17th Jun2021

‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Jun 15th 2021)

by Phil Wheat

Welcome to this weeks episode of AEW: Dark, I’m Phil and I’m not holding out much hope for this episode of Dark after Monday’s episode of Elevation. Let’s put that disappointment aside and get to the show!

Match #1: Ethan Page def. Danny Limelight

My Thoughts: If you’re going to have one of your major stars work against an “enhancement” talent then it really ouight to be Danny Limelight. The guy makes every single one of his opponents look good and usually gets a chance to shine himself – as he did here with a great tightrope walk into a flipping neckbreaker! Shout-out to Scorpio Sky on commentary too… funny, sardonic and a great voice alongside Taz.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: Dante Martin def. Sonny Kiss

My Thoughts: Sonny Kiss was left to fend for themselves as Joey Janela’s heel turn continues… In terms of the match, Kiss and Martin are tag team wrestlers going solo and both looked great. Each one sold the others move brilliantly, making this one look highly competitive!

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #3: Nyla Rose def. Charlette Renegade

My Thoughts: The usual from Rose… Long intro featuring Vickie Guerrero and a quick squash match. Hey at least it means Charlette Renegade can say she wrestled on international “TV”. FYI… Going forward squash matches are getting a straight zero if there’s no offense by an opponent.

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #4: Evil Uno and Stu Grayson def. Shane Mercer and KTB

My Thoughts: Damn this was a good match. Grayson and Uno were their usual superb selves whilst Shane Maercer and KTB put on a greeat show too, getting some great near-falls on the Dark Order and looking strong even in defeat. It weas more the tag veterans had more up their sleeves rather than Mercer and KTB weren’t as good as Uno & Grayson.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Match #5: Wardlow def. Chandler Hopkins

My Thoughts: Another stupid squash match for Wardlow and another match where Chandler Hopkins getds thrown around the ring by a bigger man. Not as insulting to Hopkins as the Archer match the other week but still your typical WWE-style big man / small man squash match.

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #6: Cezar Bononi def. Dillon McQueen

My Thoughts: Two “big man” squash matches in a row?!? Hey, at least it got them out of the way for tonight. Still a total waste of “TV” time though. At least Bononi looks like a badass right now with his black eye!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #7: Frankie Kazarian def. Jake Tucker

My Thoughts: Former SCU tag team member turned “Elite Hunter” Frankie Kazarian made swift work of Jake Tucker, in what I’ve termed an AEW “quasi-squash” – not quite a squash match (usually because the opponent get some offense in or the main talent doesn’t totally go ham on the enhancement talent) but you know who’s going to win from the get-go.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #8: KiLynn King def. Valentina Rossi

My Thoughts: Valentina Rossi looked the part (she reminded my of NXT’s Raquel Gonzalez) and King gave her plenty of leeway to shine in this match. Eventually King brought the thunder with three huge clotheslines that turned the tide of the match and King hit Kingdom Falls for the win.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #9: Gunn Club def. Chaos Project

My Thoughts: More of the same from both teams, nothing exciting or news-worthy here… Billy Gunn looks confused… Luther throws Serpentico around… You know, the usual! Consider this the piss-break of this episode of Dark (you can’t pee during the squash matches as they’re too short).

My Score: 1.5 out of 5

Match #10: Tay Conti def. Willow Nightingale

My Thoughts: An impressive match between Conti and Nightingale. It’s the latter who was a standout here – she looked like she was having fun early doors before really selling Conti’s offense (something I love bout Nightgale, she can SELL). I think this might have been Nightgale’s best AEW match so far, even if she still lost. After some fast and furious action Conti eventually hit the DD-Tai for the win.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #11: The Acclaimed def. Alan “5” Angels & Colt Cabana

My Thoughts: Angels and Cabana gelled well here, with Angels in particular looking like a total star – some fast footwork, speeedy wrestling and near falls were the name of the day here. SOme nice storytelling with Cabana’s knee, weakening Dark Order just enough for The Acclaimed’s win to look like the right finish (though it was hard to tell who’d win this for most of the match).

My Score: 3 out of 5

News of the Night:

  1. Sonny Kiss called it quits on the tag team with Joey Janela

Final Verdict: 2.5/5

A big improvement over Monday’s Elevation but still let down by some stupid squash matches. This episode opened strong but went slowly downhill before picking up at the end of the broadcast. Still, despite my issues this was still a “fun” wrtestling show!

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