wrestling / TV Reports
Winfree’s AEW Dark: Elevation (Ep. 96) Review 1.02.23
Image Credit: AEW
Loading...Well everyone, it’s now 2023. Hooray. Anyway it’s also Monday so we’ve got another episode of Elevation to watch. Tonight we’ve got Hikaru Shida, the House of Black, old Slapnuts himself Jeff Jarrett, the remnants of Dark Order and more. Paul Wight and Matt Menard are on commentary.
Match #1: Hikaru Shida vs. Tyra Russamee
Tyra asks for a test of strength, then stomps on Shida’s foot. Shida catches a kick, then backs Tyra into a corner and lands a slap. Tyra avoids a 10 punch but eats a kick then avoids a drop kick. Some kicks to the back from Tyra, then a hip attack. Shida lands a right hand as Tyra is on the top rope, then she follows up with the 10 punch and a follow up Meteora. Tyra counters a Falcon Arrow with a small package for 2. Shida lands a Sliding D for a 2 count, then follows up with the Katana to end things.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Hikaru Shida won in 2:43
Rating: Acorn squash
Delicious little squash, Shida remains pretty awesome though I’m not sure what direction they’ll be taking with her after that great match with Hayter.
Mark Sterling talks as his team heads to the ring for our next match. He claims Tony Nese isn’t sweating after a thousand sit ups, and Woods just wrestled two guys in the back. Then he thinks the fat people of Denver can’t even get up a flight of stairs. He wanted the best Colorado had to offer, but apparently all they’ve got is this team.
Match #2 – Tag Team Match: Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese and Josh Woods) w/ Mark Sterling vs. Pillars of Destiny (Hunter Grey and Paul Titan)
Grey and Nese start us off, they tie up and Nese pauses to pose. Grey just lets him do it. Another tie up, Nese grabs a side headlock but Grey counters into a big mat return. Nese fires up with strikes now, then a timing issue before they both fail hip tosses and Nese gets a rope break to set up a cheap shot from Woods. Woods tags in but runs into a back elbow before hitting a leg capture back suplex. Nese tags back in and kicks Grey in the body. Woods wants Nese to “do the thing” and Woods hits a back body drop then tags in Titan. Titan with some headbutts then a boot. Woods tags back in and kicks Titan in the head. Butterfly suplex from Woods and Grey has to break up the pin. Nese with the Macho Man hot shot, then Woods follows up with a very impressive release German suplex onto Grey. Back kick from Nese then a knee from Woods. The Angle Slam into a neckbreaker follows and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Varsity Athletes won in 4:26
Rating: 1.5 stars
This was kind of rough, Pillars of Destiny were over but there were quite a few issues of timing and positioning between these teams.
Match #3 – Tag Team Match: Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy vs. Manny Lemons and Atiba
Kassidy and Lemons start us off, they hit the ropes then Kassidy hits some arm drags and a neck breaker. Hardy tags in, and Lemons takes some double team offense. Corner offense from Hardy but he misses a charge and Lemons lands some strikes and tags in Atiba. Hardy with some elbows to drop Atiba, Lemons tags back in but misses an elbow and Kassidy tags in to hit a springboard cross body. Kassidy with some awkward running strikes then some punches in the corner but Atiba distracts Kassidy and Lemon fights free. Atiba tags in and they work to isolate Kassidy with some double team work. Kassidy fights back and hits a jumping Flatliner then tags in Hardy. Hardy runs wild for a bit, hits a Side Effect on Atiba but Lemons breaks up the pin. Kassidy attacks Lemons, setting up some Poetry in Motion then lemons gets ejected. Hardy puts Atiba on the top rope, hits the Splash Mountain to set up a Swanton Bomb from Kassidy and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy won in 4:23
Rating: Ampullaris squash
This was pretty pedestrian, even by squash standards.
Match #4: Marina Shafir w/ Nyla Rose vs. Lilith Grimm
Quick kick from Shafir, then some leg kicks while she and Nyla jaw jack at each other. More kicks from Shafir, then some gator rolls but Grimm fights up and lands a shoulder block. That annoys Shafir who hits a mat return then some strikes and a judo throw. Grimm uses the ropes to break their contact but Shafir just lands another kick then a spinebuster. Some strikes from Shafir then her weird little leg trap wrist lock thing to get the tap.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Marina Shafir won in 1:50
Rating: Baby Boo squash
There’s still not a lot of development from Shafir, her strikes seem to alternate between looking too stiff (in a bad way) or like they’re off the mark. Her mat work is pretty solid though, but you’d still like to think she’d be further along as a wrestler by this point.
In the back Kassidy and Hardy celebrate, with more awkward sexual stuff from Kassidy. Hardy says he and Kassidy look great together, and feels like 2023 will be the year of Hardy Party. Ethan Page interrupts this, and objects to them deciding to come out of the baby face tunnel. Page reminds them to look at their contracts, Hardy says Page is right and says they wont do it again. Hardy says they want to focus on the future, Page is a little unsure about his sincerity but Hardy thinks they have a good thing going and he wants to make it work. Page feels like a jerk, and says this is great then lets them finish the interview without him. Kassidy questions what Hardy is doing, Hardy just winks at him.
