‘AEW Dark: Elevation – Episode 88’ Review
Welcome back to another review of AEW Dark: Elevation, this week features nine matches once again and a number of big-name stars rather than jobbers! We’ve got Ian Riccaboni and Paul Wight on commentary, so let’s get into the review…
Match #1: Abadon def. Amy Rose
My Thoughts: Amy Rose makes her AEW debut getting annihilated by Abadon. Hey, at least she got some offence – and remarkably a one-count – before the match was over! Squash-tastic action.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #2: ROH Six-Man Tag Team Title Match – Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon and Brent Tate) def. The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J, and Jeeves Kay)
My Thoughts: Wow. We get an ROH title match on Elevation. Surprising. What’s not surprising is how not into this match the crowd was – which really hurt proceedings IMHO. Good to see Dalton Castle and The Boys in action but let’s not let the Trustbusters anywhere near those titles ever again, please?!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Athena def. Abby Jane
My Thoughts: Not the massive squash I anticipated, Abby Jane managed to hold her own against Athena, whose 100% in her heel persona now – once again beating down her opponent after the match. In the end though, this was your typical AEW quasi-squash match.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #4: Tay Melo def. Trish Adora
My Thoughts: You know you’re in trouble when the enhancement talent comes out of the match looking better than the signed talent… That was the case here as Trish Adora continues to impress even when they book her in squash matches.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #5: Dante Martin def. Eli Isom
My Thoughts: After Martin’s appearance on AEW’s YouTube shows, and then being announced for this one, I feared Martin may be floundering in AEW’s midcard but… to my surprise this match was a proverbial banger. Eli Isom was a great opponent for Martin and both men worked well together to deliver a superb main-show-worthy match IMHO.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #6: The Factory (QT Marshall, Lee Johnson & Cole Karter) def. Cheeseburger, Logan Easton Laroux & Rhett Titus
My Thoughts: The Factory’s latest additions, Lee Johnson and Cole Karter, get an outing on Elevation this week against ROH talent – including Cheeseburger, who was the only wrestler in this match the crowd gave a damn about! This was serviceable but nothing to write home about.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #7: Eddie Kingston and Ortiz def. Myles Hawkins and Joe Keys
My Thoughts: I hate to say this but this felt like a retread of every other Ortiz/Kingston tag match we’ve had. They squash their opponents, they win, Eddie either keeps the hold on too long or tries to use chairs/weapons on his opponents after the bell rings. It’s sad to see IMHO.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #8: Kip Sabian def. Alex Reynolds
My Thoughts: This was a solid match that featured decent, actual, wrestling. but it went on far too long and by the time it was over I’d, honestly, lost interest. Still, at least it wasn’t another squash match.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #9: Rocky Romero and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) def. Angelico, The Butcher and The Blade
My Thoughts: This match was going so well then things started to get weird – long cuts to people’s faces whilst commentary described the action, then a VERY hard cut at the end of the match that ended the entire thing early! No idea what was going on but it ended up detracting from what was a decent match unfortunately.
