butcher and Blade continued to trade tags back and forth as they worked down Castagnoli. Eventually, Castagnoli side-stepped a running Butcher and sent him into the turnbuckle, allowing for Yuta to make a fantastic hot tag.

Yuta grabbed Blade by the ear, positioned him in the corner, and rained down a flurry of elbows and forearms. Yuta followed that with a bridging German suplex for a near fall. Moments later, Castagnoli assisted Yuta with a dive off the top rope onto Blade for the win.

This week’s AEW Dark was taped last Friday in Portland, Oregon, and featured an ROH Women’s title match.

Juice Robinson defeated Travis Williams

Robinson immediately took Williams to the mat, but that didn’t stop Williams from jumping back up and delivering a kick to the head, followed up by an unsuccessful dropkick attempt in the corner.

Robinson took advantage of Williams’ misstep and tried to keep him grounded, but Williams used the momentum of the crowd to plant Robinson with a deadlift german suplex. After kicking out, Robinson hit Williams with a lariat and a front facing DDT to secure the win.

His night was not yet over.

Willow Nightingale & Ruby Soho defeated Diamante & Emi Sakura

Sakura & Diamante jumped their two opponents as the bell rang. The match quickly spilled to the outside as both teams brawled around the ring. Nightingale gave Sakura a death valley driver on the floor which allowed Diamante to come in and send Nightingale across the floor with a dropkick.

A series of violent exchanges between @willowwrestles, @emiSakura_gtmv and @DiamanteLAX on #AEWDark! 😱
▶️ https://t.co/F9FYFUEU5L pic.twitter.com/5Q5pkq9uNJ

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 11, 2023

Soho took advantage of a distracted Diamante as she rolled her in the ring and hit Destination Unknown for the victory. They face Anna Jay A.S. & Tay Conti in a street fight on Friday.

Jake Hager defeated Steve Migs

Hager gained the advantage after the two locked up at the bell. Migs grabbed Hager’s hat off the turnbuckle and teased putting it on, followed by Hager running him over with a lariat. Hager then got the quick victory.

The Firm (Lee Moriarty & Big Bill) defeated The Voros Twins

Bill squashed one of the twins in the corner early on before focusing on the other one. After sending him across the ring with a overhead slam, Moriarty came in and delivered a few elbows to one of the twins, but the other tagged in and fired off a few kicks to Moriarty.

The match ended soon after as Bill came in and chokeslammed the legal twin to score the win via pinfall. Bill & Moriarty face JungleHook on Wednesday.

– Juice Robinson cut a promo backstage proclaiming 2023 was going to be his year. Dark Order interrupted and offered Robinson a spot in the group. Robinson declined, citing that he’s still in Bullet Club and would not be friends with the group if they were the last people on earth.

#DarkOrder's @EvilUno, @YTAlexReynolds and @silvernumber1 extend an offer to #RockHard #JuiceRobinson!
Check out #AEWDark right here:
▶️ https://t.co/F9FYFUEU5L pic.twitter.com/hgI6GKmwQZ

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 11, 2023

Tay Melo & Anna Jay A.S defeated Teal Piper & Kel

Kel and Melo started out. After some swaying from Melo, Kel turned around to tag in Piper, but Melo instead blasted Kel from behind. Melo then tagged out to Jay, who helped her hit a double suplex for a near fall. The crowd was fully behind a Piper hot tag at this point, which Jay delayed even further after clocking her with a forearm on the apron.

Piper, the daughter of Roddy Piper, eventually got the hot tag and took down both Melo and Jay with a series of clotheslines and an eye poke. After being kicked in the stomach, Piper tagged back out to Kel who was immediately hit with a pump kick from Melo. Moments later, Jay submitted Kel with her Queenslayer submission and move onto Friday’s street fight.

Ethan Page, Matt Hardy & Isiah Kassidy defeated Judas Icarus, Sebastian Wolfe & Caleb Teninty

Wolfe and Page started, but Page quickly tagged out to Kassidy. Wolfe rolled to the outside, prompting Kassidy to springboard onto him on the outside. Icarus came in and got hit with a double suplex from Kassidy and Hardy. As the match was going on, Page was loudly yelling over the mic.

