By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 33)
Taped October 13, 2021 in Miami, Florida at James L Knight Center
Streamed October 18, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
Tony Schiavone said “It’s Monday and you know what that means, it’s Elevation,” and said he was being joined by Paul Wight and Mark Henry on commentary. Wight said he felt underdressed, as Henry was dressed up. Henry said he was curious what Gustavo had in him (who was already in the ring) and then sent it to ring announcer Justin Roberts.
1. Gustavo vs. Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes put his hand out for a handshake but Gustavo slapped it away. A short while later Rhodes hit Gustavo with his powerslam then locked in a double underhook into a slam for the pinfall. Schiavone called it the Backlund Driver…
Dustin Rhodes defeated Gustavo by pinfall in 1:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A very quick showcase for Dustin Rhodes, who probably doesn’t even need a showcase match at this point in his career. He has only had 2,600 matches in his career (according to Schiavone). Still, it was good to get Dustin a win before facing Bryan Danielson in the Eliminator tournament this Saturday on Dynamite.
2. Will Austin vs. Wardlow. Wardlow powerbombed Austin early and the fans chanted for him to do it again. Wardlow looked like he was going to but instead propped Austin up on the top rope and hit the Casualty of War for the knockout victory.
Wardlow defeated Will Austin by knockout in 1:40.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another quick showcase for Wardlow.
3. Jaka and Sean Maluta vs. Santana and Ortiz. Santana worked over Jaka to start the match and tagged in Ortiz. Jaka slipped out of a double backdrop attempt but was hit by a thrust kick from Santana. Jaka sent Santana into the ropes and Maluta hit Santana in the back. When Santana turned around it allowed Jaka to hit Santana with a double axhandle. Jaka then tagged in Maluta. Maluta and Jaka sent Santana into the corner but Santana hopped over Maluta and hit Jaka. Santana then tagged in Ortiz to double team Maluta.
Ortiz sent Maluta into the corner but Maluta sidestepped when Ortiz ran in. Ortiz got caught in the ropes and was hit with a drive by kick from Jaka followed by a Samoan drop by Maluta. Maluta made the tag then both Maluta and Jaka hit Ortiz with moves in the corner. Eventually Ortiz made the tag and Santana cleared the ring of Jaka and Maluta. Jaka sent Santana into the corner but Ortiz caught Santana and whipped him so that he could hit Jaka with a cutter. Ortiz then hit a lung blower, followed by a thrust kick from Santana. Santana and Ortiz then hit their finisher on Jaka which is now being called the OIC or Outlined in Chalk.
Santana and Ortiz defeated Jaka and Sean Maluta in 5:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: There was a weird edit at the beginning of this match. After the introductions, we saw Santana heading out of the ring then when we heard the bell ring, Jaka and Ortiz were getting up, and Ortiz was tagging in Santana. This was more of a back and forth match up than I expected. Of course, the result was never in doubt but still good to see a little more competition.
4. Ryo Mizunami, KiLynn King, and Red Velvet vs. Nyla Rose, Diamante, and Emi Sakura (w/Lulu Pencil , Vickie Guerrero). Nyla’s trio came out to her music while Red Velvet’s team came out to her music. Mizunami came out with the Beyond the Sea Championship from the Seedling promotion in Japan. Mizunami and Diamante started the match. Mizunami immediately sent Diamante into the corner and chopped her multiple times. Mizunami tagged in King who hit Diamante with a pair of knees in the corner. King lifted up Diamante but Diamante was able to roll out of it and drag King into the corner so she could tag in Sakura.
Sakura threw King by her hair but King quickly recovered and was able to tag in Velvet. Velvet had control until a kick to the gut stopped her momentum. Sakura then hit Velvet with her standing, stalling backbreaker. Sakura then locked Velvet into the Bow and Arrow and then hit Velvet with her corner splash before tagging in Rose. Rose taunted King and Mizunami by not allowing Velvet to tag, Rose then hit King and Mizunami, which allowed Velvet to hit Rose with a dropkick.
Velvet’s kick sent Rose into her corner so she tagged out. Diamante climbed up to the top rope but Velvet met her and hit a Spanish Fly but was unable to make the cover. Velvet and Diamante both made tags to Mizunami and Rose. Mizunami hit Rose with a spear, then hit Diamante with a shoulder tackle. Sakura came in and slapped Mizunami in the face repeatedly. Diamante and Sakura sent Mizunami into the ropes but Mizunami was able to spear both of them. Rose hit Mizunami with a clothesline but Mizunami did not fall to the map.
Rose attempted another clothesline but Mizunami ducked and hit Rose with a uranage for a two count that Sakura and Diamante broke up. King cleared the ring of Diamante and Sakura and then stepped out of the ring. King blind tagged herself in and attempted to suplex Rose. Rose slipped out and then pushed King into the ropes where Diamante was waiting and held onto King’s legs. Rose then grabbed King and hit the Beast Bomb for the pinfall while Sakura and Diamante kept Velvet and Mizunami from breaking it up.
Nyla Rose, Diamante and Emi Sakura defeated Ryo MIzunami, KiLynn King and Red Velvet by pinfall in 7:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good back and forth match until the Red Velvet Spanish Fly attempt. It looked like Velvet hurt herself and did not enter the match from that point on except when Sakura “prevented” Velvet from breaking up the final pinfall. I put that in quotes as Sakura wasn’t really doing anything and it looked like Velvet was out. Very odd pairing of Rose, Diamante, and Sakura, but it will be interesting to see where it goes, if anywhere. They are definitely not the Joshi stable I had heard rumors about for Sakura though.
Overall, an okay episode of Elevation this week. It was a quick watch at 25 minutes, so no harm if you have some time to kill. Otherwise a very missable episode.
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