Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 3.23.21

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Let’s jump into this week’s episode of AEW Dark.

Chaos Project (8-10) vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds (3-0)

LONG JOHN SILVER gets more jacked by the minute. Let the man do bicep curls in the ring mid-match and you’ll get the highest YouTube views ever. Our friend -1 joining the action on the ramp with his best Damien Mizdow impression. I love the teamwork from both of these teams, even if their styles are a bit different. Although, if Reynolds ever starts using Silver as a weapon, I’m all for it. Taz with a hilarious line asking if Serpentico tries to get out of Chaos Project on a daily basis. It makes sense from a story standpoint too, because wouldn’t you want to get away from a tag partner that inflicts as much punishment on you as he does his opponents? The highlight of this match was Silver and Serpentico going at with furious offense, and it was JOHNNY HUNGEE hitting a release German suplex before he and Reynolds hit the Dark Destroyer for the win at 6:59. Silver for TNT champ!

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

– Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian with Alex Marvez. Daniels says rankings matter, and they’re the top-ranked team in AEW. Daniels plays up that the stipulation is on the line every match, which I would disagree with after their involvement in the Casino match at Revolution. Kazarian is willing to sacrifice everything for the tag titles.

SCU (7-0) vs. Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs (0-3)

I liked the promo leading into the match. AEW should do more of that on this show. Even though regulars already know the stipulation, it doesn’t hurt to revisit the stakes to get new viewers invested in Daniels and Kazarian as a team. As for this match, Nelson and Issacs were solid as the young heel team trying to decimate the older veterans. However, Nelson accidentally clotheslined Issacs late in the match, and that allowed SCU to take control with Daniels hitting the Best Moonsault Ever for the victory at 8:46. Good stuff here.

Blake’s Rating: **3/4

Penelope Ford (2-0) vs. Miranda Alize

They started off quick with Alize showcasing her skills, but then Penelope got some stiff shots in to take advantage. Kip Sabian’s facial expressions were also a highlight. I thought Alize had a nice outing in this spot, but it was Penelope going to the Fisherman’s suplex to get the win at 4:04. Another great Taz line after the match in reference to Penelope and Sabian kissing in the ring: “Rick Knox, why don’t you leave them alone? They’re making out.” Taz is the best.

Blake’s Rating: **

Adam Priest, Jake St. Patrick and Baron Black (AEW trios debut) vs. The Gunn Club (4-0)

Ricky Starks magically joins commentary for this one. I always love when Starks or Anthony Ogogo just randomly start talking without even knowing they’re there. It’s great. Also, do we know if our man Jake St. Patrick had a good St. Patrick’s Day? Hit me up if so. Starks asks the question I’ve been asking for months about Austin Gunn when it comes to his incredible energy, so I can appreciate that. What helps some of the unsigned talent stand out is how they sell the offense of their opponents, and Priest, St. Patrick, and Black did a good job even in what was a short match. Gunn Club hit the 3:10 to Yuma for the victory at 3:02.

Blake’s Rating: **

Jack Evans vs. Dante Martin (4-2)

Quite a matchup here given the styles involved. It’s still wild to think that the Martin brothers are in their early 20s given their skill set. As usual, Taz and Starks provided some awesome banter throughout this match, with Excalibur laughing to the point of having to hop off commentary for a few seconds. One highlight was Evans using the Irish whip on Dante on the outside, and Dante simply did a ridiculous flip over the guardrail before coming back at Evans with a destroyer. Dante then hit the 450 splash for the win at 5:51.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

– After the match, Angelico attacks Dante, which leads to Darius Martin (who’s still injured) coming out for the save.

