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The latest episode of AEW Dark: Elevation kicked off with a lively introduction from Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight. We moved to the first match of the evening, and it featured Adam Page.
"Hangman" Adam Page vs. Spencer Slade on AEW Dark: Elevation
Page faked a springboard during his entrance to unsettle Spencer Slade, and Hangman's tactics worked as he got the early advantage.
Page connected with a few chops in the corner before dropping his opponent with a fallaway slam. According to Paul Wight, Slade's in-ring look resembled that of Rick Steiner.
Page responded with a monstrous lariat. He then followed up with four lariats before finishing the match with a pop-up powerbomb. Hangman didn't even need the Buckshot Lariat tonight.
Result: "Hangman" Adam Page def. Spencer Slade on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C
Page shared a beer with referee Rick Knox to end the post-match segment.
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (w/ Rebel not Reba) vs. Tesha Price on AEW Dark: Elevation
Price looked quite energetic before the match kicked off, and it all died down with an organized sequence from the doctor.
Britt Baker got a quick two-count on Price before transitioning to a hammerlock. Tesha reacted by reversing the hold and taking Baker's back. Britt whacked her opponent in the head and continued the onslaught.
Price hit a brilliant front kick, but Baker blocked the pump kick and an Irish whip.
Britt sent Price face-first into the middle turnbuckle before using the ring post to inflict more damage on her opponent.
Rebel hit Price with a red cloth while the referee wasn't looking. Baker landed a few high knee lifts back in the ring before returning to a chin lock.
"Let's go, Tesha," chants echoed around the arena. Price scored a surprise roll-up, but Baker kicked out at two.
The Role Model of AEW reacted by dropping Price with a slingblade. Price still had some fight in her as she connected with multiple forearm strikes followed by an enziguri and a big step-through punch.
Baker reversed another Irish whip into a smooth DDT. Britt got the glove out and set the stage for the Lock Jaw. Baker dropped Price on her head and forced her to tap out to the Lock Jaw.
Result: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. def. Tesha Price on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B
Paul Wight almost said the 'Mandible Claw' after the match, but he stopped at the right time.
Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus vs. Jay Lyon & Midas Black on AEW Dark: Elevation
Lyon started the match with Jungle Boy, and he whipped him over with a piece of steak. Talk about innovation!
Lyon and Black started strong with a double-team sequence on Jungle Boy. Luchasaurus made the blind tag and landed a big boot on the masked wrestler.
Luchasaurus used his power to execute an assisted German suplex. Lyon offered him a piece of steak, and he got kicked in the face for all his troubles.
Jurassic Express executed stereo slams, and Jungle Boy pinned both Lyon and Black to continue their undefeated 2021 streak in AEW.
Result: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus def. Jay Lyon & Midas Black on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: D
TH2 vs. Vary Morales & Andre Montoya on AEW Dark: Elevation
Jack Evans nonchalantly danced to his music and took the reins of opening the AEW Dark: Elevation match against Vary Morales. Evans mocked his opponent with a handstand, and Morales kicked him straight in the gut.
Vary sent Jack over with a bell-to-belly suplex. Evans reacted with a springboard screw-high kick. Angelico got the tag, and he planted Morales into the mat with a facebuster.
Angelico used his advanced mat game to work on Morales' arms. He executed a perfect back-body suplex for a two-count.
Angelico continued to showcase his submission expertise, and Wight even compared him to the legendary Dean Malenko.
Vary Morales fought back with a dropkick from the top rope. He finally made the tag to Montoya, who hit a high spin kick on Angelico.
He took Evans out with two lariats and a big elbow strike, followed by a high dropkick. Montoya rolled through for a facebuster, but Evans broke the pinfall at two.
Morales got back in and continued the fight with Evans. Jack was sent outside, but he recuperated and knocked Vary Morales off the apron. Evans hit a spinning plancha on Morales on the outside.
Angelico swept Montoya off his feet in the ring and locked in the Navarro Death Roll for the victory on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: TH2 def. Vary Morales & Andre Montoya on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B+
Paul Wight sat down with Max Caster and Anthony Bowens of The Acclaimed on the latest edition of AEW's Showcase series.
Brian Cage & Ricky Starks of Team Taz vs. Mike Magnum & Stone Rockwell on AEW Dark: Elevation
Mike Magnum and Brian Cage got the match rolling, and the FTW Champion predictably took control with some agile sequences.
Cage hit an insane dropkick that had a lot of elevation. You don't see that often!
Ricky Starks came into the match, but he got bodyslammed by Magnum.
Rockwell got in and landed a double axe handle on Starks. Paul Wight liked Rockwell's name, and he was even impressed by the wrestler's rugged in-ring style.
Cage made the blind tag, and he saved his partner from getting suplexed.
