wrestling / TV Reports
Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 9.21.21
Image Credit: AEW
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Let’s jump into this week’s episode of AEW Dark.
Image Credit: AEW
– Warlow is going to remind everyone it’s WARDLOW’S WORLD. Take that, Wayne!
JDX (0-2) vs. Wardlow (15-4)
Excalibur is back, so the show gets an automatic 0.5 bump in the overall rating. JDX gets some early offense and even gets in a thrust kick, but in case he forgot, it’s WARDLOW’S WORLD. Wardlow picks up JDX and powerbombs him five times. FIVE. Wardlow then hits the Casualty of War for the knockout win at 2:49. Now that was a squash.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Allie Katch (AEW debut) vs. Big Swole (15-4)
Allie Katch with her first AEW appearance here. Katch goes right after Swole with a lot of aggression. Some may even call it ruthless aggression. A missed clothesline allows Swole to find some momentum, and the rolling elbow strike to Katch does the job and gives Swole the victory at 2:05.
Blake’s Rating: NR
Santana and Ortiz (8-3) vs. Chaos Project (10-21)
Fun fact: This will be the first time Luther uses Serpentico as a weapon inside the ALL ELITE ZONE. Meanwhile, Santana and Ortiz are awesome. They’re just awesome. Great offense and teamwork from those two, with Serpentico selling it like a pro. We work to Luther throwing Serpentico into Ortiz, who was going for a tope suicida. That was something. Chaos Project goes to work for a bit, but the hot tag to Santana changes the momentum. However, Luther throws Serpentico off the top and gets a near fall on Santana. Serpentico accidentally superkicks Luther, and that leads to combination offense from Santana and Ortiz to allow them to earn the win at 7:12.
Blake’s Rating: ***
Joey Janela (9-3) vs. Dillon McQueen (0-3)
Kayla Rossi is once again ringside with Janela. Excalibur does a good job as usual hyping up how the arrival of Rossi has given Janela quite a spark in the ring. McQueen continues to showcase good charisma, but we all know who was getting the win here. Janela took care of business and picked up the victory at 2:45.
Blake’s Rating: NR
Marina Tucker (AEW debut) vs. Tay Conti w/ Anna Jay & -1
Anna Jay and -1 are out with Conti. This is your weekly reminder that -1 has one of the greatest managerial records in wrestling history and he’s not even in high school yet. LEGEND. Can we get -1 back on commentary soon? Those were the days. Tucker not messing around as she controls the match early on. Conti starts delivering some stiff strikes, then flattens Tucker on the mat. Three pump kicks to Tucker’s face, and Conti hits the DDTay for the win at 3:46. The GOAT -1 does it again!
Blake’s Rating: **
Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson vs. Luke Curtis & Cameron Stewart (AEW tag debut)
Brock looking more like Arn by the day. It’s incredible. The heels go after Johnson, and that builds to the hot tag to Brock who comes in and methodically dissects his opponents. Johnson makes the tag and they both hit their finishers for the victory at 4:21.
Blake’s Rating: **
Stallion Rogers & Anthony Greene (AEW tag debut) vs. FTR (20-2)
Here are a few familiar faces with the former WWE 205 Live regulars August Grey and Curt Stallion making their AEW debuts. Nice back and forth between these two teams, and it’s Rogers and Greene in control. Have I mentioned Excalibur and Taz are great on commentary? They’re great. They are just perfect for pointing out the small things that can get fans more invested in these matches. FTR do their thing and control their half of the ring to prevent Rogers from tagging Greene. But eventually he makes the hot tag, and Greene comes in and runs wild. Greene and Rogers really look good in this one. Greene goes for the victory roll, but Dax kicks out at two and a half. Several pin attempt exchanges, including Rogers getting so close to scoring the pin on Dax. Cash gets in and finally finds a way to earn the win at 10:27. This was an excellent tag team match, which will undoubtedly mean good things for Rogers and Greene potentially joining the mix in AEW.
