Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 7.6.21

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

Ryan Mantell (AEW debut) vs. Lance Archer (26-5)

Jake Roberts on commentary once again. He lets us know Archer has promised a brand new move. I’m intrigued. Speaking of Jake, it continues to be incredible how great this guy looks. DDP is the best. Mantell actually bringing the fight to Archer, so give him credit for that. Jake hypes up the new move throughout the match, but Taz realizes Archer was probably ribbing him. Archer eventually destroys Mantell for the win at 3:09.

Blake’s Rating: **

Terrell & Terence Hughes (0-3) vs. QT Marshall & Aaron Solow w/ Nick Comoroto

And now Ricky Starks is on commentary to automatically boost this show’s rating by at least 0.5. Good to see the Hughes brothers back in action since they’ve had several solid matches during this no-crowd stretch of AEW Dark. Their teamwork is excellent, and they’ve obviously learned from one of the best in that category. They even pull off the twin switch at one point in the match, and that gives them all the momentum leading into the WASSSSUPPP spot. However, things swing back in the favor of QT and Solow, with QT hitting the Diamond Cutter for the victory at 5:10. After the match, QT adds another Diamond Cutter for good measure.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

– The Waiting Room with Britt Baker is back! It’s even been redecorated. Baker makes some jokes about Cody Rhodes and talks about making her return to BRITTSBURGH. Then she welcomes her “absolute favorite midcarders” Sonny Kiss and Joey Janela. With the cowboy boots and leather jacket, it’s clear Janela is dressed for a trip to THE NIP FACTORY. Janela talks about how he’s frustrated and Kiss pushes him to the ground. Janela sells it like a pro, and Kiss goes off on him. Janela then says there’s a reason he’s been a bad friend and he cues up Alex Marvez to come out. Marvez doesn’t show, so Janela goes in the corner and tries to call Marvez. Janela then cuts a dramatic promo on wanting to keep the bond going with Kiss, who offers him an ultimatum. Baker encourages Janela to attack Kiss from behind, but instead, Janela offers a pair of glasses. They hug, and Janela once again teases a superkick but doesn’t do it. This was an interesting segment that probably went a little longer than it needed to, but all parties played their roles well.

Natalia Markova (0-2) vs. Abadon (10-1)

Abadon still holds the honor of scariest competitor on AEW Dark. But don’t tell that to Markova, who delivered a hell of an overhand chop early in the match. But even with some offense after that, Markova was no match for the monster that is Abadon. She did a nice little spine adjustment, and it was destruction from there as Abadon notched the win at 2:17.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Carlie Bravo (0-1) vs. Matt Sydal (20-6)

The rare singles match for Bravo in AEW. Meanwhile, Sydal has really been one of the MVPs of AEW Dark since joining the company. Pretty much all of his matches have been enjoyable. What probably was not enjoyable for Bravo was getting a huge kick to the face, as Sydal caught him with a brutal one. Sydal took control after that and hit the Lightning Spiral to get the victory at 3:47.

Blake’s Rating: **

Tre Lemar (AEW debut) vs. The Blade (11-2)

Blade hits Lamar with a running kick before the match even begins. As Taz notes, that’s intensity. Blade has an awesome look with the pants and gloves, and he’s proving he’s a very valuable member of the roster even when he’s not in tag team action with Butcher. Of course, Bunny couldn’t help herself from getting involved in the match, and her grabbing Lamar’s boot swung the tide for a bit. She even hit a few kicks on Lamar on the outside. But Lamar wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and he showcased some impressive athleticism with his offense. That is, until Blade hit a huge clothesline, and Bunny slipped him the brass knucks to give him the win at 6:24. Good stuff here.

Blake’s Rating: ***

Big Trouble Bishop (AEW debut) vs. Bear Bronson (8-11)

Bear Boulder at ringside for this one. However, he’s not even close to the biggest guy near the ring because Bishop is legitimately about 47 FEET TALL. Even if that’s a bit of an exaggeration, he’s at least 46 feet tall. Bishop played the monster role well, hitting a big boot and going full power and strength the entire way. Bronson is a strong dude himself though, as he used his own power to throw Bishop before hitting the lariat and seated senton for the victory at 4:30.

Blake’s Rating: **

Baron Black & Ryzin (0-1) vs. Fuego Del Sol & Marko Stunt (AEW tag debut)

FUEGO GETTING A WIN? While I appreciate it, that means that it comes at the expense of our guy Baron Black, who also needs a win after putting on some good matches on various AEW shows. Crisp teamwork from Marko and Fuego, and I like that Fuego dressed for the occasion with his green and yellow color scheme. Marko got the hot tag, and Ryzin and Black sold like champs. From there, Marko and Fuego hit dueling moonsaults on Black and Ryzin on the outside. And then it happened. Fuego hit the tornado DDT on Ryzin for the win at 5:32. FUEGO MOVES TO 1-34 IN AEW! Sammy Guevara and the vlog crew come out afterward to celebrate with Fuego.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Viva Van (AEW debut) vs. Kris Statlander (9-0)

I love alliteration, so Viva Van is already great in my book. Statlander puts on a cartwheel carnival early in the match, and it was even free of charge. I really have enjoyed Statlander’s work since her return, and she continued her domination with the Big Bang Theory on Van for the victory at 3:12.

