Winfree’s AEW Dark: Elevation (All Out Special) Review 9.03.22

Hey there people, AEW dropped a special episode of Elevation today and since Elevation is kind of my beat here we are. This one is all about hyping up All Out so a lot of the participants from that event are in action here. We’ve got Swerve in Our Glory, The Acclaimed, Dark Order, and more. Tony Schiavone and Matt Menard are on commentary.

Match #1 – Mixed Tag Team Match: Sammy Buevara and Tay Melo vs. GPA and Laynie Luck

Tay and Luck start us off, Tay lays in a knee to the body. Kimura roll from Luck into a crucifix pin for 2. Luck catches a pump kick but Tay avoids a punt kick and lands a super kick. Judo arm throws from Tay then a pump kick to the face. GP tags in and Sammy comes in, mixed rules mean no intergender violence. Sammy with a kick to the gut then a scoop slam and a pose. Chop from Sammy then GPA avoids a hip toss and lands a back elbow before posing to mock Sammy. Scoop slam from GPA then he heads to the second rope and jumps into a jumping knee from Sammy. Tay comes in illegally to punt GPA in the chest. GPA fights back with jawbreakers then GPA tags out so the ladies come in. Luck unloads with strikes but Tay shuts her down with an elbow then hits a German suplex. Pump kick in the corner from Tay, then another one, and a third. Tay with the Tay-KO as Sammy takes out GPA with a GTH and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo won in 4:27

Rating: Futterkurbis Oblonga. . . SQUASH

Slow and rather boring, I get working more methodically as a method of getting heat but this really dragged in a bad way.

Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Swerve in our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee) vs. Jah-C and Storm Grayson

Lee and Grayson start us out, Lee taking a moment to enjoy the crowd singing. Grayson shoves him, so Lee responds with a Mongolian chop to floor Grayson. Jah-C tags in and immediately has regret, trying to goad Swerve into coming in and Swerve obliges. Swerve out wrestles Jah-C rather easily then starts working an arm. They hit the ropes and Swerve again gets the better of things before Jah-C lands a kick and tags in Grayson. Swerve fights off a double team attempt and lands strikes then hits a leg capture back breaker and a clothesline to Grayson then tags in Lee. Lee runs over Grayson then tosses him across the ring. Jah-C tags in and again has regret, Lee slams him down then catches Jah-C by the neck, Jah-C tries an armbar but Lee just holds him with one arm and allows Swerve to hit the kick to the head then deal with Grayson to set up the Fall From Glory (Swerve Stomp and Spirit Bomb combination) and we’re very done here.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Swerve in our Glory won in 3:54

Rating: Gem. . . SQUASH

Delicious squash.

Match #3 – Trios Match: The Factory (Cole Karter, Aaron Solo, and Nick Comoroto) w/ QT Marshall vs. Adam Page and Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds)

Apparently Nick Comoroto is now going by Nicky Boy and embracing his Italian stereotype/heritage. Reynolds and Solo start us off. Solo lands a kick and goes after strikes right away. Reynolds with an up and over out of the corner then a clothesline and a drop kick. Solo scoots away and tags in Comoroto. Silver wants in to deal with the big man, Reynolds looks to tag out but Comoroto cuts him off with a knee to the body. Comoroto misses a knee drop and Silver makes a blind tag to sweep the legs from Comoroto. Karter runs into a double flapjack then Solo eats a double face buster. Page then hits a sliding clothesline to Solo but that only gets 2 when Silver goes for a cover. Silver and Comoroto square up and Comoroto starts laying in strikes on the ground. Comoroto tosses Silver out of the ring and tags in Karter. Karter with some stomps on the outside then sends Silver back into the ring. Drop kick from Karter then Solo tags back in. Solo lays in some strikes then Marshall gets in a cheap shot. Silver starts fighting back with strikes then drops Solo face first into the corner and tags in Page. Page runs wild with clotheslines for everyone then a fall away slam for Solo and a dive onto Comoroto. Death Valley Driver to Solo gets a 2 count for Page. Karter with a flying knee and Reynolds wipes him out with a rolling elbow. Comoroto clotheslines Reynolds out of the ring then Silver sets Comoroto on the ropes for a double team strike then he hits a German suplex to Comoroto. Solo takes the ping pong series form Reynolds and Silver which is capped off by a Buckshot Lariat from Page to pick up the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Adam Page and Dark Order won in 6:00

Rating: 2 stars

A tad slow during the Factory’s control time, none of them have a very compelling control segment and it’s starting to show the more you watch them. This also tried a bit too hard to be a match instead of a squash, the team going into the finals of the trios tournament probably shouldn’t struggle against the Factory.

