Winfree’s AEW Dark: Elevation (Ep. 83) Review 10.03.22

Alright people, time to head back to the land of Elevation tonight. After a very short episode last week we’re at almost an hour for this one. We’ve got Lance Archer killing someone, Dalton Castle and the Boys, Abadon, Lucha Bros, and a main event that’s an 8-Man tag team match with The Factory taking on Best Friends, Rocky Romero, and Danhausen. Ian Riccaboni and Paul Wight are on commentary. Nice to see Wight back in the rotation, let’s see how this pairing works out.

Match #1: Skye Blue vs. Trish Adora

They shake hands, then Adora hits an arm drag. Blue grabs a side headlock then takes Adora down with it. Adora fights to her feet then they hit the ropes and Adora lands a shoulder block. More rope running then Blue hits another arm drag. Adora blocks a swinging neckbreaker and snaps Blue down with an arm wringer. Blue fights out of a submission hold then lands a back elbow. Boot from Blue then a mid level knee and running drop kick. Very awkward deadlift German suplex from Adora, Blue then lands a roundhouse kick and the Skyfall to pick up the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Skye Blue won in 2:30

Rating: Australian Butter. . . SQUASH

Not great, a little slow at times with some communication and timing issues. Both women have done much better work than this.

Match #2: Brian Cage w/ Prince Nana vs. Tracy Williams

Williams tries to work some chain wrestling early, Cage’s size complicates this as they trade counter holds before Cage avoids a kick, they both miss moves then stand off after trading headlock takeovers. Williams boots Cage into the ropes, then Cage shoulder blocks him down. They hit the ropes and eventually Cage misses a corner charge. Kick from Cage as Williams is on the apron, then he hits a second rope suplex into the ring. Cage lays in some crossface blows then curls Williams before hitting a fall away slam. Williams lands a boot, then avoids an F5 and lands a clothesline but Cage comes off the ropes with a flying knee that drops him. Cage mocks Williams, but Williams catches his foot and lands a chop then hits a high crotch back suplex. Avalanche in the corner from Williams then Cage blocks a chancery suplex and kicks Williams on the top rope. Cage heads up on the ropes with Williams, Williams fights and grabs a front headlock then drops Cage face first onto the top rope with it and then grabs an STF. Cage powers up to his feet and hits an F5. Now Cage hits the Drill Claw and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Brian Cage won in 5:18

Rating: 2.5 stars

Fun little match, I wasn’t expecting Williams to get that much shine but wound up pleasantly surprised. Cage is getting a match with Wardlow this week so it might have served him better to get a squash, but Cage is also the kind of guy who doesn’t mind putting on more competitive matches in spots like this.

Match #3: Lance Archer vs. Cheeseburger

Archer’s music plays during the match. Cheeseburger grabs a sleeper hold, Archer just climbs the ropes and poses as his music finally ends. Archer calls on Cheeseburger, then hits a Pounce. Chops from Archer while Wight and Ian make food related puns. Archer with a release suplex. Cheeseburger tries to rally with strikes, Archer encourages him too before flooring him with a right hand. Corner attacks from Archer and Cheeseburger collapses. Burger fights away from the Black Out with elbows, then some kicks to keep Archer off but when Cheeseburger tries the Shotay Archer counters into the Blackout and gets the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Lance Archer won in 3:00

Rating: Blue Banana. . . SQUASH

Delicious squash, and Cheeseburger remains an incredibly fun act.

Match #4: Abadon vs. Abby Jane

Abadon intimidates Jane then misses a corner charge. Kick from Jane, then an elbow but Abadon shrieks at her and hits a scorpion kick. Senton from Abadon, then the Black Dahlia connects and Abadon gets the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Abadon won in 1:00

Rating: Buttercup. . . SQUASH

Delicious squash, nice to see Abadon back.

We get a little video package for Brian Cage talking about returning for the three year anniversary show as he’s been a dominant force in AEW. On that three year anniversary show he’s taking on Wardlow for the TNT Title. He says Wardlow has just powerbombed bums and beaten sloppy Joes. Cage is right here calling out Wardlow. Nice little hype package, pity he’s going to get squashed.

Match #5 – ROH 6-Man Tag Team Title Match: (c) Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brent and Brandon Tate) vs. Primal Fear (Gabriel Hodder, Manny Soriano, and Matthew Omen)

Castle and Soriano start us off. Soriano with a chop, and Castle requests a fanning from Brent and Brandon. Ankle pick from Castle then a mat return. Some gut wrench control from Castle and he tags in Brandon, who tags in Brent and Soriano takes a double hip toss. Soriano tags in Hodder who boots Brent and tags in Omen. Omen and Hodder toss Brent into the middle rope then Soriano tags in and he takes a triple team kick for a 2 count. Brent fights out of the corner, then flips out of a back suplex and tags in Castle. Castle runs wild and hits throws all members of Primal Fear then spends a few moments tossing Brent and Brandon out of the ring and onto Primal Fear culminating by throwing both of them onto Soriano. Soriano takes the Bangarang and we’re done.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Dalton Castle and The Boys retained the titles in 4:07

Rating: 2 stars

Adequate showcase for Castle and the Boys, but this was just one step above a squash.

