By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 92)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed June 8, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur welcomed us to Dark and was joined on commentary by Taz…
1. Zicky Dice vs. Lance Archer. While Archer was making his entrance, he threw his opponent into the ring and hit multiple back elbows in the corner. Archer then lifted up Dice and planted him down with the chokeslam. Eventually, Archer finished Dice off with the Blackout.
Lance Archer defeated Zicky Dice via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This was a bounce back win for Archer after he lost his TNT Championship match against Miro at Double or Nothing a couple of weeks ago. Dice trained at Seth Rollins’ school and previously worked for the NWA.
Afterward, Matt Hardy was shown talking with TH2 and told Jack Evans and Angelico that he has a match for them on Dynamite. Hardy said if they can delete Christian Cage from his life, he will pay them $84,500. He also added that he would offer them a spot in the HFO. Hardy then said the match was for Angelico, not Evans…
2. Willow Nightingale vs. Abadon. Abadon slammed Nightingale’s head into the mat as soon as the bell rang. Abadon charged into the corner, but Nightingale moved at the last second and hit the cannonball senton to Abadon. Abadon delivered a driving knee strike in the corner and followed with a crossbody block. Abadon ended up performing a DDT on Nightingale to score the victory.
Abadon defeated Willow Nightingale via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Meh. Abadon matches don’t do anything for me. A lot of her character is just too hokey, especially when she bit the hand of Nightingale.
3. Cyrus vs. Cezar Bononi (w/The Wingmen). Bononi went to bounce off the ropes, but Cyrus sent him outside of the ring with a strike. Bononi returned to the ring, while Ryan Nemeth attempted a crossbody to Cyrus but failed in doing so. Bononi went to the top rope and hit the diving crossbody and landed on Cyrus. Cyrus went for the moonsault press, but Bononi avoided it. Bononi planted Cyrus down for the victory.
Cezar Bononi defeated Cyrus via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This was a very slow match between two big men and barely kicked out of gear.
An Outside The Ring ad was shown with Aubrey Edwards scheduled as the next guest on Friday…
4. Matthew Justice vs. Angelico. Justice looked to stop Angelico early, but Angelico kicked out right away. He looked to continue his momentum by leaping off the top rope, however Angelico moved, causing Justice to land on the barricade. Angelico crossed the ankles of Justice for a submission, but Justice made it to the ropes to break the hold. Justice attempted a diving splash, but Angelico made Justice quickly tap out to the Navarro Death Roll.
Angelico defeated Matthew Justice via submission.
Briar’s Take: An okay match for what it was. Justice tried getting the upper hand by attacking Angelico early, but Angelico turned the tide midway through the match and now has momentum heading into his match with Christian Cage on Friday.
A Dante Martin video promo was shown with him talking about his match against Matt Sydal…
5. Natalia Markova vs. Tay Conti. Conti hit a back elbow in the corner to Markova and followed with a round kick. Markova hit a facebuster on Conti and got a two count. Markova and Conti traded shots with each other before Conti sent her opponent down with a clothesline. Conti continued to throw powerful kicks to Markova. Conti sat out Markova with the DDTay for the win.
Tay Conti defeated Natalia Markova via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Conti continues her winning streak by now winning five matches in a row and potentially could challenge Britt Baker for the AEW Women’s Championship in the future.
6. JP and Tommy Daily vs. “Chaos Project” Luther and Serpentico. As Justin Roberts was making JP and Tommy Daily’s introduction, Serpentinco got the jump by landing on top of them. Luther hit an enuigiri to Daily and Serpentinco hit the foot stomps to Daily after tagging in. Luther returned to the ring and hit the snap suplex on Daily. JP found a breakthrough and tagged in. He hit multiple dropkicks to both opponents and covered Serpentinco for a two count. JP then tagged out, but Luther slowed Daily’s momentum with the punt kick. Luther and Serpentinco hit Creeping Death on Daily to get the victory.
Chaos Project defeated JP and Tommy Daily via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A rough night for Daily, who just took a pounding from Serpentinco and Luther.
Backstage, Alex Marvez interviewed Joey Janela and asked him about his injuries since he is not medically cleared to compete. Janela said it’s Bad Boy summer time. Sonny Kiss showed up and asked Janela if he could accompany him to the ring. Janela agreed, then told Marvez they should got to the bar instead.
7. Ariel Dominguez vs. Maro Stunt. Stunt hit a scoop slam to Dominguez in the middle of the ring. The two then fought on the outside briefly before returning to the ring. Stunt hit a delayed vertical suplex. Stunt followed with an elbow drop and a big clothesline to Dominguez. Stunt then planted Dominguez for the win.
Marko Stunt defeated Ariel Dominguez via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: An enhancement win for Stunt and nothing more.
8. Aaron Solow vs. Sonny Kiss. Solow attempted a facebuster, but Kiss countered with a jawbreaker and a sweep of the leg. He followed up with the standing moonsault press to Solow. Solow sat out Kiss with the double underhook for the win.
