wrestling / TV Reports
Cazer’s AEW Dark Review 2.15.22
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...We are back! I was gone for a week but today we are back to business! It’s Tuesday Night and you know what that means, we’re set for another jam packed episode of Dark. Cody Rhodes has taken over the news cycle today so it’ll be nice to sit back and enjoy some light AEW content. This weeks Dark isn’t exactly star studded but we have some good names on the card. Both members of the Acclaimed are in singles matches, two teams from The Dark Order have matches, Michael Nakazawa has a match as does Kazarian, Emi Sakura and more! Not the biggest names but a ton of great workers, I hope we get some upsets and some interesting stuff lets get to it!
John Silver & Alex Reynolds vs. Ariya Daivari & Invictus Khash
Reynolds and Silver are joined by The Big Guy 10. Daivari and Khash are back as a team, this is awesome I asked for them to return as a duo and here we are. Khash and Silver showing their strength but Silver takes control early. Taz calls Silver’s offense lucha oriented and i’m not entirely sure that’s what we saw but it’s Taz. Reynolds tags in and initially is on the defensive but has a burst of energy and drops Khash with a flurry of offense. Khash and Daivari are working well tagging in and out keeping Reynolds isolated. A little heel action as Daivari helps give Khash the leverage during a submission and then pulls Reynolds by the hair before tagging in. Reynolds looks for a tag and finally gets one as Silver makes the hot tag. Silver with a back body drop and he poses before catching Daivari with a powerbomb. Khash grabs the boot to give Daivari the upper hand, Khash tags in and drops Silver. Khash with a cover but Reynolds with the save. Reynolds lifts Daivari up like 3D and Silver catches him with a sweet uppercut. After dropping Daivari they hit a nice combination of moves into a german suplex pinfall from Reynolds for the victory in 5:38.
Rating: **3/4
Review: This was a solid opening match, both teams looked pretty good with Reynolds and Silver being the clear favorites. They’re pretty great when they get going but it did start off a tad slow for my liking. Daivari and Khash were an awesome pairing and I hope we get more of them.
QT Marshall vs. Pat Brink
The factory distract Pat from the outside giving QT the chance to get the upper hand but Pat reverses things for a moment dropping QT with a nice big boot. Brinks a pretty big dude, more tall than anything but still bigger than QT. Taz and Excalibur continue to build up a match between QT and Hook on commentary its always good when Taz can continue the feud with Hook not even having to be seen. These two went back and forth and Brink looked pretty good even countering a QT Diamond Cutter into a bit of an inverted bubba bomb and nearly stole the win but QT kicked out at two. Shortly after QT picked up the win with the diamond cutter in 5:15.
Rating: **1/2
Review: This was not a bad match at all but nothing special. Brink got to take a good portion of this match and looked ok in doing so. He’s taller than a majority of the roster and that helps him stand out. I figure we’ll see him again as he can make his opponents look pretty good. Brink reminded me a lot of a young Big Cass in terms of size but a fairly better worker at that time.
Max Caster vs. Cameron Stewart
Caster cuts the typical sick diss during his entrance. A rare singles appearance from both members of the acclaimed tonight. I don’t see this one going too long Stewart isn’t too intimidating but does a weird little hip dance before the match starts. Taz calls Stewart Dead Ass Jones as he struggles to get up for Caster but Caster managed to get him up and drop him nicely. Gotta love Taz and Excalibur at moments like that because they don’t treat it as though nothing happened they call it how it is. Caster with a jump from the mat to the top rope but Stewart blocks the super plex. Stewart with a cross body but Caster catches him. Stewart with a DDT reversal and this is heating up. Taz warns Caster not to do that as he once saw someone tear both his pecs doing that move. Caster with a mic drop that is further than half of the ring before covering for the victory in 3:30. Caster does his hand taunt with the ref seems like this may have been an inside job.
Rating: **1/2
Review: Not a bad match at all Stewart kind of impressed me but I’m not sure he was the best opponent to work with. Caster did well with what he got and hopefully, he avoids that crossbody spot as Excalibur mentioned that injury happened to Bear Boulder 8 months back but Taz also knew of another wrestler injuring themselves so let’s avoid that. Overall a solid showcase for Max.
Tony Nese vs. Carlie Bravo
Back and forth early until Nese drops Bravo with a nice shoulderblock but Bravo no sells it and pops right back up. Bravo with some offense and fakes a right before connecting right after. Nese misses with Bravo’s belt and he rips it off before tossing it out of the ring but Taz can’t understand why Bravo isn’t going right for Nese. Nese with a moonsault and he lands his knees right on Bravo’s legs ouch. Nese sets Bravo in a tree of woe and does some bicycle knee gimmicks according to Taz as he does situps while kicking Bravo in the chest. Bravo shows some fire-dropping Nese with a forearm and uppercut. It’s a showcase for Nese but Taz and Excalibur at putting over Powerhouse Hobbs. Nese with a pump handle into a sit-out belly-to-belly piledriver for the victory in 3:52.