Match #6 – Mixed Tag Team Match: Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford vs. Gia Scott and LSG

LSG and Sabian start us off, Sabian grabs a side headlock then they hit the ropes and Sabian hits a flapjack. More rope running and Sabian avoids a crossbody. Rolling clothesline from LSG, then Sabian with a misdirection then a headbutt. Ford tags in and hits a handspring back elbow onto LSG then a running kick to him as well. I guess Ford didn’t tag in? Sabian conducts the crowd for a bit then LSG flips out of a back suplex and tags out. Ford and Scott square up now and trade strikes before Ford avoids a suplex then they botch a send into the ropes. Drop kick from Ford gets a 2 count. Scott avoids a front flip corner move and Ford posts herself but Sabian takes out LSG so Scott can’t tag out. Ford avoids a clothesline, hits a Cutter then grabs the Muta Lock to force the tap.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford won in 3:20

Rating: Crown Prince. . . SQUASH

Ford and Scott had a few communication issues but this wasn’t nearly as sloppy as last week, which went in real time about 10 minutes and had to be edited down to save it. Ford is still knocking off some rust but as mentioned, much better than last week. Sabian and LSG also worked together much better than Sabian and Dean did.

Match #7 – Tag Team Match: Lucha Bros. (Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo) w/ Alex Abrahantes vs. Dante Martin and Tony Deppen

Fenix and Martin start us off, this could be good. They tie up and Fenix gives a clean break. Martin grabs a side headlock, then Fenix avoids an arm drag, back slide from Martin and Fenix counters into a jackknife and they trade pin attempts. Martin jumps over a running Fenix, but Fenix slingshots through the ropes then Martin ducks under a jump kick. Both men shake hands then tag out. Penta and Deppen go face to face, Penta then slowly removes the glove but Deppen intercepts the toss and throws it into Penta’s face. They hit the ropes, trade go behinds then Penta lands a super kick. Knee from Deppen then a low drop kick but Fenix lands a kick as Deppen hit the ropes. Things break down for a moment and Martin takes some tandem offense and a sandwich super kick before the assisted rolling splash onto Martin. Deppen tries to chop both men, that goes alright for a moment but Fenix cuts him off with a back kick and Penta then kicks him down. Penta up top, the Wazzup drop kick follows but Martin breaks up the pin. Penta chops Deppen then tags in Fenix. Fenix with some chops of his own then Deppen lands a knee to Penta and a drop kick to Fenix. Deppen tags out and Martin runs wild with a high cross body to Fenix then some misdirection to Penta. Martin on the apron, jumps off of Fenix to hit a flying headlock onto Penta in a lovely spot. Deppen with a dive onto Penta, Fenix tries a rolling Cutter but Martin intercepts with his half nelson facebuster for a near fall. Deppen tags back in but Fenix shoves Martin into him, then puts Deppen up on Martin’s shoulders and kicks the knee so Martin powerbombs Deppen. Penta tags in, Sling Blades for everyone then Fenix hits a running kick to Martin. Deppen takes the double stomp Fear Factor and Fenix plays goalie while Penta pins and wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Lucha Bros. won in 6:20

Rating: 2.5 stars

Well that was fun, Deppen held his own and while it was obvious he was there to eat the pin he got plenty of time to showcase his skills too. More of Martin and Fenix please.

Match #8 0 8-Man Tag Team Match: The Factory (QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, Aaron Solo, and Cole Karter) vs. Rocky Romero, Danhausen, and Best Friends (Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor)

Danhausen and Solo get us going, a trip from Danhausen then he lands a boot and a hurricanrana. Solo knees the body then tags in Marshall. Marshall starts laying in strikes and mocks the curse of Danhausen but Danhausen bites his fingers leading to another punch. Danhausen lands a punch as Wight laments that Marshall is cursing their viewership, which made me laugh. Danhausen lands some stomps then tags in Romero. Marshall has had enough and tags in Karter, who gets double teamed by Romero and Danhausen for a double suplex. Cheap shot from Comoroto allows Karter to take over. Drop kick from Karter and he poses. Comoroto tags in and lays in strikes before Marshall lands a cheap shot. Solo tags in now for more strikes. Marshall tags back in as they’re isolating Romero, then a suplex from Marshall but he misses an elbow drop. Some strikes from Romero but Marshall cuts him off and tags in Karter. Romero lands an uppercut then a running Shiranui to drop Karter. Solo tags in and cheap shots Danhausen but Romero tags in Taylor. Taylor runs wild on Solo and tags in Trent. Sole Food and half nelson combo then Comoroto tags in and runs over both Taylor and Trent. Trent avoids a powerslam and hits a tornado DDT. Marshall with a cheap shot to Trent then tags in and hits a hilo. Romero comes in to help Trent hit a double knee on Marshall. Some tandem offense to Marshall then Trent and Romero high five leading to Romreo hitting a suicide dive. Trent huts Chuck and then Chuck dives onto the pile of bodies on the outside. Strong Zero attempt to Marshall, but both Romero and Taylor are cut off. Karter hits a knee to Trent setting up a Diamond Cutter from Marshall but Romero breaks up the pin. Solo tags in now, but Danhausen climbs the ropes and curses Solo, which distracts Solo enough for Trent to hook him for the belly to back piledrive, and it’s Danhausen who assists in the Strong Zero off the top and that gets the win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Best Friends, Rocky Romero, and Danhausen won in 7:54

Rating: 2.5 stars

The heat segment was pretty lifeless here, Marshall has heat but the rest of the Factory crew are struggling to get crowd reactions without his direct involvement. This was a pretty fun little match overall, and Danhausen being healthy enough to work again is generally going to be a positive.

7.9

The final score: review Good

The 411

A little longer event this week but it never felt like a drag and they made good use of the time. The last couple of matches were definite highlights, Ford and Sabian are getting back into their rhythm, Lance Archer got to kill Cheeseburger, honestly the only real dud was the opener putting this very nearly at Very Good for an episode of Elevation. Wight and Ian had decent chemistry on the mic, they played it a lot straighter than the goofiness we'd been getting but that's largely just a stylistic choice.