Brian hit a three-kick combo to flatten Rockwell. Stone reversed a double suplex and rolled up Cage.
Cage and Starks argued in the ring as Magnum rushed in to take advantage. Starks saw Mike coming and hit a spear. Cage hit a powerbomb on Rockwell before tagging Starks, who looked surprised by the decision.
Cage set Starks up for the Roshambo, and they finally worked together to pick up a big win.
Result: Brian Cage & Ricky Starks of Team Taz def. Mike Magnum & Stone Rockwell on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C
While Cage and Starks almost had a breakdown during the match, they got through another night without coming to blows. The split, however, will happen eventually.
Abadon vs. Skye Blue on AEW Dark: Elevation
Paul Wight admitted that he was scared of Abadon, and that's a considerably big revelation coming from one of the giants in AEW.
Wight sold Abadon's character like a true veteran, and it might have been his best work on commentary thus far. Anyway, we moved to the match, and Abadon stalked her prey.
She executed a spinning backbreaker across the thigh, and she continued to try and choke her opponent out. Abadon missed a splash in the corner and ate a pump kick and a back spring elbow.
Abadon pulled her own hair out and ran through for a lariat, followed by a German suplex.
She hit the double knees to Blue's collar bone before executing the snapmare. While Blue did get in some offense, Abadon was just too strong, and AEW's most twisted entity finished the AEW Dark: Elevation match with the Cemetery Driver.
Result: Abadon def. Skye Blue on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C
Orange Cassidy vs. Prince Kai on AEW Dark: Elevation
Prince Kai had a special note that he handed to Justin Roberts and the wrestler received a glorious in-ring introduction.
Orange Cassidy stood behind Kai while the Prince showboated and soaked in the atmosphere.
Kai turned around, and Cassidy hit the Beach Break for the win. Wait, what? That's it? The match lasted for nine seconds! Just nine!
Result: Orange Cassidy def. Prince Kai on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: D
Private Party (w/ Matt Hardy) vs. Alex Reynolds & Colt Cabana (w/ -1) on AEW Dark
-1 was out with a camera recording for Sammy Guevara's vlog. All men involved in the match faced off in the middle of the ring before the start.
Reynolds got isolated by Private Party. Isiah Kassidy showboated, and it cost him control of the match as Alex hit a shoulder block and a follow-up dropkick.
The referee ejected the Dark Order members after they got in Kassidy's face near ringside. Matt Hardy looked happy with the referee's decision, and Paul Wight was sarcastically annoyed at the commentary table.
Cabana continued the match, and he used his experience to take Quen to the mat. Reynolds got the tag, and he sent Quen over the top with a clothesline. The Dark Order member hit a tope suicida before rolling his opponent back into the ring.
Matt Hardy pulled Reynolds down and backed him up into the steel guard railing. The referee, as you might have expected, didn't catch Hardy's intervention.
Kassidy and Quen took control and punished Reynolds. They made quick tags, listened to Matt Hardy's instructions, and wore Reynolds down in their corner. Tag team wrestling 101.
Reynolds reversed a suplex and hit a vicious knee lift to the chin. Alex finally tagged Colt Cabana, and "Boom Boom" hit an incredible hurricanrana. How did a man his size pull that off?
Cabana moved on from his tremendous athletic feat and got a near fall from a Superman Splash on Quen. He hit a knife-edge chop and a forearm shot on Marq.
Quen hit an enziguri but got caught in the fireman's carry position. Private Party missed the silly string as Alexander pulled Kassidy off the apron.
Quen hit a Pele kick-like move on Reynolds before going up top for a 450 splash. Cabana kicked out at two. Colt landed a forearm shot, but he was hurting.
Reynolds came in for a spinning discus elbow. He then executed an assisted flipping neckbreaker on Quen.
Cabana went for the pin on Quen, but the Private Party member was not the legal man.
Kassidy, the actual legal competitor from the Private Party's end, rushed in and rolled up a clueless Cabana for the three-count on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Private Party def. Alex Reynolds & Colt Cabana on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Reynolds argued that the tag had been made, but Private Party got the win in the books.
Thunder Rosa vs. Shawna Reed on AEW Dark: Elevation
Thunder Rosa executed the standing switch and took Reed's back in the early stages of the AEW Dark: Elevation match.
Both women displayed excellent mat wrestling skills, and it was Rosa who won the sequence by breaking away and hitting a double shotgun dropkick.
Thunder Rosa connected with a few chops in the corner, and the crowd loved the sound of them. Reed pushed Rosa off and sunk her boots into the former NWA Women's Champion's guts in the corner.
Reed went for a quick one-count, and Wight appreciated her intent to win and not just wrestle. Rosa connected with a double knee strike over the top, followed by another shotgun dropkick in the corner.