In the closing moments, Kassidy came off the top rope with a swanton bomb onto Teninty. When Kassidy went to pin him, Page demanded to be tagged in. After he was, Page mocked Hardy by hitting a Twist of Fate on Teninty to secure the victory.

ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Marina Shafir (w/ Vickie Guerrero) to retain the title

This was set into motion on Monday’s Dark: Elevation.

Shafir wrestled Athena to the mat shortly following the opening bell, prompting Athena to clutch onto the rope. After recovering, Athena nailed Shafir with a forearm. Shafir would respond with a forearm of her own before Athena dragged her to the apron and slammed her head into the turnbuckle.

After a distraction from Guerrero, Shafir gained the upper hand for a moment and tried to cinch in a few different holds, including an armbar. Athena fought to separate the hold which took quite a bit of effort. Shafir then sent the champion spilling to the outside with a kick. 

Both women continued to evenly match with one another in the back half of the match as Shafir focused on submissions while Athena focused on strikes. Athena then tried to climb the turnbuckles, but Shafir followed her up there and made her nearly pass out with a chokehold. After recovering, Athena blasted Shafir at ringside with a suicide dive. The champion then positioned Shafir on the steps and delivered a pair of knees to the face.

Athena went on to pick up the win and successful title defense moments later after pinning Shafir with a handful of tights.

This week’s AEW Dark matches were taped last month at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Christopher Daniels defeated Brian Pillman Jr.

Daniels maintained control of the match early on as he hit Pillman with a few armdrags for a near fall. Pillman fought back with a few strikes, but Daniels responded by grounding him with a waistlock.

Pillman fought out of the hold after gaining some support from the crowd. This prompted a chop exchange in the middle of the ring which Pillman won after nailing Daniels with a hard chop and a dropkick. Pillman then drilled Daniels with a superkick which resulted in another near fall.

Daniels eventually stopped Pillman’s momentum and put him in position for a Best Moonsault Ever. Moments later, Daniels landed it which secured him the victory in his first AEW match since July 2022.

Emi Sakura (w/ Baliyan Akki) defeated Jada Stone

Stone nailed Sakura with a few forearms to start, but Sakura quickly turned the tables and took Stone to the mat. After holding Stone in the Romero Special for a few moments, Sakura put Stone in the corner and chopped her multiple times. Sakura went on to win shortly after by hitting Stone with a backbreaker and a moonsault.

– Arn Anderson cut a promo backstage and talked to both Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr. After discussing the pair’s recent losses, Anderson told the team they were gonna turn their fortunes around sooner rather than later.

Ryan Nemeth defeated Dak Draper

Nemeth had firm control in the first few moments until Draper came off the top rope with a springboard back elbow. Only seconds later, Nemeth turned one of Draper’s offensive attempts into his signature neckbreaker for the win.

Blake Christian defeated Sean Maluta

Christian and Maluta locked up early with Christian gaining the advantage. After nailing Maluta with a dropkick, Christian slammed his head into the turnbuckle. Instead of being hurt from the move, Maluta used it to power up and charge Christian in the corner with a back elbow.

After hitting a twisting bulldog, Christian sent Maluta neck first into the middle turnbuckle with a sunset flip powerbomb. Christian then attempted to go to the top turnbuckle, but Maluta rolled out of the ring. Christian followed to the outside and hit him with a cutter on the arena floor.

In the final moments, Christian nailed Maluta with his signature 450 for the victory.

Ari Daivari (w/ Slim J and Jeeves Kay) defeated Leon Ruffin

Daivari offered Ruffin a spot in the Trustbusters if he agreed to lay down and let Daivari pin him. Ruffin obviously declined.

Ruffin’s speed allowed him to dodge the majority of Daivari’s offense early on. This would prompt Ruffin to take out Daivari at ringside with a diving senton. When Ruffin tried to capitalize, Kay distracted him which allowed Daivari to regain control.

