‘AEW: Dark’ Review (April 26th 2022)
Welcome to this week’s review of AEW: Dark which was, apparently, filmed at the same time as Battle of the Belts 2 (the commentary table and ring barriers had the BOTB apron on it!). We’ve got a smaller 6-match card but one that features some bigger talent – which is apt given we’ve got a live paying audience and not the usual Universal crowd. Let’s get into the review!
Match #1: Red Velvet def. Dulce Tormenta
My Thoughts: Red Velvet is fully embracing her new “baddie” persona, which is probably for the best as her babyface persona was running out of steam – as heard in her Owen Hart qualifying match the other week. Here she takes a more determined, more vicious stance against Dulce Tormenta. Though Tormenta didn’t take it lying down, offering up some great offence. But like most of these “enhancement” talent matches, despite the commentary team trying to say otherwise, you knew the outcome was inevitable.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #2: Lee Moriarty def. Serpentico
My Thoughts: I’m liking the fact Serpentico is back doing singles matches – and the fact that he’s not just rolling over and taking the pins as he does in Chaos Project (though he couldn’t help but do that in last week’s match against Lance Archer). Lee Moriarty was his usual great self though I can’t help but think he now needs a big win to move him further up the roster.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #3: Anna Jay and Skye Blue def. The Bunny and Raychell Rose
My Thoughts: A semi-rematch from this week’s Elevation, with Anna Jay and Skye Blue teaming once again (without Ruby Soho) against The Bunny, who this times teams with Raychell Rose who teamed with The Bunny and Emi Sakura last week on Elevation. So at least we’re getting some rotation in the trios combinations (as I said I’d appreciate in yesterday’s review of Elevation). This one was mainly The Bunny and Anna Jay, with neither wrestler tagging in their partner till the end of the match – which is a shame because both Blue and Rose are decent up and comers who could definitely use this experience more than their partners.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Penta Oscuro def. QT Marshall
My Thoughts: Well this was a surprisingly good match. The shenanigans worked for this one too, allowing the outcome to fall into question even though Penta was clearly due the win. QT put in more effort into this match too which, when he does so, always helps the matches turn out great. Which this one was. Definitely one of the best Dark matches we’ve had in a while.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #5: Abadon def. Charlette Renegade
My Thoughts: A quick squash match for Abadon, whose hopefully being booked as a monster (literally and figuratively) on Dark and Elevation to bulk up her stats and get her into the women’s main event scene.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #6: The Hardys, Top Flight and Frankie Kazarian def. Private Party, The Blade, Angelico and Max Caster
My Thoughts: Another ten-man tag for AEW but one that didn’t break own as much as the recent Dark Order iteration. Great to see The Hardy’s on Dark AND tag-teaming with Top Flight as well. There was an interesting mix of styles here too, which all worked cohesively to deliver a fun and exciting match. One whose outcome was, unlike a number of other matches on this show, always in doubt.