Rating: **
Review: Eh it was a pretty decent back and forth but i’m not huge on Nese and this didn’t do much to make him look great. Bravo looked pretty good but at the end of the day is just another consistent squash guy. Rough for Nese as commentary didn’t show him much love during this one.
– Backstage Fuego del Sol cuts a promo on Anthony Bowens and cuts a rap promo on the Acclaimed ahead of their upcoming match.
Emi Sakura vs. Angelica Risk
Risk has been on Dark a few times. Emi on the other hand is more frequently featured but she doesn’t seem as pumped about her match as she did when Lulu and company were by her side. The crowd really enjoys Emi as she’s on the Dark tapings pretty consistently so they’re familiar with her. Risky with a bit of offense but Emi reverses into the queens gambit before hitting Angelica with the running crossbody in the corner. Emi lifts Angelica up for a solid ten seconds before hitting another queen’s gambit. Emi with the victory after a rolling cutter in 3:00.
Rating: **1/2
Review: This was really short so hard for them to get much going but Emi looked good here. She’s getting over with the Florida crowd but hasn’t had the chance to do much on TV so i’m not sure it’ll crossover too well. Risk was fine and actually was huge in that extended queen’s gambit she stayed perfectly straight making Emi look awesome
2point0 vs. Metro Brothers
Not familiar with the metro brothers but they look like a cohesive team so you’ve gotta appreciate it. This didn’t last long, some short heel offense from 2.0 and they hit 2 for the show for the victory in 1:58.
Rating: N/A
Review: This did nothing for me at all. It’s not a bad match but what is the point in these two having a two-minute match when they’re much better in an extended feature. Would’ve like to see more of the Metro Brothers but maybe down the line.
M.T. Nakazawa vs. Joey Sweets
Comedy early between both Sweets and Nakazawa as Sweets does some dancing and Nakazawa does what he does. Nakazawa with a double titty twister and he stays committed to the headset. I prefer this to the old Nakazawa but still impossible to take serious. Sweets with some offense and the headset nearly goes flying. Finally it falls off and Nakazawa loses the advantage of hearing commentary during his match. Sweets up top for a dive and Nakazawa just takes his legs out from under him while Taz busts out laughing. I’m right there with him. Sweets is in pain from this botch but Nakazawa lifts him up and gets his shit in rubbing Sweets groin across the top rope. Nakazawa with a cover but Sweets manages to kick out at two. Sweets spanks his ass and charges Nakazawa but for some reason the ref gets in the way. This allows Nakazawa to crack sweets with the laptop and hit him with an odd piledrive type move for the finish as he pins Sweets in 69 position for the victory in 3:48.
Rating: *
Review: It was good to start but they lost me after Nakazawa botched the corner move. The finish was goofy and that kind of stuff is funny to some but it’s not for me. Down the stretch they didn’t seem to entertain the crowd all too much. Overall I’m with Taz in terms of just laughing it off and moving on but I can’t imagine that was all that exciting for the live audience.
Frankie Kazarian vs. Luke Sampson
Sampson looks like a mixture of Michael Hayes and Kevin Nash. Sampson is playing the part of a big guy and he’s big but not all that bigger than Kazarian. The comments on YouTube say Sampson is more of a Kevin Nash mixed with RVD. Kaz locks in the crossface chicken wing for the victory in 2:22.
Rating: N/A
Review: This was real short and by the time I got over how this guys attire was like a size small version of Kevin Nash it was over. Kazarian is great and still looks way younger than 44 but i’m not entirely sure what i’d do with him as the booker. Stuff like this is cool to get him work but i’d almost rather see him work a program with a younger guy on Dark.
Jora Johl vs. Axel Rico
Johl used to be with Matt Hardy but i’m not sure that pairing is still a thing as Jora is by himself. Rico has a unique look and makes fun of Johl for having no hair. Johl with a chop and then gets in the face of the camera showing some intensity not sure that shot warranted that aggression but oh well. Rico tries for a running rana but Johl catches him and powerbombs him into the corner. Johl lights Rico up and drops him rib first onto his knee. Johl with a headbutt and a number of closed fists but not even a warning from Aubree. Rico fights back and hits a spin a roonie but gets up right into a pump kick from Johl. Johl covers for the victory in 2:43.
Rating: N/A
Review: This match was like a glorified indy match with neither guy doing a whole lot to stand out. Johl is built a lot better but in ring wise he was not that impressive. Rico is a dork for doing the spin a roonie especially because it looked like garbage and he got beat right after.
