By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 10)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed May 17, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight were on commentary and welcomed us to the show. Tony sent it to Justin Roberts to introduce the first match
1. Adrian Alanis vs. Jungle Boy (w/Luchasaurus, Marko Stunt). Late in the match Jungle Boy locked Alanis into the snare trap for the submission victory.
Jungle Boy beat Adrian Alanis by submission in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A much higher energy match then normal due to there being fans in the stands for this match. We shall see if this continues as it really helped the atmosphere.
2. Dustin Rhodes vs. Aaron Solow (w/Nick Comoroto, Anthony Ogogo, QT Marshall). Solow and Rhodes immediately started trading punches and it quickly moved to outside the ring. Rhodes threw Solow over the ringside barrier and continued his attack. Rhodes finally threw Solow back into the ring. Before Rhodes could enter, Comoroto stared Rhodes down to distract him. As Rhodes entered the ring Solow with a kick to Rhode’s head which had no effect. Rhodes climbed the top rope, but Comoroto pulled Rhodes down.
Referee Aubrey Edwards sent Comoroto, Ogogo and Marshall to the back. They wind up back outside the ring with Solow on the offense this time around. Later Rhodes attempted a bulldog but Solow was able to slip out and hit a superkick. Rhodes landed a Canadian Destroyer for a 2 count. Rhodes picked up Solow but Solow slipped out with a standing, spinning enziguri followed by a release Perfect Plex. Solow then climbed the top rope for a double stomp that only garnered a two count. Solow picked up Rhode’s bull rope and attempted to hit Rhodes with it but Rhodes ducked and countered with a bulldog. Rhodes released the pin attempt at 1 and considered using the bull rope. Rhodes decided against and hit the Curtain Call for the three count.
Dustin Rhodes beat Aaron Solow by pinfall in 9:00.
After the match omoroto reentered the ring and hit Rhodes with the cowbell. Lee Johnson hopped the railing with a chair to chase off Comoroto.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good back and forth match that I could have seen going either way before The Factory were sent to the back. Once they were though it was clear Dustin was winning. Good showing by Solow though.
3. Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston vs. Danny Limelight and Royce Isaacs. Both teams received televised entrances. Kingston and Limelight started the match. Kingston shrugged off a dropkick and responded with a clothesline on Limelight. Kingston power bombed Limelight then threw him to the corner to tag Isaacs. Kingston also tagged Moxley. It appeared Moxley and Kingston were attempting to one up each other. Isaacs frustrated Moxley with a low dropkick and suplex. Moxley put out his hand and then slapped Isaacs. Later Kingston with the Violent Crown to Limelight and Moxley with a Paradigm Shift to Isaacs for the win.
Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston defeated Danny Limelight and Royce Isaacs by pinfall in 6:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: The story of the match was Moxley and Kingston getting frustrated by Limelight and Isaacs until finally having enough and putting it away. Good showing for the makeshift team of Isaacs and Limelight but no surprise with the result.
Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Lance Archer were backstage. It’s Merry Christmas, as they are finally letting the big boys fight and letting two mack trucks go head-to-head and see what falls off. Bronson is a big young kid but he will learn something, he is going to learn not to play with fire because you will get burned just like if you play with a snake, you will get bit. The only reason Jake has touched Archer is because he has gold on the way, he has gold coming to him but you can’t get it for nothing. Archer gets it and he is listening to every single word, but Sting said it’s showtime and it is Archer’s showtime. Archer gets it no one is looking past Bear Bronson, but Archer is going to put him down because Archer is on a mission. Archer wants Miro and he wants the TNT title and no one is going to stop him because everybody dies, including Miro.
4. Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts) vs. Bear Bronson. Both wrestlers received televised entrances. Jake joined Schiavone and Wight on commentary. Archer stood in the corner and allowed Bronson to take the first shot. Bronson went to the opposite corner and told Archer to do the same. They traded punches then Archer with a pair of clotheslines to finally bring Bronson down. Bronson attempted a suplex but Archer reversed it. Archer attempted the Hellacoaster but Bronson countered with a German suplex.
