wrestling / TV Reports

Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 7.13.21

July 13, 2021 | Posted by Blake Lovell
AEW Dark Image Credit: AEW/Twitter
6.5
The 411 Rating
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Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 7.13.21  

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.

Also, 411’s Steve Cook put together a great piece on Larry’s top seven columns. You should read it.

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

AEW Dark logo

Matt Hardy (13-3) vs. Jah-C (AEW debut)

The Hardy Family Office is huge, isn’t it? I don’t think you realize it until they’re all in the ring at the same time. I’m all for it eventually leading to a Butcher, Blade, and Bunny destroying everyone. Jah-C knew what he was walking into, as Matt was on a mission and even started throwing the mounted punches to show his anger. Matt then forced Jah-C to tap at 3:58.

Blake’s Rating: **

– After the match, Matt wants Jora Johl to towel him off.

Brian Cage (11-2) vs. Foxx Vinyer (AEW debut)

Vinyer reminds me of someone who could’ve been the third member of the Powers of Pain. Love me some Barbarian and Warlord. Apparently, Vinyer also needed Barbarian and Warlord in this match, as he was no match for Cage. While Vinyer got some offense in, it was Cage hitting the Drill Claw for the quick victory at 1:53.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

The Acclaimed (13-3) vs. Derek Pisaturo & Roman Rozell (0-1)

YO. The Acclaimed has arrived. Max Caster cut a promo on Pisaturo and Rozell that had something to do with weapons of mass destruction, so that was interesting. Rozell actually got a bit of shine in this match, but the Acclaimed quickly regained control. Caster then hit the Mic Drop, and Anthony Bowens did the rest to get the win at 4:27.

Blake’s Rating: **

Diamante (23-14) vs. Harlow O’Hara (AEW debut)

Nice little inset promo from Diamante prior to the match, which included a challenge to Big Swole. More of that, please. She’s great and hopefully continues to be a regular in the AEW women’s division. These two did not hold back when it came to delivering some stiff shots, and while they probably didn’t enjoy it, I did. Solid back and forth, but it was Diamante forcing O’Hara to tap at 3:02.

Blake’s Rating: **

Ryan Mantell (0-1) vs. Ethan Page (16-2)

Scorpio Sky is on commentary for this one. I don’t like Mantell’s chances here considering Page’s upcoming match on Dynamite, but there have been bigger upsets on AEW Dark I suppose. Then again, probably not. This went about as expected, with Page hitting the Ego’s Edge for the victory at 2:23.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Sahara Seven (AEW debut) vs. Big Swole (13-1)

Swole’s entrance theme is catchy. When it gets stuck in my head, I randomly shout SWOLE for no reason. The match between Swole and Diamante should be interesting, and again, I’m just glad they’re setting up mini feuds that don’t just involve the AEW Women’s title. Competitive match early on, but Swole gained the momentum and used the Clearwater Cloverleaf for the win at 3:03.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Swole calls Diamante a MARK ASS TRICK. The crowd then chants MARK ASS TRICK much to my delight. Swole then tells Diamante to become All Elite before she issues a challenge. Another jab from Swole and that’s that. This was fun.

Dante Martin (10-4) vs. RSP (AEW debut)

For the unaware, RSP is Rickey Shane Page. RSP throws his jacket at Dante during his entrance, so Dante hits a ridiculous springboard onto him. If only we all had Dante’s athleticism. I’d say this is a bit of a clash of styles, so that adds some intrigue. RSP was on offense for the bulk of the match, then Dante went to his high-flying arsenal for a bit. RSP did the same with a frog splash. RSP went back up top, but Dante hit a hurricanrana and stunner for the victory at 5:30. These two worked well together.

Blake’s Rating: **3/4

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson (20-5) vs. Papadon & Sean Maluta (AEW debut)

The GOAT -1 has returned to add another win to his managerial resume. I have no doubt he’ll do just that with one of the most underrated tag teams in wrestling. It’s been several months since we’ve seen Maluta on AEW Dark, but he’s had some nice performances. Maluta and Papdon went to work on Uno, leading to -1 wanting the tag. LET HIM IN. Instead, the tag went to Grayson, who ran wild to set up a running punt and piledriver combination for the win at 5:25.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Marcus Kross (0-1) vs. Ryan Nemeth (4-6)

Marcus Kross looks nothing like Karrion Kross, though Ryan Nemeth does look like Nic Nemeth. We’ve reached the point where I think AEW needs to do a YouTube series that’s essentially The Wingmen creating their own version of The Hangover. I’d watch it. Pretty Peter Avalon with some shenanigans early, which led to the Wingmen pouring water in Kross’s magnificent hair. Although Kross bounced back with some impressive speed, it was Nemeth hitting the neckbreaker for the victory at 3:57.

