By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 137)
Taped December 28, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida from Daily’s Place
Streamed March 29, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary
1. Adam Priest, Invictus Khash, and Gus De La Vega vs. “The Factory” Q.T. Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solo. Solo took down Priest early with the shoulder tackle and followed through with multiple dropkicks, before tagging out. Comoroto checked in and struck the midsection of Priest with a strike, but Vega tagged in for the first time. Vega ran into the boot of Comoroto as he came into the ring and Solo re-entered the match. Solo hit the corkscrew kick to Vega and made the tag to Marshall.
Vega tried throwing some elbows to Solo, but tagged in Khash and Khash threw left and right hands to Solo. Marshall came in and struck with the Diamond Cutter on Priest, Khash, and Vega. Solo then planted Khash with the facebuster for the win.
“The Factory” Q.T. Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Aaron Solo defeated Adam Priest, Invictus Khash, and Gus De La Vega via pinfall
Briar’s Take: Solid match by The Factory, who got a dominant victory over Priest, Khash, and Vega. One duo that did intrigue me though was Vega and Solo. I feel like they could have a tremendous outing in singles competition.
2. Leila Grey vs. Emi Sakura. Sakura locked in the surfboard submission very early in the match, but broke the hold on her own. Grey threw some strikes to Sakura, who then locked in another submission hold. Grey planted Sakura with a Russian leg sweep and a punt kick. Grey failed with the facebuster, as Sakura hit a running crossbody to Grey in the corner. Shortly thereafter, Sakura performed a backbreaker and a Vader Bomb on Grey for the victory.
Emi Sakura defeated Leila Grey via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Your typical Sakura match with the usual finish. If you’ve seen a Sakura match and know the routine already, then this match is similar.
3. Kelsey Heather vs. Diamante. Heather was dropped with multiple clotheslines and a northern lights suplex. Shortly thereafter, Heather was sent to the outside with a boot from Diamante. The two fought briefly on the outside Once they returned to the ring, Diamante made Heather tap out to the singles arm capture submission.
Diamante defeated Kelsey Heather via submission.
Briar’s Take: An enhancement showcase for Diamante and nothing more.
4. Jay Marte, Richard King, and Alexander Zane vs. Dark Order’s Stu Grayson, Alan “5” Angels, and Evil Uno (w/-1). Angels hit a standing slice bread on one opponent, and then Uno threw a high boot at Zane. Zane then was caught with multiple finishers from Grayson and Angels. Uno planted Zane with the hanging neckbreaker. Dark Order won with the Nightfall from Angels and Grayson, who planted the frog splash on Zane to score the victory.
Dark Order’s Stu Grayson, Alex Reynolds, and Evil Uno defeated Jay Marte, Richard King, and Alexander Zane via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This match presentation was a bit of a cluster. Excalibur didn’t do much of justice to the team Dark Order was facing, as he only pointed out one member which was Alexander Zane. It definitely created for some awkward moments. Other than that, a flawless and brief victory for the Dark Order team.
5. Kaun vs. Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian locked in the headlock takedown submission. Kaun hit a rolling back elbow. Both competitors countered each other’s moves until Kaun landed a gutbuster. Kazarian then came off the ropes with a crossbody and a flying elbow strike. Shortly thereafter, Kaun was taken down with the big lariat before he tapped out to the crossface chicken wing.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Kaun via submission.
Briar’s Take: Kaun had some brief flashes of offense here and the match was competitive for a short while.
6. Shalonice Royal vs. Tay Conti (w/-1). Conti and Royal went back and forth with pinfall attempts. Royal threw a running clothesline while Conti was in the corner. Conti threw a powerful strike and then threw multiple kicks to the chest of Royal. Conti scored the victory with multiple punt kicks and the piledriver on Royal.
Tay Conti defeated Shalonice Royal via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A rare AEW Dark appearance from Conti, who is normally featured on television these days. She last appeared on Dark earlier in the year when she and Anna Jay were still a team and had a victory over the Renegade twins.
7. Foxx Vinyer, Brandon Bullock, and Jameson Ryan vs. Dark Order’s John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10. Reynolds threw dropkick at Ryan before 10 tagged in. 10 sent Bullock out to the outside of the ring until things got back to normal. Vinyer connected with a running clothesline on 10, who came back and planted Bullock and Ryan with a double clothesline. Silver tagged in and hit a big back elbow on Ryan. Silver hit the Liger Bomb on Bullock. Ryan was then finished off shortly after taking a punt kick from 10.
John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10 defeated Foxx Vinyer, Brandon Bullock, and Jameson Ryan via pinfall.
8. Kiera Hogan vs. Nyla Rose. Hogan and Rose went back and forth with strikes. Hogan attempted a jumping sucidia, but Rose caught Hogan and ran her into the turnbuckle. Back in the ring, Rose also missed a diving splash from the top rope, which allowed Hogan to hit a shotgun dropkick. Hogan followed through with a sliding dropkick in the corner. Rose came back with a chokeslam, a spear, and eventually the Beast Bomb to score the win.
Nyla Rose defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This matc was intriguing on paper and felt like it could’ve gone either way, as there were a couple of times that Hogan came close to victory. It was also a weird way to end the night in that the show basically abruptly ended with little warning. Aside from that, I think we could see Rose and Hogan square off again in the future on an episode of Rampage.
Overall, a strange episode of Dark considering this show was taped late last year and it seemed as though they didn’t have any new footage from Universal Studios yet. It was nice having the show back in front of a live crowd. The episode was passable since these were older matches from last year. With that said, there were a few intriguing matches on paper such as Shalonice Royal vs. Tay Conti, Kiera Hogan vs. Nyla Rose, and Kaun vs. Frankie Kazarian. However, those matches went just as you would expect in terms of the outcome. It’s hard to pick a match of the night, but I’ll go with the opener that had The Factory vs. Adam Priest, Invictus Khash, and Gus De La Vega. Episode 136 clocked in at 39 minutes and 59 seconds. Final Score: 5.5 out of 10.
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