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This week's AEW Dark featured 12 matches, and as always, Excalibur and Taz welcomed fans to the show.
Justin Roberts introduced the competitors for the evening's first match, a six-man tag team contest.
Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & Alex Reynolds of The Dark Order vs. Jake St. Patrick, Sage Scott, & Chandler Hopkins on AEW Dark
The Dark Order decked all three of their opponents to begin the match. Chandler Hopkins found himself in the wrong spot as Reynolds delivered a few dropkicks and kept the action in the Dark Order's corner.
Uno, Grayson, and Reynolds worked in tandem to deliver a three-man sequence on Hopkins. Chandler finally managed to tag Sage Scott, who came in and returned a few kicks.
Grason hit a urunage and tagged Evil Uno. The veteran Dark Order member hit a big boot and a flatliner on Chandler Hopkins. Grayson came in from the outside with an elbow drop.
Reynolds, however, finished the AEW Dark match with a small package driver on Hopkins.
Result: Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & Alex Reynolds of The Dark Order def. Jake St. Patrick, Sage Scott, & Chandler Hopkins on AEW Dark
Grade: C+
Cezar Bononi, Ryan Nemeth, and JD Drake were involved in a backstage segment.
Team Taz (w/ Hook) vs. Brick Aldridge, Justin Law, & Hayden Backlund on AEW Dark
Brian Cage started the AEW Dark match and sent Justin Law down with a shoulder tackle. Cage dropped Law face-first into the mat, leading to a tag being made on the other end.
Aldridge was now the legal man, and Cage hit two shoulder blocks, followed by a Tiaras. Cage executed a snap suplex with a quick running leg drop. Powerhouse Hobbs got the tag, and Ricky Starks didn't seem too happy.
Hobbs hit a big spinebuster on Aldridge and went on to tag Cage. However, Ricky Starks sneaked in and tagged himself into the match. Aldridge used the time to get Hayden Backlund into the contest. Hayden Backlund is a distant relative of WWE Hall of Famer Bob Backlund.
Starks sent Backlund outside and regained control of the match for a few seconds. Hayden climbed to the top, but Starks caught him in mid-air.
Starks hit the Rosahmabo, but he almost dropped Backlund on his head. The bump looked scary, and it even made Brian Cage flinch for a second. Starks then tagged Cage, and the FTW Champion executed the Drill Claw for the win.
Starks and Cage shook hands, and Taz sounded quite happy on commentary. Is there really a rift between the members of Team Taz?
Result: Team Taz def. Brick Aldridge, Justin Law, & Hayden Backlund on AEW Dark
Grade: C
Rex Lawless & Dean Alexander vs. Jurassic Express (w/ Marko Stunt) on AEW Dark
Jungle Boy and Dean Alexander kicked off the AEW Dark match with a tie-up. Jungle Boy worked his way into a side headlock position.
Luchasaurus made the tag and hit a big boot on Alexander. Rex Lawless came in, and both the big men engaged in a stand-up battle.
Luchasaurus hit a big chokeslam on Lawless, followed by a spin kick. Jungle Boy hit a follow-up elbow to the back of the head and pinned Lawless for the win.
Result: Jurassic Express def. Rex Lawless & Dean Alexander on AEW Dark
Grade: D
Fuego Del Sol (w/ Griff Garrison & Marko Stunt) vs. Ryan Nemeth (w/ JD Drake) on AEW Dark
Ryan Nemeth stepped over and grabbed Feugo Del Sol's back in the match's early goings. Nemeth talked trash, and it motivated Fuego Del Sol to take the ariel route.
Del Sol kicked Nemeth's left hand, but Ryan reversed Feugo's hammer throw. Nemeth then ate an elbow, and Del Sol executed the pendulum swing. Nemeth, however, kicked out at two, and Del Sol gestured for the tornado DDT.
Nemeth caught Del Sol in mid-air and flung him outside. Nemeth rolled Del Sol back into the ring for a two-count. The Hollywood Hunk was on top as he connected with the elbow strikes.
Nemeth showboated and delivered a shoulder to Del Sol's mid-section. He followed it by driving his knees into Del Sol's gut. Nemeth executed a clean backdrop for a two-count.
Del Sol fought out of a submission move and delivered chopping kicks to Nemeth's body and legs. Fuego hit the enziguri and a follow-up armbreaker.
