‘AEW Dark: Elevation – Episode 49’ Review
Welcome to this weeks review of AEW Dark: Elevation, which comes from Chicago, Illinois. We’ve got Tony Schiavone, Paul Wight, and Mark Henry on commentary and seven matches to cover. So let’s get right into the action and this review!
Match #1: Bobby Fish def. Robert Anthony
My Thoughts: Well that was unexpected. Commentary gave Anthony props on a “good showing” in AEW despite losing all six of his matches so far… I should have known then that we weren’t going to get a squash match tonight from Fish. In fact, Robert Anthony had a really good outing here – taking it to Fish at points and looking like he was just on the cusp of getting the upper hand. Of course, it was sold as Fish “playing” with his opponent after he got the win…
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Emi Sakura, The Bunny & Diamante def. Heather Reckless, Queen Aminata & Sky Blue
My Thoughts: Emi Sakura, The Bunny & Diamante make for one hell of a team that’s for sure. Right from that badass pose to the camera on their entrance, to the ease in which they picked apart their opponents – well I say their opponents, but Skye Blue got a great showing in this match (in front of her hometown crowd too) with some aggressive wrestling. Some nice heel work meant that poor Heather Reckless took a beating and then some! Fantastic finish, with some more superb camera work making the heel trio look badass.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Scorpio Sky def. Stephen Wolf
My Thoughts: Scorpio Sky pretty much demolished his opponent here, really playing up the heel attitude, almost making a mockery of poor Stephen Wolf. If Bobby Fish was said to be playing with his opponent, then Sky REALLY was. He could have ended this one a lot quicker, instead it looked like he was taking some aggression out on Wolf. Until Wolf got a HUGE dropkick in… which was for nought though, as Scorpio almost took his head off with a superb cutter for the win!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #4: Julia Hart def. Arie Alexander
My Thoughts: Julia Hart continues her aggressive streak in this match, beating the hell out of Arie in the corner at one point. Long may this streak continue as it’s certainly improved the presentation of Hart over the past few weeks. Great looking submission finish too! I’m totally invested in where Hart’s storyline is going. Towards big things I hope!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #5: Dante Martin def. Aaron Solo
My Thoughts: If there’s one thing you can say about Aaron Solo, it’s that he can pull off good matches no matter the opponent. It’s a credit to his experience as a wrestler and a trainer that he knows how to look good AND make his opponent look good. This one suffered from a bit too much interference from Comoroto but that played into the heel nature of The Factory. As per usual Dante Martin worked from underneath, eventually hitting a dive to the outside followed by a huge moonsault for the win.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #6: Gunn Club and The Acclaimed def. Lee Johnson, Brock Anderson, Lee Moriarty & Matt Sydal
My Thoughts: Another huge multi-man match, which are getting as prolific this year as they were at the height of the no-fan pandemic era of wrestling. Interesting to see Lee Moriarty in this match given his promo last week about wanting to step things up in AEW. This is not that step up. Gotta say Brock looked the odd one out in this match – his style (both appearance and wrestling) felt like a throwback amongst a group of next-gen wrestlers, especially when compared to the likes of Moriarty, Johnson and The Acclaimed. Speaking of whom, the duo looked like this match was a breeze – I’d hate to be in the ring with them when they were REALLY trying.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #7: Best Friends def. Chaos Project
My Thoughts: We’ve seen Serpentico in some great matches whilst Luther has been off TV but we’re right back to standard Serpentico for this match. For shame. Luther pushed him around both verbally and physically, undermining everything we’ve seen in Serpentico’s singles outing to date. Unfortunately for all involved in this match, it felt like a damp squib, especially for the main event.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3/5
Despite the lower scores for the individual matches, this weeks episode of Elevation didn’t disappoint – apart from the main event. The pace flowed, the matches didn’t run long and the excitement was high. Everything you want from a wrestling show IMHO.
