‘AEW: Dark’ Review (March 29th 2022)
It’s time for this week’s review of AEW: Dark, which emanates from AEW Universal once again and features only 8 matches this week… which hopefully means we’re not going to be subjected to the ridiculous squash-tastic action that we got last week! We’ve got Taz and Excalibur on commentary so let’s get right to it.
Match #1: The Factory (Aaron Solo, QT Marshall, & Nick Comoroto) def. Invictus Khash, Adam Priest, & Gus De La Vega
My Thoughts: QT and co. played the big heel card in this match, with QT himself really p*ssing off the audience in attendance. It wasn’t all about the Factory though, as Invictus Khash – who’s been tagging recently with Ariya Daivari in a couple of Dark/Elevation matches – got in some good offence and showed off the same skills that have impressed in his previous appearances for AEW. A solid start to this week’s Dark IMHO.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Emi Sakura def. Leila Grey
My Thoughts: Emi Sakura in a rare singles appearance on Dark, taking on Leila Grey who herself has made a number of appearances on AEW’s YouTube shows over the past year or so. Unfortunately for both ladies it seemed the crowd wasn’t really interested in this one, with only a handful getting behind Sakura’s chant(s). That didn’t stop the action from being solid, with Grey upping her game from her last match in AEW.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #3: Diamante vs. Kelsey Heather
My Thoughts: This was some squash-tastic action, with Diamante taking the fight to Heather and never letting up – so much so that Heather seemed to be bleeding from her nose at one point. This really looked like Diamante taking out her frustrations on enhancement talent!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #4: Dark Order (Stu Grayson, Alan Angels, & Evil Uno) def. Jay Marte, Richard King, & Alexander Zane
My Thoughts: Alexander Zane tried to get in some early offence on Dark Order, slugging Stu Grayson in the face before being beat down by Grayson and co. Only Alan Angels took any of the enhancement talents offence after that. Still, Angels eventually got the win with a frogsplash. Why this wasn’t a total squash I don’t know – Dark Order need more dominant wins that’s for sure!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Frankie Kazarian vs. Kaun
My Thoughts: Kaun has been impressive in his prior appearances for AEW and he did so again here. In fact, this was even more impressive given his opponent was the veteran Frankie Kazarian. Both men made the other look good, so much so I’d be more than happy with Kaun joining AEW permanently… or maybe the new AEW-owned ROH and work his way to the AEW roster?
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: Tay Conti vs. Shalonce Royal
My Thoughts: Here we go again… I don’t get Shalonce Royal’s opera singing gimmick and I don’t like it so I’m glad this one didn’t go too long. Some nice interference by -1 to help Tay get the win.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #7: Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, & 10) vs. Foxx Vinyer, Brandon Bullock, & Jameson Ryan
My Thoughts: Dark Order make a second appearance on this episode of Dark and face another trio of enhancement performers in a match that was as average as the previous one. Dark Order SHOULD be killing it in AEW but they’ve fallen into a weird midcard position where they’re the enhancement talent for other main roster talent but win against ACTUAL enhancement talent. They need to recapture that vicious edge they had before all the vlog appearances IMHO.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #8: Nyla Rose def. Keira Hogan
My Thoughts: Now this made for a refreshing change. Nyla Rose in a Dark match that WASN’T a squash match. It’s clear this is part of Rose’s climb up the rankings to face Thunder Rosa for the title but it’s good to see not all her rank-boosting matches will be against enhancement talent. Plus, for Hogan, there’s no shame in losing to Rose after putting in this kind of work.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
An improvement over last week’s show, this episode of Dark felt like a hell of an upgrade to the squash match filled shenanigans of that episode. Still not as hot as it has been in the past, at least we got some matches that felt like they could appear on Dynamite or Rampage – in particular the main event. Plus we got two future stars showing off their skills in the form of Invictus Khash and Kaun – two guys who deserve some decent higher-profile matches after the work they’ve put into the likes of Dark and Elevation.