Nemeth countered the Tornado DDT with a dropkick in mid-air. Ryan hit the Rude Awakening (neckbreaker) on Del Sol for the win on AEW Dark.
Result: Ryan Nemeth def. Fuego Del Sol on AEW Dark
Grade: B
The Butcher (w/ The Hardy Family Office) vs. Jon Cruz on AEW Dark
The Butcher wasted no time and trucked Jon Cruz in the corner. The Hardy Family Office member connected with headbutts and chops on Cruz. He followed it with an unforgiving body block.
Butcher executed his finisher, The Fillet Minon, on Jon Cruz for the win on AEW Dark.
Result: The Butcher def. Jon Cruz on AEW Dark
Grade: D
The Butcher called out Darby Allin after the match.
Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo) (AEW Tag Team Debut) vs. Jazmin Allure & Vertvixen on AEW Dark
Real-life sisters Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo debuted their team in AEW, and it was Vox who started the match against Allure.
Delmi Exo got a quick tag, and she went in straight for the pin. Vertvixen entered the match and stomped Delmi in the chest after a face smasher in the corner.
Allure got the tag, and she connected with a rough kick to Delmi's ribs. Vertvixen and Allure made quick tags and isolated Exo.
Delmi fired back with an overhead shot. Allure, however, executed an innovative slam for a two-count. Vertvixen got the tag, and she landed a rising knee in the corner. She got a two-count from a Michinoku Driver on Delmi.
Exo created some space with a falling neckbreaker before making the hot tag to Ashley Vox.
Vox took Allure down with a falling clothesline. Ashley hit a ripcord clothesline on Vertvixen for a near fall. Allure made the save, but Delmi Exo recuperated, and the Sea Stars cornered Vertvixen.
The sisters hit the assisted senton on Vertvixen for the win on AEW Dark.
Result: Sea Stars (Ashley Vox & Delmi Exo) def. Jazmin Allure & Vertvixen on AEW Dark
Grade: B
Max Caster dropped a new diss track dedicated to "Hangman" Adam Page.
Vipress & Madi Wrenkowski vs. KiLynn King & Red Velvet (w/ Big Swole) on AEW Dark
Wrenkowski and King engaged in a back-and-forth mat exchange to begin the match. Both women showed off great chemistry, and it was King who came out on top in the sequence. Vipress got the tag, and she was the victim of an elaborate double-team combo from Velvet and Madi.
Velvet hit a leg lariat in Vipress. Wrenkowski lifted Velvet in the Cazadora position and dropped her on top of Vipress.
Red Velvet did her 'stir it up' gesture and hit the standing moonsault press on Vipress for a two-count. Madi created a distraction, and Vipress gouged Velvet in the eyes to take control of the match.
Madi got the tag, and she hit the facebuster on Red Velvet. Madi and Vipress executed double shoulder tackles and leg drops on Red Velvet for another two-count.
Vipress almost piledrove herself but still managed to inflict some damage on Red Velvet.
Red Velvet pulled Vipress down by clutching her hair and crawled towards her corner to tag KiLynn King.
King rocked Madi with a clothesline, a series of kicks, and a perfect roundhouse. King followed it with a nasty release German suplex and a shotgun dropkick on Vipress.
Red Velvet got a piece of the action with an assisted running Bulldog. Velvet delivered the iconoclasm on Vipress, but Madi rushed in to break up the pinning predicament. King took Madi out and hit the Kingdom Falls on Vipress.
Red Velvet delivered the finishing blow with the Chef's Kiss on Vipress for the win on AEW Dark.
Result: KiLynn King & Red Velvet def. Vipress & Madi Wrenkowski on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
JD Drake (w/ Ryan Nemeth) vs. Baron Black on AEW Dark
Black countered JD Drake's power early on with an abdominal stretch in the AEW Dark match. Drake, however, sent Black over the top.
Baron connected with an elbow and a chop, but he ricocheted off the ropes and ate a clubbing right from Drake.
JD told the referee to start the count. Baron picked himself up and rolled back into the ring. Drake stomped away on Black in the corner, but Baron smartly tripped the big man.
Drake, though, laid out Black and hit the Vader Bomb from the top for a two-count. Drake blocked the exploder suplex but missed his slam as Black looked for a German suplex.