Blake’s Rating: **

Penelope Ford (7-1) vs. Robyn Renegade (0-5)

Penelope might have a top five underrated AEW theme song. It’s got a good beat. One area Penelope is pretty great in is her mannerisms in the ring. She does good work in the heel role. Renegade was aggressive and so was Penelope, but it was the latter hitting her finisher for the win at 3:26.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Matt Hardy is ready for his match with Christian Cage on Dynamite. Matt wants his moment, and he’s gonna get it.

Austin Green w/ Diamond Sheik vs. Frankie Kazarian (18-3)

THE ELITE HUNTER. Green is a big dude, and my goodness did he throw Kazarian to the mat like a rag doll. He also moves very well for his size. I’m a fan. This was a solid sprint that was pretty much all action, but Kazarian hit a huge clothesline to take things to the match, allowing him to use the chicken wing to force Green to tap at 3:19.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson (AEW tag debut) vs. Mark Davidson & Aaron Frye (AEW tag debut)

Some people look exactly like their parents, and Brock Anderson fits that criteria. Excalibur and Taz really pushing Anderson and Johnson as a duo, so perhaps we’ll see them paired together quite a bit moving forward. This was all Nightmare Family, and Anderson got the pin for the victory at 4:25.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Wheeler Yuta has figured out the solution to solve Angelico, and he’s gonna exploit his arrogance.

Madi Wrenkowski (3-4) vs. Julia Hart

Good to see Wrenkowski back in the AEW Dark mix. Two young talents with a lot of potential in this one, and I think both could be future focal points of the AEW women’s division. They had some nice chemistry, and both are good at selling the other’s offense. However, Hart continued her hot streak and used the splits to earn the win at 4:21.

Blake’s Rating: **

Jake Tucker (0-1) vs. The Blade (3-0)

Reminder that Tucker is a MOTHER LOVER. What a gimmick. Meanwhile, what Blade loves is slicing his opponents to shreds. Pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum if you ask me. Blade was not taking anything from Tucker, and he just destroyed the mother lover for the easy victory at 1:48.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

– Dasha Gonzalez with Angelico and Jack Evans. They taunt Yuta.

Joeasa & Deonn Rusman (AEW tag debut) vs. Private Party (6-1)

Shots…..shots……shots. The HFO has been on quite a roll thus far, and my guess is they’ll keep it going. Private Party attacks before the bell even rings, as they continue to learn from Matt’s ways. From what I recall, Rusman was very impressive in his previous AEW Dark appearance, and that was no different in this match. He’s very, very good. But he was no match for the double team combination from Private Party, with Isiah Kassidy getting the pin for the win at 3:26.

Blake’s Rating: **

Travis Titan (0-2) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (16-3)

I love how Hobbs hits the ring just ready to obliterate someone. He decided to do just that to Titan before the match even started. Once the bell rang, nothing changed, as Hobbs hit the spinebuster for the victory in what I do believe may be an AEW Dark record at six seconds.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Gunn Club (5-0) vs. Cezar Bononi & JD Drake (AEW tag debut)

Is Austin Gunn back yet? His enthusiasm is needed. This is your weekly PSA that Billy Gunn is 57 years old. Just incredible. Competitive match that worked to Colten Gunn getting the hot tag, and he laid out both Bononi and Drake. The Wingmen got back on track with consecutive big moves. Then things got wild with Bononi going to pull Drake to the corner, but instead, he pulled his boot off. Excalibur and Taz are having fun with that. Gunn Club regained the advantage, and Colten hit the Colt 45 for the win at 6:32.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Wheeler Yuta (2-1) vs. Angelico (7-5)

Yuta getting quite an entrance, so you know AEW has plans for this guy. He certainly has talent and no doubt fits in well with the AEW roster. That was evident right away in this particular bout, with some tremendous counters early on between the two. Lots of ground work from both men until Yuta went the high-flying route for a near fall. Several more near falls after that, and we’ve got SUSPENSE on AEW Dark. But Angelico was all about winning, and he went to the Navarro Death Roll and kept it locked on to notch the victory at 8:08. Really good stuff.

Blake’s Rating: ***

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 loaded edition of AEW Dark with 18 matches in two hours. It didn't lack action or entertainment, even if the matches were short as usual. I do appreciate more storylines like Diamante/Swole and Yuta/Angelico being added to the mix to keep things fresh. That makes a big difference with this type of show. The only negative was no Ricky Starks on commentary, but we can let it slide since he needed to focus on his FTW title match on Dynamite.
legend

article topics :

AEW, AEW Dark, Blake Lovell