Bronson was able to take control by pounding Archer in the corner and then followed up with a cannonball. Bronson pulled down the top rope which sent a charging Archer to the outside. Brinson followed up with a Tope Suicida that sent Archer into the ringside barrier. Bronson rolled Archer into the ring then hit a back senton for a two count. Archer was finally able to hit Bronson with a chokeslam, then Archer picked Bronson up to the top rope and hit Blackout for the pinfall.
Lance Archer defeated Bear Bronson by pinfall in 10:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A pretty good big man match. Bronson had more offense on Archer than anyone in recent memory. A good showing for Bronson to be able to stand toe to toe to Archer.
Paul Wight’s Spotlight with Ryan Nemeth. They shook hands then Paul asked Nemeth how his career changed by coming to AEW. Nemeth didn’t want to get into the where, why, how and when but AEW completely changed his life. He feels appreciated, valued and trusted here and they are allowing Nemeth to be himself instead of someone’s little brother or sidekick (they showed a picture of Ryan and Dolph Ziggler together).
Wight complimented Nemeth and said he has been running wild with the opportunity given to Nemeth. Paul asked about the origins of the Hollywood Hunk name that Nemeth boldly calls himself. Nemeth said the Hunk is obvious and Paul agreed. Nemeth said no star or hunk exists on their own and named a few people he wanted to thank while they showed clips of Nemeth on the Eric Andre show on Adult Swim and the film “Heel”.
Nemeth said he has been in TV, music videos, and Pee Wee Herman’s new movie while more clips showed of him in different media outlets to include The Jimmy Kimmel Show. Being tied to the world of entertainment is great but it’s also nice to not be so much of a nomad anymore and be grounded in a place like AEW Dark Elevation. So, if there is a way to make the Hollywood Hunk thrive and become the face of this program that is what it’s all about. Paul then asked about the connection between Nemeth and Avalon, Bononi and J.D. Drake.
Nemeth said as we discussed it takes a team to work in Hollywood and in AEW he found it to be the same. He will leave it up to everyone to decide what role they are all playing on this team. Paul then asks about Nemeth’s goals and Nemeth said it is to be the face of AEW and the reason why people watch AEW. Paul said he was well on his way and ended the interview.
5. Leyla Hirsch vs. Natalia Markova. Hirsch dominated the whole match ending it with a knee to the face followed by the cross-arm breaker for the submission.
Leyla Hirsch beat Natalia Markova by submission in 3:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another week another quick showcase win for Leyla who I will say again desperately needs a program of some sort.
6. Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page vs. Jaylen Brandyn and Traevon Jordan. Late in the match Sky locked Jordan in the heel hook while Page held Brandyn, after Jordan tapped Page hit the Ego’s Edge on Brandyn.
Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page defeated Jaylen Brandyn and Traevon Jordan by submission in 3:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another showcase win for Sky and Page. Not much offense from Brandyn and Jordan.
Matt Hardy was backstage with The Blade and The Bunny. Hardy said when people join the Hardy Family Office, they grow, they evolve, they get better. Have we noticed the changes in The Bunny? She has become more aggressive, more violent, more deranged and more demented, and Hardy loves every bit of it. The Bunny says everyone underestimates The Bunny. Bunny asked KiLynn King if she has ever been down the rabbit hole because that’s exactly where KiLynn is going tonight.
7. KiLynn King vs. The Bunny (w/The Hardy Family Office). Bunny took over early until she charged King. King caught Bunny then hit a fallaway slam. King then landed a couple of kicks. Bunny charged again and was met with a spine buster for a two count. King hit a pump kick that sent the Bunny to the corner. King then with mounted punches from the second rope. The Blade got on the apron which distracted referee Edwards and Hardy slipped the Bunny an international object which she used to knock out King for the pinfall.
The Bunny beat KiLynn King by pinfall in 7:00.
