By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 79)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed March 9, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur welcomed us to Dark and was joined on commentary by Taz and Anthony Ogogo.
1. Angel Fashion vs. “Powerhouse” Will Hobbs. Hobbs right away shoulder tackled Fashion in the corner. Hobbs then spinebuster Fashion on the mat. Quickly, Hobbs put Fashion away with town business.
Powerhouse” Will Hobbs defeated Angel Fashion via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: As in most of Hobb’s matches, this match was another brief and quick one.
Excalibur and Taz then showed highlights and still shots of AEW Revolution from Sunday
2. Azriel and Danny Limelight vs. “SCU” Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels. Kazarian put Limelight in a bridge and then rolled up Limelight before he kicked out. Kazarain German suplexed Limelight before tagging Daniels in. Daniels executed a vertical suplex on Limelight. Azriel was tagged in and threw strikes to Daniels. Azriel took a backbreaker from Daniels. Limelight went over the top with a senton on Daniels. Kazarian hit a leg lariat on Azriel and a lariat to Limelight. Kazarian followed up with a leg drop on Limelight. Daniels and Kazarian doubled teamed Azriel. SCU hit Celebrity Rehab on Azriel to win the match.
“SCU” Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels defeated Azriel and Danny Limelight via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A great match for what it was. SCU did their thing and continued their winning ways, keeping their tag team alive.
3. Aaron Solow, Brick Aldridge, and Dean Alexander vs. Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and Ryan Nemeth. Nemeth and Solow traded arm drags when the bell rang. Aldrige tried the military press, but Nemeth drop kicked him and tagged in Avalon, who was caught with the throwaway slam from Aldrige. Alexander performed a Russian leg sweep on Avalon. Bononi and Avalon tagged multiple times and Nemeth hit another dropkick on Alexander. Nemeth back body dropped Alridge. Solow performed a leaping leg kick to Bononi, who then caught Solow from mid-air with a suplex. Nemeth planted Aldridge down and covered him for the pinfall.
Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and Ryan Nemeth defeated Aaron Solow, Brick Aldridge, and Dean Alexander via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Some good tag team cohesion between Avalon, Bononi, and Nemeth. Nemeth continues to get better match after match.
A Young Bucks book ad was shown.
4. Lee Johnson vs. Baron Black. Johnson leapt over the ropes, but Black caught Johnson in the air and slammed him on the mat to the outside. Black hit a discus clothesline on Johnson and followed with an atomic drop and backstabber combination. Black performed a back breaker on Johnson and went for the cover, but Johnson kicked out at two. Black was ran into a dropkick of Johnson, who fired back with multiple clotheslines and a hanging neckbreaker. Johnson hit the Blue Thunder Bomb on Black to score the victory.
Lee Johnson defeated Baron Black via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The match started out slow, but eventually picked up near its end. Johnson and Black can put on a good match any day of the week.
5. Aaron Frye, D3, Jon Cruz, and Vary Morales vs. Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and Alex Reynolds. Frye and Grayson went back and forth as the bell rang, but Uno came in the ring and planted Frye with a kick. Frye took Uno down with a dropkick, and then delivered a diving elbow drop to Uno. Morales was tagged in and hit the swinging DDT on Uno, who then performed a swinging neckbreaker on Frye and a stunner on Morales. Cabana delivered an elbow strike to Cruz and the flying apple as well. Uno hit the Flatliner on Morales, and Cabana performed the Chicago Skyline on Cruz and won the match.
Colt Cabana, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, and Alex Reynolds defeated Aaron Frye, D3, Jon Cruz, and Vary Morales via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The match was pretty predictable and Dark Order dominated the majority of it.
6. Cameron Stewart and Ryzin vs. “The Varsity Blonds” Brian Pillman Jr and Griff Garrison. Pillman performed a swinging neckbreaker and Garrison hit a leg drop on Stewart. Ryzin was tagged in and stomped Pillman in the corner. Ryzin face planted Pillman and covered him for a two count. Ryzin attempted a move from the top rope, but Pillman threw his knees up and tagged in Garrison, who hit a high back drop on Stewart and a rolling elbow strike to pick up the victory.
The Varsity Blonds defeated Cameron Stewart and Ryzin via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Garrison and Pillman worked great together in this match and put the team of Stewart and Ryzin away quickly.
