‘AEW Dark: Elevation – Episode 105’ Review
Welcome back to another review of AEW Dark: Elevation, which features eight matches this week. We’ve got regulars Paul Wight and Matt Menard on commentary as usual. So let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir def. Sandra Moone and J-Rod
My Thoughts: Well this was an interesting surprise. I expected a squash but no, Rose and Shafir let their opponents put some work in and this came off as more competitive than even the patented AEW “quasi-squash”. Great start to this week’s show!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Brian Cage def. Rob McKnight
My Thoughts: Now THIS was a squash match! Everything Rob McKnight tried to do was totally no-sold by Cage, who eventually trapped McKnight in the King Kong Clutch for the win.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Juice Robinson def. Titus Alexander
My Thoughts: Much like the first match on this show, Juice Robinson let Titus Alexander get in quite a bit of offence even though him winning was never in doubt.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: Skye Blue def. Leila Grey
My Thoughts: Given this was a match between two more inexperienced (compared to a lot of the wrestlers in AEW) this turned out to be a decent match-up and probably, IMHO, Grey’s best match in AEW so far.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #5: Christopher Daniels def. Cole Karter
My Thoughts: This felt like a test for Cole Karter as he tried his best against the more experienced, more bad-ass Christopher Daniels. This one went pretty long for a YouTube match but that’s not a bad thing when Daniels is involved. Like a Dustin Rhodes match, it’s like watching a master at work – just look at Daniels pull off the Best Moondsault Ever!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #6: Athena def. Brooke Havok
My Thoughts: Athena does her usual thing in a squash match and then attacks Havok after the match too. It’s starting to get a little old-hat now… AEW need to take a leaf out of Impact’s book and move these types of squashes to wrestlers higher up the AEW rankings to keep it going or just abandon this for something else.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #7: Lance Archer def. Jack Banning
My Thoughts: This was another squash from Archer, though for some reason they decided to drag this one out far longer than it needed to be. Over 3 minutes for a squash? Get out of here!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #8: Evil Uno def. Lee Johnson
My Thoughts: Great to see both Evil Uno and Lee Johnson in action, despite both’s recent matches it still feels like we haven’t seen this duo for ages… Uno seems to be keeping up the hard-edge style he used against Mox in their match the other week – which is really adding a LOT to his character IMHO.
