Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 12.22.20

Hey everyone! Happy holidays to you all, and just want to say thanks for the interaction and feedback since I started reviewing AEW Dark several months ago. I love the discussion, so keep it coming.

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.

Bear Country (0-1) vs. Jurassic Express (15-5) with Marko Stunt

BEARS vs. DINOSAURS! It’s like Tony K. and company are reading the AEW Dark review! Regular readers know that Jurassic Express rarely has a bad match on this show, and Bear Country had an excellent match with Evil Uno and Stu Grayson last week. Bear Country is back and they’re sporting some fantastic masks. Jungle Boy was great playing off of these two hosses, as it allowed them to showcase their strength. However, Bear Boulder also hit a damn MOONSAULT, and that was just nuts. Jurassic Express used their double team moves to get the win at 6:43, but this was once again a terrific showcase for Bear Country.

Blake’s Rating: ***

Tesha Price (0-6) vs. Nyla Rose (13-3) with Vickie Guerrero

Perhaps Tesha will get a victory at some point, but my early prediction is that it won’t be in this match. Narrator: He was right. Nyla completely destroyed Tesha the entire way, and she came off the top with the knee to the back of Tesha’s head to earn the win at 2:55.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Sonny Kiss (3-7) vs. Miro (3-0) with Kip Sabian

Miro and John Silver would make a great tag team because they’re both FREAKING JACKED. I know some fans have been frustrated with Miro’s character in AEW, but I’d still argue he’s a very underrated worker in the ring. He was in pure destruction mode in this match, as he made quick work of Kiss by forcing him to tap at 2:01.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH X2

– The Waiting Room with Dr. Britt Baker! She claims Sting has been officially booked for the show, then makes fun of PAC’s accent. That leads to jokes about Top Flight’s age before welcoming in…..Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian? I thought Serena Deeb was the guest, but maybe I missed something. Kazarian cuts a promo and gets pissed at Daniels for losing to The Acclaimed and blames him for other losses. Kazarian discusses his passion for wrestling, and Daniels tells him not to apologize. Daniels then apologizes and says he lost that passion. He tries to walk off, but Kazarian doesn’t allow it. Kazarian then decides that the next time they lose a tag team match, they’re done as a team. Daniels agrees, and they challenge TH2, who are sitting in the crowd. Britt is pissed about SCU taking over the show.

Thunder Rosa (4-2) vs. Jazmin Allure (AEW debut)

Thunder Rosa just has that “it” factor in everything she does. Even when she makes her way to the ring, you know she’s a big deal because of her mannerisms. Inside the ring, she’s an absolute bulldog. Taz did a good job playing up Rosa being in a bad mood due to the ongoing feud with Britt Baker, which is another commentary point for one of the best commentary teams in the world. Allure did get some offense in, but this was Rosa proving her excellence as she hit the Fire Thunder Driver for the win at 3:56.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Lee Johnson (0-17) with QT Marshall vs. Stu Grayson (18-5) with Evil Uno

They’ve gotta get Johnson a win, right? When he does finally get one, at least it should mean something after so many losses. I’ve said it before, but I do enjoy seeing regular tag team competitors in singles action. These two got off to a fast start and didn’t look back. Grayson was awesome taunting Johnson, but he was equally as good at selling for Johnson’s offense. Awesome sequence late in the match from Grayson, who hit the 450 splash before Johnson kicked out at two and a half. Johnson nearly got a couple of pin attempts of his own, and he also hit an impressive tornado off the top. However, while Johnson had his opportunities, Grayson hit the Night Fall for the victory at 8:09. After the match, Grayson gave Johnson a fist bump, which led to a confused QT Marshall. As expected, these two delivered a very good match.

Blake’s Rating: ***1/2

KiLynn King (3-14) vs. Alex Gracia (0-4)

Excalibur informs us that the winner of this match gets a shot at Hikaru Shida on tomorrow night’s edition of Dynamite. That’s something. Taz calling the 619 an “area code shot” never gets old. More character development for King is important, but she’s ahead of a lot of the other AEW women’s talent when it comes to in-ring work. King hit a brutal German suplex, but outta nowhere, Gracia hits the neckbreaker and gets the win at 3:37. Just when you think all AEW Dark matches are predictable! That sets up Shida vs. Gracia for Dynamite.