Aaron Solow defeated Sonny Kiss via pinfall.
After the match, The Factory began their beatdown on Kiss with Janela nowhere to be seen.
Briar’s Take: Back and forth matchup from these two. Unpredictable for the most part, as we’ve seen Kiss win most of his matches. However, Solow gets the victory.
9. Missa Kate vs. Nyla Rose. Rose hit a high boot and then chokeslammed Kate. Rose followed up with the Beast Bomb for the victory.
Nyla Rose defeated Missa Kate via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Rose continues her momentum toward a potential championship match with Britt Baker.
10. Bear Bronson vs. QT Marshall. Marshall hit an extension dropkick to Bronson, but Bronson Irish whipped Marshall into the corner and then backdropped him in the middle of the ring. Bronson sent Marshall to the outside with a clothesline. Bronson bounced off the ropes for a sucidia to Marshall.
While on the outside, Marshall began gaining momentum by driving Bronson into the ring post. Both men returned to the ring and Marshall power slammed Bronson and a diving headbutt. Bronson drove Marshall to the mat with a slam. Bronson sat out Marshall after a failed sunset flip from Marshall. Bronson hit a backdrop suplex and a senton on Marshall. Eventually, Marshall fired back with multiple kicks and landed the Diamond Cutter for the win.
QT Marshall defeated Bear Bronson via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: One of the better matches of the night and the outcome felt unpredictable. This match could have ended Dark as the main event. Nonetheless, a good outing from the two.
11. Megan Bayne vs. Thunder Rosa. Rosa threw kick strikes and a dropkick to Bayne early on. Rosa then threw a clothesline in the corner to Bayne and followed with a dropkick. Bayne quickly tapped out to the ankle lock.
Thunder Rosa defeated Megan Bayne via submission.
Briar’s Take: A quick victory for Thunder Rosa.
12. Kit Sackett, Dan Barry, and Justin Law vs. Dark Order’s 10, Stu Grayson, and Colt Cabana. Vance hit the punt kick to Barry as Barry was in the corner. Cabana tagged in and hit a few elbows. Grayson lifted over the ropes with a senton on Barry. Barry countered Grayson by flat lining him and tagged in Law. Law ran right into Vance’s spinebuster. Grayson quickly put away Law with the nightfall.
Dark Order’s 10, Stu Grayson, and Colt Cabana defeated Kit Sackett, Dan Barry, and Justin Law via pinfall
Briar’s Take: The Dark Order members completely dominated here, leaving Sackett, Barry, and Law with very little offense. I don’t even think Sackett was tagged in.
13. “The Sea Stars” Ashley Vox and Delmi Exo vs. Big Swole and KiLynn King. Swole began powering on Vox in the middle of the ring and hit the shoulder tackle. Swole continued with a hip toss. Vox tagged in Exo after a failed kick from Swole. Exo locked in a front face lock, but Vox was tagged back in. Swole regained momentum with a headbutt and tagged out. King then hit Kingdom Falls on Exo to gain the win.
Big Swole and KiLynn King defeated The Sea Stars via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Eh. This match was kind of there and didn’t amount to much. Either way, another victory for Swole and King.
Tony Schiavone was shown interviewing QT Marshall, who wanted to talk about his victory over Cody Rhodes in the tag match from Dynamite.
14. Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal. Sydal hit the fireman’s curry to Martin. Martin leaped over Sydal on the apron and took him down on the outside. As both men returned to the ring, Martin hit an arm drag to Sydal. Sydal locked in the bow and arrow stretch and broke the move himself. Sydal hit a shining wizard type move to Martin in the corner.
Martin regained momentum by turning Sydal inside out. Martin followed through by jumping over him and hitting a stunner. Martin leaped off the ropes with a springboard to Sydal as well. Both men’s momentum was slowed by double knee strikes. Martin attempted to leap off the middle rope, but Sydal caught him with the leg lariat. Finally, Sydal hit the Lightning Spiral on Martin to gain the victory.
Matt Sydal defeated Dante Martin.
Briar’s Take: This match was great and very technical and one of the better matches on Dark so far this year. Sydal and Martin had a very good showing that was Dynamite worthy for sure. Highly recommend.
This episode of Dark had Bear Bronson vs. QT Marshall and ended with a great match from Dante Martin vs. Matt Sydal. I was especially looking forward to Martin and Sydal knowing that both men are extremely competitive. Otherwise, this was your standard episode of Dark. It was weird to not have fans in attendance. On the bright side, it’s nice that AEW is including some backstage segments and video clips helping this show flow much better. Episode 92 clocked in at 1 hour, 44 minutes, 11 seconds. Final Score: 7.3 out of 10.
A suggestion: Answer the question, “why does AEW Dark exist?”, and then evaluate the show, matches, and individuals in light of that question.
In other words, instead of chronicling the match count and who one and lost, delve into what (or who) works and what does not work, in regards to a wrestling match.
Dark features young talent. I don’t really care if they won of lost. What I find more interesting is how good of a performance can they give, their strengths and weaknesses, and where they are going in their career.