After the match Bunny attacked King some more while the HFO watched. Bunny hit King with Down the Rabbit Hole and continued to kick King until Big Swole ran out to chase the HFO off.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good competitive back and forth match and good to see some storyline development with Swole running to King’s aid to set up a potential Big Swole vs. The Bunny match.
8. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens vs. Kevin Bennett and Kevin Blackwood. Caster and Bowens maintained control early. Blackwood was working over Bowens when Bennett went for a blind tag. Bennett sent Blackwood into Bowens corner but Bowens moved and sent Blackwood back into Bennett. Bowens climbed the top rope and hit a Blockbuster on Bennett which caused Bennett to DDT Blackwood. From the opposite corner Caster landed the mic drop on Bennett for the pinfall.
“The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated Kevin Bennett and Kevin Blackwood by pinfall in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A slightly competitive but still a showcase win for The Acclaimed going into Dynamite against Moxley and Kingston. Hopefully Caster gets his rap approved before spitting those lyrics on Moxley and Kingston.
Sky and Page are backstage. Sky says another day, another win and another dollar. Sky asked if they can lose even if they tried too. Page said no they can’t. They should be celebrating but they are getting annoyed at the cameras getting in their face about a tag match. Do they really want them to celebrate that? Of course, not but there is something they do want to celebrate. Darby Allin.
Page doesn’t want to take full credit for Miro’s win but he is sure they had something to do with it. Sky said in all fairness the only thing they should take credit for is making sure that Sting didn’t interfere. Miro earned his moment and they didn’t want Sting to ruin it. Sky says they are heroes and said they were like Blade and Neo from the Matrix got together.
Page said Keanu Reeves is also Canadian so double whammy. So that is what they are going to celebrate and the cameras got to see the two most talked about people in AEW. But they didn’t want to talk about their match, they wanted to celebrate Darby Allin’s ass losing the TNT title and then started to laugh.
9. Baron Black vs. QT Marshall (w/Anthony Ogogo, Nick Comoroto). Black and Marshall traded momentum in the early parts of the match. While Marshall was chopping Black in the corner Paul Wight on commentary joked about the size of Marshall’s hands and wondered if the chops hurt more with small hands or larger hands. Marshall then gained the advantage with a chokeslam on Black. Marshall then mocked Wight as Wight laughed it off. Marshall threw Black outside and Comoroto threw Black into the barricade then back into the ring. Marshall worked over Black for a few then slapped Black. Black locked in a cross face that Marshall finally rolled out of. As they both got up Marshall hit a cutter for the pinfall.
QT Marshall beat Baron Black by pinfall in 6:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: This was one of the better Baron Black matches I have seen. Black showed some resiliency kicking out of numerous pinfall attempts. Marshall mocking Wight may lead to something more and a feud against The Factory would be a good spot for Wight to get back into the ring.
10. Daniel Garcia vs. Joey Janela. Janela came to the ring without Sonny Kiss this week. Late in the match Janela hit a superplex with a bridge for a two count. Janela then picked up Garcia and stuffed him with a Lights Out driver.
Joey Janela beat Daniel Garcia by pinfall in 7:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Probably a much stiffer match then this needed to be. It seems to me they hit everything pretty snug. I didn’t buy into any of Garcia near falls though as there was no way Janela would be losing this one. Regardless this was a decent back and forth match.
QT Marshall and the rest of The Factory were backstage. QT said thank God they are going back on the road, because this whole time he has been preaching to Ogogo how beautiful America is, but the only place he has seen is this crappy dump of a town Jacksonville. Of course, Cody beat QT at Blood and Guts in Jacksonville because Cody owns Jacksonville. Ogogo agreed that Jacksonville is a dump, the whole South is a dump but that is not why he hates America.
Ogogo said he hates America because it values money more than it does life. People are left to rot and die on the streets of America because of the lack of healthcare and that’s not fair. Right now, there are 1,000 kids trapped in cages and taken from their parents and that’s not fair. See that is the America we love and Cody is the epitome of that. On May 30 at Double or Nothing, we will not be proud of Cody Rhodes.
