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Tony Schiavone, Taz, and Veda Scott welcomed the fans to the latest episode of AEW Dark, which was stacked with 11 matches and headlined by a massive 8-man tag team showdown.
Today's AEW Dark had a little bit of everything. New stars got the spotlight to shine while the established ones were given opportunities to look even stronger. There were a couple of squash matches as well on AEW Dark.
There were also some other moments that managed to grab our attention on AEW Dark, which included Jake 'The Snake' Roberts' teaser and the awkward moment between Billy and Aubrey Edwards.
On that note, let's take a look at the results and highlights of the latest AEW Dark episode:
#1. Michael Nakazawa vs. 'Superbad' Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford)
Sabian kicked off the first match on AEW Dark with an armbar on Nakazawa, who managed to take Kip down before oiling him up. Back on the feet, Nakazawa put some oil on his chest and invited a few chops. Sabian picked up the pace with a dropkick followed by a moonsault over the top rope on Nakazawa.
Sabian was firmly in control as he kicked his opponent square in the chest. Nakazawa got in a smooth flip spear for a two-count. He followed it up with a back suplex. He got out the raspberry thong, and Penelope Ford called for her man to get back on his feet to avoid the humiliation.
Sabian resisted Nakazawa's attempt at shoving the thong in his mouth and it ended up in Nakazawa's face instead. Sabian hit his finisher on Nakazawa for the win. This was a fun match to kick off the latest episode of AEW Dark.
Result: Kip Sabian def. Michael Nakazawa
#2. Shawn Dean & Frank Stone vs. Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela
Stone and Janela got the match underway. Stone got his level taken out with a dropkick to the knee. Dean came in and got caught in the side headlock.
Sonny Kiss came in and got Dean to the mat with the double knees. Janela got back into the action, but he got caught in his opponents' corner. Dean hit a big vertical suplex. Dean and Stone frequently tagged and cut the ring in half. Quintessential tag team wrestling right there!
Dean and Stone hit an elbow side-slam double team combo on Janela for a two-count. The tags continued to happen as the cohesiveness of the team was all there to be seen. Janela snapped off a double DDT attempt. He went up to the top rope and hit the double axe handle.
Kiss got the hot tag and executed a flurry of moves. Sonny went for the Split Leg Drop from the top rope, but Dean moved out of the way. Stone got tagged in, and they hit a neck breaker-fallaway slam combo for a near fall. Janela hit Stone out of the picture with a massive superkick.
Janela hit the elbow drop on Dean, which was followed by a Split Leg Drop for the three-count on AEW Dark.
Result: Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela def. Shawn Dean & Frank Stone
#3. Will Hobbs vs. Shawn Spears (w/ Tully Blanchard)
Will Hobbs looked like an absolute tank as he locked up with Spears. Spears transitioned to a side headlock with a wide vertical base.
As stated, Hobbs is a tank, and Spears found is difficult to get his opponent down with the shoulder block. Spears isolated Hobbs in the corner. He took some notes from Tully before getting back in and taking Hobbs down.
Spears unleashed a series of chops on Hobbs in the corner. The forearm strikes followed. Spears then began to attack Hobbs' hamstring and knee. Spears talked trash, but it all ended with a massive spinebuster. Hobbs' injured knee delayed the pinfall attempt, and Spears kicked out at two. Spears hit the Death Valley Driver to pick up his 10th win in AEW.
Spears attacked Hobbs' left leg after the match by slamming it into the steel ring post. Spears knocked Hobbs out with a left to the head to end the post-match segment on AEW Dark.
Result: Shawn Spears def. Will Hobbs
Ricky Starks cut a brilliant backstage promo before the next match on AEW Dark.
#4. The Hybrid2 vs. The Initiative
Avalon and Angelico tried to outmaneuver each other, and it all ended in a stalemate before Evans and Cutler got tagged in.
Both men went back-and-forth with the pinfalls. The counter wrestling sequences were pretty impressive as we'd lost count of the number of pinfalls. Cutler got the last laugh with a face plant on Evans. Avalon came in, and they hit the double splash on Evans, who then got laid out with a suplex.
Avalon drop kicked Evans to the outside. Peter brought Leva Bates' book into the equation, but he chose not to use it. Angelico picked it up and slammed it into Avalon's back when the referee was distracted. The Hybrid2 were all over Avalon. A Leva Bates distraction helped Avalon to make the hot tag to Cutler.
The next few minutes of the match were fast and furious as there were big moves, swift exchanges, and excellent athleticism on display. Leva Bates even got in a Hurricanerana on Evans on the outside.
The finish of the match saw Evans hit the 630° senton for the win.