Ruffin continued to fight back throughout the match which led to a spectacular cutter that really energized the crowd. Seconds after, the Trustbusters yet again distracted Ruffin, allowing Daivari to nail him with a lariat for the win.

After the match, the Trustbusters continued their assault on Ruffin until AR Fox and Blake Christian made the save.

Rohit Raju defeated Richard Adonis

Raju and Adonis engaged in a battle of kicks early on until Raju slammed Adonis head first into the mat. Although Adonis landed a thrust kick later in the match, Raju controlled the entire match, finishing Adonis with a foot stomp from the top rope to secure the pinfall victory.

Brutal diving foot stomp by Rohit Raju @HakimZane to score the victory on #AEWDark!

▶️ https://t.co/GyaphUOopE pic.twitter.com/sOFPmr92IR

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) January 4, 2023

In a interview later with Lexy Nair, Raju said he was hungry for more in AEW after only eating crumbs in 2022. This was a great promo.

Give this a listen. @HakimZane is the man. #AEWDark pic.twitter.com/yd5687fjaH

— Kam Dreesen (@TheKamDreesen) January 4, 2023

Jora Johl defeated Jarrett Diaz

Johl threw Diaz across the ring twice to start the bout. After Diaz attempted to pin him with a small package, Johl sent him to the mat with a rolling forearm smash. The match was finished up moments later after Johl caught a diving Diaz with a pump kick.

Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) defeated Blanco Loco & Axton Ray

Silver handled Loco with ease in the opening moments, prompting Reynolds to come in. Reynolds took down Loco with a big boot, but then Ray ran across the apron to nail Reynolds with a kick to the head. This allowed Loco and Ray to have an advantage for just a moment before Silver and Reynolds hit a few double team maneuvers in synergy, giving them the pin and win.

Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese & Josh Woods) (w/ Mark Sterling) defeated Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis

Woods and Gray began and after tossing Gray over his head with ease, Woods tagged out to Nese. Nese worked down Gray in the corner before tagging back out to Woods who quickly tagged back out of the match.

After being beat on all match, Gray finally tagged in Alanis who was quickly on the receiving end of a Nese and Woods assisted power bomb that got them the win.

Kiera Hogan defeated Kaci Lennox

Hogan wrecked Lennox with a hip attack in the corner in the opening seconds of the bout. Moments later, Hogan planted Lennox with a back body drop for the win. She teams with Skye Blue against TBS Champion Jade Cargill and Red Velvet Wednesday.

The Trustbusters (Sonny Kiss & Slim J) (w/ Jeeves Kay) defeated Ryzin & Cameron Stewart

After working over Kiss’ arm for a bit, Stewart tagged out to Ryzin, who planted Kiss with a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Kiss later regained control which opened the door for he and Slim J to hit an assisted neckbreaker. Moments later, Kiss hit Stewart with a 450 splash for the victory.

Shawn Dean defeated Ariel Dominguez

Dominguez gave Dean a run for his money early on, hitting Dean with a thrust kick for a near fall. Dean quickly turned his fortunes around, winning after hitting a top rope splash.

Top Flight defeated The WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)

This was excellent and, by far, the only match on the show that I found exciting and/or entertaining.

Henry and Darius Martin started out and after ducking and dodging Henry’s attempts at offense, Darius tagged out to Dante who dropkicked Drake off the apron. At this point in the match, everything pointed to a Top Flight victory.

Top Flight continued to isolate Henry until he was able to quickly tag out to Drake, who started his stint in the match by chopping Darius in the back of the head. After being on the receiving end of a dropdown headbutt, Darius somehow tagged out to Dante.

Dante eventually got the upper hand and kicked Henry square in the head after being beat down for a few moments. Darius came in shortly after and rocked Drake with a kick before planting Henry with a spanish fly. Dante then came off the top rope and sent Henry across the ring with a dropkick. 

The final moments got a bit messy, but Top Flight was eventually able to hit the combination Nosedive on Henry to secure the win.

My favorite new move ❓❓

I think so! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 @lucha_angel1 @DariusMartin612 #AEWDark pic.twitter.com/kbSstmEpAc

— Kam Dreesen (@TheKamDreesen) January 4, 2023