‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Sep 6th 2022)
Another week, another episode of AEW: Dark which emanates from Chicago like the rest of this past week’s shows. We got a tight 7-match card (thank god) so let’s get right to it!
Match #1: Josh Woods & Tony Nese def. Brandon Gore & Storm Grayson
My Thoughts: Again? Really? Well at least Nese and Woods are getting work. Work against jobbers but work nonetheless. Though we didn’t need two matches a week from those guys IMHO, especially when both are squash matches.
My Score: 1.5 out of 5
Match #2: Marina Shafir def. Laynie Luck
My Thoughts: This match felt like a step back from the work Shafir is doing in her tag matches with Nyla Rose (who was at ringside here), with a number of iffy-looking moves from Shafir that even Taz points out on commentary!
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Zack Clayton def. Serpentico
My Thoughts: Totally the wrong winner in this match. Serpentico shouldn’t be jobbing to someone like Zack Clayton, a man who has yet to really prove himself in AEW in the handful of matches he has had. Should’ve known Serpentico was set to lose though given Luther was in his corner… he always performs better when he goes solo!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Julia Hart def. Missa Kate
My Thoughts: Another good outing for Julia Hart who, every week, gets better and better, smoother and smoother. She really feels like she’s embraced this new character and it’s made her look a lot better in the ring. I do hope House of Black, and by extension, Hart’s development continues given the rumours about Malakai Black at All Out this past weekend.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #5: Serena Deeb def. Sierra
My Thoughts: Yet another quasi-squash match from Deeb. This felt like a repeat of her Elevation match from the start of the week – allowing her opponent to get in some decent offence and get out of some of Deeb’s moves before Deeb locked in her new finisher to get the win!
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #6: Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) def. GPA & Robert Anthony
My Thoughts: Like their Elevation match, this too felt like something of a throwaway match, especially given that Private Party has gone from eagerly anticipated “will be tag champs” to a less than mid-card tag team. It does look like AEW is trying to rebuild PP back to what they once were – hence all the flashiness is gone and the duo are back to putting on smooth, well-put-together, yet underwhelming matches.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #7: ROH World Championship Match – Claudio Castagnoli def. Ari Daivari
My Thoughts: Thank god we got a decent match to end this show, which felt almost like a repeat of Elevation for the most part. You can always count on Claudio Castagnoli to put on a good show and when he’s not being a d*ck with his Trustbusters crew so can Daivari – and that was the case here, even if it felt like the conclusion of this one was never, ever, in doubt.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5 /5
No idea what was going on here, with AEW seemingly rolling out most of the same roster members but against different enhancement talent. Even some of the matches felt similar! Therefore the score is exactly the same…
