Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 4.13.21

Hey everyone! It’s Tuesday. You know what that means.

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

SCU (8-0) vs. Jay Lyon & Midas Black (0-1)

Excalibur and Taz already got me cracking up and the first match hasn’t even started yet. This is what makes AEW Dark enjoyable whether there are 10 matches, 15 matches, or 115 matches. Just kidding, AEW. Please don’t do 115 matches. As I mention often, putting ANYONE in the ring with Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian is going to help them improve their skills. Lyon and Black got that opportunity here, and even if it was a pretty one-sided match, it’s a tape those two can study to learn from two of the best in the business. Taz absolutely lost his mind at Lyon and Black using the hula hoop circus routine, which is no surprise. Daniels and Kazarian hit the Best Meltzer Driver Ever for the easy win at 3:27.

Blake’s Rating: **

Matt Sydal (3-2) vs. Luther (0-1)

No Luther using Serpentico as a weapon? This show gets an automatic zero. Sorry, TK! Better add a few extra zeroes on the check next month. Excalibur: “What we have here is two men looking to open their third eye in very different ways.” If that’s not commentary genius, I don’t know what is. Very different styles in this one, and as Taz noted, the third eye was the only thing these two have in common. Sydal controlled the action for a bit until Luther took the action outside and used Sydal as a weapon against the guardrail. Luther had the advantage after that until Sydal hit the Lightning Spiral for the victory at 6:29.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

5 & 10 (2-0) vs. Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund (AEW tag debut)

Who still misses Anna Jay? I still miss Anna Jay. Taz makes the obvious point that -1 has put on some size since his last appearance, which I assume came via him hitting the weight room with Brian Cage. No joke, Alan Angels is so fun to watch. Although he and Preston Vance are probably third on the Dark Order tag team power rankings, they still work great together. Angels destroyed Backlund with a big kick, then Vance did the same to Sackett before locking in the submission for the win at 3:43.

Blake’s Rating: **

Colt Cabana (7-1) vs. Jake Manning (AEW debut)

As Manning noted on Twitter, he’s been fighting Cabana since 2004. Taz is completely flabbergasted at Manning’s scout gimmick, and I think it should be a requirement that Taz announce every Manning match for the rest of his career. Comedy gold right there. -1 was preoccupied filming a segment for Sammy Guevara’s blog, but Cabana didn’t need his help in order to lock in the Billy Goat’s Curse for the victory at 4:15.

Blake’s Rating: **

Red Velvet & Big Swole (1-0) vs. Amber Nova & Queen Aminata (AEW tag debut)

Amber Nova vs. Kris Statlander should be a fun one on AEW Dynamite. Aminata took on Rache Chanel (a former AEW Dark regular) last week at the GCW 18: We Run This Town show, so you can check that out if you’d like. Aminata and Nova both did a nice job in this match, with Aminata showcasing some good personality and charisma. We had a full-scale BROUHAHA late in the match, and Swole and Velvet got the best of that as Velvet hit a huge kick to Nova’s face for the victory at 4:10. This was solid for a four-minute match.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

– Jade Cargill comes out, and Red Velvet spears her through the ropes to start another BROUHAHA.

Aaron Solow (0-4) vs. Fuego Del Sol (0-8)

Well, somebody is getting a win. Fuego hyped this match up on Twitter in the best way possible, saying that he’s gonna beat
Solow so bad he’s gonna beg Bayley to take him back. CLASSIC. Solow attacked Fuego before the bell even rang, which I can appreciate since that tweet should’ve pissed him off. This was a fun back and forth sprint with each man getting to display some offense, but it was Solow hitting the Pedigree for the quick win at 3:15.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Ryan Nemeth, your resident Hollywood Hunk, isn’t scared of Alex Reynolds. He even says he’s not scared of -1. I don’t buy it, especially since it’s bulking season for -1.

Gunn Club (11-0) vs. Andrew Palace, Stone Rockwell, & Mike Magnum (AEW trios debut)

Austin Gunn is a walking energy drink. There’s a sponsorship opportunity there somewhere. Rockwell’s character is just great. Also, this is your weekly reminder that Billy Gunn is 57 years old. 57! The guy doesn’t age. He didn’t have to do a whole lot in this one, with Colten pinning Mangrum for the victory at 3:12.

