By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 91)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed June 1, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur welcomed us to Dark and was joined by Taz on commentary. This was the first Dark episode held in front of fans in quite some time…
1. “The Wingmen” Ryan Nemeth and Cezar Bononi (w/Peter Avalon) vs. “Gunn Club” Billy and Colten Gunn. Colten took Nemeth down with a shoulder tackle as the bell rang and followed with a hip toss and scoop slam. Bononi tagged in and dropped Billy to one knee with a hand strike, but Billy struck back with a clothesline that sent Bononi to the ground. Colten returned to the ring and threw a dropkick at Bononi.
Colten went to bounce off the ropes, but Peter Avalon tripped the feet of Colten, which allowed Bononi to get an advantage and tag in Nemeth for a brief period. Colten attempted a crossbody, but Bononi sent Colten to the ground with the hoss toss. Bononi would hit Colten with the back suplex. Billy tagged in and came with tons of momentum. Billy hit the Fameasser on Bononi, but Nemeth broke the pinfall attempt up. Colten tagged in and hit the Colt45 on Nemeth to gain the win.
Gunn Club defeated The Wingmen via pinfall.
Briar’s Take:
A nice quality match from both teams. It’s certainly nice to have fans back again as it brings the show more energy. Whenever Billy was in the ring, the crowd erupted so you could definitely tell that the fans still enjoy him.
A Casino Battle Royale recap was shown with Jungle Boy followed by a video package promo…
Jungle Boy was shown backstage. He said he has eyes set on his AEW Title shot with Kenny Omega, but his first step was to take down Bear Bronson…
2. Robyn Renegade vs. Kris Statlander. Statlander rolled up Renegade early, but Renegade kicked out at two. The wrestlers fought on the outside briefly with Statlander hitting a backbreaker at ringside. Renegade fired back with a switchblade type move that sent Statlander down on the mat. Renegade then attempted to hit a snap suplex to Statlander, who regained momentum by hitting a release German suplex. Statlander ended Renegade with the Big Bang theory for the win.
Kris Statlander defeated Robyn Renegade via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good match by Statlander, who continues to rack up victories week in and week out.
3. Serpentinco and “TH2” Jack Evans and Angelico vs. Dark Order’s Alan “5” Angels, Stu Grayson, and Alex Reynolds. Angels and Serpentinco hit both arm drags on each other multiple times before Angels hit a belly to belly suplex that planted Serpentinco on the mat. Serpentinco ran into the rolling elbow strike by Reynolds. Angelico tagged in and kicked Angels to the back. Angelico locked in a submission move, but Angels escaped the hold.
Evans tagged in and stayed in the ring briefly, but Serpentinco returned and struck Angels with an elbow. Evans then hit a Russian leg sweep on Angels. Angels countered Serpentinco’s move with the Spanish Fly and tagged in Reynolds, who threw a dropkick and rolling back elbow to Evans. Serpentinco spiked Reynolds with the DDT and then Evans followed with the 450 splash. Reynolds kicked out at two. Eventually, Grayson hit the Nightfall on Evans and picked up the victory.
Dark Order Alan “5” Angels, Stu Grayson, and Alex Reynolds defeated TH2 and Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This will most likely one of the best matches of the night. Dark Order and TH2, Serpentinco were very competitive and barely showed any comedy.
4. Diamante vs. Red Velvet. Velvet hit the leg lariat on Diamante and planted her down on the mat. Diamante hit back with a big dropkick to Velvet in the corner and then hit multiple suplexes. Diamante bounced off the ropes and landed on top of Velvet with the splash. Diamante continued her momentum with a backstabber and got a two count. Velvet began her attempt at a comeback with a crossbody on Diamante. Velvet also hit the double knee strike while Diamante was on the ropes. Diamante hit back with a German suplex on Velvet. Velvet stopped Diamante in her tracks with a kick to the side of the head of Diamante.
Red Velvet defeated Diamante via pinfall.
Briar’s Take:
A helluva women’s match. Probably one of the best women’s matches I’ve seen on Dark in a few weeks. Velvet and Diamante put the work in and it showed. Kudos to both wrestlers.
Backstage, Alan Angels was talking with the Dark Order about how this was the first time he was standing in front of the crowd. Reynolds said that when they hit the road in July, everyone will be standing with them. They also questioned why Preston Vance wasn’t out there during their entrance and he stated that he overslept…
5. Bear Bronson vs. Jungle Boy. Jungle Boy leapt off the ropes and dropkicked Bronson, but Bronson hit back with the back elbow. Bronson then threw short arm clotheslines at Jungle Boy. Bronson continued with the clotheslines and a senton. Jungle Boy regained momentum with round kicks, but Bronson came back with an exploder suplex. Finally, Jungle Boy hit the driving elbow to Bronson to finish him off.
Jungle Boy defeated Bear Bronson via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Jungle Boy continues to be super over with the fans and it showed here with his match against Bronson. Bronson provided a few close near falls, but Jungle Boy beat in the end. Overall, this was one of the shorter episodes of Dark in quite some time. It was a straightforward episode of Dark that lasted under an hour. However, AEW should have labeled this as a FanFest edition or something like that, as it was a part of Double or Nothing weekend. Despite that, all the matches were easy to follow and most of them were highly competitive even though the outcomes were predictable for the most part.
It’s hard to pick a match that stood out of the night, because all were good. If I have to choose a couple, I would go with Diamante vs. Red Velvet and TH2 and Serpentinco vs. Dark Order, only because those two matches were very good and most likely could have been featured on a Friday Night edition of Dynamite or open a Wednesday night Dynamite instead. It was also nice to have the fans back because they give the show energy. What I thought was strange was following the Jungle Boy and Bear Bronson match, the show abruptly ended with no additional commentary or hype for Friday night’s show. Still, a solid outing of Dark. Episode 91 clocked in at 53 minutes and 52 seconds. Final Score: 8.5 out of 10.
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