wrestling / TV Reports
Cazer’s AEW Dark Review 11.30.21
Loading...AEW Dark
Orlando Florida
Commentary: Excalibur & Taz
It’s Tuesday Night you know what that means! New guy jones is back for another fun episode of AEW Dark. This is going to feature Adam Cole’s AEW Dark debut against a guy I wasn’t too hot on last week in Anthony Greene. Who knows maybe he can turn me around. Last week Lee Moriarty got an upset victory over Nick Comoroto in a main event I was really into. I called Lee a name to watch and now he’s set to face CM Punk on AEW Dynamite so who knows maybe i’m onto something. Probably not. As always thanks for joining me and let’s jump into the action.
The Pinnacle, Shawn Spears (14-4) & Wardlow (22-3) vs. Bear Country (10-3)
Last week I called Bear Country a team to watch in AEW and now they’re set to face another big name I said to keep an eye on in Wardlow. This should be good. Spears & Bronson kick this one off. Back and forth lock up and taunting from Spears to start the match. Bronson takes offense to this and drops Spears with a shoulder block and hits a cartwheel of his own. Spears flips Bronson off and he bites the finger before pulling Spears to the corner to tag in Boulder. Big red Jones with a headbutt sends Spears into the corner and Wardlow tags in. Taz with a Binghamton shout out lets go. Boulder and Wardlow lock up but neither can take control immediately. Test of strength and Wardlow drops it and takes Boulder down with a double leg takedown. Wardlow taken down and sent to the outside Bronson tags in and takes both members of the Pinnacle out with a tope suicida. Bronson continues his assault in the ring and bites Spears face in the corner. Wardlow causes the break and gets tagged in before dropping Boulder with a double leg and destroys him in the corner. Wardlow lifts Bronson up pretty easy and drops him with a spinebuster. Spears tags in to get one shot in before tagging Wardlow back in and saying powerbomb his ass. Wardlow goes for the powerbomb but Bronson reverses with a back body drop before dropping his bum on the chest of Wardlow. Boulder tags in and Spears runs into the ring and gets mauled by Bear Boulder. Wardlow’s still the legal man and breaks up the attack but Boulder regains control and hits a double splash on Wardlow and Spears in the corner. Wardlow with a big boot to regain control but runs into a powerslam from Boulder. Wardlow kicks out at one and Boulder brings him over to the corner and goes for a moonsault but Wardlow dodges it and hits Boulder with a clothesline as he gets up. Wardlow covers for a two and lifts Boulder up in a fireman’s carry position but Boulder reverses it and sends Wardlow to the outside. Spears once again in illegally and is hit with a powerslam. Boulder tags Bronson and lifts him on his shoulders for the Bear splash. Wardlow in the ring and catches Bronson on the way down with the Casualty of war and covers Bronson for the victory in 8:09
Rating: **3/4
Review: This was a really fun opening tag match and that finish was wicked.
Kilynn King (13-11) vs. Renee Michelle (0-6)
Lock up early but neither woman can gain control. Kilynn calls for test of strength but Renee takes offense to the height differential. Kilynn caught in the corner and Renee nails her with a flurry of strikes and chokes her with her boot before the ref breaks the hold. Kilynn back on the offense with some strikes of her own but Renee drops her with a roundhouse kick and covers for a two count. Renee charges Kilynn in the corner but Kilynn moves and takes control. Kilynn drops Renee with a running back elbow and hits a release german and covers for a two count. Renee with a palm strike on Kilynn to get some distance between the two but Kilynn hits Renee with the Kingdom falls and covers for the victory in 2:52.
Rating: **
Review: Nothing special just a squash match and victory for Kilynn.
Fuego del Sol is backstage with Alex Marvez to discuss Fuego’s upcoming match with All Ego Ethan Page tonight. Fuego cuts a heated promo on Page and uses a bunch of silly puns and what not. If you’re not first you’re last. This was a good promo but Fuego in singles matches means a squash is incoming.
Proud & Powerful (14-3) vs. Gus De La Vega & Brandon Gore (0-0)
Ortiz and Gus kick this one off and Gus gets in a weak roll up for one before eating a clothesline from Santana. Santana catches guy off the ropes and hits him with a spinebuster before Gus tags in Brandon. Gore charges Santana but gets dropped with a fireman’s carry and a dropkick. Gore in the corner and eats a chop before Ortiz tags in. Ortiz with a kick to Gore in the corner and then hits the three amigos on Gore. Gus tags in and is dropped by Ortiz. Santana jumps in and we get some beautiful tag team action from P&P to close this one out and finish Gus for the victory in 3:06
Rating: **1/2
Review: Proud & Powerful are awesome and I really wish we could see them in an extended capacity because when we do they always deliver. Even in this short simple match they looked really good.