Ogogo said he is going to cave in Cody’s ribs and will knock the peroxide out of Cody’s hair. He said Cody thinks he’s tough and a bad man who has beaten some good Brits in the past like Doug Williams, Will Ospreay, and Pac, but they aren’t Ogogo. There is no one like him. Ogogo said that at Double or Nothing, he will leave Cody a bloody mess laying in the middle of his ring, under his flag with his ribs cracked and his jaw jacked by order of Anthony Ogogo, the Governor of AEW.
Bailin’s Breakdown: And why am I supposed to hate Anthony Ogogo?
11. “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen (w/Matt Hardy, The Blade) vs. “Dark Order’s” Alex Reynolds and Alan “5” Angels. Private Party wrestled in their street clothes again. Wight said Hardy was trying to get the Private Party a clothing endorsement. The referee threw the rest of the HFO and Dark Order to the back before the match started. After some fisticuffs on the outside, Reynolds and Angels worked over Quen. Quen is able to make the tag to Kassidy. Reynolds ended up outside and Quen tries to attack but Reynolds is able to throw him into the barricade.
Reynolds turned around into a suplex by Kassidy outside the ring. Private Party with quick tags as they worked over Reynolds. Reynolds was put on the top rope but was able to block a Gin and Juice attempt and made the hot tag to Angels. Angels sent both Quen and Kassidy into the ropes with a double Frankensteiner, Angels then hit a splash on Private Party’s backs, then followed up Tope Suicida on both members of Private Party through the bottom rope. Angels sent Quen into the ring and hit a springboard moonsault from the second rope for a two count. Angels sent Kassidy outside the ring but Kassidy sent Angels into the barricade. The referee went out to break it up and as he did Matt Hardy rolled into the ring and hit a Twist of Fate on Reynolds.
“Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen defeated Alex Reynolds and Alan “5” Angels in 9:00.
After the match Kassidy threw Angels into the ring post and they beat up Reynolds as the Blade came out to join them. They choked Reynolds with Kassidy’s belt until the rest of the Dark Order ran out to chase off the HFO.
Bailin’s Breakdown: More of the same from the HFO and Dark Order. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just more of the same thing we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks.
Alex Marvez was backstage with Kris Statlander, who has a match with Diamante tomorrow on Dark. But he wanted to ask Kris about her good friend Orange Cassidy’s title match coming up at Double or Nothing. Before Kris could answer, Britt Baker and Rebel interrupted and said no one cared and that Marvez was not Tony Schiavone, and Statlander was not the No. 1 contender. At Double or Nothing, Baker will be facing Shida for the AEW Women’s Title. Shida came out and asked if someone said her name. She used her kendo stick to knock Rebel’s crutch out of her hand. Shida told them to bring it and Baker said she would on Dynamite, but she was talking about Rebel, who acted surprised by this development.
12. Ryan Nemeth and J.D. Drake (w/Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi) vs. Roman Rozell and Derek Pisaturo (w/First Sgt. Tony). Rozell and Pisaturo had a military gimmick as both wore camo and accompanied by First Sgt. Tony mentioned that Rozell was a former Green Beret and has an MMA background. Drake sent Rozell to the outside and Nemeth and Bononi punched Rozell and sent him back into the ring. Rozell slipped out of a reverse neck breaker attempt and was able to make the tag to Pisaturo. Bononi grabbed Pisaturo’s leg which allowed Drake to hit a dropkick. Nemeth then hit the reverse neck breaker on Pisaturo and then J.D. Drake climbed the top rope and hit a moonsault for the pinfall.
Ryan Nemeth and J.D. Drake defeated Roman Rozell and Derek Pisaturo by pinfall in 4:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Rozell and especially Pisaturo had good looks to them, but they weren’t able to show much. Tony called Nemeth’s neckbreaker Hot and Bothered after the match. A pretty dominant win for Nemeth and Drake, who came out with new music. And we all know if you get new music, 99 percent of the time you are going to win.
Schiavone sent us to video footage of the Forbes photo shoot that was interrupted by Britt Baker that led to the pull apart between Baker and Shida.