Preston ’10’ Vance & Alan ‘5’ Angels vs. Chaos Project
-1 is here to accompany the Dark Order sending Serpentico slithering away from the young prodigy. Angels and Serpentico start this one with some decent chain wrestling and near falls before Angels takes control with a leg lariat. Wacky man jones on the outside yelling at Serpentico and the crowd. Bryce tells Luther he can’t punch and that he can hear him yelling. Luther tells him to shut up but once again da Bryce is right. Luther calls out 10 but then refuses to tag in telling Serpentico he’s got it. This is quality comedy. Ten is not impressed and tosses Serpentico across the ring with ease multiple times. Ten tags in angels and they hit a combination dropkick into a fall away slam. These two were never the prominent Dark Order tag team but they have come a long way over time. Serpentico gets just enough of an upper hand to tag in Luther but he doesn’t give him much time to recover tagging him in by the time her gets on the corner. Luther throws Serpentico into Ten in the corner. Angels fights back and drops both men. -1 checking on 5 is wholesome content I didn’t know I needed tonight. Luther yells that Angels should’ve kept the mask on because he’s so ugly, harsh and not really true 5 is a handsome fella. Excalibur points out the overuse of kicking dirt on your opponents in AEW recently. Serpentico and Luther continue to isolate five, maybe getting a bit too much offense in this one for me. Luther looking pretty jacked for a man of his age. Luther tells Serpentico to slam him but he can’t and we get a friendly fire cross body. Finally Angels reverses a rana into a blue thunder bomb before tagging in ten. Ten with the hot tag hitting both guys with pump kicks, this crowd is pretty dead finally getting a luke warm ten chant. Serpentico goes for a dive from the top rope into a spear out of mid air. Ten locks in the full nelson making Serpentico pass out in 8:00.
Rating: **1/2
Review: The comedy was much better than we’ve seen tonight but the match itself left a bit to be desired. Luther does look bigger than usual but they still shouldn’t have dominated this match that much. Five finally made the tag and ten ran wild but he didn’t have the crowd behind him as much it seemed. Maybe the crowd was just burnt out at the taping by that point but it was still noticeable that they weren’t so quick to get behind him. Luther’s goofy stuff isn’t for everyone but I enjoy it for the most part.
– We get a promo with Bowens and he discusses his song on the ‘Who We Are’ album AEW released for the Bootsy Collins Foundation. A wholesome video, I get why it’s placed here but he’s about to play a heel vs. Fuego so a bit odd.
Anthony Bowens vs. Fuego Del Sol
It’s time, for the main event. Fuego cut a mean promo about Bowens earlier and we just got some wholesome content from Bowens maybe the roles have reversed. Nervermind Caster is here to remind us we’re supposed to hate Bowens. Fuego with some fire spearing Bowens early taking the upper hand early. Fuego with a torneo from the top to the outside. Caster helps Bowens drop Fuego and asks for a high five from his partner. These two are great. The crowd is torn between Bowens and Fuego. I wonder if they keep The Acclaimed together for an extended period as it seems like the crowd wants to get behind Bowens, he’s been gaining a lot of steam lately. It’s fair to say the Acclaimed both get a lot of love. It is good that the crowd is into this match both have received praise online over the last few months for their in-ring work. Fuego with the heel kick but the camera change and the lack of a reaction make me believe it wasn’t as clean as you might think. Bowens ties Fuego up in the ropes and hits a twisting elevated DDT for the victory in 4:30
Rating: **3/4
Review: This was really short but it needed to be. Bowens should continue to be booked strong and while Fuego is a formidable opponent going 50/50 with Bowens doesn’t make a lot of sense to me especially with Caster involved so many times. The finish from Bowens was pretty unique and cool. Overall nothing out of this world but a solid showcase for Bowens and Fuego doesn’t lose much in defeat here. He’s good but it’s interesting the reaction we got here, he’s moderately over with the Florida crowd but not as much as you’d hope for someone who is featured so much.
Top 2 Names to Watch following AEW Dark
The Acclaimed – I’m only choosing two teams as no one really blew me away this week but these two teams are both impressive in their own right. The Acclaimed continues to be one of the best teams in AEW and are very entertaining. Both members of the team looked good in their individual singles matches and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of that in the future. Caster has Wardlow up next on Dynamite and that’s quite the task but still, I’m excited to see it. I don’t anticipate a split but it’d be interesting to see especially because it’s not done that much in AEW.
10 & 5 – Their match wasn’t exactly a barn burner and I wish they got more offense in overall and looked stronger especially against Luther and Serpentico but I really didn’t hate it and can see some benefits even in the things I’m complaining about. I want to see these two do more as a tag team because they’ve come a long way from where they were. It’s strange The Dark Order still feels important but they do seem to be afterthoughts lately. Maybe that’s the wrong word as they’re featured pretty heavily but don’t have anything important going on. These two have never been focal points of the group but it might be time.
Jobbers of the Week: Daivari & Khash – These two should be featured a lot even if it’s just as an enhancement team. Let them face another enhancement team soon to help showcase them even more, the way Silver and Reynolds were early and even Fuego is at times. They are not having barnburners but they’re a solid duo and if I’m not mistaken haven’t teamed much outside of AEW which is somewhat unique.