Skye Blue(1-7) vs. La Rosa Negra (0-0)
La Rosa takes control early beating down the smaller Skye Blue and sending her into the corner. La Rosa with a huge spinebuster on Blue and covers for a two count and La Rosa is heated the ref counted too slow. Skye Blue takes control and drops La Rosa with a clothesline. Blue lifts La Rosa up but gets tossed into the corner. La Rosa charges Skye Blue and eats a big boot. Skye Blue with a huricanrana on La Rosa. Skye Blue continues to use her athleticism to her advantage hitting La Rosa with some nice kicks. Skye Blue with a top rope cross body that looked different because she came down so low to the ground. She lifts La Rosa up and hits her with an inverted Flatliner for the victory in 2:13.
Rating: N/A
Review: This felt a bit too short to rate but I really think Skye Blue could benefit from some longer matches especially against someone like La Rosa Negra who could in theory have given her a lot more of a struggle considering their both relatively new AEW talent.
Mike Reed (0-1) vs. Alan “5” Angels (14-24) w/ -1
Angels takes control early with a drop kick before sending Reed into the corner and hitting him with 10 count punches but stops at 5 because he’s five get it. Angels with a suplex and small frog splash on Reed. -1 puts on Angel’s mask and now has two masks and it pops commentary and me. Reed takes control looks for an upset with a roll up but Angels kicks out at two. Angels gets back on the offense and hits a HUGE diving crossbody on Reed. Angels with the step-up enziguri on Reed sending him to the outside and Angel’s with the tope suicida to Reed. Angels hits the wingsnapper on Reed and covers him for the victory in 2:29. Negative One has taken over all of Angels gear haha.
Rating: **
Review: This was short and sweet and to the point. Alan really needs to be able to dominate opponents if he’s going to hang with guys like Kenny and Danielson. I don’t know that I love Angel’s finisher but i’ll wait before I entirely rule it out just seems not entirely devastating. Excited to see him with Danielson.
Ryo Mizunami (15-6) vs. Dani Jordyn (0-8)
Dani has a burn book oh no and it’s got Ryo on the first page of the burn book. Dani smacks Ryo in the face with the book making Bryce look like a geek. Dani with a running double knee and covers for a one count. Ryo chops the life out of Dani sending her to the mat. Dani gets up and gets into a chop battle she can’t win. Ryo gets Dani in the corner and chops the crap out of her against Bryce’s orders. Ryo with a clothesline in the other corner and Dani is about done. Ryo with a legdrop on Dani and covers for a two count. Dani fights back and hits a jawbreaker on Ryo but Ryo regains control with a lariat followed by a cool package powerslam finisher and covers Dani for the victory in 2:53.
Rating: **
Review: I really don’t like Dani using the book as a weapon early in the match. It may be the old school JR/Cornette in me but that level of blatant disregard really throws me off. Overall not a bad match Ryo is pretty sweet as a dominant force and those chops looked painful. Ryo is awesome but I tend to forget about her so I was glad to see her in this one.
Michael Martinez vs. The Butcher (13-6)
This was a bit before the Butcher suffered his torn tricep. The Butcher starts beating down Martinez before this one even kicks off. The Butcher charges Martinez in the corner and eats a really weak big boot. Martinez with a back elbow to The Butcher in the corner but The Butcher fights out and hits Martinez with a flurry of forearms and elbow strikes. He lifts Martinez off the mat and hits him with a clothesline. The Butcher nails Martinez with his finisher in 1:13 for the victory.
Rating: N/A
Review: Way too short to rate but this was a nice squash. It’s a damn shame The Butcher is out with an injury but hopefully it’s not too long. The dudes a monster big dude and I really wonder what the future holds for him. Pretty crazy he’s also in a band and doesn’t necessarily have to wrestle but is still fantastic to watch. I hope he heals up quick and we get more of this.
Nikita Knight (0-1) vs. Julia Hart (7-8)
Clean chain wrestling at the start of this one before Julia drops Nikita with a shoulder block. Julia with a superkick to Nikita and follows with a moonsault but doesn’t cover right away. Nikita fights back and sends Julia into the corner and hits her with some strikes in the corner before dropping her with a michinoku driver right on her head. That was rough. Commentary was worried about that one. Julia back to her feet and we get a double drop kick and both women fight to their feet. Strike exchange and Nikita clearly doesn’t connect. Julia drops Night with a couple of clotheslines. Julia hits a splitting leg drop on Knight. Julia tries to get the crowd back into it and sends Knight into the corner and hits her with some running back elbows. Julia with a split jawbreaker and follows with a bulldog with the splits. Julia covers Nikita for the victory in 3:21.
