Winfree’s AEW Dark: Elevation (Ep. 59) Review 4.18.22

Alright people, Monday has arrived and with it another episode of AEW Dark: Elevation. Tonight we’ll have an 8 man tag team match main event, and a lot of multi man matches along the way. Andrade El Idolo, Kris Statlander, Dark Order, The Factory, Roppongi Vice, The Hardy’s and more will be in action.

Excalibur and Paul Wight are on commentary.

Match #1: Kris Statlander vs. Ashley D’Amboise

New attire and theme music for Statlander, plus she’s announced as from Long Island, New York for this match. Statlander runs over Ashley right away, leveling her with clotheslines and a running knee strike in the corner. Reverse suplex from Statlander then she rolls through and hits a delayed vertical suplex. Ashley tries to fight back with strikes but Statlander cuts her off with an STO backbreaker. Big Bang Theory follows and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Kris Statlander won in 1:30

Rating: Tschermak. . . SQUASH

Delicious squash, Statlander’s been leaning just a bit more edgy/heelish for a while now and I guess we’re seeing that come to fruition here.

Match #2: Andrade El Idolo w/ Jose vs. Alan “5” Angels

They tie up, Andrade grabs a side headlock and starts working it. Shoulder block from Andrade then they run the ropes with Angels hitting a poisoned rana but Andrade rolls out of the ring. Angels sets for a dive, he gets to the apron before Andrade sweeps his legs out from under him. A kick from Angels as they head back into the ring then he jumps from the top rope but flies into a drop kick from Andrade. Andrade starts working the arm of Angels then tries a back suplex but Angels flips out only to run into a chop. Angels avoids a chop and starts laying in strikes of his own. Northern Lights suplex from Angels gets a 2 count. Angels heads up top but Andrade crotches him into the tree of woe. Andrade heads up top and misses a double stomp then Angels avoids a charge and hits a super kick. Angels heads up top again and hits a Frog Splash for a 2 count. Andrade lands a big boot then an Eye of the Hurricane before transitioning to El Idolo which forces the tap.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Andrade El Idolo won in 4:20

Rating: 2 stars

Perfectly acceptable match, not much in the way of story but there’s some surprising chemistry between these two.

Match #3: Tony Nese w/ Smart Mark Sterling vs. J. Spade

The tie up then Nese snaps Spade down. Another tie up and Nese shoves Spade into the corner then poses on the break. Spade poses off with Nese for a bit then Nese lands a chop to the throat. Hot shot from Nese done in the style of Mach Man Randy Savage, then he hits a running elbow. Spade tries to fight back with strikes then hits a back heel kick. Spade takes too long playing with the crowd and Nese hits a pumphandle slam then The Running Kneese and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Tony Nese won in 2:35

Rating: Verrucosa. . . SQUASH

Typical squash, though Spade showed some decent fire and the crowd seemed at least passingly familiar with him.

Match #4 – 8-Man Tag Team Match: Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds) w/ 10 vs. Allen Russell, Kameron Russell, Dale Springs, and Izaiah Zane

Grayson and Dale start and Grayson just runs him over then tags in Silver. Dale runs away and tags Zane, then things break down with Dark Order laying waste to everyone before posing. Silver tosses Zane around then he tags in Reynolds. Grayson tags in after a blow, then Uno tags in. Uno lays in chops then tags in Silver. Zane escapes and tags in Allen, then Kameron comes in for a cheap shot but Silver turns that around and everything breaks down. Allen takes the finishing series of offense from Reynolds and Silver then Grayson and Uno hit the Fatality to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Dark Order won in 2:20

Rating: Verrucosissima. . . SQUASH

Another fairly typical squash. Nothing to really see here.

Match #5 – Tag Team Match: Roppongi Vice (Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero) w/ Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor vs. The Factory (Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto)

Rocky and Solo start us off, they hit the corner then Solo with a cheap shot. Strikes from Solo then they hit the ropes and Trent makes a blind tag and takes out Solo with a clothesline. Drop kick from Rocky then a Shining Wizard from Trent. Solo tags out while Trent and Rocky celebrate. Comoroto is a bit too slow to catch Trent, who lands chops while avoiding the big man. More strikes from Trent but he can’t knock Comoroto over. Comoroto invites more shoulder blocks, then takes out Trent with a clothesline. Solo hits a cheap shot to Rocky. Comoroto tosses Trent into his corner then tags in Solo. A drop kick assisted suplex follows but Solo only gets a 2 count on the cover. Comoroto tags back in and lays in strikes then does some Military Presses with Trent, goes to a one handed hold then drops Trent down for a 2 count. Trent lands a kick to stop a charging Comoroto then lays in strikes before countering an Oklahoma Stampede with a tornado DDT. Rocky takes the hot tag, and Solo tags in as well but Rocky starts unloading on Solo with strikes. A few clotheslines from Rocky then he and Solo start trading chops. Jawbreaker from Solo but Trent makes a blind tag then he and Rocky hit some tandem offense on Solo before Comoroto pulls Solo out of the ring. Rocky tries to chase after them but he’s swatted down by Comoroto then Comoroto pulls Trent out and tosses him onto the apron. Comoroto tags in and hits an avalanche onto Trent, Solo follows with an enziguri then Comoroto hits a Spear for a near fall. Solo tags back in and they hit the double stomp Decapitation but Rocky breaks up the pin. Double knees to Comoroto, then another pair send Comoroto out of the ring then Rocky hits a suicide dive on to him. Trent hits a Back Drop Driver then Solo takes a Strong Zero and Trent pins to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Roppongi Vice won in 7:25