She got a two-count from a double underhook suplex. Reed then made a comeback with a faceplant, followed by a modified armbar. Rosa, though, rolled out of the move and turned it into a pinning combination.
Rosa picked up the win with the Fire Thunder Driver on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Thunder Rosa def. Shawna Reed on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C+
Best Friends (w/ Orange Cassidy) vs. Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund on AEW Dark: Elevation
Kit Sackett and Trent started the match. Trent hit a massive lariat, followed by two forearm shots and a back body suplex.
Backlund tagged himself into the match, but he ran into Best Friends' Sole Food.
Chuckie T and Trent hit two package piledrivers on Backlund for the win. Trent had Backlund in an aggressive pinfall, and Paul Wight highlighted a slight shift in the attitude of the Best Friends.
Result: Best Friends def. Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: D
Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami vs. Nyla Rose & Madi Wrenkowski (w/ Vickie Guerrero) on AEW Dark: Elevation
EXCUSE ME! Yes, as expected, Vickie Guerrero came out and told Justin Roberts to get out of 'her ring.'
Guerrero introduced her client and Madi Wrenkowski and ordered everyone to stand and applaud.
Madi and Leyla locked up and kicked off a furious sequence of hammerlocks and chokeholds. Wrenkowski created some separation and ran to tag Nyla.
Ryo and Rose now stood toe-to-toe as they both brawled in the center of the ring. Nyla overpowered Mizunami with a shoulder block, a body slam, and a leg drop.
Wrenkowski made a blind tag to Rose, and The Native Beast was annoyed as she was going for the pin. Wrenkowski stretched out Mizunami's arms, but the Joshi veteran escaped the submission move.
Ryo slowly gathered all her energy as she absorbed strikes and got more fired up. Mizunami hit more than a dozen chops and mocked Nyla Rose.
Ryo got a two-count on Madi with a lariat in the corner. Hirsch got the tag, and she hit a clothesline on Madi.
Mizunami and Leyla hit an assisted powerslam. They were not done as Ryo helped Leyla leap to the top and come back down for a senton on Madi.
Nyla had to intervene and break the pin. Rose and Wrenkowski executed a double suplex on Hirsch, and the heels were now on top of the proceedings. The match had an abrupt end as Leyla reversed a pump kick and locked in the armbar on Wrenkowski.
Mizunami stopped Nyla Rose from breaking the hold, and Wrenkowski tapped out on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami def. Nyla Rose & Madi Wrenkowski on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B
Austin Gunn (w/ Colten Gunn) vs. Aaron Solow (w/ Nick Comoroto & QT Marshall) on AEW Dark: Elevation
Austin Gunn wasn't his usual self tonight on AEW Dark: Elevation as he had his game face on and was focused on the task at hand.
Aaron Solow, in contrasting fashion, looked casual yet confident. Nick Comoroto pulled the stairs out and placed them near ramps for QT to take a seat.
Solow and Gunn kicked off the match, and Austin connected with a barrage of strikes. Gunn was hyped, and he hit a massive clothesline before staring down QT Marshall.
The action moved outside, and Gunn rolled Solow back in. Comoroto's constant ringside presence was on Austin's mind, and it eventually helped Solow assert his dominance in the contest.
Solow was not in the mood to win as he ditched a pinfall attempt in favor of some ground and pound. Gunn got a few elbows up and hit a big lariat.
Solow connected with three clotheslines, and the comeback was real. Austin tripped Aaron's legs and hit a flipping neckbreaker. Comoroto jumped up on the apron, and the brief distraction helped Solow connect with an enziguri for a near fall.
Colten Gunn and Nick Comoroto brawled on the outside, and it ended with Nick crashing into the barricade.
QT called for the finish, but Austin reversed Solow's finisher to hit the Quick Draw for the win.
Result: Austin Gunn def. Aaron Solow on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B+
This was Austin Gunn's first singles win in AEW, and WWE Hall of Famer Billy Gunn would have indeed been happy with his son's performance.
Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky vs. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander on AEW Dark: Elevation
Scorpio Sky used his amateur wrestling background to execute an early takedown on Carlie Bravo.
Bravo, however, evaded a few strikes and took the fight to Sky. Carlie tagged Alexander while Ethan Page entered the match from the opposite corner.
Dean fired up in the corner with a few punches, but Page responded with a big suplex. He and Sky wore Alexander down with concentrated attacks.
However, Alexander hit a short-arm lariat and tagged Carlie. Bravo took Ethan Page off the apron and hit stereo dropkicks with Alexander on Sky.
Alexander got tagged, but Ethan pulled Bravo outside and flattened him out with a clothesline.
