By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 127)
Taped January 21, 22 in Washington, D.C. at Entertainment and Sports Arena
Streamed January 25, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur, Taz, and Mark Henry were on commentary
1. Erica Leigh vs. The Bunny. The Bunny brought strikes right after the bell rang. Leigh fired back with strikes of her own, before The Bunny threw her across the ring. The Bunny threw a dropkick to the back of Leigh. Shortly thereafter, The Bunny hit a running knee lift to Leigh and planted her with the Rabbit Hole for the win.
The Bunny defeated Erica Leigh via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: More of an enhancement match for The Bunny with her typical moves than anything.
An Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Cole video promo was shown.
2. Pat Brink, Rayo, and Kekoa vs. Daniel Garcia and “2point0” Matt Lee and Jeff Parker. 2point0 doubled up on Brink, Rayo, and Kekoa before the bell rang. Lee and Parker hit two for the show on Rayo until Garcia made him tap out.
Daniel Garcia and 2point0 defeated Pat Brink, Rayo, and Kekoa via submission.
Afterward, 2point0 took the mic and told The Inner Circle would be over after Wednesday night…
Briar’s Take: As much of a roll as 2point0 is on, there was no question they would make quick work of their opponents. It should be a fun match when they face Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz on Wednesday night.
3. Joe Keys vs. Lance Archer. Keys ducked a clothesline from Archer. He was quickly dropped by Archer, who hit multiple back elbows in the corner. Archer was going to attempt a jumping sucidia on Keys, but quickly stopped himself from doing so and then said to the camera, ‘I do what I want to do.’ Keys was turned inside out with a ripcord and Hellacoaster. Archer quickly won with the Blackout.
Lance Archer defeated Joe Keys via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A much longer match than it needed to be, but Archer still got the job done and continues to run over his opponents in typical fashion.
4. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs. Janai Kai. After the bell rang, Hirsch shortly locked in the cross armbreaker and won the match.
Leyla Hirsch defeated Janai Kai via submission.
Briar’s Take: Hirsch made quick work of Kai and heads into her match with momentum against Red Velvet.
5. Colten Gunn, Austin Gunn and “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens vs. Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, Alan Angels, and 10. Bowens and Uno started the match for their teams. Uno hit a step up huracanrana on Bowens, who then tagged out. Reynolds hit the corkscrew uppercut to Caster. On the outside, Bowens planted Reynolds on the apron. Once Caster and Reynolds got back in the ring, Caster performed a back elbow drop on Reynolds.
Colten dropped Reynoldsa suplex and continued to stay on top of him, before making a tag to Austin. Vance entered the match and dropped everyone with a clothesline and hit a punt kick to The Acclaimed and Gunn Club. Austin was then caught with a spinebuster from Vance. Angels made the tag and landed the frog splash on Austin and nearly got the victory. Austin and Colten then hit the hip toss and neckbreaker combination and pick up the victory on Angels.
Gunn Club and The Acclaimed defeated Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, Alan Angels, and 10 via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Somewhat of a surprising outcome with the Gunn Clubb and The Acclaimed winning over the Dark Order. Surprises are great every once in a while and there was some great action during the match.
6. Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta El Zero Meido. Yuta hit a diving crossbody on Penta and got the two count at one point. Penta threw kick to the face of Yuta and landed a Backstabber. Yuta nearly got the upset with the German suplex pinfall attempt. Yuta went to the top and land a diving splash on Penta and still was unsuccessful in getting the pinfall. Shortly thereafter, Penta planted Yuta on the floor. Penta won the match with the Fear Factor on Yuta.
Penta El Zero Meido defeated Wheeler Yuta via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The match was slow to start, but quickly turned into the best match of the show thus far with back and forth action and near falls. I strongly recommend going out of your way to watch this one.
7. Nick Comoroto (w/Aaron Solo) vs. Jungle Boy. Late in the match, Comoroto went to the outside after Luchasaurus hit a big boot to Solo. Jungle Boy jumped to the outside and landed on Comoroto. Once the two returned to the ring, Comoroto planted Jungle Boy with an Oklahoma stampede. Jungle Boy lifted up and dropped Comoroto with an impressive brainbuster. Comoroto then tapped out to the Snare Trap.
Jungle Boy defeated Nick Comoroto via submission.
Briar’s Take: A classic heel vs. face match for the main event. Despite that exception, Boy and Comoroto had a great match that felt like it could’ve gone either until Jungle Boy ultimately got the win to send the crowd home happy.
Overall, more of a middle of the show episode of Dark. The show wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either. The action didn’t pick up until the final three matches. Heck, if you look at it, this could’ve been a three match show and the show would still be totally fine.There was nothing in terms of storyline involvement aside from 2point0 briefly talking about their match with The Inner Circle for Wednesday night. With that said, match of the night definitely has to go to Wheeler Yuta vs. Penta El Zero Miedo. They put on quite the clinic. Episode 127 clocked in at 54 minutes and 34 seconds. Final Score: 7.0 out of 10.
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