Blake’s Rating: ***3/4
Xtina Kay (AEW debut) vs. The Bunny (21-12)
No one likes an angry bunny, and Bunny came out angry. She did not mess around, and her mannerisms are as good as ever. Bunny stayed on offense pretty much the entire match, and she went down the rabbit hole for the victory at 3:16. STONE COLD, STONE COLD.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Marcus Kross (0-4) vs. Lance Archer (34-5)
Seems like Archer should be ranked with that 34-5 record. This particular episode gets another 0.5 added to the show rating for Kross’s hair. It’s terrific. Archer didn’t seem to think so though, as he destroyed Kross and his hair with the Blackout to notch the win in around two minutes.
Blake’s Rating: SQUASH
Ryan Nemeth and Pretty Peter Avalon (0-1) vs. The Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds (4-0)
PPA and John Silver in the same ring? I am torn on a winner. -1 is back again, so that pretty much guarantees a victory for Silver and Reynolds. You just don’t mess with the legend -1. PPA’s facial expressions are next level, folks. All action in this match, with both teams getting in a lot of offense. But Silver and Reynolds were as good as ever with their teamwork, and they used that to score the victory at 5:20.
Blake’s Rating: **3/4
Daniel Garcia (4-5) vs. Alan “5” Angels (11-18)
Another win for -1?! I’m not sure about this one. Let’s see. You know what you’re getting with these two young talents, and their skill and athleticism were on display throughout the match. Garcia worked his style, and Angels did everything he could to try to counter it. They both go for cross body attempts, and they hit each other to send both men to the mat. Garcia nearly gets the win after a dropkick, but Angels kicked out at two and three quarters. Angels tries to get back on track, and Garcia starts pummeling him with fists to the head. Shenanigans from 2point0 leads to Garcia locking in the Scorpion Deathlock, which forces Angels to tap at 10:18. Another very good match.
Blake’s Rating: ***1/2
Darian Bengston, Cole Carter, and Sean Maluta (0-1) vs. The Factory
As we’ve mentioned before, Carter is a tall dude, and it’s a fun visual to see him paired with Nick Comoroto. Speaking of Comoroto, his strength is ridiculous. He takes out Bengston and Carter, then all the heels destroy Maluta and it’s QT with the Diamond Cutter for the win at 3:42.
Blake’s Rating: **
JD Drake (2-9) vs. Colt Cabana (18-7)
Drake might have the greatest gear in history. Taz noted it looks like he’s going out to hunt chickens. Perhaps that explains it. Taz also reveals that -1 told him he hates The Wingmen. C’MON, -1. Don’t talk about PPA like that. Lots of back and forth from these two, with Evil Uno and -1 trying to keep The Wingmen in check on the outside. They aren’t completely successful as there are some shenanigans from PPA and company. Back inside, and Drake and Cabana are really going at it. Several near falls for both men, and we’ve got a POWER STRUGGLE. Cabana slams Drake to get the better of the exchange. They work to the top, and Drake gets a near fall. Back up top, and Drake misses a moonsault press, leading to Cabana quickly hitting his own moonsault for the victory at 7:12. Another good match.
Blake’s Rating: ***1/4
Bear Bronson (11-13) vs. Eddie Kingston (23-7)
Are these two gonna beat the hell out of each other? We all know the answer to that. Stiff shots early on, then we eventually work to a slapping match to the face. Vicious chops from Kingston after that, but Bronson regains control and hits a huge clothesline for a two count. Bronson tried to keep things going from there, but Kingston turned it up with a flurry of offense and landed two consecutive spinning back fists to score the win at 7:48.
Blake’s Rating: ***
– After the match, Kingston thanks the crowd in Orlando and looks into the hard cam. He sends a message to Archer and Minoru Suzuki, which leads to Archer hitting the ring. They brawl to the outside and head to the back.
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