wrestling / TV Reports
Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 12.15.20
Loading...Hey everyone! AEW Dark is back, and that means lots of wrestling and lots of jokes from Excalibur and Taz.
As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry Csonka’s daughters is still active. Please contribute and share if you can.
Let’s jump into this week’s episode of AEW Dark.
Ricky Starks (15-2) vs. Sotheara Chhun (AEW singles debut)
POWERHOUSE Hobbs and Starks really are a great duo. Chhun came out as the aggressor after Starks taunted him, and well, that did not work out too great for our friend Chhun. Starks threw him face-first into the bottom turnbuckle and I’m pretty sure there’s a face imprint on the bottom turnbuckle now. Chhun got a pinfall attempt, but that was about it as Starks hit the spear for the win at 2:34.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Baron Black (0-3) vs. Brandon Cutler (6-3-2)
Cutler getting hit directly in the balls was the commentary highlight of this match, with Excalibur, Taz, and Anthony Ogogo all delivering some nice lines. Of course, the even bigger development was the streak continuing! That’s seven in a row now for the future AEW World Champion. Cutler hit a reverse DDT and then landed the elbow for the victory at 2:28.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH x 2
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida (21-1) vs. Kilynn King (3-13)
We had a GRECO ROMAN KNUCKLE LOCK to start this match, and that’s always a thrill. Some nice counters and exchanges early in the match, with King showing a lot of confidence and aggressiveness. Regular readers know I’m a fan of her work, but I’d still like to see AEW give her more character development. Then again, you could say the same with Shida. King controlled this match for the most part, but Shida eventually hit the Falcon Arrow for the victory at 4:47.
Blake’s Rating: **
– Abadon has arrived! She destroys Shida after the match and grabs the AEW Women’s title and stands over the champ.
– Rebel is great as usual as she welcomes everyone to The Waiting Room with Britt Baker. She throws jobs at various stars, including Cody for getting a neck tattoo. Rebel holds up “Laugh” signs for the crowd, which is just awesome. Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard are this week’s guests. Britt picked Spears to win the battle royal and wants to know why the hell he didn’t win. Marko Stunt is at the door with his guitar, but Spears slams the door shut on him. Spears opens the door again and Scorpio Sky attacks Spears and THROWS HIM THROUGH THE WALL. Britt and Rebel lose their minds and say Tony will pay for it.
Shawn Dean & Fuego Del Sol (AEW tag team debut) vs. Jurassic Express (14-5) with Marko Stunt
Excalibur with the stat of the night in stating this is Jungle Boy’s 51st match in AEW. He’s a veteran at the age of 23. Dean and Fuego have been AEW Dark regulars for a while now, and perhaps they’ll eventually get a win at some point. They weren’t winning this one, as Luchasaurus got the hot tag and went to work. Jungle Boy came back in and did the same, and they hit another impressive double team move for the win at 5:01.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
Leva Bates (2-1) vs. Skyler Moore (0-7)
Joining commentary is…..Thunder Rosa! Love it. She hyped up her feud with Britt Baker. Unlike some of the other matches thus far, there was a lot of back and forth between Bates and Moore. They had several pinfall counters, and it was Leva getting the one that mattered by reversing some offense from Moore for the win at 4:00.
Blake’s Rating: **
Brian Cage (12-1) vs. VSK (0-3)
VSK hit a flurry of offense right off the bat, and apparently, that was not a good idea because Cage turned into a machine and tried to destroy him. However, VSK got a comeback going as he knocked Cage to the outside and hit multiple tope suicidas. Cage decided to respond by taking control of the match, and he hit the Drill Claw for the victory at 3:31.
Blake’s Rating: **
The Acclaimed vs. Louie Valle & Mike Magnum (AEW tag team debut)
Bowens has the beatbox! He even joined Max Caster on the mic before the match. I know people have different opinions on these guys, but I love them. They’ve earned the spotlight on AEW Dynamite, as they are an example of why Dark is such a good show. They’ve worked on their gimmick for months, and their chemistry is great. Valle and Magnum got a little offense in late, but Caster and Bowens hit the Acclaim to Fame for the victory at 5:11.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
Anna Jay (4-4) vs. Dani Jordyn (0-7)
“Colt Cabana is dressed like a retired gym teacher.” Taz, ladies and gentlemen. Anna Jay and Jordyn as characters play very well off each other since they both have mean streaks. You want to talk about someone improving their confidence in the ring, Anna Jay has done just that since joining the Dark Order. She’s a natural heel, and she choked out Jordyn for the win at 3:00.
Blake’s Rating: **
Stu Grayson & Evil Uno (14-2) vs. Bear Country (AEW tag team debut)
Pretty Peter Avalon on commentary. But enough about Pretty Peter, let’s talk about the HOSS team of Bear Country. I’ve always been a big fan of hoss teams going back to the 1980s, so these dudes have my attention. So does Taz talking about wrestling bears. In what was an awesome spot, Bear Boulder caught both Uno and Grayson and suplexed them. Bear Country then hit an awesome move in the corner and nearly won the match. As if that wasn’t enough, Grayson PICKED UP Bear Boulder and hit the Night Fall before Uno and Grayson hit Fatality for the victory at 9:23. Folks, go out of your way to see this match, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a fan of hoss teams. Bear Country was excellent here, and they were working with one of the best teams in the business. That combination was a success.
Blake’s Rating: ***1/2
Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela (8-8) vs. RYZIN & Sean Maluta (0-1)
Not sure how these two teams follow that last match, but at least we’ve got two unsigned talents teaming for the second time instead of it being their first match. I like that. Janela ran wild for a bit, and Kiss hit the splitting leg drop off the top for the win at 4:04.
Blake’s Rating: **
Tay Conti (2-1) vs. Freya States (0-1)
Freya is back! I really enjoyed her match against Shanna last week. She has good psychology as a monster heel, and she’s already proven that she can work well with smaller wrestlers. But it was Conti that worked her unique style and used the choke hold to force Freya to tap at 3:10. More of both of these women, please. They’ve got potential.
Blake’s Rating: **
Danny Limelight (0-2) vs. Matt Sydal (7-3)
Danny Limelight is also back! This was another solid matchup on paper, and these two delivered a good back and forth match. Limelight does a great job selling offense, which is one of the things you have to do to stand out in a situation where you know you’re losing matches. Sydal got the win at 6:33, and this is another match to circle if you’re wanting to pick from the best ones on the show.
Blake’s Rating: ***
Kaci Lennox (AEW debut) vs. Ivelisse (12-3)
Another debuting women’s wrestler in Lennox, who wasn’t backing down in this one. She has potential and just needs more matches under her belt. Of course, this was simply a showcase for Ivelisse, and she managed to fight off a lot of Lennox’s offense and eventually forced her to tap out at 4:03.
Blake’s Rating: **
Chaos Project (6-3) vs. Best Friends (19-7)
Everyone knows I’m a fan of Luther using Serpentico as a weapon, so it’s easy for me to find entertainment in a Chaos Project match. And when you add Best Friends to the mix, it’s even better. This match had some….chaos. They brawled outside the ring early on, and once the action got back in the ring, they went at it. But the momentum continued for Best Friends, as Trent used the inside cradle on Luther for the victory at 7:22.
Blake’s Rating: **1/2
– After the match, Miro wants to fight somebody! More specifically, he wants to fight Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.
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