7. Savannah Thorne vs. Diamante. Thorne hit a knee drop on Diamante and quickly covered her, but Diamante kicked out at two. Diamante regained control with a German suplex. Diamante then hit a rolling dropkick to Thorne in the corner. Diamante hit the Code Red to put away Thorne.
Diamante defeated Savannah Thorne via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This match marked Thorne’s first AEW appearance. She is mostly known for her time at UCW-Zero. She got very little offense in, as Diamante was in control for the majority of the match.
A Scorpio Sky podcast ad was aired.
8. Fuego Del Sol vs. QT Marshall. Marshall clotheslined Del Sol, but Del Sol hit a step-up huracanrana on Marshall. Del Sol attempted a Tornado DDT, but Marshall caught him with a powerslam. Marshall threw an uppercut at Del Sol, who performed a huracanrana from the top rope. Del Sol followed through with a dropkick and came through off the ropes. Marshall countered with a Flatliner and backbreaker combination. Del Sol avoided a Diamond Cutter from Marshall and then hit a swinging DDT, which caused Marshall to roll out of the ring. Once the match returned to the ring, Marshall hit two Diamond Cutters on Del Sol to gain another victory.
QT Marshall defeated Fuego Del Sol via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: There were numerous points in this match where it looked like the victory would go to Del Sol, as he had close near falls. Despite Del Sol failing to win again, this match was definitely the best of the night thus far. Surely, Del Sol will get a win at some point this year, right? I mean both Brandon Cutler and Peter Avalon finally got their first victories last year.
9. Carlie Bravo vs. Kip Sabian. Bravo performed an early hip toss and dropkick on Sabian, who fired back with a shotgun dropkick that sent Bravo to ringside. Bravo rolled up Sabian for an attempted pinfall, but Sabian quickly kicked out. Sabian then hit a PK kick to Bravo, who came back with a leg drop across the back of Sabian. Bravo went for a cover, but Sabian kicked out. Sabian hit a gut buster and finished Bravo off with a swinging DDT off the top rope.
Kip Sabain defeated Carlie Bravo via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A standard AEW Dark match with your typical moves. Sabian continues his two match winning streak that started on episode 76 of Dark.
10. Katalina Perez vs. Abadon. Abadon hit a release German suplex on Perez. Both went to ringside where Abadon clotheslined Perez. Back inside the ring, Abadon hit the Cemetery Drive on Perez to pick up the win.
Abadon defeated Katalina Perez via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Chalk that up as another victory for Abadon.
11. Santana and Ortiz vs. Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss. Kiss hit the Kiss Dismissal on Ortiz, but Ortiz hit the roundhouse kick to Kiss in return. Santana performed a diving crossbody block on Kiss. Santana followed with multiple snap suplexes on Kiss before tagging out. Ortiz hit a backdrop on Kiss, who came back with a Flatliner and found Janela for the tag. Janela shoulder tackled Ortiz, but Santana and Ortiz hit a double boot to the midsection of Janela in an attempt to stop his momentum. Janela performed a sucidia on Santana and then followed up with one on Ortiz. In the end, Santana and Ortiz performed a Death Valley Driver and neckbreaker combination on Kiss to win the match.
Santana and Ortiz defeated Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss via pinfall.
Excalibur ran down the card for Wednesday’s Dynamite to close out Dark.
Briar’s Take: Definitely a weird outing for the main event. For the longest while, Janela sat out on the outside and the commentators questioned if he was injured. However, he came back into the match like nothing happened and performed some moves. I also expected Santana and Ortiz to put away Janela and Kiss quickly since their matches have been brief as of late on Dark. All in all, a fine main event to close the show.
Overall, this episode of Dark was following the Revolution show on Sunday night. Most of the matches were just there and didn’t amount to much. However, there were some matches that stood out such as SCU vs. Azriel and Danny Limelight, and Fuego Del Sol vs. QT Marshall. I would definitely recommend going back to watch those matches since they were good for the most part. I am curious to see what happens with this program as we move forward with AEW Dark: Elevation beginning next Monday. Whether the Tuesday Dark show becomes shorter in length remains to be seen. Episode 79 clocked in at 1 hour, 35 mins, and 47 seconds. Final Score: 7.9 out of 10
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