13. Tay Conti vs. Kiah Dream. Late in the match Conti hit the DDTay for the pinfall
Tay Conti beat Kiah Dream in 3:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A dominant showcase win for Conti who showed a lot of aggressiveness.
Matt Hardy was backstage with the HFO sans The Bunny. Private Party did not need Matt Hardy’s help to beat the Dark Order. He did it because of the injustice that Reynolds perpetuated on Kassidy last week by bringing two dozen of his Dark Order friends to interfere on Reynold’s behalf. But how did it feel when Hardy locked him in the Leech and leeched the life out of him? Hardy said he could beat Reynolds any day of the week and twice on Sunday. And Jon Silver how did it feel to have to watch? If Jon was medically cleared, he would leech the life out of Jon’s ass and he will continue to Leech every member of the Dark Order until they are no more. HFO will always dominate Dark Order and the truth is the truth.
14. Robo vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (w/Alex Abrahantes). Robo attempted to shake Penta’s hand, but Penta did the Ciero Miedo hand gesture in Robo’s face. Late in the match, Penta tied up Robo into the tree of woe then hit the hesitation dropkick. Penta snapped the arm of Robo and hit Fear Factor package piledriver for the pinfall
Penta El Zero Miedo defeated Robo by pinfall in 4:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: This was nothing more than another showcase win for Penta.
15. Thunder Rosa vs. Robyn Renegade. Late in the match, Rosa locked in the Peruvian Calavera choke for the submission.
Thunder Rosa beat Robyn Renegade by submission in 4:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Renegade was able to show a little offense, but this was all Rosa, as expected.
Ryan Nemeth, Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi and J.D. Drake were backstage. Nemeth wanted to thank all the managers, agents, friends, and family who came to see them. J.D. says that Nemeth should be thankful that he finally found his mean streak and stopped all that dancing and started wrestling. Nemeth said all that too. J.D. questioned what he has gotten himself into. Cezar says he got into the hottest, sexiest most dominant faction in AEW and Drake knows what he needs to do. Drake says he can go for that and they touched pinkies.
16. FTW Champion Brian Cage (w/Hook) vs. Mike Sydal (w/Matt Sydal) in a non-title match. Tony said he knows the FTW title isn’t recognized by AEW, but someone try to take it away from Cage. Sydal used his speed early and sent Cage outside with an enziguri. Sydal attempted a Tope Suicida but Cage caught him. Cage took over with power moves, basically throwing Sydal around the ring in a variety of ways. Sydal flipped out of a German suplex and hit a dropkick to the back of Cage’s head. Sydal hit a pop up huracanrana that sent Cage outside the ring. and then hit a moonsault from the top rope to Cage who was still outside the ring. Sydal then hit a top rope Meteora, then climbed to the top again but Cage met Sydal with a leaping knee to the face of Sydal. Cage attempted the drill claw but Sydal slipped out and rolled up Cage for a 2 count. Cage responded with a discus lariat and then followed up with a Gory Special into a flatliner that Schiavone called Weapon X.
Brian Cage beat Mike Sydal by pinfall in 6:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good showing for Sydal, but again the result was never in doubt. Classic speed vs. power match. Overall, a good but way too long episode of Elevation this week. I can deal with longer matches, I can deal with backstage segments, but when you have 16 matches, two hours and 28 minutes of programming for a YouTube show it just really is too much. It’s the law of diminishing returns when you have this many matches and this many backstage interviews.
I understand the point is to give the majority of the wrestlers on Dark and Elevation in ring television time and I also get that AEW has a rabid fan base that consumes every bit of AEW content they can. Shows like this, no matter how good a handful of matches are, will eventually turn off the casual viewer. I will say the matches that had fans in the stands stood out from the ones that didn’t. Again, I am not saying it was a bad show, it’s just a long show that hurts the overall product in my opinion. The best matches of the night were Dustin Rhodes vs. Aaron Solow, Lance Archer vs. Bear Brinson, and once again Dark Order vs. Private Party.
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