By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 31)
Taped September 29, 2021 in Rochester, New York at Blue Cross Arena
Streamed October 4, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Tony Schiavone welcomed us to Elevation. He was joined on commentary by Paul Wight and Eddie Kingston. Justin Roberts had ring announcing duties…
1. Emi Sakura (w/ Lulu Pencil) vs. Skye Blue. Both women received televised entrances. Blue went for a hand shake but Sakura slapped it away. Sakura escaped an armbar by slapping Blue in the face. Blue responded with a double leg takedown and pounded Sakura with forearms. Sakura floated over and lifted up Blue by the hair and flung her. Blue wound up outside the ring and Lulu kicked Blue a couple of times before throwing her back into the ring. A short time later Blue hopped up on the second rope and hit Sakura with a huracanrana. Blue then ran to the opposite corner and hit Sakura with a top rope cross body block for a near fall. Sakura recovered and hit a tilt a whirl backbreaker but lifted Blue up at the two count. Sakura then hit the Queen’s Gambit for the pinfall.
Emi Sakura defeated Skye Blue by pinfall in 4:10.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good back and forth match. Skye Blue had a fair amount of offense and by Sakura using the Queen’s Gambit and Lulu interfering it was framed on commentary that Sakura had to pull out all the stops to beat Blue.
2. Shayne Stetson, Justin Corino, and The 1ManThrillride vs. Daniel Garcia and “2point0” Matt Lee and Jeff Parker. Garcia and 2 point0 took control from the bell and never gave it up with quick tags between them. The finish came when Lee and Parker hit Two For The Show followed by Garcia locking in the Sharpshooter on Stetson, who quickly tapped.
“2point0” Matt Lee and Jeff Parker and Daniel Garcia defeated Shayne Stetson, Justin Corino and The 1ManThrillride by submission in 1:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A quick showcase win for 2point0 and Garcia.
3. Marko Stunt and Fuego Del Sol vs. Wardlow and Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard). Both teams received televised entrances. Stunt and Del Sol entered to Del Sol’s music. Del Sol and Spears started the match. Del Sol used his speed and agility to get out of a wrist lock. Del Sol just missed a kick to Spears which backed Spears up and Spears tagged in Wardlow. Stunt wanted to be tagged in as well. Stunt chopped Wardlow to no effect but every time Wardlow went after Stunt would move away.
After Stunt ducked a clothesline Wardlow launched Stunt into the air and slammed Stunt as he came down. Wardlow tagged in Spears who mocked Del Sol. Spears told he could fly too and climbed up to the top rope. Before Spear could jump, Stunt rolled away. That happened a couple of times so Spears hopped down and tried to pick up Stunt but Stunt hit an enzuigiri and tagged in Del Sol. Del Sol hit a couple of kicks to Spears and Wardlow entered the ring.
Del Sol baited Wardlow and Stunt pulled down the top rope so Wardlow went over the top and outside the ring. Del Sol and Stunt then hit a double Tope Suicida on Wardlow. Both Stunt and Del Sol got back into the ring. Del Sol grabbed Spears and told Stunt to climb to the top rope. Del Sol went for the Tornado DDT but pushed Del Sol off. Spears then had both Del Sol and Stunt on his shoulders and hit them both with the C4. Wardlow was tagged in and hit Del So, with a powerbomb then powerbombed Stunt on top of Del Sol. Spears then lifted up Stunt in a press slam and dropped Stunt into the Casualty of War for the pinfall.
Wardlow and Shawn Spears defeated Marko Stunt and Fuego Del Sol by pinfall in 6:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A little bit of comedy, a little bit of a back and forth. Both are things I don’t think Wardlow and to a lesser extent Spears should be dealing with, at least not a team who combined is still probably smaller than Wardlow by himself.
4. Louis Bruno vs Lance Archer (w/Jake Roberts). Archer and Bruno (who is taller than Archer) stared each other down as the bell rang. Bruno landed the first punch which stunned Archer. Bruno exited the ring and went after Jake Roberts. Archer stopped Bruno from punching Jake then Jake punched Bruno. Archer then hit a cannonball splash to Bruno from the ring apron to the floor. Bruno retreated to the corner and Archer hit a pair of running forearms. On the third attempt Bruno kicked Archer then hopped up on the middle turnbuckle. Archer came back with a punch and then lifted Bruno up for the Blackout and the pinfall.
Lance Archer defeated Louis Bruno in 2:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: It was good to see Jake Roberts back after his recent medical issues. Because of Bruno’s size, this drifted a bit from a typical Archer showcase match but quickly went back to normal.
5. Davienne vs. Abadon. Davienne hit Abadon with a couple of punches to no effect. Abadon guillotined Davienne over the second rope then hit Davienne with a back senton. Abadon then wrapped her leg around Davienne’s head and then hit a face crusher for the pinfall.
Abadon defeated Davienne by pinfall in 1:15.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A quick showcase for Abadon, who we haven’t seen in a little while.
