Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 11.2.21

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

Image Credit: AEW

– FTR is sitting on the back deck at their house in North Carolina with the AAA Tag Team titles. They issue an open challenge to any luchadors on Dynamite, but it can’t be the Lucha Brothers. Too Fast Too Fuego?

Santana & Ortiz (12-3) vs. Joe Coleman & Idris Abraham (AEW tag debut)

Coleman and Abraham seem like fine gentlemen, but they’re gonna get destroyed in this match, aren’t they? Meanwhile, Excalibur and Taz need a bit to actually figure out how to say Abraham’s name. Great teamwork from Santana and Ortiz, but that’s nothing new. This was pure dominance from Santana and Ortiz, and they made quick work of Cole and Abraham to earn the win at 2:48.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Nyla Rose (21-5) vs. Viva Van (0-1)

Vickie Guerrero yells at Justin Roberts to get out of the ring because he sucks, then she tells the crowd they should be honored that she showed up. What a heel. They push Nyla’s shot at the TBS title, and since Van is not in the tournament, she’s probably not getting the win here. Van got a few offensive moves in, but Nyla regrouped and hit the Beast Bomb for the easy victory at 1:32.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson (3-1) vs. Eli Knight & Malik Bosede (AEW tag debut)

Before the match, Arn Anderson pulled out the glock, and Knight and Bosedge forfeited the match. I’m just kidding. Brock continues to look more and more like Arn, which I suppose makes sense considering he’s Arn’s son. Knight and Bosede didn’t back down in this one, but the chemistry keeps getting better between Brock and Johnson. That allowed them to notch the win at 2:07.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Daniel Garcia (6-6) vs. RSP (0-3)

Garcia’s talent is just ridiculous, and there’s little doubt that this dude is going to be a top star in the future. Interesting clash of styles in this match, with Garcia going the technical route by working on RSP’s leg. 2point0 got involved with some shenanigans, but RSP battled back and regained the momentum. Brutal bodyslam from RSP to Garcia for a two count, then Garcia countered and locked in the submission to force RSP to tap at 3:58.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Alex Reynolds & John Silver (5-0) vs. Sean Carr & Marcus Kross (AEW tag debut)

-1 about to add another win to his stellar managerial record? Of course he is. Silver going one on one with Adam Cole on Dynamite should be pretty awesome, though Taz disagrees since he’s annoyed by the Dark Order. Silver runs wild on both Carr and Kross, and Reynolds makes his way in for the suplex combo. Terrific combo offense from there, and Silver pins Kross for the victory at 3:14.

Blake’s Rating: **

The Acclaimed (17-4) vs. Ishmael Vaughn and Dontae Smiley (AEW tag debut)

YO. Max Caster makes a lot of Disney jokes, though Vaughn and Smiley are not impressed. Taz notes that Caster is CONTROVERSIAL JONES, which is one of Taz’s better Jones in quite a while. This was all about The Acclaimed, with Caster hitting the Mic Drop before Anthony Bowens made the pin for the win at 2:27.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Santana Garrett (0-2) vs. The Bunny (22-14)

The Head of the Table is back on AEW Dark, and that will undoubtedly increase ratings. Bunny comes out aggressive and hits Garrett with several hard strikes. Garrett rallies with a flurry of offense, but Bunny counters and goes down the rabbit hole for the victory at 2:36.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Bison XL & Toa Liona vs. 2point0 (6-2)

Garcia is back out with 2point0, which is very nice of him. In terms of size, this is quite a mismatch, as Bison and Liona are absolute units. Taz questions the validity of Jon Moxley’s book, then talks about how impressed he is with Moxley writing a book himself. 2point0 work on Bison for a while, but he manages to make the hot tag to Liona. He uses his power to throw 2point0 around, then hits a double shoulder tackle. Garcia gets up on the apron, and that’s enough of a distraction for 2point0 to hit their finisher on Bison to pick up the win at 4:01. Liona is impressive.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Red Velvet (27-7) vs. Shalonce Royal

Red Velvet is set for TBS title tournament action against Bunny, but the real story in this match is Taz trying to sing like Royal. That automatically increases the final show rating by 0.5. It was that good. Velvet gets a near fall on Royal, and decides to stir it up with the Final Slice for the victory at 3:16. STONE COLD, STONE COLD.

Blake’s Rating: **

– After the match, Bunny hits the ring and uses the brass knuckles to drop Red Velvet with a single punch. ACKNOWLEDGE HER.

Bobby Fish (3-3) vs. Ryzin (0-5)

Ryzin has to be considered an AEW Dark legend at this point, so Fish better bring his best. Speaking of Fish, I really enjoy his style. He didn’t allow Ryzin to do much at all, as Fish was aggressive from start to finish to hit a knockout kick for the pin to score the win at 2:24.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Fuego Del Sol vs. Tony Nese (AEW debut)

Any wrestler that starts flexing his pecs during his entrance is a true winner, so Nese is already off to a great start in AEW. Beyond his pecs and abs, Nese is a terrific talent, and that was evident right away with he and Fuego going full sprint early in the match. But this wasn’t just about Nese, as Fuego has really become a lot of fun in the ring. However, Fuego’s offense was enough, with Nese reversing the momentum to pick up the victory at 5:44. Fun sprint between these two.

Blake’s Rating: ***

PAC (10-3-1) vs. Tiger Ruas

This is another interesting matchup given Ruas’ style and PAC’s awesomeness. Of course, Ruas is another who certainly could’ve been utilized better at his previous place of employment. But at least he’s getting an opportunity to prove himself in AEW. Excalibur does a great job playing up PAC’s need to “dirty up” the match so that Ruas doesn’t implement his MMA approach. That works somewhat, but Ruas then turns the match in his favor by going to the submission holds. PAC showcases his strength by picking Ruas up from the mat, then he used the Brutalizer to force Ruas to tap at 8:43. This was very good stuff.

Blake’s Rating: ***1/2

*For more of my thoughts on pro wrestling, subscribe to the 411 On Wrestling podcast and follow me on Twitter @wrestleblake. Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Another entertaining edition of AEW Dark. Tony Nese was impressive in his AEW debut, and he certainly has the talent to have a lot of success with the company. Meanwhile, PAC vs. Tiger Ruas was a lot of fun given the difference in styles. As always, an easy watch for wrestling fans with plenty of action across the board.