Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 5.18.21

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

Dean Alexander vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (11-1)

Ricky Starks joins commentary, which is always a fun time. Get well soon, Ricky! Hobbs destroyed our friend Dean, who Taz notes is wearing a possum coat, before the bell even rang. Even after the possum coat was removed, it was all Hobbs as he got the win at 1:17. Hobbs is in the Casino Battle Royale and should be dominant.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Dante Martin (6-1) vs. Falco (0-1)

Falco, not to be confused with Shane Falco, is back for his second AEW match. Once again, I love how AEW is using Dante Martin with Darius Martin still sidelined due to injury. Dante is Mr. AEW Dark at this point since he’s the type of wrestler this show is made for. The singles matches have been great for him even as a tag team regular. Dante showed off his insane athleticism in this one, hitting the 450 Splash (that caught Falco right in the face) for the victory at 4:14.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Matt Hardy talks up Private Party beating ass and says he heard three members of Dark Order will be in the Casino Battle Royale. He then says Isiah Kassidy, Marc Quen, and himself are also entering the match and plays up Kassidy and Quen helping him win.

Ryzin (0-3) vs. 10 (15-2)

10’s record is rather incredible at this point. Meanwhile, Ryzin’s is not. That trend continued in this match, with 10 dominating the action and displaying his awesome strength. Starks made a comment that had Excalibur and Taz laughing uncontrollably, which is nothing new for this stellar commentary team. Ryzin missed the senton atomico, then 10 ragdolled him for the win at 4:07. Another win for 10!

Blake’s Rating: **

Chuck Taylor (8-3) vs. Aaron Rourke (AEW debut)

Starks being injured is not ideal, but if it means AEW is gonna regularly use him on AEW Dark commentary, there’s a positive in the situation. He’s so great. Taz on Kris Statlander: “If I was a woman, I’d fight her.” This was a back and forth match with Rourke getting some offense before Chuck sent him full throttle into the bottom turnbuckle. Chuck then hit the Awful Waffle for the victory at 4:04.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Lance Archer is hunting Miro and hypes up their Double or Nothing match.

Lee Johnson (2-1) vs. Fuego Del Sol (0-10)

Taz reminds us not to trust anyone with a mask. Cody Rhodes out with Johnson before quickly heading to the back, thus teasing the eventual Cody vs. Fuego money match. Fuego with furious offense as always, with Johnson playing well off of him. Johnson has become such a good all-around wrestler and he did a nice god selling for Fuego, who hit a one-footed moonsault to the outside after nearly slipping on the ropes. Fuego got a near fall late in the match, but Johnson reversed the momentum and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb to earn the win at 7:27. Entertaining match.

Blake’s Rating: ***

– The Acclaimed music video running down Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. It was fine, but nothing will ever beat Max Caster’s “Booty Butt Cheeks” performance from a week ago.

Evil Uno & Colt Cabana vs. Tamilian Vineesh & Duncan Mitchell (AEW tag debut)

Uno and Cabana are both joining the Casino Battle Royale at Double of Nothing, so we’re one step closer to Uno vs. Omega. GIVE IT TO US, AEW! Nice friendly handshakes from Uno and Cabana for all parties involved, proving that they are true gentlemen. It’s worth noting that Stu Grayson hasn’t been in action in several weeks, so not sure if there’s an injury situation there or what. Mitchell’s tights started falling, leading to Taz making an Axl Rose joke. Again, the greatest commentary team in the world. Uno hit the senton atomico before Cabana used the Billy Goat’s Curse for the victory at 4:05. Hilarious moment after the match with Cabana accidentally hitting Uno with a rolling knee to the face during the celebration.

Blake’s Rating: **

Cezar Bononi (5-8) vs. Marko Stunt (16-23)

The sensual sled returns! Pretty Peter Avalon is a national treasure and don’t you forget it. Taz: “There’s nothing sensual about Marko Stunt.” Bit of a size advantage here for Bononi, with Stunt nearly going YAM BAG CITY on Bononi early on in the match. Great sequence with Bononi pressing Stunt above his head before Stunt raked him in the eyes and countered it into a DDT. That didn’t work so well, as Bononi quickly took control and destroyed Stunt for the win at 2:50. After the match, Bononi’s wingmen attack Stunt before Jurrasic Express make the save.

Blake’s Rating: NR

– Jungle Boy is also in the Casino Battle Royale match.

