‘AEW Dark: Elevation – Episode 42’ Review
Welcome to this weeks reviwe of AEW Dark: Elevation. It’s another short show this week, which is good considering how busy Christmas week is – plus it helps out with general wresting fatigue given how much there is to watch each and every week! Anyway, let’s get into the review.
Match #1: Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura and The Bunny def. Jessica James, Gigi Rey and Lady Bird Monroe
My Thoughts: When Nyla Rose and co. got their intro I though “okay, another womens trios match, we;’ve had some good ones on Dark and Elevation so far” but then… Their competitors were already in the ring! Yes, we’re in squash match territory here – with James, Rey and Monroe only here to take a beating. This match featured Ruby Soho on guest commentary and that was the only reason for this match to exist, to further the upcoming TBS Tournament match between her and Rose.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #2: Red Velvet def. Madi Wrenkowski
My Thoughts: Another squash match? I didn’t expect that from this one – I hoped Wrenkowski would have at least got more than a minute to show off her skills but no. This was all about Red velvet kicking her arse as fast as possible. Still great to see BOTH women get entrances in this match – hopefully that means Wrenkowski has, or will be, signed to AEW.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Bear Country def. Chaos Project
My Thoughts: This match was all about Bear Country beating the hell out of Serpentico, Serpentico fighting back and then Luther throwing Serpentico arounf the ring as a human weapon. You know, the usual Chaos Project match! At least we got to see Bear Country in action, showing off their strength and skill here… Though, honestly you don’t nee that much skill against Chaos Project – they usually mess things up for themselves!
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: Andrade El Idolo def. Kaun
My Thoughts: Kaun makes his AEW debut and, even though he’s facing Andrade and we all expected a squash, he actually held his won and impressed. Kaun also didn’t take any of Andrade’s crap either, going toe to toe with him at times and in others showing just why Adrade is the veteran. This was a great debut for Kaun and I’d certainly welcome more from him on AEW programming.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Thunder Rosa def. Amber Rodriguez
My Thoughts: We’re in the usual territory for Thunder Rosa – alwasy in control of the match but letting her opponent get in somes moves, look good and even get a near fall. We’ve seen Rosa do it all before but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. Alwasya appreciate how Rosa showcases other women whilst still keeping up her own rep.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #6: Dark Orders’ Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and Pres”10″ Vance def. Matt Hardy, The Blade and Isiah Kassidy
My Thoughts: Well that’s a surprise. Dark Order have been back on their losing streak recently so to have them pick up the win here was fantastic. Even moreso given how strongly the HFO opened this match – with Hardy up to his usual heel work outside the ring and Kassidy flying here there and everywhere! Dark Order’s was a decisive win at that too.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2/5
This was an entertaining episode of Elevation but suffered from too many squash matches syndrome. Having a short show featuring more than one squash match should be frowned upon IMHO. I thought AEW had got over all the squash matches recently but they seem to be returning with aplomb. Still this show built to a great finish AND gave us the debut of Kaun, who looked great and should be signed up ASAP if you ask me.
