Lovell’s AEW Dark Review 8.3.21

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

It’s Episode 100 of AEW Dark, and before we get started, I just wanted to say thanks to the regular readers who have followed my reviews since I started doing them last September.

We’ve journeyed through very strange times that have included empty arenas, nearly three-hour-long episodes, and lots of jokes about Jones and THE NIP FACTORY. For those who take time out of their day or night to read these reviews, just know that it’s greatly appreciated.

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.

JD Drake, Cezar Bononi, and Ryan Nemeth (1-0) vs. Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Wheeler Yuta (1-0)

My love for the Wingmen is no longer a secret. They’re such a fun group. Ricky Starks is on commentary, which automatically means the overall show rating has been bumped up by 0.5. That’s the rule, folks. Also, I’m really glad AEW has started using Yuta. He’s an excellent talent, and at only 24, that dude has great potential. Ricky Starks: “Studies have shown that when you wear sunglasses indoors, you’re more prone to astigmatism later in life.” You don’t get this kind of knowledge on other wrestling shows. Lots of miscommunication from the Wingmen early in the match, which leads to Pretty Peter Avalon hitting the ring to try to calm things down. It didn’t work, as he got popped by Taylor. The Wingmen regained control and worked over Yuta for a bit, and we got to a huge showdown between Cassidy and Nemeth in the center of the ring. Cassidy got the better of the exchange, but things went back and forth again after that. Drake then went up top and missed the moonsault, leading to Yuta rolling up Drake for the win at 7:53. Solid opener with AEW once again showing its confidence in Yuta.

Blake’s Rating: **3/4

– After the match, Cassidy and Taylor take out PPA. Cassidy and PPA is the legendary feud we’ve been waiting for.

– Jack Evans runs down PAC ahead of their match.

Jack Evans (17-33) vs. PAC

Matt Hardy and Private Party are with Evans, and so is Angelico, whose dancing continues to be unrivaled. The Lucha Bros and Alex Abrahantes are out with PAC. Big spot early in the match with Evans trying to go over the top with some offense, but PAC caught his leg and Evans’ head bounced off the apron. Not fun. What is fun is the fun Excalibur, Taz, and Starks are having on commentary. They’re true gems. Both men up top, then PAC falls to the outside and Evans flies off and catches him with a knee in the head. Back inside and Evans nearly gets the pin, but PAC kicks out at two and a half. Evans does the same after PAC hits the Liger Bomb. Evans then hit a reverse hurricanrana that also probably didn’t feel good for PAC. Bridge from Evans gets another near fall. These two go back up top, with PAC hitting a BRUTAL falling neckbreaker that leads to PAC locking in the Brutalizer for the victory at 8:49. These two destroyed each other.

Blake’s Rating: ***1/4

– Here comes Andrade with Chavo Guerrero. He stares down Death Triangle and takes his jacket off, and so does Chavo. Andrade and Chavo hop on the apron, then Andrade goes to get in the ring before Chavo convinces him not to.

– Red Velvet is STRAIGHT OUTTA YOUR MOMMA’S KITCHEN and she has tunnel vision. She wants the AEW Women’s title from Britt Baker. Red Velvet has gotten so good since her early days on AEW Dark. You love to see it.

Kenzie Page (0-4) vs. Tay Conti (19-3)

Taz is really talking up Conti and suggesting she’d be a great fit in Team Taz. Several pinfall counters early in the match, with both women exchanging some stiff forearms. Conti then hit one that probably belongs in the G1 Climax. She does not hold back on those. It was all Conti from there, and she hit the DDTay for the win at 2:42.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Capt. Shawn Dean and Fuego Del Sol (0-1) vs. Shawn Spears and Wardlow

Our friend Fuego is OVER. The pride of Mobile has certainly made a name for himself. Jake Hager is on commentary for this one to push his feud with Wardlow. Hager says Chris Jericho is smilin’ and profilin’ after his match with Nick Gage. RIC FLAIR TO AEW?! Nice little Fuego chant to start the match, and that momentum leads to Fuego and Dean sending both Spears and Wardlow to the outside. That did nothing but piss off the heels, with Spears hitting the C4 and Wardlow staring at Hager before hitting the F10 for the win at 2:46.