Match #5: Athena vs. Gypsy Mac
Angelico has joined commentary for this match. Mac tries a top wrist lock but Athena just clobbers her with an elbow. Some stomps from Athena, then another elbow. Mac avoids a corner rush but winds up on the apron and eats a knee. Kicks from Athena then she bangs Mac’s head into the ring post. Athena starts enjoying the count out, but Mac gets back in the ring and tries a school boy for 1. Elbows from Mac, but Athena cuts her off with a knee and rolls through on a Sunset Flip attempt to land another elbow. Shotgun drop kick from Athena, then an abbreviated gordbuster and a head kick. Super kick from Athena then the Crippler Crossface gets the tap.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Athena won in 3:13
Rating: Caserta squash
Solid squash, but this routine is getting a little tired for my tastes. That said plenty of other people seem to still be enjoying it so fair play, I might be a pretty extreme outlier here.
Post match Athena slams Mac on the floor then face plants her on the belt.
Match #6 – Trios Match: Ryan Nemeth and Chaos Project (Luther and Serpentico) w/ Peter Avalon and Angelico vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver, and Evil Uno)
Nemeth and Reynolds start us off, Nemeth hits a mat return then does the hip swivel. Reynolds hits a drop kick, then Nemeth backs him into the corner and tags in Luther. Our random Luther fact of the week, he was a finalist on the most recent season of European Dancing With The Stars. Makes sense, given his ties to Dutch royalty. Serpentico then tags in and they cheap shot Silver and Uno. Reynolds tosses Nemeth then moves so Luther squashes Serpentico. Dark Order fire up and Serpentico takes a triple team face buster. Uno tags in and chops on Serpentico for a bit. Serpentico tries to chop with Uno but that goes poorly for him. Uno gets tripped up and Serpentico super kicks him then everyone stomps on Uno on the outside. Nemeth tags back in, then he tags in Luther. Luther with a suplex then tags in Serpentico and slams him onto Uno. Nemeth tags in and Serpentico tries to suplex him onto Uno but he can’t lift him so Luther does it instead. All that gets a 2 count on Uno. Uno fires back with chops, then Nemeth pokes him in the eye. Uno returns the eye poke and hits a Cutter to down both men. Both men go to the wrong corner, then run around and tag out. Silver and Serpentico are legal, and Silver runs wild for a bit. Hot tag Silver is still pretty great. Pump kick to Serpentico then a bridging German for 2 as Nemeth and Luther come in to break it up. Things break down for a bit, ultimately Serpentico eats a Ragnarok triple team move and we’re done.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Dark Order won in 6:05
Rating: 2.5 stars
Competent work from everyone, but for some reason this one never quite found that spark that makes these kinds of matches stand out.
Match #7: Julia Hart vs. Leva Bates
Hart just stares down Bates, Bates offers her a volume of Demon Slayer to a look of utter disdain from Hart. Hart face plants Bates and slams her into the mat a few times. Heartless lock and Bates taps out.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Julia Hart won in :53
Rating: Black Zucchini squash
Delicious squash, it’s probably about time Hart moved on from these kinds of matches and we give her another try working rather than just squashing.
Up next, a wild Slapnuts appears. Boy that mashup of Jarrett and Lethal’s theme music is lazy.
Match #8 – Tag Team Match: Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal w/ Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt vs. Justin Andrews and Ryzin
Jarrett and Lethal sort of jump Ryzin and Andrews at the bell, Jarrett missed his cue. Lethal slams Andrews around the ringside area as Jarrett does the strut in the ring. Clothesline from Jarrett then he tags in Lethal. Swinging neckbreaker from Lethal. Ryzin fights back finally then misses a moonsault. Jarrett tags back in and hits a Russian leg sweep. Some stomps from Jarrett then he tags Lethal back in, Lethal struts and stomps then goes for the Figure Four but Ryzin keeps countering and tags out. Bit of a kick from Andrews then he punches Jarrett only to eat a super kick to the back of the head from Lethal. The Lethal Injection and Stroke combination connects and we’re done. That’s a pretty nice double team finish from them at least.
OFFICIAL RESULT: Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal won in 2:32
Rating: Citrullina squash
Acceptable squash, Lethal and Jarrett working together are finding their groove which is always nice.
Post match Ryzin objects to the showboating of Jarrett, and Singh kills him with a chokeslam.
Match #9- Trios Match: House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, and Brody King) vs. Hagane Shinno, Rosario Grillo, and Dean Alexander
King and Shinno start us off, the size difference is pretty stark. King lifts Shinno up and tosses him around but Shinno fights back with kicks only to get shoved away. Shinno hits the ropes and lands a kick but King chops him down and tags in Black. Black avoids a kick, then lands a knee but runs into a drop kick and Shinno tags in Grillo. Kick from Black then a leg sweep and Buddy tags in. Buddy with a double stomp to the arm then a boot to Alexander for good measure. Arm attacks from Buddy but he runs into a kick and has to follow up with a pop up knee strike. King tags back in, and hits a cannonball senton in the corner but Alexander and Shinno break up the pin. Now King runs wild on the floor, laying out Shinno and Alexander, but Grillo avoids a charge and King posts himself. Shinno and Black both tag back in, Shinno with a flurry of strikes then an asai moonsault to the floor to take out Buddy and King. Shinno now hits a dive onto Black. Back in the ring Shinno goes up top, hits a drop kick for a 2 count. They start trading elbows and Black unloads with a flurry, then hits a spinning back elbow only for Shinno to hit a wheel kick. King wipes out Shinno with a King Kong Lariat, but Alexander saves Shinno from a Ganso Bomb only to eat a Black Mass from Black. Grillo flies into a punch from King as Black tags out and Buddy just covers the fallen Grillo to get the pin.
OFFICIAL RESULT: House of Black won in 5:20
Rating: 2.5 stars
Hagane Shinno continues to impress, his US excursion has been a success thus far. As for House of Black, they’re still doing their thing and it’s nice to see Malakai Black back and seemingly motivated.
