By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 131)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed February 15, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary.
1. Ariya Daivari and Invictus Khash vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds. After tagging in late in the match, Daivari performed a big splash from the top rope. Khash returned to the ring after a short break and locked in a quick abdominal stretch on Reynolds. Silver tagged in and planted Daivari with a back body drop. Silver and Reynolds hit numerous combination moves on Daivari to get the win.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds defeated Ariya Daivari and Invictus Khash via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Hot opening match for Dark with both teams getting some flashes before the Dark Order duo got the victory.
2. Pat Brink vs. Q.T. Marshall. Marshall and Brink traded strikes until Brink got the big boot to the face of Marshall. Brink continued his momentum by sending Marshall into the turnbuckle. Marshall came off the top rope with a twisting elbow. Brink turned the tide with a powerslam and then powerbombed Marshall after countering out of a Diamond Cutter. Marshall successfully hit the Diamond Cutter a short time later to get the win.
Q.T. Marshall defeated Pat Brink via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Another solid match from Marshall. Brink was also good in this outing too.
3. Cameron Stewart vs. Max Caster. Caster came flying in with the back elbow to Stewart in the corner after the bell rang. Stewart attempted elbows, but Caster brought Stewart down with his own clothesline. Caster was prevented from performing a superplex, which saw Stewart counter with the spike DDT. Caster quickly came back and ended the match with the Mic Drop.
Max Caster defeated Cameron Stewart via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Good stuff from Caster, who always shines in singles matches. It will be interesting to see how he performs in his match with Wardlow on Wednesday night.
4. Carlie Bravo vs. Tony Nese. Nese came over the top with backward moonsault and landed on Bravo, which led to a two count. Shortly thereafter, Bravo planted Nese with a backdrop. Nese rocked Bravo with a kick to the jaw and followed up with a belly to belly piledriver for the win.
Tony Nese defeated Carlie Bravo via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A quality performance from Nese, who continues to be impressive. It would be nice to see him in some sort of an actual storyline soon.
Alex Marvez interviewed Fuego Del Sol about his match with Anthony Bowens.
5. Angelica Risk vs. Emi Sakura. Sakura put pressure on Risk early with a lock in the stretch. Risk hit the running hip attack to Sakura and followed up with the swinging neckbreaker. Sakura rallied with a running crossbody. Not too long after, Sakura dropped the double underhook backbreaker for the win.
Emi Sakura defeated Angelica Risk via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: It’s rare to see Sakura in single’s competition. This was a basic enhancement match.
6. “The Metro Brothers” Chris Metro and JC Metro vs. “2point0” Matt Lee and Jeff Parker. Parker and Lee dominated the Metro Brothers early with a double Montreal leg sweep. They quickly hit Two For The Show on Chris Metro to win the match.
2point0 defeated Metro Brothers via pinfall.
7. Joey Sweets vs. MT Nakazawa. Nakazawa planted Sweets with a scoop slam and then landed a diving headbutt. Sweets attempted a move from the top rope, but Nakazawa speared him. Nazakawa then cracked Sweets with the laptop before picking up the win.
MT Nakazawa defeated Joey Sweets via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Meh, I could’ve done without this match, as it was more comedy than anything. I don’t miss Nakazawa wrestling weekly on Dark.
Alex Marvez interviewed Jora Johl for his match with Axel Rico.
8. Luke Sampson vs. Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian landed two leg drops on Sampson from the ropes and nearly got a quick victory. Sampson came back briefly, but Kazarian made him tap out shortly thereafter with a crossface chicken wing.
Frankie Kazarain defeated Luke Sampson via submission.
Briar’s Take: More great stuff from these two. It’s apparent Kazarian is helping talent, and he’s definitely someone that younger talent can learn from in the ring. I still see Sampson having great upside.
9. Axel Rico vs. Jora Johl. Rico looked for the jumping huracanrana, but Johl powerbombed him into the ropes instead. Johl drove Rico into a rib breaker and followed with a headbutt. Johl put Rico’s lights out with a powerful kick to end the match.
Jora Johl defeated Axel Rico via pinfall.
10. “Chaos Project” Luther and Serpentico vs. “Dark Order’s” Alan “5” Angels and 10. Angels and Serpentinco traded shots back and forth before the match turned comedy for a little while. Serpentinco threw a chop at 10, who didn’t even blink. 10 threw Serpentinco across the ring before Angels came in with a dropkick into a fallaway slam. Luther tagged in briefly struck Angels with a leg lariat. Luther planted Serpentinco with a leg drop onto Angels. 10 tagged in and hit multiple punt kicks on Serpentinco and Luther and then planted Luther with a spinebuster. 10 eventually made Serptentico tap out to the Full Nelson.
Dark Order’s Alan “5” Angels and 10 defeated Chaos Project via submission.
Briar’s Take: The best match of the night thus far. By the way, had Chaos Project not turned into a comedy act, I strongly believe they could’ve been a top contending tag team for the AEW Tag Titles or at least provided quality matches Dynamite.
11. Fuego Del Sol vs. Anthony Bowens. Del Sol was fierce early with a spear and a missile dropkick. Del Sol continued with a swinging tornado DDT to the outside. Bowens threw a thrust kick to Del Sol to turn the tables. Shortly thereafter, Del Sol hit multiple dropkicks on Bowens and followed up with a shooting star press. Bowens came back and performed a spike DDT to and then got the pin.
Anthony Bowens defeated Fuego Del Sol via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Del Sol carried in a lot of momentum coming into this match, but he was quickly dominated by Bowens and wound up taking a loss, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. It was interesting to hear Caster rap about Del Sol 2 during Bowens entrance, as the big news of the day was Cody Rhodes leaving the company. With that news aside, a quality match from both of them.
Overall, this was more of a middle of the road episode of Dark. The first three matches started out hot, but lost a little bit of steam toward the middle with quick enhancement matches that didn’t even last more than two or three minutes before picking back up again with the last two matches. Last Thursday’s Dark special was a better episode. The match of the night goes to Chaos Project vs. Dark Order’s Alan “5” Angels and 10, and the opening match of Ariya Daivari and Invictus Khash vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds was a close second. Episode 131 clocked in at 1 hour, 09 minutes, and 32 seconds. Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
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