By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 121)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed December 14, 2021 on the AEW YouTube Page
1. Marina Shafir vs. Kris Statlander. Shafir and Statlander started with the lock up before the lock up was broken. Shafir applied a chin lock, but went to a side headlock instead. Statlander threw a dropkick that put Shafir down. Shafir fired back with multiple boots and a kick. Statlander regained momentum with a powerslam, then followed up with a delayed face plant. Shafir hit back with the pump handle driver and nearly got the victory. Eventually, Statlander made Shafir tap to the spider crab.
Kris Statlander defeated Marina Shafir via submission.
Briar’s Take: Statlander earned the victory the hard way after a competitive match with Shafir. Shafir has a lot of upside and showed some great offense. In the end, the victory is a bounce back win for Statlander following her loss to Ruby Soho in the TBS Title tournament.
2. Dean Fleming vs. Nick Comoroto. Comoroto fired away early with shoulders to the midsection and a fallaway slam. Fleming had a short comeback with some strikes, but Comoroto hit a knee lift to the midsection. Comoroto ended Fleming’s night with the water wheel drop for the win.
Nick Comoroto defeated Dean Fleming via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Thanks for coming, Fleming.
3. Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga vs. Riho and Ryo Mizunami. Sakura and Suruga got the pre-match advantage by trying to lock in a multiple submissions on Riho and Mizunami before the bell rang. With the help from Mizunami, Riho performed a crossbody on Sakura and Suruga. Back in the ring, Riho hit the tiger faint kick, but Sakura countered the move by planting her. Sakura backed the maneuver up with a diving splash in the corner to Riho and the gut buster.
Suruga locked in a full nelson bridge submission on Riho, who reached the bottom rope to break the hold. Mizunami hit a double spear on Sakura and Suruga. Mizunami looked for a fireman’s curry, but Suruga locked her in a sleeper hold. Riho missed the stomp to Suruga from the top rope. Shortly thereafter, Riho won with a knee strike to Suruga.
Riho and Ryo Mizunami defeated Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: An unpredictable match for the most part, but double the competitors meant double the screaming.
A Ryan Nemeth promo aired. He discussed his match with Chuck Taylor…
4. Valentina Rossi vs. Jade Cargill. Cargill dropped Rossi with a fireman’s carry and planted her with a Canadian backbreaker. Cargill quickly won with Jaded.
Jade Cargill defeated Valentina Rossi via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Another momentum victory for Cargill outside of the TBS Title tournament.
5. Invictus Khash vs. Angelico. Khash and Angelico traded holds when the bell rang, including hammer locks. Khash rolled Angelico through with multiple pin attempts, but Angelico kicked out at two. Afterward, Angelico threw a roundhouse kick to Khash and made him tap out to the Cruceta Invertidas submission.
Angelico defeated Invictus Khash via submission.
Briar’s Take: It has been a while since we’ve seen Angelico on Dark. Khash and Angelico were back and forth early and per usual, Angelico was very technical.
6. Heather Monroe vs. Tay Conti. Monroe fired with the neckbreaker on Conti and got a two count. Monroe followed up with an armbar submission. Conti and Monroe traded strikes. Conti hit a release suplex on Monroe, followed by three bicycle kicks before finishing her off with the DD-Tay.
Tay Conti defeated Heather Monroe via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid victory for Conti, who continues to impress in the ring week in and week out.
A Sonny Kiss video package was shown from the Sept 15, 2021 episode of Dark. Kiss told Joey Janela that he wanted to finish things once and for all with no rules and no count outs on AEW Dark Elevation.
7. Tony Donati and Faboo Andre vs. Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson. Johnson rolled up Donati for a quick pinfall attempt, but he threw a dropkick instead and tagged in Anderson. Andre tagged in too and locked in a hammer lock. Anderson came back with a body slam and an elbow drop on Andre. Anderson dropped Donati with a face plant for the victory.
Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson defeated Tony Donati and Faboo Andre via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Johnson and Anderson continue to gain momentum by racking up victories.
Afterward, Tony Schiavone interviewed Anderson and Johnson in the ring about both being second generation stars. Colten and Austin Gunn interrupted…
8. Ryan Nemeth vs. Chuck Taylor. Nemeth dominated Taylor early on. Nemeth threw Taylor to the outside. While the referee was distracted, Avalon got the jump on Taylor. When Taylor returned to the ring, he Nemeth performed a DDT. Nemeth got his feet on the ropes and looked for the victory, but Wheeler Yuta knocked his feet off the ropes, which allowed Taylor to roll up Nemeth for the win.
Chuck Taylor defeated Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: It seemed like Nemeth was going to go over given that he dominated the match, but Taylor quickly took over and got the win with help from Yuta.
10. Josh Woods vs. Shawn Spears. Woods locked in an ankle lock, but Spears got to the bottom rope to break the hold. Shortly thereafter, Woods hit a high kick that sent Spears to the outside. Woods looked for a jumping sucidia, but Spears countered the move with a thrust kick to the face. Woods went for the ankle lock again, but Spears rolled forward and sent Woods to the outside. A short time later, Spears landed the C4 on Woods to win the match.
Shawn Spears defeated Josh Woods via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Woods lost the match, but it was laid out to make it seem competitive.
A Joey Janela video promo was shown confirming his match with Sonny Kiss on AEW Dark Elevation…
11. Zeda Zhang vs. Nyla Rose. Rose hit a release German suplex suplex. Rose won shortly thereafter with the Beast Bomb.
Nyla Rose defeated Zeda Zhang via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Another dominant victory for Rose.
12. Tony Vincita vs. Arjun Singh. Singh executed a butterfly suplex that took Vincita over the top. Vincita came back with some stomps and followed with a knee drop to Singh. Vincita landed a missile dropkick. Vincita and Singh thrw strikes back and forth before Singh hit the running uppercut in the corner. Singh brought Vincita over the top again and won the match.
Arjun Singh defeated Tony Vincita via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Singh looked impressive and picked up his first AEW career victory here. Will be interesting to see where Singh goes from here.
13. Matt Lee, Jeff Parker, and Daniel Garcia vs. Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and Colt Cabana. Late in the match, Garcia drove elbow strikes to the back of Reynolds. Parker tried locking in an abominable stretch, but Reynolds tagged out. Uno powerbombed Garcia and hit the hanging neckbreaker on Parker. Reynolds superplexed Garcia and nearly got the win. Lee and Parker hit Two For The Show on Uno and got the victory.
Matt Lee, Jeff Parker, and Daniel Garcia defeated Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and Colt Cabana via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A hell of a tag team match to close out the show. I actually thought Dark Order would get the win here since they were the babyfaces in this match, but AEW continues to ride high on 2point0.
Overall, another solid edition of AEW Dark. There was a little something for everyone on this show, which has been the case in recent weeks. There still needs to be a little work done to trim some time and the match count, but this show is much better compared to a year ago when we were having two and half hour episodes of Dark every week. Marina Shafir vs. Kris Statlander was solid, along with Ryan Nemeth vs. Chuck Taylor. The match of the night goes to the main event. Poor Excalibur’s voice was starting to get run down through the show and barely had any left once the episode was completed. Episode 121 clocked in at 1 hour, 19 minutes, and 29 seconds. Final Score: 7.8 out of 10.
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