wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s AEW Dark: Elevation (Ep. 13) Review 6.07.21
Loading...It’s Monday, so it’s time for AEW Dark: Elevation. This episode has fans in attendance as the last one did.
Santana and Ortiz sit on some steps, Ortiz notes they haven’t had a tag team title shot since February of this year. That was also their first shot at the belts, and they lost but that made them dangerous and hungry. They learn from their mistakes, and they’re coming back for that top spot. Whoever is across the ring from that, bad luck and you’ve been given fair warning.
Match #1: Rache Chanel vs. Jade Cargill w/ Smart Mark Sterling
Jade goads Chanel on, then overpowers her with ease. Chanel gets tossed around for a bit. Jade hits a pop up Samoan drop, then a pump kick. Jaded follows and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Jade Cargill won
Rating: Patidou. . . SQUASH
Jade has the look down but she still needs reps in the ring, her kicks especially look either weak or too stiff. Fortunately that’s the whole point of this kind of show. Sterling gets a mic post match. He says everyone knows what they have here with Jade. Jade doesn’t need a manager, she needs representation which is what he brings. The first thing they’re gonna do is renegotiate her contract, and for monetary purposes Jade will give her catchphrase, “I’m that bitch”.
Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Santana and Ortiz vs. Liam Gray and Adrian Alanis
Santana and Alanis start us off. They tie up, trade arm wringers and escapes then Santana hits a mat return. Shoulder block from Santana and they run the ropes with Santana landing a drop kick. Ortiz tags in, Alanis fights back but is caught up on the shoulders of Santana and dropped onto the turn buckles then Ortiz comes in with a slingshot DDT for a near fall. Gray tags in and gets arm dragged by Ortiz. Ortiz with a drop kick then a scoop slam but Gray avoids a senton. Both men tag out, Santana runs wild on both men. Gray takes a nasty looking fall between the ropes, his foot got a little caught up on that one. Ortiz tags in, the get a double team inside out, then a sit out powerbomb from Ortiz, running kick from Santana and Ortiz pins to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Santana and Ortiz won
Rating: Patisson. . . SQUASH
Total showcase for Santana and Ortiz, which makes sense if they’re getting back into the tag team scene following the Inner Circle and Pinnacle feud.
Evil Uno is talking with the Dark Order in the back. This Friday he’ll get a shot at the TNT Title against Miro. But he knows he’s got a stiff challenge in Danny Limelight tonight, but Limelight is no Evil Uno.
Ethan Page joins commentary for the next match.
Match #3: Scorpio Sky vs. Trevor Read
Page thanks Wight for calling him handsome on a regular basis on these shows. They tie up, Sky over powers and out wrestles Read. Shoulder block from Sky, then he avoids a drop toe hold but does walk into an arm drag. Read lands a chop, but gets cross chopped down by Sky. Sky in control, lands a backbreaker. Read lands a kick, inverted atomic drop and an elbow but takes a bit too long and Sky catches his leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip. Heel hook follows and Read taps.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Scorpio Sky won
Rating: Pattypan. . . SQUASH
Some decent work from Read in this spot, Sky looked good as usual. Page on commentary was a nice foil to both Wight and Schiavone as well.
The Varsity Blonds talk in the back. They may have lost against the Young Bucks in their title match, but they got back on the horse last week and tonight they’re taking down the Wingmen. Decent promo, Garrison is still a little stiff on the mic but he’s finding his voice more and more as time goes on.
Match #4 – Tag Team Match: Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs w/ Hook vs. Trevor Aeon and Kendall Blake
Taz has joined commentary. Hobbs no sells some forearms and lands a hard clothesline. Several scoop slams from Hobbs, he landed 9 in a row, then could have hit 10 but chose not to. Cage tags in as Blake is dead on the mat. Cage tosses Blake into the corner and Aeon tags in. Immediately pump handle face buster from Cage. Hobbs takes out Blake, Cage lands a discus lariat then hits the Drill Claw to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Cage and Hobbs won
Rating: Pyriformis. . . SQUASH
A moment of silence for Aeon and Blake if you please. All of team Taz celebrate, but there’s still a little bit of tension between Cage and Starks.