Black landed a few strikes, followed by a Manhattan drop, an uppercut, and a low-trajectory German suplex. Black pulled his straps down and hit a clothesline in the corner.
Black got a near fall after an exploder suplex. Drake reversed a Texas Cloverleaf attempt with kicks from his back. Drake and Black engaged in a battle of chops in the center of the ring.
Drake connected with a three-kick combo, hit the ropes, and executed the Claymore kick for the win.
While JD Drake came out victorious, the criminally underrated Baron Black also deserves props for putting on another solid match despite being on the losing end.
Result: JD Drake def. Baron Black on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela vs. KC Navarro & Aaron Frye on AEW Dark
Navarro and Frye went charging ahead at Sonny, but Kiss went low, and Janela was waiting on the other end for a double clothesline.
Kiss and Janela executed a Manhattan drop-assisted powerbomb combo for a two-count on Navarro. Frye got into the match, and Janela greeted him with a brainbuster.
Kiss and Janela bossed the match with some rapid-fire offense on Frye, which included multiple top-rope splashes. Navarro came in and hit a rolling DDT on Kiss. However, he got planted into the mat with a Death Valley Driver from Janela.
Frye punched Janela, followed by a bicycle knee strike. Janela responded with a superkick. Kiss hit the split-legged Stunner, and Janela delivered the top-rope elbow drop on Frye for the win.
Result: Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela def. KC Navarro & Aaron Frye on AEW Dark
Grade: C+
Matt Sydal vs. Mike Magnum on AEW Dark
Magnum attacked Matt Sydal with a paintbrush as the match began. Sydal kicked Magnum a few times before delivering the lightning spiral for the win. The squash match lasted for 48 seconds.
Result: Matt Sydal def. Mike Magnum on AEW Dark
Grade: F
Excalibur was quick to note that this wasn't the shortest match in AEW history, but it was in the top 10.
Co-Main Event: Matt Hardy (w/ The Hardy Family Office)vs. Vary Morales on AEW Dark
Both men locked up, and Hardy overpowered Morales into the corner in the AEW Dark match. Big Money Matt delivered the snake eyes and a clothesline on Morales. Vary reacted with a dropkick and peppered Hardy with rights in the corner.
Matt Hardy evaded a springboard attack and executed the side effect on Morales for a two-count.
Hardy locked in 'The Leech' and forced Morales to tap out on AEW Dark.
Result: Matt Hardy def. Vary Morales on AEW Dark
Grade: D
Darby Allin looked on from the stands as Matt Hardy cut a promo on the TNT Champion. Matt Hardy got up on the turnbuckle and promised to leech the life out of Darby and take the TNT title off the champ.
Main Event: Bear Country vs. The Hybrid2 on AEW Dark
Angelico had a right hammerlock on Bear Bronson as the main event of the evening kicked off. Bear Bronson used his power to get into a better position, forcing Angelico to escape a hold.
Angelico tagged Jack Evans, and the TH2 member called for Boulder.
Evans declared that he would display his actual power, and he did the handstand as an act of showboating. Boulder comically dumped Evans out of the ring.
Evans used his speed to deliver two dropkicks in the ring. Boulder responded with a big boot that turned Evans inside out. Jack was then sent to the Bear Country corner. Boulder executed an assisted running splash in the corner.
Bear Country double Irish Whipped Evans, lifted him in the air, and pancaked him onto the mat.
Angelico came in and got taken out with a big power slam from Boulder. Bronson got the tag and landed a forearm shot into Angelico's kidney area.
Angelico created some separation with a jawbreaker and tagged Evans, who hit a springboard enziguri.
Bronson caught Evans and tossed him to the other side of the ring. Evans hit a dropkick, and Angelico made a blind tag.
Angelico attacked Bronson's legs and got the big man down on the mat. Bronson fought off a modified ankle lock with a few kicks.
Boulder got the tag, and he hit a double clothesline. He body-slammed both TH2 members before delivering a double splash in the corner.
Boulder caught Angelico and Evans and delivered the fallaway slam-Samoan drop combo.
Boulder lifted Bronson upon his shoulders, and Bear Country hit the Bear Bomb on Angelico for the win.
Result: Bear Country def. The Hybrid2 on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Check out the full episode of AEW Dark above.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
