By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 110)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed September 28, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Dark opened with Alex Marvez interviewing Santana Garrett backstage, before being interrupted by Diamante, who challenged her to a match next week. Garrett and Diamante brawled briefly until referees broke them up…
1. Nikita Knight vs. Thunder Rosa. Knight and Rosa traded waist locks until Rosa got Knight into a side headlock takedown. Rosa hit multiple arm drags and a dropkick after Knight bounced off the ropes. Rosa once again hit a shotgun dropkick to Knight in the corner and looked for the Death Valley Driver, but Knight slipped her out of it. Though Rosa countered with the Russian leg sweep and made Knight tap out to the Peruvian Necktie.
Thunder Rosa defeated Nikita Knight via submission.
Briar’s Take: Solid match from Rosa as Knight made her AEW debut here. Rosa continues to shine every time she wrestles in the ring.
2. Carlie Bravo and JDX vs. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy. Bravo performed a hip toss on Quen as the bell rang, but Quen tagged in Kassidy. Bravo and JDX stayed on top of Private Party with a double back elbow while JDX hit the dropkick to Kassidy. JDX came off the top rope with the double axe handle to Kassidy. Afterward, Private Party double teamed on JDX with the double foot stomps. JDX power slammed Quen and tagged in Bravo. Bravo threw a punt kick at Kassidy, but Quen came off the ropes with a splash on Bravo. Eventually, Kassidy landed the Gin and Juice to win the match.
Private Party defeated Carlie Bravo and JDX via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Good tag team showing by Private Party. Been quite sometime since we’ve seen them on this version of Dark. Last time they wrestled was Dark episode 102 in a winning effort against Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta.
3. Leila Grey vs. Kiera Hogan. Hogan stopped Grey after Grey bounced off the ropes for a dropkick. Grey hit a shot to the midsection to Hogan to slow down her momentum. Grey continued with a snap suplex to Hogan. Hogan fired back with a shotgun dropkick and landed another one to Grey in the corner. Hogan finished Grey with a knockout right hand kick.
Kiera Hogan defeated Leila Grey via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Hogan has been impressing so far with her work in AEW after being in Impact Wrestling. Apparently, Hogan is currently a freelancer at the moment. Nonetheless, her matches have been consistent.
4. Brandon Gore vs. Dark Order’s “10”. Gore attempted a shoulder tackle, but Vance came back with one of his own. Vance lifted Gore up and planted him down with the backdrop. Vance charged in with a punt kick to Gore in the corner and landed a spinebuster in the process. Vance made Gore quickly tap out to the Full Nelson.
Dark Order’s “10” defeated Brandon Gore via submission.
Briar’s Take: Another dominating match and victory for Preston Vance.
5. Jake St. Patrick and Ryzin vs. Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude. Jaoude arm dragged St. Patrick and planted him with a takedown. Jaoude suplexed St. Patrick before tagging out. Ryzin tagged in and had brief momentum with kicks, but was caught off guard by Bononi, who won the match with the Hu3 driver.
Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude defeated Jake St. Patrick and Ryzin via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Jaoude had a great debut match with Bononi. Like Bononi, Jaoude is from Brazil. Bononi gave Jaoude a lot of offense and he was good in his outing.
6. Arjun Singh vs. Lance Archer. Before entering the ring, Archer attacked Singh on the outside and even chokeslammed him on the apron. Archer came off the middle rope with the cannonball and the bell finally rang to start the match. Archer quickly won with the Blackout.
Lance Archer defeated Arjun Singh via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Well, if you see Archer on the card, you pretty much know what’s going to happen during the entrance and even in the ring. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but it is coming really predictable.
7. Darius Lockhart vs. Ricky Starks. Lockhart got Starks into a left arm submission and nearly got the upset victory in the early going. Lockhart came off the middle rope with a back elbow to Starks, who then hit a series of stomps. Starks and Lockhart fought outside briefly with Starks throwing Lockhart into the barricade. Starks jumped off the top rope with a dropkick. Lockhart had momentum with a high crossbody and once again was close to an upset victory. Unfortunately for Lockhart, the match would come to an end with a spear from Starks.
Ricky Starks defeated Darius Lockhart via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: It’s been a while since we’ve seen Starks wrestle on AEW television. His last match was at Fyter Fest against Brian Cage, and his last match on Dark was episode 87. The match was competitive and Lockhart had some major offense.
8. Adrian Alanis and Liam Grey vs. Evil Uno and Stu Grayson. Grayson planted the elbow drop with assistance from Uno to Grey as the match began. Alanis made the tag and began stomping and throwing strikes to Grayson. Grey then threw a dropkick to Grayson to continue their momentum. Grayson fought back with the belly to belly suplex and tagged out. Uno won with a piledriver on Grey.
Evil Uno and Stu Grayson defeated Adrian Alanis and Liam Grey via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid tag team showing from Uno and Grayson who dominated the match. Meanwhile, am I the only one who doesn’t care for wrestlers biting each other? It does nothing for me and more gross than anything, especially during a pandemic.
9. Reka Tehaka vs. Julia Hart. Hart performed a hip toss and a modified dropkick on Tehaka, but missed a standing moonsault knee drop. Hart was able to get the moonsault on the second attempt. Hart followed with a moonsault body press. Despite not going for the cover afterward, Hart won with the running bulldog split.
Julia Hart defeated Reka Tehaka via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Hart gains her seventh win of the year with a win over Tehaka.
10. Jameson Ryan and Brick Aldridge vs. “Bear Country” Bear Boulder and Bear Bronson. Bear Boulder hit the splash on Ryan, who tagged out. Alridge dominated Bronson early before Ryan and Alridge traded tags back and forth. Bronson hit a crossbody block on both Ryan and Alridge. Boulder missed the middle rope moonsault, as Alridge planted him with a belly to belly. Though Bronson came in with a big cannonball to Ryan and quickly won the match.
Bear Country defeated Jameson Ryan and Brick Alridge via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Like Ricky Starks, it’s been sometime since we’ve seen Bear Country wrestle together as a tag team. Their last showing was episode 83 on Dark.
11. “The Factory” QT Marshall and Aaron Solow vs. Matt Sydal and Dante Martin. Sydal and Martin landed double drop kicks to Solow to start the match. Solow then hit a suplex to Martin and went for the cover, but Martin kicked out at two. Sydal was tagged in and hit the back heel kick to Solow and followed through with the brainbuster. After being tagged in, Marshall threw strikes at Sydal and even planted him with a backbreaker. Sydal countered one of Marshall’s maneuvers and tagged in Martin. Martin would hit a series of dropkicks to Marshall that sent him down. Martin and Sydal hit a double moonsault on Marshall and Solow on the outside of the ring. Once Martin returned to the ring, he was caught with a sit-out powerbomb from Marshall. Sydal landed the Lightning Spiral on Marshall, and Martin won with the moonsault on Solow.
Matt Sydal and Dante Martin defeated The Factory via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: While the tag team match was great, this was a typical AEW way of closing the show with featured roster members wrestling in the main event of an episode of Dark. Still, good work from Sydal/Martin and The Factory.
Overall, a solid episode of Dark which was easy to follow. There was a little bit of everything from tag team matches to singles competition. This was AEW’s second set of tapings from Universal Studios and they continue to improve. This week’s matches were solid and I feel like you could actually sit through the episode and be satisfied with the action. There were some more debuts such as Darius Lockhart and Adrian Jaoude, and I’m sure we’ll see that moving forward. The match of the night goes to Darius Lockhart vs. Ricky Starks for their tremendous showing. Episode 110 clocked in at 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 08 seconds. Final Score: 8.0 out of 10.
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