Match #5: Danny Limelight vs. Evil Uno w/ -1
They tie up and hit the ropes with Limelight working quick and hitting a drop kick. Another tie up, they run the ropes but Uno shoulder blocks Limelight. Back into the ropes, Uno gets an inverted atomic drop and a shotgun drop kick. Limelight hits an armdrag, Uno out of the ring and Limelight hits a twisting senton dive onto him. Back into the ring, Limelight up top but Uno just walks away from his dive and Limelight eats the canvas. Some strikes from Uno, he’s lighting Limelight up with chops. Limelight keeps avoiding Uno’s finisher, the ripcord Flatliner. Kick from Limelight, then he walks the second rope and hits a springboard flipping neck breaker. Limelight with kicks to the chest, Uno fires up and clobbers him with an elbow. Striking flurry from Limelight, but Uno catches him with a neck breaker. Uno lands a clothesline, then a brainbuster but that’s just a near fall. Limelight gets a surprise victory roll for 2, then hits an enziguri. Up top, Limelight tries a double springboard tornado DDT but Uno tosses him. Uno stomps the hands, hits the ripcord Flatliner (Something Evil) and wins.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Evil Uno won
Rating: 2 stars
Solid match. Limelight has been a great hand on these cards, I’d like to see him get a proper heel or face alignment because he’s kind of played both depending on his opponent and I’m curious to see what he does with a more consistent point of view for his character. Post match Limelight shakes hands with Uno in a show of respect.
Diamante talks in the back, she gets Shida tonight and if people think what Britt Baker did to her was bad just wait until Diamante gets done with her. And after this win, Diamante is going straight to the top.
Match #6: Mike Sydal vs. Ethan Page
Scorpio Sky is on commentary for this one. Paul Wight also continues his pitch for Mike Sydal and DDP “yoga off”. Page goes right into the striking game and trash talks with the crowd. Mike lands a drop kick, then an enziguri. Page drives Mike into the corner, but misses a splash and Mike lands a forearm. Mike tries to climb the ropes, Page slams him into the buckles and hits a double underhook backbreaker through the ropes. Another backbreaker from Page, he’s got a target to focus on now. Page goes to a bearhug, Mike eventually fights free and gets run over by a shoulder block from Page. Chops from Page, he puts Mike on the top rope and follows him up looking for a superplex. Mike is able to fight him off and headbutt him down, then avoid some offense and hits a hurricanrana and Page heads out of the ring. Mike with a suicide dive, I’m not sure that was really necessary to the match. Top rope meteora from Mike gets a near fall. Page hits a flapjack, but Mike avoids an Ego’s Edge and hits a super kick then a sweep but his standing moonsault runs into the knees of Page. Ego’s Edge follows and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Ethan Page won
Rating: 2 stars
Page keeps doing his thing, and doing it quite well.
The Acclaimed are up next. Caster advises us to hide our wives and daughters as these two are the lead popular members of the Dark Order. He calls this very funny like TBS, but no one will laugh when they beat that ass. Corporate synergy.
Match #7: The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) vs. Alex Reynolds and Alan “5” Angels
Bowens and Angels start us off. Bowens over powers Reynolds and lays in strikes in the corner. Reynolds avoids a corner rush, hits a flurry of offense culminating with a drop kick. Angels tags in, and Bowens gets away to tag in Caster. Caster mocks the height of Angels, who responds with a series of leg kicks. Angels gets Caster in the corner and hits the 5 punch then a hurricanrana. Caster lands a cross chop to the throat. Angels misses a second rope drop kick, but hits a series of kicks and Caster heads out of the ring. Reynolds tags in, sends Bowens out of the ring and we get a double suicide dive. Back in the ring, Bowens catches Reynolds on the apron and hits an electric chair drop onto the apron. Caster gets to take over on offense now, and hits a back suplex. Bowens tags in and lays in a bunch of strikes. Some strikes from Reynolds, but he eats a series of chops then a brainbuster for a 2 count. Caster back in, but Reynolds fights both of them off and crawls over to tag Angels. Angels and Bowens square off, with Angels running wild with strikes. Low cross body into the ropes, Angels hits a shiranui for a 2 count. Reynolds back in, they hit a series of kicks, but Caster stops a small package driver and winds up slamming Angels around the ringside area. Caster gets the boombox, the ref sees it and yells at Caster, Bowens uses that to try and set up Reynolds by having him catch his chain. Reynolds thinks this is silly, because as Bowens drops to sell the fake chain shot Angels flies off the top rope with a frog splash that winds up getting a near fall. The ref has to get Angels back to the apron, and Caster clobbers Reynolds with the boombox, leading to the win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: The Acclaimed won
Rating: 2.5 stars
Solid match, The Acclaimed continue to work well together while Dark Order’s bad luck on Elevation continues.