Blake’s Rating: SQUASH

Hikaru Shida (35-4) vs. Madi Maxx (AEW debut)

What a record for Shida. Makes sense because she’s a star. The crowd loves her and why wouldn’t they. The only issue I have is AEW not having Shida on Dynamite since her title loss to Baker at Double or Nothing, though I understand the challenges of getting everyone on their loaded roster on the show. Hopefully that’s where Rampage will help with having multiple women’s angles and storylines. Maxx with some UNDERHANDED TACTICS, and not gonna lie, I’m a fan. She’s got personality and plays the heel well. Maxx kicked out of a few pin attempts from Shida, but she wasn’t kicking out of the Katana as Shida hit it for the victory at 4:36.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Chaos Project (10-17) vs. Lucha Brothers (13-8)

I’m glad the people finally get to enjoy Luther using Serpentico as a weapon. Awesome start to the match with Fenix and Serpentico doing their thing, leading to a cool spot with Penta catching Serpentico over his head on a suicide dive. The rest of the match is pretty much the Lucha Bros reminding everyone that they’re one of the best tag teams in the world. It’s just incredible watching these two engage in the professional wrestling. They’re on another level. Penta and Fenix hit the Fear Factor and that did the job for the win at 4:49.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

Varsity Blonds and Sydal Brothers vs. Matt Hardy, The Blade, and The Acclaimed

YO. No seriously, YO. The feud between the Varsity Blonds and The Acclaimed has the highlight of AEW Dark in recent weeks. Max Caster delivered a rap on Simone Biles and Julia Hart that I don’t think will be for everyone (Note: I’m adding this in after seeing the reaction, and yeah, social media isn’t thrilled with Caster). We get an EIGHT-MAN TAG TEAM JONES reference on commentary to remind everyone why this is the greatest commentary team in the world. Really looking forward to The Butcher’s return so we can see Butcher and Blade destroy some people in tag team action. Blade’s been good though as a singles competitor. Taz: “Dark: Elevation gets a lot of love here in AEW, but respect Dark.” LISTEN TO THE MAN. Everyone getting their trademark offense in, and that leads to Hardy getting the Twist of Fate on Pillman, but Mike Sydal gains the advantage. Bunny distracts Bryce Remsburg, and that allows Blade to use the knucks on Mike to allow Matt to get the pin for the victory at 5:48.

Blake’s Rating: **1/2

– The HFO continue their shenanigans after the match, but Jurassic Express make the save. And then in the ring, it’s the Blonds getting the better of The Acclaimed.

Diamante vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch (15-4)

How about Diamante getting the win last week on AEW Dark? Good stuff. Something tells me she may struggle to get another win this week though. I’d like to think we started the hype train for Hirsch, who’s an absolute badass. In fact, we will call this match the BATTLE OF THE BADASSES. I don’t think Game of Thrones ever used that one. Hirsh hit a sweet springboard moonsault but Diamante grabbed the rope at two. Bunny comes out to try to distract Hirsch, with Diamante going for the chair. Big Swole comes out to prevent that, and shortly after, Hirsch goes for the cross armbreaker and forces Diamante to tap at 3:28.

Blake’s Rating: **

– Swole goes after Diamante and they brawl all the way to the back.

Jon Moxley (35-3-1) vs. Brick Aldridge (AEW singles debut)

WILD THING. Give ’em the heater, Ricky. For the unaware, Brick is built like an actual brick. He works out. Brick attacks Moxley before the match even begins, and Moxley doesn’t take too kindly to that. Brick gets back on track and works on Moxley, but that doesn’t work too well as Moxley reverses the momentum and forces Brick to tap at 3:15.

Blake’s Rating: **

Reka Tehaka (0-8) vs. Penelope Ford (8-2)

Tehaka has made several AEW Dark appearances thus far, and something we know is that she doesn’t back down from anyone. Ford apparently does not care about that because she just continued to beat down Tehaka for a while until she went to the submission to force Tehaka to tap at 3:01.

Blake’s Rating: *1/2

– Jade Cargill comes out with Mark Sterling. They came to add star power to the show and they basically call the fans morons for their partner submissions. Sterling then hypes some wine and says fans can’t wait for what’s next with Cargill.

Dante Martin (12-4) vs. Eddie Kingston (18-6)

It’s worth noting that Darius Martin is out with Dante here, so hopefully he’s on the right track after his injury. I know I say this every week, but Dante’s athleticism is absolutely insane. I have no idea how he does some of the things he does. Just as Dante tried to gain the advantage, it was Kingston who hit the backfist and that was enough for the win at 2:57.

Blake’s Rating: NR

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6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This was a solid 100th episode of AEW Dark. Entertaining action across the board, and it's also great to have consistent storylines back on the show. They make it much easier for fans to get invested considering there are a lot of short matches. As usual, an enjoyable watch with a variety of characters and styles.