Nick Comoroto (4-3) vs. Adrian Alanis (AEW singles debut)

Comoroto putting the steps in the aisle for QT Marshall is truly great heel work, and it’s one of my new favorite things on AEW Dark. I’m really glad they eventually made the decision to turn Comoroto and align him with QT since the dude is a natural heel. Taz refers to Comoroto as grizzly bear city, and to be honest, I’d buy that shirt. Comoroto steamrolled Alanis and hit a powerbomb that nearly disrobed him to get the win at 3:40.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Sonny Kiss (3-1) vs. Serpentico

All I want is Luther to use Serpentico as a weapon. It’s another AEW Dark favorite. Two athletic workers in this match, and it showed with lots of speedy and high-flying offense throughout. Taz ruminated on whether Serpentico wears a jock strap, adding another element to commentary that you simply don’t get elsewhere. Luther hit the ring and decked Kiss while the referee was distracted with Janela, which allowed Serpentico to get the rollup for the victory at 6:09.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Vertvixen & Jazmin Allure (0-2) vs. Big Swole & Red Velvet (4-0)

Serena Deeb in the audience to promote the upcoming NWA Women’s title match against Red Velvet on Dynamite. Vertvixen and Allure have become AEW Dark regulars, and they do a nice job in their roles. Red Velvet hit a huge spear on Allure, and Swole hit her finisher for the win at 4:39.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Red Velvet says she’s going to win the NWA Women’s title. This was a nice feature to build up a championship match. Good stuff.

Griff Garrison (11-6) vs. Deonn Russman (AEW debut)

I’m loving the Julia Hart pairing with the Varsity Blonds. It just makes sense. Russman was pretty impressive in this match, and he’s someone AEW should bring back for more work. Of course, he wasn’t getting the win here though, as Garrison notched the victory at 3:50.

Blake’s Rating: **

Matt Sydal (6-2) vs. Marty Casaus (0-2)

Speaking of people AEW should bring back, Marty the Moth returns for another match. You’ve gotta give the people what they want. His facial expressions are so awesome, and he sold Sydal’s offense like a champ. Sydal worked on the leg and eventually hit the lightning spiral to pick up the win at 4:27.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Diamante (10-5) vs. Kris Statlander (4-0)

This should be fun since it involves two ass-kickers. You’ve gotta believe Statlander is eventually going to be in line for an AEW Women’s title shot, perhaps as a challenger to Britt Baker. Yes, I think she’s winning the belt from Hikaru Shida at Double or Nothing. Diamante delivered some aggressive shots to Statlander late in the match, but the latter kept battling to regain the advantage. Diamante took control once again and they had a few nice counters, with Diamante getting pissed and slapping the taste out of Statlander’s mouth. Statlander wasn’t gonna take that, and she hit the Big Bang Theory to earn the victory at 6:48. Very good work here from both.

Blake’s Rating: ***

Reka Tehaka (0-3) vs. Nyla Rose (8-2)

Tehaka has made some appearances on AEW Dark: Elevation, but this is her first match on AEW Dark. She nearly unleashed some fury on Vickie on the outside, but that wasn’t a great idea as Nyla attacked her from behind. Tehaka got a short burst of rage, but she paid for it as Nyla dominated the rest of the way and hit the Beast Bomb for the win at 2:27.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Angelico (1-2) vs. Vary Morales (0-2)

Taz noted that in comparison to Morales, Angelico is like 6-9. Don’t worry, Excalibur was ready for the “nice” joke. Morales got a lot of shine in this match, and it was probably the most he’s had thus far in his regular AEW action. However, he was no match for the Navarro Deathlock, with Angelico locking it on for the victory at 4:59.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Luther (11-21) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. (11-5)

They are pushing this as the main event, and I’m confused since I thought we were getting a Ren Narita match. The visual of Luther going after Julia Hart was terrific camerawork. Excalibur did an excellent job continuing the theme from Garrison’s match of tag team wrestlers starting off slow in singles match. It’s the little things, folks. Sepentico snuck in late to try some shenanigans, but Pillman stayed on track and got the win at 6:17. After the match, Chaos Project attacked Pillman before Hart ran to the back to get Garrison for the save.

Blake’s Rating: **

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Another quality edition of AEW Dark with 16 free matches in two hours. Again, I focus mostly on the character work and in-ring development, and there was plenty of great stuff in both of those areas. Diamante vs. Kris Statlander was fun, and there were several solid matches elsewhere on the card. But as the AEW Dark regulars know, the commentary makes this show an absolute blast each week no matter how many short matches there are. Adding Ricky Starks to the mix only makes it even more entertaining.