Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 9.14.21

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

Image Credit: AEW

– Alex Marvez backstage with Leyla Hirsch and Jade Cargill. They talk smack to each other ahead of their match on Dynamite.

The Butcher & The Blade (6-0) vs. Rosario Grillo & Hunter Knott (0-3)

Tony Schiavone and Taz are on commentary since Excalibur is off getting married. Congrats to Excalibur! We’ve officially moved to the ALL ELITE ZONE at Universal Studios in Orlando, so the Forbidden Door with Impact is fully open now. Good to see Butcher and Blade back in action, as I’m a big fan of these two. They destroyed Grillo and Knott and hit their finisher for the easy win at 1:44.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Ashley D’Amboise (0-8) vs. Anna Jay (10-5)

This is Anna Jay’s first AEW Dark match in a good while, so welcome back. In case you forgot, she’s a star. D’Amboise has yet to win a match in AEW, but I’m a fan. She’s got a great physique and has a lot of potential in the ring. However, she wasn’t getting a victory here, as Anna Jay locked on the submission for the quick victory at 1:32. After the match, Bunny comes out to attack Anna Jay before Tay Conti makes the save.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

2point0 (5-1) vs.Erik & Andrew Lockhart (AEW tag debut)

NXT makes its debut on AEW Dark. Wait, wrong 2.0. Great start for 2point0, but the Lockhart brothers mount a comeback to give fans hope that they may win this thing. Spoiler alert: They did not. 2point0 regained control and picked up the win at 2:28.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Jade Cargill (13-0) vs. Angelica Risk (0-2)

My goodness is Jade a superstar. She’s on another level, and it’s been fun to watch her get more and more confidence inside the ring. Risk took a few risks early on, but Jade was not playing around and she slammed Risk right on her face for the victory at 1:08.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

– Mark Sterling makes a bug joke that doesn’t land, then goes to the short jokes about Hirsch. He hypes up their match. When does Jade slam Sterling?

– Diamante and Big Swole continue to play up their feud. Diamante says they’ll always have bad blood, and Swole says she’s going to the top.

Mysterious Movado (AEW debut) vs. Fuego Del Sol (2-29)

MYSTERIOUS MOVADO JONES! Our friend Chairshot should be happy in the comments section. It’s a new era for AEW Dark, and it’s a new era for Fuego as a signed talent. Movado Jones delivers some chops to Fuego’s chest to take control of the match, which gets the crowd into it as the Fuego chants ramp up. Fuego finally hits the Tornado DDT to earn the win at 3:14.

Blake’s Rating: **

Khash (0-1) vs. Shawn Spears (10-3)

Spears really got the crowd going with his mannerisms, and I can appreciate that. He took Khash all around the ring and threw him off of everything in sight. Spears then had the match won before pulling Khash up. He then sent a message to Darby Alin and took care of business to score the victory at 3:34.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Sonny Kiss is going to remind everyone that Joey Janela is “a piece of shit” next week. Janela then says the romance is over between the two. This was a nice alternating video promo to set up the match.

Jora Johl & TH2 (AEW trios debut) vs. Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA (4-1)

This should be competitive. Taz: “And now we have Jack Evans, who is just a nasty man.” Taz makes everything sound great. Lots of back and forth as you would expect from these two teams, and Taz then suggests he and Tony should get rid of Excalibur. HARD DISAGREE, gentlemen. We get an action-packed exchange from Johl and Orange, as Johl mocks him. We work to YUTA getting the hot tag, and he gets more impressive by the week. Johl gets a near fall on Chuck before Orange makes the save. Chaos everywhere after that, and it’s Orange hitting the ORange Punch for the win at 8:08. Good stuff.

Blake’s Rating: **3/4

KiLynnn King (12-9) vs. Leyla Hirsch (18-4)

Add these to the list of talents who have improved their skills via AEW Dark. That’s what the show is for, folks. We get a FLEX OFF early on that would make both Lex Luger and Rick Rude proud. Things go to the mat, with Hirsch really showcasing her technical prowess. King gains the advantage as things spill outside, then they go back in the ring with more counters from each. They exchange some VICIOUS chops before Hirsch turns into the suplex machine. She does a tope suicida to King and gets back in the ring for another suplex. Hirsch heads up top and hits the moonsault for a near fall. King gets her own near fall after a big kick to Hirsch. But it’s Hirsch that uses the running knee strike to earn the victory at 7:43. This was really fun.

Blake’s Rating: ***1/4

– After the match, Jade hits the ring and we get a pull apart with the referees holding she and Hirsch back.

*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

This marked a new era for AEW Dark at Universal Studios, and it was a fine start. There was a bit of an early adjustment from an atmosphere standpoint going from a touring crowd to a studio crowd, but I thought the enthusiasm picked up as the show progressed. In the ring, it was the usual variety of squashes and competitive matches, including a strong Leyla Hirsch vs. KiLynn King main event. I also enjoyed the backstage vignettes to hype up future matches, and there was even a show-closing angle to boost interest for a Dynamite match. That's good work. However, the most glaring part of this show was no Excalibur aka MARRIED JONES. I love Tony Schiavone, but the chemistry with Excalibur and Taz is unlike any other in wrestling commentary.