Blake’s Rating: **

Chad Lennex & Zachariah (0-1) vs. The Varsity Blonds (15-4)

The Julia Hart pairing continues to work for the Blonds. Also, Lennex and Zachariah had a short match last week, but they did showcase some potential. They ran into a determined Blonds bunch in this match, and Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison have really evolved as the ultimate babyface team. They continued their hot streak in this one and earned the win at 5:01.

Blake’s Rating: **

Prince Kai (0-1) vs. Angelico (6-4)

The South African Submission Savant gives us more alliteration. He also gives us his usual dancing routine which is entertaining. The thing about Angelico is that his style is so different that he always stands out. Kai matched Angelico for a little while, but Angelico once again went to the Navarro Death Roll for the victory at 3:35.

– After the match, Angelico continues dancing even when the music stops, leading to Wheeler Yuta coming out and bumping into Angelico on the ramp. I assume that’s setting up a match between the two.

Blake’s Rating: **

Wheeler Yuta (0-1) vs. Ryan Nemeth (4-5)

I love The Wingmen. They’re terrific. Yuta is also a terrific talent and has exactly the type of skill set that would probably fit well with AEW in a full-time role. And if you want to know what AEW thinks of Yuta, this match told the story, as he countered Nemeth’s finisher and then hooked his arms for the upset win at 2:37.

Blake’s Rating: NR

Hunter Knott & Rosario Grillo (AEW tag debut) vs. Spawn Spears & Wardlow

Hopefully Knott and Grillo are getting paid well because they are about to get their asses kicked. Wardlow started the match and absolutely took it to his opponents. Spears got knocked off the apron at one point and that pissed him off as he went on a warpath. Wardlow then tagged Spears, who hit the C4 for the victory at 3:39.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

KiLynn King (12-6) vs. Tay Conti (17-3)

The legend -1 is back on manager duty, and I like Conti’s chances given -1’s incredible record. It’s hard to ignore King’s contributions during this era of AEW Dark, as she’s consistently offered solid matches with both signed and unsigned talent. That didn’t change in this match, with both women taking it to each other with lots of aggressive offense. The most notable of that was Conti hitting three brutal shots to King’s face, then transitioning to King slamming Conti on the apron. But it was Conti that regained control to hit the DDTai for the win at 6:48. Great stuff from both women.

Blake’s Rating: ***

– Dasha Gonzalez with the Varsity Blonds and Julia Hart. They want the AEW tag titles.

Colt Cabana, Alex Reynolds, 10, & Alan Angels (AEW 8-man tag debut) vs. Will Allday, Jason Hotch, Chandler Hopkins & Dean Alexander (AEW 8-man tag debut)

Excalibur informs us he can no longer gamble with -1. Clearly, -1 is taking all the money. I like the mixture of talent on the unsigned team, with Allday the standout of the group due to his tremendous speed and athleticism. But they couldn’t do much against the dominant Dark Order, as they racked up yet another victory at 4:03.

Blake’s Rating: **

Jack Evans (16-33) vs. Mike Sydal (5-12)

Yoga Mat Jones in action! Seriously, Excalibur and Taz are so good at what they do. Nice mix of styles in this match, and it was back and forth for a while. But after Sydal got distracted trying to say something to the referee, Evans took advantage and rolled him up for the win at 4:04.

Blake’s Rating: **

Ashley Vox (2-5) vs. Red Velvet (17-4)

STRAIGHT OUTTA YOUR MOMMA’S KITCHEN. And don’t forget. I think we’d obviously have to put Red Velvet on the list of wrestlers who made the most out of their AEW Dark opportunity. She’s come a long way since her first appearance on the show a year or so ago. I also like the addition of Vox as a regular and hope AEW does something with the Sea Stars. This was a sprint, and Velvet dropped Vox with the Chef’s Kiss to pick up the victory at 3:15.

Blake’s Rating: **

Penta El Zero Miedo & Eddie Kingston vs. Chaos Project

Do we get to see Luther use Serpentico as a weapon? We get to see Luther use Serpentico as a weapon. Luther calling for Serpentico to finish Kingston after a few pokes to the chest was pretty hilarious. Luther and Serpentico actually controlled the early part of the match, but once Kingston and Penta got the momentum, they didn’t give it back as Penta got the pin on Serpentico for the win at 6:22.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

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7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

This was likely the last super-sized edition of AEW Dark, and the variety made it an enjoyable one. There were several really good matches, Fuego Del Sol's first AEW win, and a surprising Wheeler Yuta victory against Ryan Nemeth. The format of this show should be interesting moving forward, but this era gave a lot of independent talent a lot of opportunities to keep honing their craft. Many have capitalized on it and some have even earned a contract with the company. Of course, even if the format changes, what won't change is the awesomeness of Excalibur and Taz. Their chemistry is simply unparalleled.