The Gunn Club were backstage. Colten said they have been overlooked their entire career. Austin corrected him and said their whole lives. Austin said as second generation wrestlers they sat in the crowd for a year and a half to cheer everyone on and not a single thank you. They also took over AEW’s Instagram account for a year and a half and again not a single thank you. Billy cut them off and said the boys were a little on edge. The last thing anyone wants to see is a fired-up Gunn Club. Out of all this, what the Gunn Club does best is not lose. Say when…
6. Obariyon and Kodama vs. Santana and Ortiz. Eddie Kingston left commentary and Mark Henry replaced him for this match. Obariyon and Kodama also had their faces painted. Wight called it gimmick infringement. Ortiz and Obariyon started the match with Ortiz taking control early. Ortiz tagged in Santana who threw Obariyon and allowed him to tag in Kodama. Kodama charged Santana and wildly punched him. Kodama then attempted a huracanrana but was powerbombed by Santana then drop kicked Kodama. Santana tagged in Ortiz and Obariyon entered the ring also. Santana and Ortiz double press slammed Obariyon onto Kodama then they both lifted Kodama and flipped him over for the pinfall.
Santana and Ortiz defeated Obariyon and Kodama by pinfall in 2:00.
7. B3cca vs. Kris Statlander (w/Chuck Taylor, Wheeler Yuta). Statlander hit a powerslam early. B3cca climbed the top rope but was caught by Statlander and slammed face first to the mat. Statlander then bopped B3cca on the nose then hit the Big Bang Theory for the pinfall.
Kris Statlander defeated B3cca by pinfall in 2:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another quick match and showcase for Statlander.
8. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens vs. Colin Delaney and Cheech. Cheech and Delaney had matching gear.Delaney and Cheech attacked Caster and Bowens as the bell rang. Delaney and Cheech tried to Irish whip Caster and Bowens into each other but Caster reversed his which sent Delaney into a clothesline from Bowens. Cheech was able to reverse a suplex attempt from Bowens and tagged in Delaney who was met quickly with a thrust kick. Bowens and Caster then hit a double Russian leg sweep on Delaney. Cheech broke up a pinfall attempt but he was lifted up by Bowens then kicked in the head by Caster. Delaney then leapt off the top rope and hit Caster with a Cutter. Bowens made the save on the pinfall attempt. A short time later Caster hit the Mic Drop on Delaney and Bowens made the cover for the pinfall.
“The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated Colin Delaney and Cheech by pinfall in 3:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: It was nice to see Delaney. Mark Henry even mentioned he had been in the ring with Delaney. The match itself was another quick showcase with just a little more back and forth than a lot of the matches so far.
9. “FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. Zach Nystrom and Elijah Dean. FTR came out to their new entrance music that was based off the old Midnight Express theme. Before FTR could even take off their jackets, Dean tried to attack, but he was immediately hit with the Big Rig. Wheeler knocked Nystrom off the apron and Harwood made the pin.
“FTR” Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler defeated Zach Nystrom and Elijah Dean by pinfall in 10 seconds (if that).
Bailin’s Breakdown: Not much can be said about that match as it was over before it started. I’m honestly not sure what it accomplished as FTR is not in need of showcase matches.
10. Sonny Kiss vs KM. KM slammed Kiss down on the initial lockup. KM then charged towards Kiss in the corner but Kiss moved and attempted to roll up KM but Kiss was unable too. Kiss was able to land a huracanrana that sent KM into the corner then hit a handspring into a back kick on KM.Kiss tried to lift KM but was unable to again. KM got Kiss into a Full Nelson then slammed Kiss to the mat for a near fall. KM got Sonny between the middle and top rope and pulled on Kiss’s neck and legs. KM body slammed Kiss.
KM climbed through the ropes and went to splash Kiss from outside the ring. Kiss moved out of the way. Kiss attempted a comeback but KM knocked Kiss down. KM climbed the top rope but Kiss knocked him down. Kiss then was able to lift KM onto his shoulders then did a splitting jawbreaker for the pinfall.
Sonny Kiss defeated KM by pinfall in 3:30.
After the match, Kayla Rossi walked to the ring to distract Kiss. Joey Janela attempted to attack Kiss with a chair, but Kiss turned around and punched him. Janela rolled outside the ring into Rossi’s arms and then Janela and Kiss stared each other down.
Bailin’s Breakdown: An ok back and forth match with KM having the size and power, and Kiss with the speed and agility. The attempted post-match attack continued the issues between Janela and Kiss. I don’t have much to say about a lot of these matches that hasn’t already been said in previous reviews. This show peaked with the first match. That isn’t to say there wasn’t some good in a couple of other matches. I’m just not sure what ten matches in 51 minutes does for anyone. I did expect more matches this week to make up for the three we had last week. I still think six or seven matches when they are taping Dynamite and Rampage at the same time is a good amount. Save the ten or more matches for when there is a live Rampage.
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