‘AEW: Dark’ Review (Feb 7th 2023)
Another week, another episode of AEW: Dark which this week features eight matches and is once again filmed at the Dark studios in Orlando, Florida rather than coming from on the road… Anyway, on with the review.
Match #1: Blake Christian def. Serpentico
My Thoughts: Ahhhh, we’re back to Serpentico actually giving a great performance and Blake Christian was a great foil for him too. Which meant this was a fantastic opener to this week’s show!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Rush def. Aiden Park
My Thoughts: Surprise, surprise, we get a squash match from Rush. but damn if Rush doesn’t do great squashes… I love how he’s both sneaky and dominant as he overpowers his opponents, and that was certainly the case here.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #3: Kiera Hogan def. Megan Meyers
My Thoughts: Another squash match, though this time featuring some rather awkward spots – so much so that neither Taz nor Excalibur could let them go unnoticed.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #4: Dalton Castle def. Dante Casanova
My Thoughts: What’s not to like about ANY Dalton Castle match? The guy could wrestle out of a paper bag and people, including myself, would eat it up! This was a fun yet competitive match, which meant this was another winner for this week’s Dark.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: Mascara Dorada def. Slim J
My Thoughts: Slim J might have a stupid look but he can still wrestle and that was totally evident in this match against Mascara Dorada – who’s appearing more and more frequently on AEW programming and it’s more than welcome. This was, as the boomers say, a banger of a match!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #6: The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) def. Logan Cruz & Tyshaun Perez
My Thoughts: So I take it The Outrunners are the new Wingmen? A comedy tag team that will job to major talent and win against other enhancement talent. I don’t see the appeal but hey, we’ll see what happens going forward.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #7: Baliyan Akki def. Rico Gonzalez
My Thoughts: Well Baliyan Akki surprised me here, delivering some smooth, well-timed and well put together wrestling. This was definitely a showcase for his work as he dominated against Gonzalez in another squash match on this week’s show.
My Score: 1 out of 5
Match #8: Konosuke Takeshita def. EJ Nduka
My Thoughts: EJ Nduka making his AEW debut and against Konosuke Takeshita no less? Sounds like a dream match if ever there was one! I’ve seen some people say this was a squash match but I beg to differ – these two guys went to town on each other and honestly either guy could’ve got the win and I’d still be happy. But Takeshita is my guy and he won so I’m VERY happy.
