‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Aug 23rd 2022)
Another week, another episode of AEW: Dark which emanates from AEW Universal once again. We’ve got Taz and Excalibur on commentary as usual, so let’s get to the action!
Match #1: The Renegade Twins def. Rocky Radley & Allie Recks
My Thoughts: The Renegade Twins get to face the enhancement talent rather than BE the enhancement talent? What a shocker. And they got some decent competition in Radley and Recks (that’s actually one hell of a tag team name IMHO), making this another… let’s say it together… AEW quasi-squash match!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #2: Anthony Ogogo def. Meto
My Thoughts: This was Anthony Ogogo doing his usual thing of playing with his opponent, this time for longer than usual. I do wonder where Ogogo’s career can go beyond these kinds of matches?
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth def. Adrian Alanis & Liam Gray
My Thoughts: What’s that? The jobbers get to be the job-ees and squash the enhancement talent instead of being the brunt of someone else’s squash? What is going on in AEW’s storytelling department (aka Tony Khan’s mind)? Good to see Avalon get a win for a change if I’m honest.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #4: Blake Christian def. Lucky Ali
My Thoughts: Well this was a surprise. I know Blake Christian has been delivering barnstormers on the indies but he also delivers a great match here and so does his opponent Lucky Ali. Matches like this, that are literally surprisingly good, are why I keep watching Dark
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #5: Jora Johl def. Vary Morales
My Thoughts: Two guys who have been around a long time in AEW but don’t seem to have gained any traction go head to head. And what do we get? An average match as expected. The two were pretty well matched but there was here to get excited about.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #6: Max Caster def. Justin Cotto
My Thoughts: Max Caster gets a chance to do his thing solo and totally squashes his opponent Justin Cotto. This one was a short and sweet squash.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #7: Dante Martin & Matt Sydal def. Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto
My Thoughts: Dante Martin & Matt Sydal are always guaranteed to deliver a great match and that’s also the case here. Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto are always reliable as heels and they too deliver in this match. This might not set the world on fire on the likes of Dynamite or Rampage but on this episode of Dark? This felt like a stunner of a match!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #8: Daniel Garcia def. Westin Blake
My Thoughts: Westin Blake (yes THAT Blake, former tag partner of Buddy Murphy) makes his AEW debut in a match against AEW’s future superstar Daniel Garcia. And got in more offence against the angry young man than I expected. This was was a pretty competitive match, making it two in a row for Dark!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #9: The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Slim J, Parker Boudreaux) def. Ryan Howe, Omar Amir, & Cash Flo
My Thoughts: Another squash match, though one that let Slim J and Parker Boudreaux take centre stage for the Trustbusters. Otherwise this was your standard squash, with Boudreaux’s size and strength giving the Trustbusters the obvious advantage. Interesting introduction of VSK as Ari’s “butler” after the match too.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #10: John Silver, Alex Reynolds, & 10 def. Joey Sweets, DK Vandu, & Tyshaun Perez
My Thoughts: Another trios outing for Dark Order before their tournament match… Though the trio of Sweets, Vandu and Perez are no House of Black and no kind of tune-up talent for the Dark Order. But hey, at least these three will be well-versed in trios matches when they eventually win the tournament!
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #11: Tony Nese & Josh Woods def. GKM & Oliver Sawyer
My Thoughts: Another YouTube match for Tony Nese & Josh Woods and another match I couldn’t give two hoots about. By now this schtick is becoming dull. I get that they’re trying to make Nese and Woods look dominant but Woods already has that reputation and Nese is known for his wrestling talent. Putting them in matches like this is… as I’ve said before… a waste of both men,
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #12: Iron Savages def. Sean Maluta & Manny Lo
My Thoughts: WTF?! Bear Country are now the Iron Savages and are heels!?! And have a new manager? Yeah not for me thanks. Bear Country were, until injury split the team for a while, a dominant force in AEW and I get that they haven’t recaptured that in recent months but to just have a sudden change like this? Weird. AEW gets more WWE by the week!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #13: The Workhorsemen def. Rosario Grillo & Dean Alexander
My Thoughts: I do love me some Workhorsemen. I’ve been a fan of JD Drake since his first appearance in AEW and he works REALLY well with Anthony Henry. Both men deserve more outings in AEW together – Drake certainly needs more matches like this than the jokey Wingmen stuff he’s usually a part of.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #14: KiLynn King def. Mafiosa
My Thoughts: I absolutely LOVE the fact we’ve had KiLyn King on AEW for two weeks in a row and I love it even more when King is this dominant. King was once a mainstay of AEW’s women’s matches and it’s great to have her back on the roster, no matter how temporary. Though it can’t be THAT temporary if she’s challenging Britt Baker to matches and kicking her arse to build to it!
