By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 134)
Taped March 4, 2022 in Orlando, Florida at Addition Financial Arena
Streamed March 8, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary… Brief highlights of AEW Revolution were shown…
1. Marina Tucker vs. Anna Jay (w/-1). Jay hit Tucker with an explosive shoulder block, then followed up with a back heel kick. Tucker scoop slammed Jay. Jay eventually hit the Jay kick and quickly made Tucker tap out to the Queen Slayer.
Anna Jay defeated Marina Tucker via submission.
Briar’s Take: A brief match to open up Dark, but the crowd continues to be solidly behind Jay, who does solid work every week.
2. Sonny Kiss vs. Scorpio Sky. Sky knocked down Kiss with multiple shoulder tackles to begin the match. Kiss hit a step up huracanrana and laid out Sky with a twisting neckbreaker. Sky slowed the match down a bit before planting Kiss with a backbreaker. Kiss regained momentum with a roundhouse kick and the springboard crossbody. Sky eventually hit the TKO the second time on Kiss to win the match.
Scorpio Sky defeated Sonny Kiss via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A rare AEW Dark match from Sky, who last competed on episode 117. He spends more time on Dark Elevation these days. The match was fine for what it was and was done in a way where it felt like it could have gone either way.
3. Kiera Hogan vs. Red Velvet. Hogan threw a dropkick to take down Velvet and hit a hip attack as well. Hogan then launched off the back of Velvet with a leg drop and nearly got the upset win. Velvet threw some kicks and planted Hogan with the Final Slice for the victory.
Red Velvet defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Not much to this match, other than I’m still getting used to Velvet’s new theme song compared to her original. Hogan had some flashy moves. Good work from both women.
4. Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth vs. “Top Flight” Darius Martin and Dante Martin. Dante looked for a moonsault at one point, but Nemeth swept his leg off the top turnbuckle and Dante landed hard on the floor. Avalon and Nemeth attempted a double backdrop, but Darius tagged out. Nemeth hit a back elbow to Darius, but Darius fought back with the German suplex into a bridge. The Martin brothers hit a double enzuigiri on Nemeth, and Dante finished Nemeth off with the nose dive moonsault for the win.
Top Flight defeated Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Nice tag team match from the Top Flight team who returned to action after Darius being out for 12 months. Should be interesting to see where AEW goes from here with both brothers being back for the team and whether or not, both go after for the tag team titles.
5. Kelsey Raegan vs. Kris Statlander (w/Danhausen). Statlander lifted up Raegan and planted her down in the middle of the ring. Raegan hit a big boot to the side of the head of Statlander, but Statlander quickly ended Raegan’s night with the Big Bang Theory.
Kris Statlander defeated Kelsey Raegan via pinfall.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Private Party about their match with Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson.
6. Emi Sakura and Diamante vs. Ruby Soho and AQA. AQA threw a dropkick at Sakura, and Soho landed a basic kick to Sakura. Soho rolled up Sakura for a brief moment before tagging out. Sakura found a breakthrough and tagged in Diamante. With the help of Sakura, Diamante threw a dropkick to both Soho and AQA. Diamante followed up with Three Amigos on AQA.
Sakura locked in a Full Nelson submission, but AQA fought out of the move and tagged Soho back in. Soho threw multiple kicks to the chest of Sakura and planted her with the heel trip. Diamante looked for Code Red, but Soho countered the maneuver by tagging out. AQA got the win for her team with a Shooting Star Press.
Ruby Soho and AQA defeated Emi Sakura and Diamante via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: That was a nice shooting star press from AQA. Aside from the Soho pop, the crowd was so dead that you could have hear a pin drop while Sakura was wrestling.
7. Alan “5” Angels and Colt Cabana vs. The Butcher and The Blade. Cabana rolled over for the apple on The Blade, but The Blade kicked out very quickly. Angels tagged in and hit the running knee strike on The Blade. The Butcher tagged in. Angels attempted a step up huracanrana from the apron. The Butcher caught him and slammed Angels into the steps on the outside. The Butcher elevated Angels with a gut buster that landed on Blade’s knee.
Angels threw a kick to the chest of Butcher, and Angels tagged out. Cabana failed to take down Butcher with shoulder tackles. Cabana hit his biconic elbows and the flying apple on Butcher. However, Butcher and The Blade finished off Angels a short time later with the full death for the victory.
The Butcher and The Blade defeated Alan “5” Angels and Colt Cabana via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Quality match that could’ve been placed on Dynamite or Rampage. I was somewhat surprised to see Angels and Cabana take the loss considering how over the Dark Order is. That said, the Dark Order duo had an out with the AFHO assistant Jose interfering and distracting Angels.
8. Skye Blue vs. Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero). Rose attempted the Beast Bomb early, but Blue countered the move. Blue went to the top rope, but Guerrero swept her off the top rope and then Blue fell to the outside. Blue eventually attempted to regain momentum with a crossbody block, but Rose caught her in mid0air and hit the Beast Bomb for the win.
Nyla Rose defeated Skye Blue via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Rose made short work of Blue in this match.
9. Serpentinco vs. Jay Lethal. Lethal hit Serpentinco with a brainbuster. Lethal then went to the sky and dropped the elbow from the top rope, but he couldn’t get the pin. Serpentinco went for a senton off the ropes and missed. Lethal ended Serpentinco’s night with the Lethal Injection.
Jay Lethal defeated Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: There were some close near falls for Serpentinco, but Lethal went over strong in the end.
10. Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson (w/Arn Anderson) vs. “Private Party” Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy (w/Matt Hardy) Johnson hit a big boot to the jaw of Quen while tagging in Anderson. Johnson took out Kassidy with a dropkick while Anderson held down Quen in a brief submission hold. Hardy tripped Johnson, allowing Quen to make the tag out to Kassidy. Private Party hit a double stomp combination on Johnson. Anderson returned to the ring and hit multiple clotheslines on Quen. He also took down Kassidy with an elevated back body drop. Anderson performed a gut-wrench suplex on Kassidy and then rolled up Quen for a quick pin attempt. Anderson followed up with a spinebuster. However, Kassidy ended the match shortly thereafter by using the ropes illegally while getting the pin.
Private Party defeated Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Somewhat of an abrupt ending to the main event. It was okay for the most part, but the finish brought it down a tad. Overall, this is what I would call AEW Rampage and Dark thrown together in one episode. There were some matches that most likely would have been on Rampage, while others would have had their outing on Dark. I don’t think this episode is a must see. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, Dark is much better in front of a live arena crowd rather than a studio audience. Jay, Soho, Top Flight, and Lethal all had some nice pops with Soho getting pop of the night.
The match of the night has to go to Top Flight vs. Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth, as the two teams had a great match despite the predictable ending. Angels and Cabana vs. The Butcher and The Blade was solid in its own right. Episode 134 clocked in at 1 hour, 09 minutes, and 56 seconds. Final Score: 8.0 out of 10.
Be the first to comment