Blake’s Rating: **

Madi Wrenkowski (2-2) vs. KiLynn King (5-3)

Wrenkowski is a natural heel, and her charisma just keeps getting better. I could see her as a future Britt Baker-type star down the road. These two chopped the hell out of each other early on, and the pace only picked up from there. King hit the Kingdom Falls for the quick win at 2:47, but this was all action the entire way. Would love to see these two work together more.

Blake’s Rating: NR

– Alex Reynolds runs down Ryan Nemeth, and -1 charges at the camera wanting a piece of Nemeth. Reynolds says he’s gonna win this one for State Farm.

Matt Hardy (5-2) vs. Ken Broadway (AEW debut)

Insert your 60-minute broadway jokes here! For some reason, I don’t see that happening. Darby Allin is watching from his usual spot ahead of his match with Matt on Dynamite. I’m pretty sure Matt knocked out Broadway’s nose ring early in the match, and I have to believe that wasn’t a pleasant experience for Broadway. However, he still managed to go up top and make it rain, but he missed his opportunity and Matt took control. Matt taunted Darby before hitting the Twist of Fate and then used the submission lock to earn the victory at 3:50.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Matt sends a message to Darby ahead of their TNT title match.

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson (18-4) vs. Vary Morales & Spencer Slade (AEW tag debut)

Uno and Grayson continue to be one of the most underrated tag teams in wrestling. Apparently they were out to prove that, as they made quick work of their opponents and hit the Fatality for the win at 1:29.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Britt Baker (6-1) vs. Shawna Reed (AEW debut)

Can one ever really have too much Britt Baker? I don’t think so. Reed showed some nice aggressiveness, and Excalibur and Taz played up Baker potentially overlooking her opponent. So, what did Baker do? She responded with some BRUTAL kicks to Reed’s face. Baker then grabbed the glove and used the Lockjaw for the quick victory at 2:13.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Brian Cage & Ricky Starks (3-1) vs. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander (0-2)

Taz talked up trying to lure Christian Cage to Team Taz. Two Cages are better than one, so I get it. I also have to laugh at Taz calling Christian a blue-chipper. Once again, the theme here was Starks and Cage trying to outdo one another, and that pissed Taz the hell off. More specifically, he wasn’t happy with Starks. DRAMA. Cage used the Drill Claw to give us the squash trifecta at 2:46.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Nyla Rose (5-2) vs. Leila Grey (0-3)

Vickie Guerrero just running Justin Roberts down as a ring announcer also gets a laugh. Grey turned her back on Nyla before the bell rang, and I can confidently tell you that I don’t think that was a good idea. Sure enough, it wasn’t. Nyla squashed her in about two minutes.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Varsity Blonds (10-9) vs. Prince Kai & Will Allday (AEW tag debut)

I know I say this often, but Brian Pillman and Griff Garrison are the ultimate babyface tag team. Very old school approach that I can appreciate. They used that approach in this one, and their impressive teamwork led them to another win at 3:45.

Blake’s Rating: **

Lance Archer (19-6) vs. Cole Karter

JAKE ROBERTS ON COMMENTARY. Give it to me every single show. Archer hilariously destroyed Karter with a big boot making his way into the ring. Archer is a national treasure. The man just squashed Karter for the easy victory at 3:12.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Ryan Nemeth (3-4) vs. Alex Reynolds (7-2)

We go from Jake Roberts on commentary to JOHNNY HUNGEE on commentary. What a treat. Silver and Taz’s exchanges were so fantastic, but that’s not a surprise. Reynolds said he was gonna do it for State Farm, and that’s exactly what he did as he made quick work of Nemeth to get the win at 4:14.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

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6.0

The final score: review Average

The 411

Lots of late squashes on this edition of AEW Dark, but the character development was enjoyable. Of course, there were competitive matches as well, and I thought some of the women's ones were particularly entertaining despite being short. The AEW women's division has come a long way from only having a few matches each week. As always, the true highlight of AEW Dark is the commentary. Excalibur and Taz are just so good at what they do. Jake Roberts and John Silver joining commentary was also a nice bonus.