Brian Cage (15-2) vs. Brandon Cutler (2-3) – FTW Title

Taz hyped this up as the main event in the pre-roll before the match, but pretty sure we’ve still got a lot of matches left. Also, I don’t care if it’s the FTW title, but I love me some TITLE MATCHES on AEW Dark. Taz and Starks play up working out the tension with Cage, though Excalibur notes that Cage gave kudos to Sting on Dynamite. That sent them backtracking a little. I’m not sure Cage gets enough credit as an in-ring worker, as he can do so many things well. He’s obviously got the look, but the dude is much more than that. In what was an awesome spot, Cutler came off the top and Cage simply caught him in a vertical position and hit the Drill Claw to retain the title at 4:23.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Ashley Vox (0-2) vs. Alex Gracia (0-4)

Somebody is getting a win, which always raises the stakes for an AEW Dark match. Both showed plenty of tenacity, as they exchanged some stiff shots before each countered several pin attempts. And things escalated quickly from there, with Vox locking on the arm submission to make Gracia tap out at 2:27. Honestly thought Gracia was winning, so that was an intriguing development.

Blake’s Rating: NR

Vary Morales & Seth Gargis (AEW tag debut) vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela (9-10)

Janela heel turn coming? Let’s see what happens. Janela went full comedy early on trying to pull the Shawn Michaels kip-up, but he couldn’t quite make it work. That didn’t stop him from superkicking Morales in the face though. Janela and Kiss were back together on the same page in this match, and they used a double team move to earn the victory at 4:26.

Blake’s Rating: **

Fuego del Sol (0-5) vs. JD Drake (0-3)

This is a main event anywhere in the world! And guess what? Someone is getting a win. Drake had Ryan Nemeth in his corner after the shenanigans on AEW Dark: Elevation, so that adds some intrigue. Drake is just an absolute old school badass, and I think making a time machine just to transport him back to the late 80s for a match against Haku would be a great use of science. As for this one, Fuego was no Haku, and Drake got the win at 4:25.

Blake’s Rating: **

QT Marshall (6-0) vs. Shawn Dean (0-7)

QT gotta be getting close to a top-five ranking, right? The man is still undefeated this year. He continued to play up his mean streak in this match, which included him stepping on Dean’s face unprompted. Dean played well off of him in the babyface role, with him showcasing some ridiculous hang time with a tope con hilo to the outside. But it was QT that caught Dean coming off the top with the Diamond Cutter for the victory at 5:33.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

The Bunny (11-3) vs. Jazmin Allure

I am all in on Bunny’s crazy character. Her screaming and laughing at her opponents, plus the facial expressions, are just great. She’s also good in the ring, despite her not wrestling all that much in AEW. I would love to see her featured more in the women’s division. Bunny dominated the action and earned the win at 2:37. More Bunny, please!

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Colt Cabana, Stu Grayson and Evil Uno vs. Carlie Bravo, Brick Aldridge and Dean Alexander (AEW trios debut)

-1 offered some words of wisdom to Cabana before the match started, all but guaranteeing a Dark Order win. The chemistry with Dark Order is just on another level at this point, and once again, Uno and Grayson are one of the most underrated duos in wrestling. But I also love what Cabana adds to the group. This was all about their awesomeness, with their three opponents selling a variety of moves. Uno and Grayson hit Fatality on Bravo for the victory at 5:09.

Blake’s Rating: **

Angel Fashion & D3 vs. Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solow (AEW tag debut)

I’ve gotta admit, it’s still so strange to look at Comoroto as a babyface. I want that dude to just go around destroying everything in his path, though I guess he sort of does that anyways in his current role. He didn’t need to do a whole lot in this one, with Solow hitting his finsher for the win at 2:20.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Cezar Bononi (3-3) vs. John Skyler (0-3)

Before we get into the match, just want to say that I hope Bononi and his wife get the help they need with her Leukemia treatment. It’s obviously not an ideal situation, but hopefully someone can help them. As for the match, Bononi dragging out Avalon on the love sled will never get old. This was a showcase of Bononi’s power, and he was not messing around. Skyler tried to get some offense going, but it was Bononi taking care of business for the victory at 3:04.

Blake’s Rating: **

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I enjoyed this edition of AEW Dark. It was the usual mix that regulars have come to expect from this show, with a variety of competitive matches and squash matches. Brian Cage's awesomeness, JD Drake and Ashley Vox earning their first wins, and The Bunny's fantastic character work were some of the highlights. And you always know you're getting quality entertainment with the commentary group of Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, and Anthony Ogogo.