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The latest AEW Dark episode opened with Varsity Blonds cutting a backstage promo with Alex Marvez ahead of their singles matches later on tonight. Brian Pillman Jr. had messages for Miro and his opponent on Dark, Bear Bronson.
Excalibur and Taz welcomed the fans next and addressed the dynamic of Team Taz. They threw it down to Justin Roberts, who introduced Lance Archer for the first match of the show.
Lance Archer vs. Rex Lawless on AEW Dark
Lance Archer knocked Lawless off his feet with an aggressive Lou Thesz Press. The Murderhawk Monster seemed to be in a hurry!
Jake Roberts joined the commentary team as Lawless connected with a clothesline in the corner. Archer got back with a crossbody followed by a short-arm clothesline.
Archer placed Lawless on top before rocking him down with a clothesline, a page out of the legendary Stan Hansen's book. Archer took his time and soaked in the chants as he approached Rex Lawless.
Rex got up and connected with two right-hand strikes. Archer still no-sold the punches and planted Lawless with a Full Nelson Slam. As expected, Lance wrapped up the match with the Blackout (Kneeling Iconoclasm).
Result: Lance Archer def. Rex Lawless on AEW Dark
Grade: C
Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Bear Bronson on AEW Dark
Pillman Jr. got a side headlock to start the match, but Bronson reacted with a shoulder tackle off the ropes. Bronson missed a senton and got kicked in the back.
Bear Bronson got up to his feet but somehow landed on the outside and ate a baseball dropkick. Julia Hart kicked off a Pillman chant as the Varsity Blond member was flattened by Bronson back in the ring.
Bronson's offense wasn't pretty on the eye as he punished Pillman with clubbing blows to the back. The Varsity Blond landed a few solid rights before dropping Bronson with a big elbow strike. He used the momentum to ground Bronson with a full body slam.
He scored a two-count with a leaping crossbody off the top turnbuckle. Pillman then reversed the suplex and set Bronson up for the springboard clothesline to win the AEW Dark match.
Result: Brian Pillman Jr. def. Bear Bronson on AEW Dark
Grade: B
Brian Cage vs. Chandler Hopkins on AEW Dark
Chandler Hopkins surprisingly started off the AEW Dark match on top with effective spin kicks that rocked Brian Cage. The Machine, however, caught Hopkins in the corner and slammed him into the mat.
Hopkins tried to execute a handspring back elbow, but Cage caught him once again and sent him flying across the ring with the German release suplex. Hopkins used his speed to execute the springboard stunner, but Cage's recovery time was fast.
Cage dropped Hopkins right on his head before running in for an uppercut and an enzuigiri. But Hopkins kept coming back with a series of swift kicks. He missed a heel kick but continued to counter Cage's every move.
Hopkins finally landed his handspring kick, giving him a two-count. Taz sounded frustrated with the frequency of Cage's moves. "Get on point, Cage," snapped Taz. He apologized for his outburst and hoped for Cage to get the job done.
The FTW Champion wasted a lot of time with his deadlift suplex, and Hopkins delivered a brilliant pendulum German suplex.
Cage, though, hit the Fireman's carry facebuster (F'n5) out of nowhere. Chandler got his leg on the ropes to break the count. The back-and-forth action continued as Hopkins blocked a powerbomb attempt with a kick to the midsection. He hit the ropes but still got laid out with a stiff powerbomb.
Cage then mercilessly hoisted Hopkins up and delivered the Weapon X for the win. Good match!
Result: Brian Cage def. Chandler Hopkins on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Taz's mentioning of the flaws in Cage's in-ring approach added a great storyline layer to the match and justified the high number of moves. This was good storytelling all around, which progressed the Team Taz angle.
Ricky Starks ran away from the commentary table as Brian Cage came towards him, and Taz said that they were just going to have a conversation backstage.
Diamante vs. Ashley D'Amboise on AEW Dark
Diamante ambushed D'Amboise after the bell with a furious attack in the corner. Diamante whipped the French wrestler across the ring before running in for a low-angle dropkick.
She countered a side slam by delivering a side Russian leg sweep. Diamante cleverly locked in a nerve-hold body-scissors submission move for the win on AEW Dark.
Result: Diamante def. Ashley D'Amboise on AEW Dark
Grade: C
Diamante continued the assault on D'Amboise after the match. The underrated Hispanic star means business, and she looks focused on running through the women's division.
Colt Cabana vs. Kit Sackett (AEW Singles Debut) on AEW Dark
Colt Cabana dropped Sackett with a cross chop to begin the AEW Dark match. "Boom Boom" sinched in the downward elbows onto Sackett's head.
Kit reacted with a dropkick, but Cabana leaped from the corner to trap his opponent in the Superman pinfall (high angle prawn hold using only his legs).
Result: Colt Cabana def. Kit Sackett (AEW Singles Debut) on AEW Dark
Grade: C
Chuck Taylor vs. Dan Barry (AEW Singles Debut) (w/ All His Best Friends) on AEW Dark
AEW Dark wouldn't be what it is without Taz's unique commentary, and he cracked a typically cringeworthy joke to begin the match.
