‘AEW Dark: Elevation – Special’ (Aug 4th 2022)
Welcome to this review of a special Thursday night episode of AEW Dark: Elevation, which precedes this week’s Rampage AND Saturday’s Battle of the Belts 3 show. Once again we’ve got the duo of Tony Schiavone and Mark Henry on commentary this week… Let’s see what the show has to offer!
Match #1: Hikaru Shida def. Emi Sakura
My Thoughts: This was a hard-hitting women’s match between two ladies who have the experience in the ring and with each other to make this one look super-competitive. This one went back and forth, with Sakura seemingly getting the upper hand before Shida stole the win in her usual inimitable style!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Mance Warner def. Serpentico
My Thoughts: Mance Warner makes his AEW debut on this special episode of Elevation before facing Jon Moxley on Rampage! Nice tune-up for Warner, against an opponent who – as I’ve always said – looks great in singles competition AND makes his opponents look great too. Yes, I’m talking about Serpentico… Though he’s brought Luther with him for this one, which is not ideal for the audience’s eardrums!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #3: Tony Nese & Josh Woods def. Dean Alexander & Damian Chambers
My Thoughts: This was essentially a squash match to showcase the new team of Tony Nese and Josh Woods – who demolished their opponents with ease. It was nice to see Dean Alexander in in-ring competition again, even though he didn’t do too much… Well apart from a solid dropkick to Tony Nese head to break the pin which looked like it really made an impact!