Rating: *
Review: This is probably one of the roughest AEW Dark matches i’ve watched so far. Julia is awesome but green herself so when she’s the one carrying this one you know it could get messy. Nikita dropped her on her head so badly commentary couldn’t ignore it. Nikita just wasn’t good and kudos to Julia for trying because the crowd was dead and the match was rough but she did the best she could with what she had.
Ray Jaz (0-1) vs. Infinito (0-0)
Infinito is an unknown mask man and gets the crowd behind him with ease. Jaz with some traditional wrestling but Infinito is able to leap his way out of this one and lock in a wristlock but Jaz rolls and cartwheels his way out to take the upperhand. Jaz with a running shoulder block and drops Infinito. Infinito with a monkeyflip and then another two out of both corners. Infinito sends Ray Jaz into the ropes and goes for a crossbody but hits more of a headbutt. Jaz to the outside and Infinito with a running crossbody off the apron to the outside and hits his head. Infinito sends Jaz into the ring and hits him with the infinite airplane spin. It goes just long enough to get a few fans into it. Infinito sets Ray Jaz down and rolls him up for the victory in 3:45.
Rating: **
Review: I don’t hate this but I absolutely don’t like it. The infinito plane spin made me chuckle but it wasn’t funny it was just so stupid it made me chuckle. Some people will love it so I won’t condemn it but as far as I go i’m not into it. I was pretty intrigued at the idea of a new masked character but it seems like it’s just some comedy guy.
Leyla Hirsch (21-6) vs. Sahara Seven (0-2)
Hirsch with traditional wrestling and a roll up for two before both women get to their feet and exchange some stiff strikes. Seven sends Hirsch into the corner and hits a splash. Seven follows with a sidewalk slam. Leyla ducks a clothesline and captures Seven’s shoulder and covers for a two. Leyla with a german suplex and running knee strike. Hirsch with the Juji gutame and Seven taps right away giving Leyla the victory in 1:31
Rating: N/A
Review: Solid squash by Leyla against the much bigger Sahara Seven. Really not much to rate here as it was so short but Leyla’s awesome and her nickname fits well with legit victories like this.
Aaron Solo (12-23) & Nick Comoroto (14-13) vs. Varsity Blondes (19-5)
Pillman and Solo start the match with neither man taking the advantage right away. Solo chops Pillman in the corner but Pillman rushes out and bounces off the ropes and Griff tags in. Griff with the headlock on Solo and Solo fights out but eats a back elbow before Griff tags Pillman Jr in. Griff and Pillman hit a spinebuster drop kick combo on Solo and Pillman covers but Solo kicks out at one. Solo crawls to the corner and tags in Comoroto. Comoroto immediately takes control with strikes before choking Pillman in the ropes. Solo talks trash to Julia but eats a slap from her. Fortunately its Knox as the ref so noone cares. Pillman dives to the outside and takes Solo out. Pillman attempts to dive back into the ring on Comoroto but Solo grabs his leg and forces him to hit the apron. Solo tags in and takes control hitting a snap suplex on Pillman. Solo sends Pillman into the corner and tags in Comoroto. Nick launches Solo into Pillman in the corner and then hits a scoop slam on Pillman and covers for a two count. Comoroto drops his entire body on Pillman as he gets up and we learn that Taz just met Rick Knox at the bar in Minneapolis. Comoroto tags in Solo but Pillman drops both and tags in Garrison. Griff with the hot tag and drops Solo with some clotheslines. Solo ducks one but eats a tilt a whirl backbreaker on Solo. Solo in the corner and Griff hits a splash on him. Griff with a big boot and then slams Solo face first in the middle of the ring. Griff covers Solo but he kicks out at two. Comoroto tags in and drops Griff with a big boy spear for a two count. Comoroto says its over and lifts Griff up for a gorilla press but Griff reverses it into a roll up for two. Griff tags in Pillman and he hits Comoroto with some superkicks before going for a sunset flip on Comoroto but he wont budge. Griff hits Comoroto with a spinning forearm sending him into the sunset flip cover by Pillman. Pillman covers and gets the victory in 7:25.
