By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 6)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed April 19, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight were on commentary…
1. “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Spencer Slade. Page faked a Buckshot lariat as he entered the ring making Slade jump. Page with repeated strikes and clotheslines. Page stacked Slade with a powerbomb for the pinfall.
Adam Page beat Spencer Slade by pinfall in 1:30.
After the match Page gave Rick Knox a beer as Tony and Paul hyped Kenny Omega appearing tonight.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Very quick match, not much else to say about that one. I guess of note though Page won without using the Buckshot Lariat, opting for the powerbomb instead.
2. Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (w/Rebel) vs. Tesha Price. Late in the match Baker hit a DDT, then grabbed her black glove and placed Price into position for the Lockjaw and the submission victory.
Britt Baker beat Tesha Price by submission in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another quick win for Dr. Baker in hopes of improving her status in the weekly ratings.
3. Midas Black and Jay Lyon vs. “Jurassic Express” Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy. Marko Stunt was not in the corner for this one. Lyon had a steak in his mouth again. Jungle Boy attempted to remove the steak from Lyon’s mouth, which allowed Lyon to armdrag him. Jungle Boy tagged in Luchasaurus, who picked up Lyon while Jungle Boy picked up Black. Luchasaurus slammed Lyon down and then Jungle Boy slammed Black on top of Lyon. Jungle Boy pinned both.
Jurassic Express beat Midas Black and Jay Lyon by pinfall in 2:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Black and Lyon got to show a little more offense than last week but not much. Dominant win for Jurassic Express.
4. Andre Montoya and Vary Morales vs. “TH2” Jack Evans and Angelico. Evans and Angelico isolated Morales to start with repeated tags. Morales got the hot tag and was able to get a 2 count on Angelico. Evans and Morales wound up outside the ring which allowed Angelico to lock in the Navarro death roll to Montoya for the tap out.
TH2 beat Andre Montoya and Vary Morales by submission in 6:00.
Showcase with “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens. Paul With asked them about their journey to AEW. They both got signed in 2020. We all know what 2020 was like. Bowens has been wrestling for eight years and he is an openly gay professional wrestler. He is grateful for the opportunity. Wight said it was cool of Bowens to take that fear and make a brave step forward.
What hasn’t Bowens done? He has been on red carpets, magazine covers, national and international commercials, fashion model and has a YouTube channel. And Caster is the best rapper out there. Wight asked what’s in store for The Acclaimed. There is nothing the Acclaimed can’t do. Wight asked Bowens for an injury update. He has been wrestling with a torn meniscus since late November, but he is recovering quite well. He promises to be back very soon.
There is something different about the Acclaimed. Caster says he is a world class athlete and rapper. They were not a tag team to start in AEW and it was Tony Khan who put them together. Tony saw the potential and by their tenth match they are in the main event for the tag titles. Wight wished Bowens a speedy recovery and hopes they continue to push for tag team gold. Wight tried to end the interview, but The Acclaimed said they had so much left to say. But Wight said he would bring them back another time.
Bailin’s Breakdown: TH2 continue to rack up wins on Elevation. The Acclaimed came across very well and even likable to a point with this segment. I’m not sure if that was the desired effect, but it was an enjoyable segment nonetheless.
5. Mike Magnum and Stone Rockwell vs. Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Starks and Cage came out by themselves. Cage and Magnum started things off. Later in the match Rockwell whipped Starks into the ropes and Cage with the blind tag. Rockwell lifted up Starks for a vertical suplex but Cage caught him. Cage with a trio of kicks to Rockwell then he motioned for Starks to come in. There was some miscommunication by the two on a double suplex attempt the Rockwell was able to slip out of. Cage and Starks exchanged a few words when Magnum entered the ring to try and take advantage of the situation. Starks speared Magnum and then Cage lifted Rockwell for a powerbomb. Cage lifted up Rockwell again and tagged in Starks. Starks looked surprised. They hit a double Rochambeau, for the pin
Ricky Starks and Brian Cage beat Mike Magnum and Stone Rockwell by pinfall in 4:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Overall a dominant win for Team Taz, though the issues between Cage and Starks still seem to be there.
6. Abadon vs Skye Blue. Skye managed a little offense which had no real effect on Abadon. Abadon ended the match with her Cemetery Driver for the win.
Abadon beat Skye Blue by pinfall in 3:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A quick win for Abadon, who still seems to be establishing her character. Her opponents and even Paul Wight claimed fear of her.
7. Orange Cassidy vs. Prince Kai. Kai passed a note to Mike Posey who called over Justin Roberts to read Kai’s prepared entrance notes. After Roberts read it, Kai gloated with his back turned to Cassidy. Cassidy nailed Kai with Beach Break for the quick victory
Orange Cassidy bat Prince Kai by pinfall in 5 seconds.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Orange’s music played throughout all this and he didn’t even take off his sunglasses. The first half of this show has been quick match after quick match.
8. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy (w/Matt Hardy) vs Alex Reynolds and Colt Cabana (w/Dark Order and -1). Tony said -1 was recording footage for Sammy Guevara’s vlog. Kassidy pushed Evil Uno on the outside and Uno pushed back which caused referee Posey to send the Dark order to the back. Hardy attacked Reynolds on the outside which allowed Private Party to take advantage. Reynold eventually made the tag to Cabana who took control of the match. Later, Quen took control with a step up enzuigiri and then a top rope 450 to Cabana. Quen missed a charge in the corner and Reynolds entered the ring for a double team maneuver. Cabana then went for the Superman pin on Quen but Quen was not the legal man, so Kassidy rolled up Cabana for the pinfall.
