06th Sep2021

‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Sept 4th 2021)

by Phil Wheat

Welcome to this review of a special bonus pre-PPV edition of AEW: Dark, which was the final show before ALL Out, building further to the matches on the pay per view card – including a nice addition to the Women’s Casino Battle Royale match!

Match #1: 2point0 def. Roario Grillo and Hunter Knott

My Thoughts: This was another match to set up the dominating run of 2point0. The duo took charge early on in this one and never let go. Your typical squash match.

My Score: 1 out of 5

Match #2: Wheeler Yuta def. Baron Black

My Thoughts: I was rooting for Baron Black in this one. Not that I don’t like Wheeler Yuta but Black has put in a LOT of work during the pandemic era of AEW and really should be getting a push of some kind by now. But this one was really was a continuation of Yuta’s push/rise.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #3: Julia Hart def. Heather Reckless

My Thoughts: Nice to see Hart getting a push, especially so close to the All Out PPV and the Women’s Casino Battle Royale. Hart still looks a little green but she’s getting better week after week.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #4: Hikaru Shida def. Missa Kate

My Thoughts: Another Dark match for Shida, who’s seemingly been kept off Dynamite and out of the Women’s title race… At the same time she’s also been showing more of a mean streak while racking up the wins. Which is exactly what she did her.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #5: Red Velvet def. Skye Blue

My Thoughts: Well this was interesting. I expected a thorough demolishing of Skye Blue by Red Velvet but that’s NOT what happened, in fact this was a well-fought match betwen the two. And surprisingly the Chicago crowd were well and truly behind Blue, cheering her on and booing Red Velvet when she got the upper hand.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #6: Wardlow and Shawn Spears def. Brandon Gore and JDX

My Thoughts: This was exactly what you’d expect from a Wardlow and Shawn Spears squash match. The only this different about this one was Wardlow taggin in Spears after CLEARLY taking out Gore.

My Score: 1 out of 5

Match #7: Dark Order’s John Silver and Preston Vance def. Zachariah and Ren Jones

My Thoughts: This match was all Dark Order’s John Silver and Preston Vance. They took control, kept control, and squashed their opponents in a match that was unremarkable apart from the fact Silver WASN’T tagging with Alex Reynolds.

My Score: 1 out of 5

Match #8: Penelope Ford def. Queen Aminata

My Thoughts: This match was a blink and you’ll miss it one for sure. Absolutely nothing to write home about. A squash match of the usual “other company” variety if ever there was one.

My Score: 1 out of 5

Match #9: Frankie Kazarian def. Dean Alexander

My Thoughts: Nice to see Dean Alexander getting another match on “TV”, seems like he’s disappeared off AEW programming since the compamny got back on the road. But again, like every other post-SCU match Frankie Kazarian is in, he’s TOTALLY wasted here. The guy needs to get at LEAST to the mid-card or higher, challenging for the TNT title perhaps?

My Score: 1.5 out of 5

Match #10: Jade Cargill def. Blair Onyx

My Thoughts: Can I really write anything about a match so short? This was one that had a longer intro than the match!

My Score: 0 out of 5

Match #11: Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus def. Chaos Project

My Thoughts: This was a typical Chaos Project/Jurassic Express match. Both teams pulled out their usual movesets in a match that satisfied but didn’t excite. Not that any Jurassic Express match isn’t worth watching – after all Jungle Boy is a sight to behold in ALL his matches!

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

News of the Night:

  1. Julia Hart was taken out by the “team” of Jade Cargill and Nyla Rose in the back after her match.
  2. Tony Khan came out after the Skye Blue/Red Velvet match and offered Blue Hart’s place in the Casino Battle Royale.
  3. CM Punk came out after the last match to send the audience home happy… by singing the Golden Girls theme tune! It was hilarious seeing Jungle Boy having NO idea what was going on – he’s too young to even know the Golden Girls!

Final Verdict 2/5

Was it just me or did this episode of AEW: Dark come as a surprise? I had no idea there was a bonus episode until scrolling through Instagram AFTER the show has debuted! But was there any need for this show anyway? Packde with too much filler, this seemed to be only essential to announce Skye Blue replacing Julia Hart in the Women’s Casino Battle Royale and to have a series of promos strewn in between the matches to hype All Out. Nice to see plenty of women’s matches on the card though.

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