Blake’s Rating: **

Pretty Peter Avalon (3-4-2) vs. Mike Verna (AEW debut)

Verna is the Man of Steel, and that’s always gonna give you a chance in a one-on-one wrestling match. Then again, it doesn’t mean you’re gonna win. Avalon proved just that, with the back and forth match leading to him hitting the Mart-knees for the victory at 5:53.

Blake’s Rating: **

Vertvixen (AEW debut) vs. Red Velvet

Thanks to those who agreed that red velvet cake is the best cake. It really is. Of course, the best red velvet cake is STRAIGHT OUTTA YOUR MOMMA’S KITCHEN. Vertvixen gets her first AEW opportunity, but it was Velvet getting the victory at 3:00.

Blake’s Rating: **

Colt Cabana, 5, and 10 vs. Fuego Del Sol, Aaron Solow, and Ray Jaz (AEW trios debut)

Taz commentating Colt Cabana matches is always a treat. You’ve also got future AEW champ Fuego Del Sol trying to fight the forces of evil, which makes this match an easy sell. However, our friend Fuego got the hell beat out of him, with Dark Order completely destroying him late in the match to get the victory at 7:31.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Madi Wrenkowski (AEW debut) vs. Leyla Hirsch (1-3)

Sign Leyla Hirsch! Just go ahead and do it. You’ve given her a great theme song, so pull out the contract and give her ALL THE BELTS. However, this match was about more than just Hirsch doing her thing. Wrenkowski has great personality and works well in the ring, so she’s someone to keep an eye on if you’ve never seen her work before. But Hirsch was too much in this one and forced Wrenkowski to tap at 4:00.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Terrence and Terrell Hughes (0-2) vs. Gunn Club (AEW tag team debut)

Second generation Dudleyz vs. second generation Gunns! Something’s gotta give. It really is cool to see these four mix it up given their fathers’ history, even if Taz doesn’t appreciate their niceness. Good work from both young teams, and it was Colten who hit the Colt 45 for the win at 5:13.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Rey Fenix (17-11) vs. Danny Limelight (0-3)

Two of my favorites here, so their working together is an early Christmas present. When does Fenix win his first AEW singles title? I’m thinking late 2021. He’s one of the best in the game right now, and AEW can literally put him in there with anyone and get a great match. The spot of the match was these dudes walking the ropes and meeting each other in the middle, which led to them hitting each other with stiff kicks. So awesome. Fenix hit his finisher for the win at 6:33. I’d love to see a future rematch between these guys.

Blake’s Rating: ***1/2

Matt Sydal (8-3) vs. Serpentico (6-13) with Luther

The only downside of this match is that Luther can’t use Serpentico as a weapon. That’s one of the highlights of AEW Dark each and every week. However, we did get Luther screaming at Serpentico like an absolute maniac. Yet another fun back and forth match on this show, and Sydal hit his finisher for the victory at 8:02.

Blake’s Rating: ***

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8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This was probably one of the best editions of AEW Dark that I've reviewed on 411. One of the big reasons for that was that it added some important elements that made the show even more enjoyable. For starters, you had a surprise winner in the King vs. Gracia match, and it added stakes as the latter now gets a shot against Shida. Also, The Waiting Room with Britt Baker had a meaningful promo that leads to intrigue with the future of Daniels and Kazarian. Adding things like that makes AEW Dark more than just a show filled with a double-digit match count, and that's a good thing. Rather than just getting quality wrestling on a show focused on developing talent, you get angles and storylines that actually help you get more invested as a fan. More of that, please. Jurassic Express vs. Bear Country, Stu Grayson vs. Lee Johnson, Rey Fenix vs. Danny Limelight, and Matt Sydal vs. Serpentico were all a lot of fun. And while the AEW tag team division is loaded, signing Bear Country would be a smart move. They're badass hosses that can hit moonsaults. I'm a big fan of badass hosses that can hit moonsaults.