Barry shook Taylor's hand, but it was just classic baiting as he kicked his longtime friend in the guts. If you didn't know, Taylor and Barry have some history as they conducted an interview series together in the past. Back to the match, the Best Friend was dumped outside, and he even absorbed an Asai moonsault.
Dan Barry looked great in the early goings as he got a two-count with a stalling senton back in the ring. Taylor countered with the Sole Food followed by a high running boot.
The Kentucky Gentleman knocked Barry down with a rising knee strike. Taylor missed the moonsault press as Barry moved out and went up to the top.
Barry also missed his moonsault press before getting driven into the mat with a spike piledriver. Chuck Taylor ended the contest with a jumping piledriver.
Result: Chuck Taylor def. Dan Barry on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Abadon vs. Ashley Vox on AEW Dark
Ashley Vox was visibly intimidated by the daunting presence of AEW's "Dead Girl." Abadon no-sold Vox's early offense and laid her out with a German suplex.
Abadon then bent Ashley in half with a backbreaker in the corner. Vox countered the low-angle DDT, but Abadon landed two vicious shots.
Abadon got the three-count following the leg hook DDT aka the grapevine DDT.
Result: Abadon def. Ashley Vox on AEW Dark
Grade: C
Griff Garrison (w/ Brian Pillman Jr. & Julia Hart) vs. Marko Stunt on AEW Dark
Both men bumped fists before the match hyped as a clash between the 'V-Log Squads.' Garrison mocked Stunt with a Jake Paul reference.
Marko used his quickness to unsettle Garrison as he brought him down with a Tiaras, followed by two tope suicidas. Griff caught him on the third outing and drove Stunt face-first into the apron.
Griff Garrison executed a delayed body slam but missed a diving splash in the corner. Marko got back with a diving elbow drop across the back, followed by a hurricanrana for a near fall.
Garrison blocked Stunt's finisher before putting him to sleep with the rolling elbow strike for the win.
Result: Griff Garrison def. Marko Stunt on AEW Dark
Grade: B
Garrison raised Stunt's arm after the match as a sign of respect.
The Bunny (w/ The Blade) vs. Reka Tehaka on AEW Dark
Bunny decked Reka with a massive elbow strike in the AEW Dark match that didn't seem like it would go on for long.
Bunny stunned Tehaka with a running knee lift before casually skipping around the ring. Allie shoved her boot into Reka's face in the corner and ran through for a low-angle forearm shimmer.
Bunny was relentless as she tried to choke Tehaka out by driving her boot into the face against the ropes. Tehaka finally staggered Bunny with two huge headbutts.
The Samoan-American wrestler was fired up as she went for a monkey flip. Bunny stopped Tahaka in her tracks with a big thrust kick. She finished the AEW Dark match with the 'Rabbit Hole' finisher.
Result: The Bunny def. Reka Tehaka on AEW Dark
Grade: B-
AEW Dark Main Event: Serpentico (w/ Luther) vs. Dark Order's Stu Grayson
Serpentico would fit right into Dark Order, and he even pulled up the Dark Order hand gesture, much to Luther's frustration.
The final match of the evening finally got underway, and Serpentico retreated to the outside after Grayson rushed towards him. A 'Snakeman sucks' chant kicked off as Serpentico bought some time and assessed his opponent.
Serpentico's game plan worked as he took control in the ring with a kick and a spike DDT. He exploited the opening and kicked Grayson in the corner.
The masked wrestler ate a few chops but kicked his way back into the match. Luther pulled Grayson's beard, and he screamed, 'that's how you win' in his hilariously squeaky voice.
Serpentico landed a Mongolian chop on Grayson, who shouted 'again' and called for the chops. Luther also joined in and urged Serpentico to fire off the chops.
Grayson took the chops and walked forward but ate a thrust kick followed by a facebuster. Serpentico missed the frog splash and got rocked with a brutal knee strike.
Serpentico gouged Grayson's eyes and escaped the torture rack position. The Chaos Project nearly got the win with a roll-up using the classic trunk-pull heel tactic.
Grayson dug deep and executed a clutch power slam using Serpentico's forward momentum. Serpentico used the ropes to attack Grayson's throat, and Luther called for the finish.
Grayson blocked a suplex on the apron and swept Serpentico's legs. The Dark Order came over the ropes with a senton onto Serpentico, positioned in the apron.
Stu intimidated Luther before getting back into the ring, only to get caught in a roll-up. Grayson kicked out and hit two crossface shots before spiking Serpentico with the Uranage and a follow-up knee strike. Next, he executed a standing splash before coming over the top with an airplane spin to take out Luther.
That sequence popped the crowd, and Grayson rolled back into the ring to finish Serpentico.
Serpentico hit the ropes with a handspring, but Stu caught him in mid-air and delivered the Nightfall for the victory.
Result: Stu Grayson def. Serpentico on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
This week's AEW Dark was loaded with ten matches, and while some of them were all-out squashes, fans witnessed some fresh faces tonight.
Match of the Night: Brain Cage vs. Chandler Hopkins
Wrestler of the Night: Stu Grayson
You can check out the entire AEW Dark episode above.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