Rating: 2.5 stars

Roppongi Vice is a good team to let Solo and Comoroto get some time with, Comoroto’s control segments feel very disjointed and boring but his offensive flurries are still physically impressive.

The heels jump everyone before the bell, Emi Sakura sends Shida to the outside then climbs up top only to get cut off by Anna Jay then eats a knee from Shida. Ruby Soho hits a cross body from the apron to take out the pile of humanity then the match actually starts.

Match #6 – Trios Match: The Bunny, Emi Sakura, and Raychell Rose vs. Hikaru Shida, Ruby Soho, and Anna Jay

Bunny and Jay get us going, Jay hits a Flatliner right away but only gets a 2 count. Rose takes out Soho with a clothesline then Bunny blindsides Jay. Emi tags in and unloads with chops in the corner before hitting a double underhook backbreaker. Rose tags in and lays in clotheslines to Jay. Jay avoids a clothesline but can’t quite tag out. Jay hits a heel kick then tags in Soho. Soho runs wild on Bunny who also tagged in, Soho unloads with kicks then Shida makes a blind tag and knees Bunny in the head for a 2 count. Bunny avoids a Falcon Arrow and tags in Rose. Rose hits a Spear then Emi tries the corner cross body but Shida catches her and then Soho and Jay come in to hit corner offense. Shida suplexes Rose into Emi then covers but Bunny breaks it up. Jay locks Bunny in the Queen Slayer, Soho grabs a rolling half Boston crab on Emi, and Shida locks in the Full Metal Muffler on Rose to force the tap.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Hikaru Shida, Ruby Rose, and Anna Jay won in 3:24

Rating: 1.5 stars

A touch too chaotic given how short it was, but Raychell Rose didn’t look too bad.

Match #7 – 8-Man Tag Team Match: Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen), The Blade, and Angelico vs. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) and Top Flight (Dante and Darius Martin)

Dante and Kassidy start us off, Dante out wrestles Kassidy and works a hammerlock while avoiding some counters. Kassidy hits a drop toe hold and they break. They run the ropes and Dante getting the better of things then mocking Kassidy. Darius tags in and mocks Quen leading to Top Flight taking out Private Party. Blade and Angelico with cheap shots, and everything breaks down so the Hardys can hit Poetry in Motion on Blade and Dante hits a drop kick variation to send Angelico to the floor. Things settle down as Darius grabs the arm of Kassidy then tag in Jeff. Jeff attacks Kassidy but Quen shakes the ropes as Jeff tries a Whisper in the Wind and the heels take over. Blade tags in and starts unloading on Jeff. Angelico tags in now and taunts Jeff which lets Jeff hit a jawbreaker. Darius takes the hot tag as Quen tags in for the heels and Darius runs wild for a bit. They trade kicks and Darius then gets slammed into the heel corner. Kassidy tags in and hits a Stunner over the top rope before Blade slams Darius down on the apron. On the outside Kassidy tosses Darius into the barricade. Back in the ring and Kassidy grabs a chinlock. Quen tags in, hits a hilo for a 1 count. Kassidy tags back in and Darius fights them both off with a double hurricanrana then he tags in Dante. Dante is a house on fire for a bit on Kassidy then as he goes for a suicide dive onto Blade and Angelico Matt makes the blind tag. Matt hits a back body drop, Jeff tries Poetry in Motion again but Kassidy intercepts him with a Cutter. Angelico tags in, kicks down Jeff but Matt drills him with a Side Effect. Blade comes in with a corkscrew neckbreaker, it’s time for Everyone to Get Their Stuff In. Eventually Angelico takes a Twist of Fate from Matt. Jeff tags in, Swanton Bomb and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: The Hardys and Top Flight won in 9:38

Rating: 2 stars

This over stayed its welcome by a few minutes. There wasn’t much connective tissue which isn’t surprising considering that’s long been a valid criticism of Private Party. It’s nice to see Angelico back though.

6.8

The final score: review Average

The 411

This episode felt like a bit of a drag, I'm not sure if that's pacing or layout or maybe just me but everything seemed to be a bit off. Maybe it's just that we had several similar matches all in a row, which would be an overall layout issue, but ultimately we got some solid wrestling but things peaked with Roppongi Vice taking on The Factory.