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Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 4.20.21

April 20, 2021 | Posted by Blake Lovell
AEW Dark
6.5
The 411 Rating
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Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 4.20.21  

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

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.

AEW Dark logo

– Darby Allin hypes his match with Jungle Boy on Dynamite and tells him to turn that switch. That one is gonna be excellent.

Joey Janela (6-3) vs. Will Allday (0-1)

Janela’s ring gear is the best. Just the best. Ricky Starks on commentary, which only adds to the awesomeness that is AEW Dark commentary. Allday hit some nice offense in this match, including a forceful tope suicida on Janela that didn’t look fun. Pretty impressive speed and selling from Allday, and he certainly has a lot of potential. He reminds me a little of former AEW Dark favorite Ben Carter (aka Nathan Frazer in NXT UK). However, Janela decided that he doesn’t have all day to win this match, so he hit the Death Valley Driver and got the pin on Allday for the win at 5:35.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

RYZIN & John Skyler (AEW tag debut) vs. SCU (9-0)

I would think they’re building up the SCU storyline for an eventual pay-per-view payoff, so it’ll be interesting how they split Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian. Starks and Taz making jokes on commentary is pure gold, but you already knew that. Ryzin and John Skyler worked like an old school heel tag team at times, which I can appreciate. But their teamwork was no match for a veteran duo like Daniels and Kazarian, and they hit the Best Meltzer Ever for the victory at 6:57.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Big Swole & KiLynn King vs. Ashley & Steff MK (AEW tag debut)

The pairing with Swole and Red Velvet (who’s an absolute star) has been good for King, although she took most of the offense from the MK twins in this match. The MK twins did show some nice aggressiveness and personality, but they weren’t getting the win as Swole and King used a double team combination for the win at 5:25.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Starks grabs a beer and hypes his match with Hangman Page. I’ve said this many times, but Starks’ charisma is just incredible.

Brick Aldridge & Cole Karter (AEW tag debut) vs. The Butcher & The Blade (4-0)

We didn’t get Butcher and Blade delivering an ass-kicking before the bell rang, so that was a little disappointing. However, they made up for it by delivering an ass-kicking during the match. Starks: “Hey Excalibur, would you cripple a guy for money? Because I have.” Again, Starks is a national treasure. Private Party and The Bunny got involved by stomping Karter on the outside, and Bunny’s mannerisms were fantastic as usual. This was pure domination from Butcher and Blade as they earned the victory at 3:41.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Ryan Nemeth with Cezar Bononi and JD Drake. Nemeth wants Drake to improve his wardrobe, and he’s not a fan. Drake is pissed that they don’t think a hard-working man can be sexy, so he’s gonna try on the fancy clothes. Drake is pretty funny in this role.

Sonny Kiss (6-3) vs. Jake Manning (0-1)

Kiss comes out with Janela, but Janela doesn’t come out with Kiss? What a teammate. Meanwhile, the MAN SCOUT is back! Let’s see if his scouting pays off. Turns out it didn’t, with Kiss hitting a stunner for the quick win at 50 seconds.

Blake’s Rating: SCOUT SQUASH

– Kiss cuts a passionate promo and tells people to throw out the preconceived notions because the games are over.

Jay Lyon, Midas Black & Ken Broadway (AEW trios debut) vs. Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and 10 (AEW trios debut)

Taz is flabbergasted by Lyon’s meat, and I promise that line is not as strange as it sounds. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that Ken Broadway is one of the best professional wrestler names ever. Hopefully for him, he doesn’t get his nosering ripped out like he did in last week’s match. At one point, Broadway pulled some money out of his trunks and it got thrown around the ring, only for -1 to swoop in and retrieve it. He deserves as one of the most successful managers in wrestling. Uno and Grayson hit Fatality for the victory at 5:18.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Billy Gunn (8-0) vs. Andrew Palace (0-2)

Billy with a huge black eye courtesy of The Factory, so he came out with some added aggression in this match. He controlled this one and made easy work of Palace by hitting the Fame Asser for the win at 1:51.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

– After the match, Billy tells QT he has nowhere to hide on Dynamite. I mean, he could hide under the ring, inside the concession stand at TIAA Bank Field, in Sue’s car……just to name a few.

Fuego del Sol (0-9) vs. Dante Martin (6-4)

This is an intriguing matchup given the styles of both competitors. It’s still wild to think that Dante is still only 20 years old, and his athleticism is just on another level. Fuego isn’t so bad himself, as he went coast to coast with a dropkick for a near fall. Fuego went for his trademark tornado DDT, but Dante reversed it and hit an incredible 450 splash to get the victory at 4:48.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Diamante (7-3) vs. Queen Aminata (0-1)

The Ivelisse situation is interesting, to say the least. But I’ve always been a big fan of Diamante. I think she’ll do fine in the AEW women’s division as a singles wrestler. Aminata was impressive in her AEW Dark debut, so she’s another unsigned talent to keep an eye on. Aminata got her lip busted in this one, as Diamante wasn’t playing around. Diamante locked in the submission for the win at 3:18.

Blake’s Rating: **

Hayden Backlund & Kit Sackett (0-1) vs. Varsity Blonds (7-2)

Your resident 80s babyface tag team is back! Obviously, I’m talking about Backlund and Sackett. Was Sackett the running mate for Bob Backlund in 1996? I can’t remember. Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison keep getting better as a unit, and it’s the little things with their teamwork that make them fun to watch. Backlund and Sackett did their best, but Pillman and Garrison hit the combination powerbomb to pick up the victory at 4:43.

Blake’s Rating: **

Max Caster (7-2) vs. Alan “5” Angels (7-2)

A little bit of a size advantage for Caster, and stacking him up against Angels really does showcase the height of Caster. While that’s undeniable, what’s also undeniable is Angels’ ability in the ring. I know the Kenny Omega match (which took place almost exactly one year ago) is the one that initially got him on the map in AEW, and the dude has undoubtedly made the most of his opportunity. They worked a back and forth match, and Bowens threw the boom box in the ring. Angels intercepted it, and the referee distraction allowed Caster to use a chain in creative fashion to get the pin for the win at 8:18.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Baron Black vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Regular readers know I’m a big fan of Baron Black, but I do not like his chances in this match. He is rocking some pretty cool white tights, though. Black got in a few early moves, but Hobbs came back and destroyed Black for the victory at 1:53.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

PAC (3-0) vs. Dean Alexander

PAC hit the ring in a PISSED OFF mood and just started beating the hell out of Alexander. My goodness PAC is so good. He quickly locked in the Brutalizer for the dominant win at 43 seconds.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

For more of my thoughts on pro wrestling, subscribe to the 411 On Wrestling podcast and follow me on Twitter @wrestleblake. Thanks for reading!

6.5
The final score: review Average
The 411
Another enjoyable edition of AEW Dark. You know what you're getting with this show at this point, and it's best to focus on character and skills development for the regulars and the potential for the unsigned talent. In the latter group, I was particularly impressed with Will Allday and Queen Aminata. And of course, Starks joining commentary for the first half of the show was a nice addition.
legend

article topics :

AEW, AEW Dark, Blake Lovell