‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Jan 25th 2022)
It’s Wednesday morning so you know what that means… It’s time for our review of this weeks AEW: Dark, which this week was taped during Dynamite tapings and so we’ve got a hot crowd and bigger names on this card than you might typically see on an episode of Dark.
Match #1: The Bunny def. Erica Leigh
My Thoughts: Erica Leigh opened this match with an old-school “evil bitch” mannerism that reminded me of the early 80s and the likes of Sensational Sherri. That did nothing for her however as The Bunny took control of the match and demolished Leigh in quick succession.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #2: 2point0 & Daniel Garcia def. Kekoa, Rayo & Pat Brink
My Thoughts: This match was over before it began, as 2point0 and Garcia jumped their opponents before the bell and didn’t let up. In fact, Garcia put the Scorpion Deathlok on his opponent and ended this one in literally just under a minute!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #3: Lance Archer def. Joe Keys
My Thoughts: What’s this? An enhancement talent that doesn’t just roll over for Archer. Surprisingly Keys even ducked Archer’s initial attack unlike pretty much all the rest of Archer’s opponents in these kinds of squash matches. Only this one WASN’T a squash match of Archer’s usual variety. Instead, Archer played with Keys AND with the audience, taunting both with moves he pulled back on or switched up Superb heel work from Archer, even shouting at a poor young girl in the audience!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: ‘Legit’ Leyla Hirsch def. Janai Kai
My Thoughts: I was hoping for something good here, after all, we’ve got two experienced fighters going at it in an AEW ring – the clash of style, grappling versus striking, could’ve made for something great, Instead we got Leyla putting an armbar on Kai and ending this one super-quick!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #5: The Acclaimed & Gunn Club def. Dark Order
My Thoughts: An eight-man tag match? What is this, the WWE? Trying to get everyone on the card are we Tony Khan? Whatever, this was an interesting well-balanced match whose outcome was seriously always in question. It did, at times, get a bit messy but everyone managed to keep it from going too far. Some great character work from the Ass Boys for once too.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Penta El Zero Miedo def. Wheeler Yuta
My Thoughts: WTH? Where did this match come from An unexpected match-up made for one of the best matches I’ve seen on Dark, nay on ALL of the AEW shows in weeks. This showed exactly why Wheeler Yuta was so hot coming into AEW and why he’s kind of been wasted as the third or fourth wheel in the “Best Friends” cadre. Penta always delivers exciting matches and with Yuta he had the perfect foil.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #7: Jungle Boy def. Nick Comoroto
My Thoughts: This one suffered from far too much interference from QT Marshall and Aaron Solo on the outside, so much so that it seemed to put Comoroto off his game and this wasn’t the fantastic match I was expecting. Jungle Boy still had to fight from underneath in this match – which was an odd choice given that there was no way in hell that JB was ever going to lose this one, even with all the shenanigans from The Factory.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
Between the short show, the fantastic Penta/Yuta match, this episode of AEW: Dark really felt like a step-up for the show – and that’s even with all the squash matches that filled the majority of this card. I get that this was also probably stacked due to being on the road and having that audience rather than the AEW Faithful at Universal Studios but we need more episodes of Dark like this.
