By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 22)
Taped February 26, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Streamed on the AEW YouTube Page
By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 22)
Taped February 26, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Streamed on the AEW YouTube Page
The broadcast team of Taz and Excalibur welcomed us to the show at ringside and run down the lineup for the show…
1. Luther vs Sonny Kiss. This was Luther’s in-ring debut for AEW. Luther started out the match with some chops to Kiss and hit a big boot as well. Luther took off his string jacket and started to choke Kiss with it on the rope and got a four count from the ref. Luther hit Kiss with a snap hit suplex. Kiss tried a couple of moves on Luther, but Luther countered. Kiss hit a running kick to Luther that enabled him to get a two-count. Kiss tried a moonsault, but Luther moved just in time. He tried again with another jump from the top rope, however Luther reversed it and managed to get a powerbomb. Luther put Kiss in a submission and made her tap out to get the win.
Luther defeated Sonny Kiss via submission.
After the match, Jimmy Havoc came to the ring to fight Luther, but Luther rolled out of the ring…
Briar’s Take: A showcase win for Luther and a possible what’s to come for a potential feud between Havoc. Luther seemed to have a nice reaction from the crowd when he was introduced to the ring. I’d never heard of Luther before he made his on screen debut with AEW and this is actually the first time I’ve watched him wrestle. I guess I need to do my homework and watch a couple of his matches. Anyone have any recommendations? Hit me up on the Twitter via the link in my byline above.
Excalibur threw it to Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez for a pre-taped segment that hyped AEW Revolution…
2. “The Dark Order” Stu Grayson and Evil Uno vs. Pete Avalon (w/Leva Bates) and Michael Nakazawa. During the ring introductions, the commentators questioned who could be behind The Dark Order leader and wondered if it will be revealed soon. Nakazawa had his bottle of baby oil or whatever it is and once he tried to pour it on him. Avalon had the mic and said he doesn’t want any of that comedic crap. He tagged in and said, I’m going to show you traditional wrestling and took a bump by himself.
The match finally started and Evil Uno with a splash in the corner to Nakazawa. Excalibur said Nakazawa was offered a Dark Order contract. Grayson back in the ring tried a suplex to Nakazawa, but failed to do so as Nakazawa countered with his oil. He also tried to make a tag to Avalon, but once he got to the corner, Avalon backed off. Grayson hit a nightfall to Nakazawa. Both Grayson and Uno hit a fatality on Nakazawa to score the win…
The Dark Order defeated Peter Avalon and Michael Nakazawa via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Quick and painless, I guess. Avalon is quickly becoming a comedic wrestler with his normal hot takes. Once Avalon leaves the ring like Shawn Spears does, it becomes predictable in terms of who will win the match. However, this was a nice short match for The Dark Order. Sometimes with a team like the Dark Order, a short match to showcase moves works better than long drawn out match that really doesn’t matter on Dark. Also, there was a nice build from Excalibur and Taz, who questioned who the leader is and what it could be, either he or she…
A Cody and MJF promo for their match at AEW Revolution aired… Afterward, Schiavone and Gonzaelz hyped where AEW will be next…
3. Miranda Alize vs. Britt Baker. Alize and Baker started with a collar and elbow tie up. Baker then put Alize in a submission move, but Alize got to the rope to break the submission. While Alize was in the corner, Baker hit her with a kick to the jaw. Baker managed to hit a corkscrew neckbreaker on Alize to only get a two count. Baker argued with referee Aubrey Edwards about her count, but Alize rolled her up to once again score a two count. A short few seconds later, Baker got Alize in a submission hold to pick up the win…
Britt Baker defeated Miranda Alize via submission.
Briar’s Take: This match was dragged out way too long. At some points, at least the way it came through the show, some fans in the crowd seemed to be restless and checking their phones. There were too many holds and too much stalling for this quick attention span world. It makes me wonder if this was your “let me up sort of match.” Either way, it was pretty predictable on who was going to win. Easily skippable match, unless you’re a huge Britt Baker fan.
An AEW Revolution ad aired to hype the PPV.
4. Brandon Cutler and Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen. Private Party came out to a nice reaction to the crowd, as they are super over right now. Kassidy and Cutler start the match off with a sign of respect. Spears got upset toward Cutler. Afterward, Kassidy went over to try and get a handshake from Spears, but was given the bird to Kassidy.
A choreographic way started the match with the two wrestlers countering each others moves. Quen made a blind tag to enter himself in the match. Private Party tried their signature moves, but failed to do so, as Cutler and Party countered each other’s moves again. Spears was upset and made the tag and we finally got some action. Taz said Spears is a throwback style of wrestler. Quen with the assistance of Kassidy, hit a moonsault from the top rope onto Spears.
Cutler was tagged in once again. Kassidy and Quen tried to take him out with their tag team moves, but failed as they hit one another. Cutler managed to do a flying springboard on to Quen. Spears was doing his “10-count” in the corner to Kassidy. The crowd started to chant 10 as Spears hit him. Once Spears knew that, he shook his finger to the crowd. Spears took too long and Kassidy was able to get the better of him. Kassidy tried one of his moves on Spears, but Spears reversed it into a spinebuster.
Quen returned and dropkicked Spears. Once he did so, Cutler was tagged in and got hit with a backdrop. Quen then jumped to the outside onto Cutler, as Spears moved out of the way, only to hit Quen with a clothesline afterward. Spears and Tully walked out of the match as they normally do. Cutler was left in the ring by himself and hit his TTK on Quen. Spears and Tully began to have second thoughts since Cutler started to pick up some momentum. Cutler’s comeback was short lived, as Private Party finished Cutler with the Gin and Juice to score the victory…
Private Party defeated Brandon Cutler and Shawn Spears via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Not a bad match, but it’s certainly what you would come to predict whenever Spears is in a match and walks away. As for the match itself, it had its moments and was probably the best match on this show. Private Party continues to receive a great reaction from the crowd. I strongly believe that AEW should take a stronger look at them and maybe give them a tag team run. Though, if you look at it, they are kind of like The Street Profits, just without the cups gimmick.
Overall, I assumed this episode would come out at its normal time. Though with very little hype and promotion, this show came out the day before Revolution. I actually forgot AEW does this whenever there is a PPV that week. AEW needs to do a little more promotion instead of just putting the match card on their social media pages or their website. A little plug in on their regular TV show would be nice every once in awhile to let the regular viewers know about this show. Otherwise, I believe you probably could have missed this show due to its weird timing.
In a way, I wish it was like this every week by having Dark uploaded the next night or throughout the weekend since everyone pretty much knows the spoilers already, as they are hard to steer clear of in this day and age. As for the show, I sadly thought it was easily skippable. It had some good wrestling moments as they normally do, but it just came off like the normal Dark show. You either watch or you don’t. And if you miss it, you feel like you’re not missing anything. Either way, the hype for this show has really worn off from its beginnings. As I write this on Tuesday, the episode has well over 200,000 views. Maybe, AEW should upload their show the night after it is taped more often. Final Score: 6.8 out of 10.
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