Rating: ** 1/2
Review: Good little tag team match between two solid AEW lower midcard teams. Unfortunate for Nick to have to lose in back to back weeks but he can recover. I liked the tag team finish Pillman and Griff hit. Overall a good tag team effort.
Post match: Varsity Blondes get an interview with Tony and Griff says gold is definitely on their mind. He says they’ll have gold around their waist in the very near future. Pillman says look what they’ve been through. From Julia being harassed every match to them going toe to toe with the young bucks. Probably the best Pillman promo yet but still looking to see more from him.
Tony Nese (3-0) vs. D’Marceo James (0-0)
Nese immediately takes control of this one dropping Jones with a couple strikes to the back. James fights back but Nese quickly regains control and chokes Jones on the top ropes. Nese springboards over the top and hits an elbow drop onto Jones and covers for a two count. Nese slams Jones into the turnbuckle and locks in a sleeper. James fights out and drops Nese with a nice drop kick. Nese back in control and hits James with a german suplex into the corner. Nese with the running Nese to James in the corner. Nese covers James and gets the victory in 2:43
Rating: **1/2
Review: Good little squash for Nese ahead of his match with Sammy Guevara. I think that match will be awesome but this was not particularly anything special or out of this world.
Baron Black & Prince Agballah (0-0 as a tag team) vs. Matt Hardy (22-10) & Jorah Johl (1-8)
Baron and Jorah start the match with a lock up with neither taking control immediately. Jorah drops Baron with a shoulderblock. Baron with some decent offense on Jorah and covers for a two count. Prince tags in and sends Jorah into the corner and splashing him before tagging Baron right back in. Jorah with a headbutt to the chin of Baron and then follows with a belly to belly suplex. Jorah catches Baron in the corner and stomp away before tagging Matt. Matt tells Jorah to get back into the ring and hold Baron for an attack from Matt. Matt with the slingshot on Baron into the bottom rope before tagging Jorah into the ring. Jorah with a powerslam and covers for a two count. Baron gets some offense in with a backstabber to Jorah. Baron attempts to make a tag but Matt tries to break it up to no avail. Prince with a jumping spinning strike to Jorah. Matt Hardy distracts Prince and Jorah lifts him up and drops him right on his face with an inverted f5 type move that was pretty ugly. Jorah with a big boot to the Prince once he gets up. Matt demands Jorah tag him. Matt with a twist of fate to Prince Agballah and Matt covers for the victory in 4:38. Jorah seems less than enthused at having to let Matt win.
Rating: **
Review: This was the second match of the night where we saw an ugly move turn into someone getting dropped on their head. Johl looked like he could’ve legitimately hurt Agballah, and it’s strange because Johl is someone they clearly want to use but man was that ugly. I think The Prince looked freakin awesome and wish we could’ve seen him get some more work in. Baron Black is cool and Matt Hardy forcing Johl to tag him for the win was great.
Ethan Page (21-5) vs. Fuego del Sol (6-32)
Ethan catches Fuego with a running boot before the match even starts and then lifts him up and drops him with a nice right hand. Ethan tosses Fuego to the outside and drops him right on the ring barrier. Ethan tosses Fuego onto the entrance ramp but Fuego fights out and launches onto Ethan page. Fuego follows it with another drop kick and chases Ethan but he lifts Fuego onto the ring apron. Fuego with a moonsault onto Page dropping him on the outside. Fuego lifts Ethan up and goes for a tornado ddt on the outside but Ethan slams him onto the outside. Ethan continues his assault on Fuego with a backbreaker on the outside. Ethan sends Fuego into the ring and tosses him into the turnbuckles with a force. Page drops Fuego with a clothesline and locks in a gut wrench waist lock on Fuego on the mat. Fuego to his feet and finally fights out with some back elbows. Ethan tosses Fuego into the ropes and drops him with a huge back body drop. Ethan sends Fuego into the corner and chops it up with some fans before smashing Fuego with a chop in the corner. Fuego fights out but Page lifts him up for the Ego’s edge. Fuego fights out with a rough huricanrana. Fuego with a moonsault off the ropes and nearly misses Ethan. Fuego with the double foot stomps to the back of the head to Ethan and covers for a two count. Fuego goes to the top rope and calls for the tornado ddt but Ethan moves and drops Fuego with a powerslam. Page covers Fuego for a two count. Ethan lifts Fuego up and goes for the Ego’s Edge again but Fuego fights out again. Fuego gets Ethan caught up on the top ropes and hits the foot stomps on Ethan before covering for the two count. Fuego catches Ethan on the top rope and goes for a super huricanrana but Ethan fights out and bodyslams Fuego from the top rope. Ethan with a clothesline and then the Ego’s Edge. Ethan covers Fuego for the three count in 8:40.