Result: The Hybrid2 def. The Initiative
#5. Red Velvet vs. Abadon
Abadon's bone-chilling entrance was a thing to behold. Red Velvet got some decent amount of offense in, but Abadon seemed unfazed.
Abadon sadistically slammed Red Velvet's hand on the apron. Back in the ring, Abadon sent Velvet's face driving into the mat. She got her up, but Velvet was just playing possum as she tried to take Abadon down.
Velvet put up a good fight, but Abadon hit her finisher for the three-count.
Result: Abadon def. Red Velvet
#6. John Silver, Alex Reynolds & Colt Cabana vs. D3, RYZIN & Faboo Andre
The match began with Faboo Andre getting outwrestled by Colt Cabana. The Dark Order members overcame a brief onslaught to get the control. They punished D3.
Cabana confidently tagged himself in and elbowed all three of his opponents. He slammed into D3 in the corner. A wobbly D3 was set up for the finisher, and Silver & Reynolds spiked his head into the mat with their double team move for the win.
Result: John Silver, Alex Reynolds & Colt Cabana def. D3, RYZIN & Faboo Andre
#7. Ricky Starks vs. Lee Johnson
Johnson and Starks had a predictably fast-paced start to the match as they exchanged big dropkicks. The match settled down, and Starks was hammering on his opponent.
Starks took a shot at Darby Allin with a coffin drop on Johnson. Lee mounted a comeback with a few strikes and a European uppercut. He hit the cutter and took the fight to Starks.
Johnson then delivered the springboard missile dropkick, which got a very near fall. Johnson went up to the top rope, but he wasted way too much time, and Starks took his feet out. Starks planted Johnson into the mat with his finisher, The Arms Of Orion.
Result: Ricky Starks def. Lee Johnson
Wardlow came to the ring after the match and handed Johnson a badge of MJF's campaign.
#8. Baron Black & Tony Donati vs. Santana & Ortiz
Black and Santana got things rolling. Baron rocked Santana with a backbreaker, but the Inner Circle member fought through the pain to take his opponent down.
Ortiz got his first taste of the action, and so did Tony Donati, who got laid out with the double under hook, chicken wing-esque suplex. Donati got caught in a sit-out powerbomb followed by a kick to the face. That was all she wrote.
This was the first one-sided squash match of the night
Result: Santana & Ortiz def Baron Black & Tony Donati
#9. Lance Archer vs. Jon Cruz & Jessy Sorensen (2-on-1 Handicap match)
Sorensen was the first to come out, but Cruz was nowhere to be seen. Lance Archer came out next, and he had Cruz on his shoulders.
As expected, The Muderhawk Monster dominated, albeit a brief Sorensen and Archer's brief attempt to fight back. Archer hit a very innovative choke slam-reverse DDT combo on both men. He pinned with his feet, but Cruz broke it up. It was a horrible decision as Archer repeatedly slammed both Cruz and Sorensen's heads into the mat before pinning them both. That was a squash match of the highest order.
Jake 'The Snake Roberts' even teased delivering his iconic DDT after the match but the veteran was just messing around.
Result: Lance Archer def. Jon Cruz & Jessy Sorensen
#10. Alan "5" Angels vs. Billy
Billy hugged referee Aubrey Edwards before the match, and she was naturally reluctant to commit to the hug. That was awkward to say the least!
Billy overpowered Angels in the early stages of the match. Billy hit a delayed vertical suplex for the two-count.
The veteran missed an elbow, and Angels capitalized by hitting a kick to the face followed by a double shotgun dropkick. Gunn managed to get the three-count after hitting the finisher on Angels.
Reynolds and Silver came out after the match, but Austin Gunn chased them off with a chair.
Result: Billy def. Alan "5" Angels
#11. Main Event: Private Party & SCU vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher & The Blade
It took some time, but SCU took The Butcher off his feet with a double team schoolboy takedown. Butcher mustered up some strength despite the pain and made the tag to Blade, who locked horns with Kazarian.
Kazarian hit the snap suplex on Blade. Kassidy came in and lit up Fenix with a bunch of kicks. Pentagon was up next, and Private Party executed an elaborate double team sequence on the Lucha Bro. The faces made frequent tags as they worked on Pentagon's arm.
It didn't take long for the match to shift in favor of the heels as they cornered Kassidy. Fenix accidentally super kicked Blade after Kassidy got out of the way.
He rushed to his corner and tagged Marc Quen in. It was a free-for-all as every man in the match got into the ring and canceled each other out. They were all down as a chaotic sequence came to an end. Pentagon and Daniels engaged in a battle of brutal chops. The finish saw Butcher and Blade hit their final double team move on Daniels for the win.
Resilt: Lucha Bros, The Butcher & The Blade def. Private Party & SCU
Check out the complete episode of AEW Dark below:
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