Match #8: Queen Aminata vs. Kris Statlander w/ Best Friends and Orange Cassidy
Statlander wants to boop Aminata, who doesn’t want one. They tie up, arm wringers and escapes are traded for a bit before Statlander boops Aminata. Bridging O’Connor roll from Statlander gets 2, Aminata lays in kicks and a hip attack. They trade suplex threats before Statlander hits one. Aminta trips Statlander into the corner and hits a running hip attack then misses a running face wash. Statlander with a running knee strike in the corner, hits a spinning sit out fisherman’s buster but can’t get the pin. Statlander with an electric chair, Aminata turns it into a victory roll for 2 then a super kick. Flatline from Aminata only gets 2. Statlander with strikes, counters a tilt a whirl head scissors into a sloppy Big Bang Theory to win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Kris Statlander won
Rating: 1.5 stars
Decent match, a little sloppy in parts but they gave Aminta a fair bit of time to shine.
Match #9 – Tag Team Match: JD Drake and Ryan Nemeth w/ The Wingmen vs. Varsity Blonds (Griff Garrison and Brian Pillman Jr.) w/ Julia Hart
Pillman and Nemeth start things off. Nemeth with a quick takedown and he celebrates his 2 points. Pillman replies with an ankle pick and points out they’re both at 2 now. Shoving starts, then strikes and Pillman lands a shoulder block and arm drag. Pillman starts working the arm, then tags in Garrison and they start in with the quick tags to isolate and double team Nemeth. Chops from Pillman, then they run the ropes and Nemeth falls out of the ring. He’s beside Julia, and steals her sign to break over his knee. Pillman replies with a drop kick through the ropes. Drake catches Pillman on the outside, and hits that rebound lariat off of the ropes and apron to take over. Nemeth starts laying in strikes on Pillman back in the ring. Drake tags in and starts laying in strikes. The heels work quick tags and double team moves on Pillman. Pillman shoves Nemeth in to Drake then tags out. Garrison is the old house on fire, he hits Stinger splashes but can’t clothesline Nemeth over the top rope, though he does floor Drake with a big boot. A landslide like move from Garrison, but Drake kicks out of the pin attempt. Pillman tags back in, a drop kick assisted hart attack follows and Nemeth breaks up the pin. Drop kick from Nemeth, the hits the Rude Awakening, Drake hits the moonsault but Garrison saves the match. Garrison sends Nemeth out of the ring, clobbers Drake with a roaring elbow and Pillman flies off the ropes with a diving lariat to pin and win.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Varsity Blonds won
Rating: 2.5 stars
Another perfectly acceptable match. The Blonds are getting better each time, and Julia Hart is a decent addition to their overall presentation.
Video recap of Dr. Britt Baker winning the women’s title to set up our next match.
Match #10: Diamante vs. Hikaru Shida
They tie up into the ropes but Diamante wont give a clean break and shoves Shida. Kicks from Diamanta but Shida returns them and tosses Diamante to the mat. Running knee strike in the corner from Shida, she tries another one but runs into a knee. Diamante gets a backstabber in the ropes to take over. Face washes in the corner from Diamante, then some strikes. Diamante with a scoop slam then a jumping splash for a near fall. Diamante up top, but Shida catches her and drops her to the apron. Elbows from Shida, she goes wild with strikes then heads out of the ring to hit a running knee lift as Diamante is draped off the apron. Shida up top, drags Diamante up with her but Diamante sweeps her leg and she winds up in the tree of woe. Diamante hits a basement drop kick for a 2 count. Shida avoids a shiranui, they trade go behinds then Shida lands an enziguri. Diamante with a spinning back kick, then hits the shiranui for a near fall. Shida counters a Code Red, hits a running knee strike then a falcon arrow for a near fall. Shida wants the Shining Wizard but Diamante avoids it and hits a DDT from her knees for a 2 count. Shida gets a victory roll, then a knee strike to the back of the head. The Katana follows and Shida wins.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Hikaru Shida won
Rating: 3 stars
Shida is still a very very good professional wrestler. To her credit, Diamante held her own and didn’t look out of place against the former champion.
