By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dark Taping
Taped November 12, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Target Center
1. Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Hook) defeated Jaysin Strife. I saw Hook exude his cockiness in person. My life is complete.
2. Andrade El Idolo (w/Jose) defeated Jah-C.
3. Wardlow and Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated Arik Cannon and Renny D. The crowd popped big for local wrestler and F1rst Wrestling promoter Arik Cannon. It was really cool to see him get that type of ovation in such a big setting. Meanwhile, I got a huge kick out of Wardlow acting completely unimpressed by his opponents. His dismissive facials were perfect.
4. Ruby Soho defeated Hyan.
5. Too Fast Too Fuego defeated Brandon Gore and Kit Sackett. While Cody Rhodes is booed by many these days, the live crowd had fun and was totally supportive of his alter ego. Does this gimmick have a similar payoff to when the James Gang faced The Midnight Express back in the day?
6. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated Alan “5” Angels and Colt Cabana. Caster did it. He actually insulted Prince in the state of Minnesota. There’s heel heat and then there’s blasphemy! Cabana has worked Minnesota independents since the early days of his career and the crowd was happy to see him.
7. Riho, Ryo Mizunami, and Kris Statlander defeated Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura, and The Bunny.
8. Brock Anderson, Lee Johnson, and “The Variety Blonds” Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison (w/Arn Anderson, Julia Hart) defeated Nick Comoroto, JD Drake, Aaron Solo, and Ryan Nemeth (w/QT Marshall). There was some sloppiness in this match. It looked like Pillman hit his head while performing a dive, but he seemed to be fine afterward. While the wrestlers received good reactions, it felt like this was the point when the fans started to grow a little tired of seeing the Dark matches.
9. John Silver defeated Peter Avalon.
10. Sonny Kiss defeated Adam Grace.
11. Preston “10” Vance defeated Mikey Wild.
12. Scorpio Sky defeated Craven Knyte. Apparently, the Steel Domain Wrestling Heavyweight Championship was not on the line, so Knyte is still the champion.
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“9. John Silver defeated Peter Avalon.
10. Sonny Kiss defeated Adam Grace.
11. Preston “10” Vance defeated Mikey Wild.
…And it was here the fans began to violently yawn.”