Rating: **1/2
Review: This was a fun singles match and Fuego got to get some stuff in so thats nice. It’s nice to get some lengthier matches on AEW Dark even though you can likely tell who will win it’s still a good change of pace to see something more competitive. Ethan interacting with the fans in this one was interesting because it can be neat to see those Indy tactics on AEW tv due to the nature of the audience.
Anthony Greene (1-2) vs. Adam Cole (3-0)
Cole teases the shirt toss to get the dead crowd riled up. ADAM COLE BAY BAY. Cole with a shoulderblock to drop Greene and another ADAM COLE BAYBAY. Greene goes for a dropkick but Cole hangs onto the ropes and boots Greene in the face. Cole continues to maintain control before dropping Greene with a bodyslam. Cole with another ADAM COLE BAYBAY but this time Greene connects with the dropkick sending Cole to the outside. Cole tries to get into the ring but Greene with another Dropkick. Greene takes Cole’s shirt and tosses it into the crowd, nearly throws it too far. The ref starts counting after the shirt is tossed. Cole breaks the count and Greene goes after him but eats a Pump kick as he was following Cole into the ring. Cole meets Greene outside the ring and sends him face first into the ring post outside. Cole tosses Greene back into the ring and Cole says something that pops the entire crowd but I missed it. Cole launches Anthony Greene into the opposing buckle with some force. Cole locks in a headlock and tells Greene to just give up. Cole gets the crowd behind Greene by telling him the crowd isn’t going to cheer for you. What a genius. Greene fights back but gets dropped with a running back elbow from Adam Cole. Greene fights back and exchanges strikes with Cole and gets Cole wobbly legged with a stiff right. Greene fires up and hits Cole with some strikes in the corner. Greene with a flurry of clotheslines and then a jawbreaker on Cole. Greene with a neckbreaker on Cole and bounces off the ropes but Cole hits the firemans carry drop onto his knee. Cole covers Greene for a two count. Cole in the corner and starts tuning up the band before dropping Greene with a superkick. Cole says he has a better idea and climbs the turnbuckle and goes for the panama sunrise. Greene moves out of the way and drops Cole with a superkick of his own. Greene with a Michinoku driver on Cole for the two count. Both men to their feet and Cole drops Greene with an enziguri. Cole with a backstabber on Greene and covers for a two count. Greene with an inside cradle for two. Greene with a flapjack onto Adam Cole. Greene with a crucifix bomb on Cole but only gets a two count. Greene rolls Cole right into a single leg crab isolating Cole in the center of the ring. Cole rolls out and fights back sending Greene into the ropes and going for a roll up. Greene kicks out at two. Cole drops Greene and goes for the knee but Greene ducks and rolls up Cole for a two count. Greene to the top rope and goes for his springboard crossbody but eats a superkick. Adam Cole with the running knee strike to the back of Greene head and covers him for the victory in 9:32.
Rating: ** 3/4
Review: Anthony Greene has redeemed himself. Which makes sense it’s Adam Cole BAYBAY but still the crowd got behind him, his work was good and it was a solid match. I think that Cole EASILY could’ve walked through Greene in five minutes or less but this was a good match and they did a good job with it.
Top Three Names to Watch Following this weeks show:
1. Tony Nese – Tony is set to face off with Sammy Guevara and despite his matches being short clearly AEW sees something big in him. I’m not sure Nese would’ve been the first guy I grabbed up from WWE’s releases but honestly I can see him doing great things. Despite the short match knowing he has a title match looming he’s clearly one to watch this week.
2. Julia Hart – Julia has been featured in AEW for a bit and she’s definitely still getting better but this match tonight showed me how she deals with adversity. Not just getting dropped on her noggin but also the crowd was pretty dead at this point of the taping but she did a lot of stuff to try and keep them engaged and interested in the match till the very end. I’m not sure it all worked but kudos to her for trying.
3. Anthony Greene – Last week I buried this guy, this week i’m willing to walk it back just a bit. He looked good against Cole and really is a solid jobber. He would be jobber of the night but there are levels to it and Greene feels just a step above your average Jobber. It helps to face Adam Cole in the main event and be on an episode where not many stood out over the others but Greene was cool tonight.
Jobber of the Night: Prince Agballah – This dude has an interesting look and could be a great big guy. I didn’t get to see a whole lot from him in the ring but he’s a jobber i’d personally like to see get another opportunity to shine because everything about him stood out to me.