The Acclaimed are up next so I’ll attempt to recap Caster’s rap. Caster claims they’ll win the tag team titles at All Out and their opponents will die like Swerve’s rap career, then likens their softness to Lee’s voice.

Match #4 – Tag Team Match: The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) vs. Invictus Khash and JPH

Bowens and Khash start us off, Bowens out wrestles Khash and they trade arm wringers before Khash hits a judo toss to separate. This annoys Bowens who starts laying in strikes to take over. Caster tags in and Khash takes some corner offense then a powerslam from Caster. JPH breaks up a scissor attempt only to get kicked down by Bowens then eat a sit out Death Valley Driver from Caster. Bowens and Caster successfully scissor, then Bowens tags in and hits a slam to set up the Mic Drop from Caster and end the match.

OFFICIAL RESULT: The Acclaimed won in 1:55

Rating: Gemini F1. . . SQUASH

Delicious squash.

Match #5 – Mixed Tag Team Match: Ortiz and Ruby Soho vs. Emi Sakura and Baliyan Akki

Ortiz and Akki start us off, Ortiz shoulder blocks him down then hits a scoop slam and tags in Ruby. Emi comes in as she should but takes a shot from Ruby then Otiz hits a senton on Akki. Emi hits a double underhook facebuster, then chops Ruby on the apron to set up a cross body. Akki tries to get involved, Ortiz smacks him but Emi is able to hit a cross body to both Ortiz and Ruby and send them to the floor. That sets up an Akki dive and some posing. Emi heads up top and hits a moonsault onto Ortiz but when Akki tries a splash Ortiz gets the knees up. Ruby takes down Emi with an STO. Akki takes a flurry of offense from Ortiz and Ruby, culminating in a No Future kick from Ruby to allow Ortiz to get the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Ortiz and Ruby Soho won in 2:20

Rating: Giromontina. . . SQUASH

I debated on this one for a bit, but ultimately I think it qualifies as a squash. This was way too chaotic though, no sense of order to anything.

Match #6 – Trios Match: Angelico, The Butcher, and The Blade vs. Orange Cassidy and Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) w/ Danhausen

We get a Pearl Harbor job from the heels at the bell to isolate Trent in the ring with Blade. Blade lands a back elbow and yells at the crowd. Chop from Blade then an elbow. Trent and Blade start trading strikes, Trent hits a German suplex to drop Blade and take over but there’s no one to tag in. Angelico and Butcher trip up Trent and crotch him on the ring post. Butcher tags in and starts laying into Trent. Chops from Butcher then he tags in Angelico. Angelico with some punches and stomps before he looks to tie up an arm. Trent hits a back suplex and both men are down. Butcher and Blade take out Cassidy and Taylor after Butcher tags in. Double team side slam and leg drop to Trent but Taylor breaks up the pin. Angelico takes out Cassidy on the apron then Trent takes a corner splash from Angelico. Roundhouse kick from Angelico then Butcher wipes out Trent with a clothesline for a near fall. Angelico heads over and smacks down Danhausen to serious boos. Trent drops Butcher with a tornado DDT. Cassidy wants in and takes the tag still in his jacket. Angelico tags in as well and lands a knee but Cassidy uses his jacket to tie up Angelico’s arms and throw him around for a bit. The Orange kicks follow, Butcher tries to get involved but he’s tripped up in the jacket. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets to run wild on Blade then set up a dive onto Blade. Now Cassidy heads up top and hits a cross body to Butcher and tags in Taylor before diving onto Blade again. Angelico is legal, he runs into a knee from Taylor then Trent tags in and we get the Sole Food into a half nelson suplex. Cassidy tags in, they go to hug but Butcher and Blade break that up allowing Angelico to stomp on Cassidy. Angelico tries to set up the Navarro Death Roll but Danhausen hops on the apron and curses Angelico, who responds with some hip thrusts at Danhausen, leading to Danhausen punching Angelico right in the groin behind the refs back. Cassidy then hits the Orange Punch and we get the Ant Hill to Angelico to finish things.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Best Friends and Orange Cassidy won in 8:13

Rating: 2.5 stars

Solid main event, they actually made the most of their time and this didn’t feel as long as it was. Nice way to cap the show.

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

A few missteps earlier in the show hurt this, but we got a solid main event and plenty of stuff to whet the appetite for the PPV. Not a bad entry into Elevation, but the slower matches and some odd layout choices do hold this back from fully hitting Good territory.