By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 30)
Taped in Norcross, Georgia at One Fall Power Factory
Streamed April 21, 2020 on the AEW YouTube Page
Tony Schiavone and Cody welcomed us to AEW Dark and ran down the card lineup…
1. Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian). Both wrestlers started with a collar elbow tie up followed by Ford with a side headlock takedown. Jay briefly put Ford in a submission hold, before Ford countered with her own submission. Ford took Jay with a running shoulder block. Jay countered with a backwards kick to the face of Ford. Jay tried running from the corner, but Sabian got involved and Ford hit the hamstring elbow.
Ford then put Jay in an illegal submission hold on the rope. Afterward, Ford countered with a big suplex and put Jay in another illegal submission hold. Ford tried for another hamstring, but Jay countered with a dropkick and got a couple of close falls. Ford hit a cutter on Jay and finished her off with a fisherman suplex for the win.
Penelope Ford defeated Anna Jay via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Holy smokes! Only two Sabian interferences. I think that’s the shortest interference we’ve seen so far from Sabian. Perhaps, we should have Penelope wrestle more often?
An AEW Double or Nothing ad aired…
2. Joe Alonzo vs. Cody (w/Brandi Rhodes). While Cody was making his entrance, Schiavone hyped the match for Sammy vs Darby Allin for the TNT Title Tournament. Both wrestlers shook hands as a sign of respect. A collar elbow tie up was used to start. Cody then took Alonzo down with a running shoulder block. But, Alonzo kicked right back up after the running block. Shortly after, Cody hit Alonzo with a powerslam and then with an uppercut. Alonzo tried with a moonsault and hit a cutter on Cody, but Cody sat right up. They go back and forth with moves. Cody put Alonzo in a gale lock and made Alonzo tap out…
Cody defeated Joe Alonzo.
Briar’s Take: A simple showcase win for Cody to hype him for the tournament for whoever he faces following Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin on Dynamite. Did anyone really ever think Alonzo had a shot to upset Cody?
Overall, this episode was certainly better than last week’s Dark. There was more wrestling and more than two matches. Sure, they were pretty predictable, but it was actually tolerable. I did find it interesting after Cody won his match, Tony questioned whether or not Wednesday night would be Dustin’s last match with AEW. However, it leaves a nice hook for those watching Dark to tune in to watch Dynamite.
With all that said, this is still a skippable episode of Dark. I’m sure the people at AEW thought if they used Cody, it would bring in some viewers for this show which has been lacking for the last couple of weeks. I guess we’ll see in a few days where the viewers count stands. Otherwise, I don’t think you’re really missing anything if you don’t watch this episode unless you’re a huge Cody or Penelope fan, then it’s nothing going out of your way to see. The show clocked in at 18:34. Final Score: 5.0 out of 10
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