Private Party beat Colt Cabana and Alex Reynolds by pinfall in 8:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: The most competitive match to this point. Not surprising Private Party won but good action throughout and they can come back to this when John Silver returns.
9. Shawna Reed vs Thunder Rosa. Late in the match, Rosa nailed the Fire Thunder Driver for the pin.
Thunder Rosa beat Shawna Reed by pinfall in 4:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: And another win for Rosa, who has to be staying above Dr. Baker in the rankings, as they seem to be matching each other in wins since their Unsanctioned match.
10. Kit Sackett and Hayden Backlund vs. “Best Friends” Trent and Chuck Taylor (w/Orange Cassidy). Taylor performed a package piledriver on Backlund, which was followed by a regular piledriver by Trent on Backlund for the quick win.
Best Friends beat Kit Sackett and Hayden Backlund by pinfall in 2:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A dominant win for Best Friends, who seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves out there this week.
11. Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami vs. Madi Wrenkowski and Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero). Vickie came to the ring first and berated Justin Roberts before telling him to leave so she could announce her team. It was a back and forth match until Wrenkowski missed a pump kick on Leyla, which allowed Leyla to lock in the cross-arm breaker for the tapout.
Leyla Hirsch and Ryo Mizunami beat Nyla Rose and Madi Wrenkowski by submission in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good match that could have gone either way. Leyla came out wearing a pair of Ryo’s sunglasses and showed a lot more personality in this match than she has in the past.
12. Austin Gunn (w/Colten Gunn) vs. Aaron Solow (w/Nick Comoroto, QT Marshall). Comoroto lifted the stairs onto the stage so QT could sit on them. Comoroto got on the apron to distract Austin which brought Colten around to confront Comoroto. Comoroto charged Colten but missed and ran into the ringside barrier. QT motioned to Solow to finish Austin but Austin reversed the move and hit the Quickdraw for the pinfall.
Austin Gunn beat Aaron Solow by pinfall in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: This was Austin’s first singles match. Personally, I would have liked to have seen Solow get the win, as it seems too soon in this feud for Nightmare Family to be getting over on The Factory.
13. Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page vs. Carlie Bravo and Dean Alexander. Sky locked Alexander into his heel hook for the tap out. After the match Page picked up and slammed Bravo down with the Ego’s Edge.
Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page beat Carlie Bravo and Dean Alexander by submission in 3:00.
Dasha was backstage with Austin Gunn. Where Austin comes from, family means everything. QT Marshall made him believe that, but QT has torn this family apart. Austin was emotional and Billy Gunn entered and said he would finish this up. Before he could say anything, QT approached Billy, who said this had nothing to do with Gunn Club. He said those boys are like boys of his own. Billy said QT lost the right to say that to him when one of his goons hit him in the back with a chair. So did QT take it too far? Yeah, he took it too far. As Billy walked away, QT punched him in the mouth and asked if that went too far.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another quick win for Page and Sky. The backstage segment was okay and seeing as the feud is far from over. The Austin win against Solow may not mean much once it’s all said and done.
14. Kenny Omega, MT Nakazawa, and Konosuke Takeshita vs. Danny Limelight, Mike Sydal, and Matt Sydal. Takeshita made his entrance separate from Omega and Nakazawa. As Kenny made his entrance he walked over to Tony and Paul. As he left Paul said he was going to thank Omega for being on Elevation but instead Kenny was upset even being on Elevation. Kenny put on a headset so he could talk to MT.Double Meteora from the second rope by the Sydal’s on MT. Omega and Nakazawa tagged in and out only letting Takeshita in for a move or two at a time. Late in the match Limelight nailed a spinning DDT on Omega for a two count and then tagged in Mike Sydal.
Omega tagged Takeshita who hit a pump kick in the corner to Mike followed by a brainbuster for a two count. Takeshita missed a lariat when Mike did a split and rolled up Takeshita for a two count. Mike climbed the top rope and Nakazawa tied up Mike in the top turnbuckle by his ankle. Matt took care of Nakazawa but Omega held Mike’s ankle in place while Takeshita did a coast-to-coast drop kick on Mike. Takeshita with a gut buster to Mike followed by the German suplex with the bridge for the 3 count.
Kenny Omega, MT Nakazawa, and Konosuke Takeshita defeated Danny Limelight, Mike Sydal, and Matt Sydal by pinfall.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A really good match, though a win for Omega’s team was never in doubt. A part of me hoped going in that Limelight could at the very least pin Nakazawa. As presented though Limelight did look especially good getting out of two snapdragon suplexes and a One-Winged Angel from Omega. The match was also helped by Nakazawa not doing a whole lot other than being a pest and a distraction.
Overall a very quick episode of Elevation this week that lasted about an hour and 43 minutes. With a 14-match card, there were way too many quick matches. If the idea is to get as many people in ring time I understand it, but at the same time, I’m not sure who it helps. The first half of the show crammed seven matches into 40 minutes. Even a ten match show in the same amount of time but slightly longer matches would have been more beneficial in the long run. The best matches of the night were the six-man tag main event, Private Party vs. Dark Order, and the women’s tag team match.
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