Sky finished the contest with a heel hook on Alexander in the ring on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky def. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C
Ethan Page hit the Ego's Edge on Bravo after the match.
QT Marshall's cheap shot on Billy Gunn
Dasha Gonzalez interviewed Austin Gunn backstage following his win on AEW Dark: Elevation. Austin Gunn talked about the importance of being in a family and how it was all broken apart by QT Marshall. Austin got emotional, and Papa Gunn came in to console his son.
QT Marshall entered the frame next, and he told Dasha to leave. Marshall explained his actions, but Billy Gunn stopped QT and accused the leader of The Factory of taking things too far. Marshall decked Billy Gunn in the face with a punch to end the segment on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Main Event: Kenny Omega, MT Nakazawa & Konosuke Takeshita vs. Matt Sydal, Mike Sydal & Danny Limelight on AEW Dark: Elevation
Kenny Omega went straight to the commentary booth and expressed his displeasure at being on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Kenny Omega got a headset and was set to communicate with Nakazawa while the match was on.
Nakazawa and Limelight started the main event. MT and Omega stalled the match by talking to each other. They were just 15 feet away, and Paul Wight rightfully found the whole schtick ridiculous!
Nakazawa tagged Omega, and the AEW World Champion was ready to lock up with Limelight.
Omega continued to delay the inevitable by chatting with Nakazawa on the headset. Takeshita was now the legal man, and the match finally got underway.
Takeshita dropped Limelight with a faceplant that had a lot of height. He tagged Omega, who came in with a double ax handle from the top. Nakazawa also hit a double ax handle, followed by a scoop slam. Omega and MT worked in tandem to work on Limelight's shoulder joints.
Nakazawa and Omega made quick tags, but Takeshita was also aching to get a piece of the action as well. Limelight created some separation by sending Kenny and MT outside and hitting a plancha on both heels.
Mike Sydal got into the match and hit a nice enziguri on MT, followed by a standing moonsault for a two-count. Matt Sydal came in, and the brothers hit stereo knees from the top.
Omega hit a cheap knee shot, and Matt Sydal got caught in a fallaway crucifix. Kenny got the tag, and the AEW World Champion executed a backbreaker on Matt for a two-count on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Omega accused Takeshita of not putting the boot up in the corner. The Japanese star still got the tag, and he hit a dropkick on Matt. Limelight broke the pinfall, and Omega entered the match once again.
The AEW World Champion and Takeshita hit double back elbows on Matt Sydal. Matt blocked two suplex attempts, but The Cleaner slugged him with another double ax handle and a few downward elbows.
Sydal kneed Omega in the head in response and hit a spinwheel kick on the AEW World Champion. Limelight and Takeshita came in, and Danny executed a Tiaras takeover. Limelight hit a blockbuster from the top for a near fall on Takeshita.
The Sydals and Limelight attacked Takeshita in the corner. The Japanese star received some much-needed backup as Omega and Nakazawa came in to isolate Limelight.
Takeshita hit a powerbomb on Limelight, but Danny kicked out of the pinfall. MT and Takeshita hit atomic drops on Limelight before Omega hit the Kotaro Crusher in the AEW Dark: Elevation match.
Takeshita connected with a running lariat on Limelight. Danny miraculously stayed alive in the match!
Omega set up the stage for the finish, and he attempted the snapdragon suplex, but Limelight fought it off.
He got out of the Full Nelson but ate a spinning elbow. Omega hit the snapdragon, but Limelight landed on his feet.
Danny reversed the One-Winged angel, and Matt Sydal came in from the top with a double knee strike on Omega.
Limelight followed it up with a top-rope spinning DDT on Omega. The champion kicked out at two and a half. Mike Sydal went up, and he stopped a Nakazawa distraction.
Omega, however, took advantage of the chaos and hit the snapdragon suplex on Mike Sydal.
Takeshita got the tag, hit the pump kick on Mike, and the follow-up brainbuster. Mike Sydal, believe it or not, kicked out and the match continued! Mike missed the lariat but still caught Takeshita in a roll-up.
Mike Sydal hit a head kick and went up to the top rope. Nakazawa dropped him down, but Matt tried to help his brother. Mike, unfortunately, got trapped in an awkward position in the corner.
Takeshita went to the other side and executed a coast-to-coast dropkick.
Takeshita then hit a gutbuster on Mike. Omega cleared the ring, and Takeshita finally ended the AEW Dark: Elevation match with the bridged German suplex.
Phenomenal match!
Result: Kenny Omega, MT Nakazawa & Konosuke Takeshita def. Matt Sydal, Mike Sydal & Danny Limelight on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: A+
This week's AEW Dark: Elevation had probably the best match in the show's brief history, and you can watch the entire episode above. Don't forget to join us tomorrow for all the live updates on AEW Dynamite.
