By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 141)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed May 3, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary… Dark began with AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view hype video…
1. Ryan Nemeth (w/Peter Avalon) vs. John Silver (w/Alan “5” Angels, -1). Silver took down Nemeth with the shoulder tackle and followed through with the dropkick. Nemeth then used multiple knee strikes to try and gain an advantage. Afterward, Nemeth planted Silver with a quick mat return and continued to use heel tactics to get the better of Silver. Silver would regain momentum with a back body drop to Nemeth and a sit-out powerbomb. Nemeth, however, got a close upset with a spiked DDT on Silver but only received a two count.
Shortly thereafter, Silver fought back with a kick to the back of the head and lifted up Nemeth and planted him back down with the torture rack bomb for the victory.
John Silver defeated Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Very standardized match between Silver and Nemeth. Nothing too flashy, but the match was quick to the point.
2. “The Workhorsemen” Anthony Henry and JD Drake vs. “The Varsity Blonds” Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison. Pillman started the match with multiple dropkicks on Henry, who found a breakthrough and tagged Drake into the match. As Pillman returned to the ring, Drake dropped him with the headbutt. Meanwhile, Henry locked in a stretch submission on Pillman Jr just briefly. After being doubled up, Pillman tagged in Garrison for the first time. Garrison then flew over the ropes and landed both on Henry and Drake. Eventually, Garrison sat out Henry for the victory.
The Varsity Blonds defeated The Workhorsemen via pinfall.
Afterward, Tony Schiavone interviewed The Varsity Blonds and asked them about the House of Black.
Briar’s Take: A solid back and forth tag team match. I feel like The Workhorsemen could be booked to win some potential upsets at some point.
A Double or Nothing ad was shown.
3. Lord Crewe vs. Shawn Spears. Crewe hit a running knee strike while hitting a diving elbow strike across the jaw to Spears at the same time. Spears stopped Crewe’s momentum by placing him on the apron with the back body drop. Crewe and Spears traded strikes back and forth in the ring. Spears lifted up Crewe and won the match with the C4.
Shawn Spears defeated Lord Crewe via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A quick enhancement win for Spears and nothing more.
4. Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas vs. Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs. Starks whipped Yaki with the arm drag to get the early advantage. He then tagged Hobbs into the match. Hobbs executed a vertical suplex on Yaki. Hobbs lifted up Yaki and then Starks struck the back of the head of Yaki. Yaki made the tag out to Lucas, who attempted a dropkick to Hobbs, but Hobbs proved to be too powerful. Shortly thereafter, Starks speared Lucas and gained the victory for the team.
Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: More quick work from Starks and Hobbs on Dark. Excalibur questioned after the bell if we could be seeing potential AEW Tag team Champions in the future. It seems as though Starks and Hobbs are back on track for the moment after their brief turn on each other.
5. Jacey Love vs. Julia Hart. Hart hit a running back elbow on Love in the corner and made her tap out with a head scissors.
Julia Hart defeated Jacey Lova via submission.
Schiavone interviewed Q.T. Marshall.
6. Leon Ruffin vs. Tony Nese (w/”Smart” Mark Sterling). Nese hit multiple stomps in the corner, but Ruffin fired back with the dropkick and an arm drag. Nese whipped Ruffin into the corner twice two slow his momentum. Late,r Nese missed a splash while trying coming back into the ring. Ruffin had brief flashes of momentum before Nese ended his night with a running knee in the corner.
Tony Nese defeated Leon Ruffin via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This was Leon Ruffin’s first match in AEW. He was formerly known as Leon Ruff in NXT. Not a bad match from either man, and Ruffin had some flashy moves. It’ll be interesting to see if he continues to pop up in AEW outings.
7. Angelico vs. Yuya Uemura. The match started out slow with Angelico and Uemura having brief technical lockups. Further, into the match, Uemura shoulder tackled Angelico and also hit him with an up-kick. Uemura threw a powerful chop to Angelico’s chest. Angelico locked in the left leg of Uemura, who got to the ropes and broke the hold. Uemura used the ropes for an explosive dropkick. Uemura planted Angelico with a backdrop and picked up a two count. Shortly thereafter, Angelico made Uemura tap out to the Navarro death roll.
Angelico defeated Yuya Uemura via submission.
Briar’s Take: The match started slow and never really kicked out of first gear. The crowd may not have known who Uemura was, as they were really silent during throughout the match.
8. Invictus Khash vs. Dante Martin. Khash locked in the short arm scissor submission and then took down Martin with the side headlock takeover. Martin regained momentum for a brief second with a dropkick before Khash threw him into the ring post. As the two returned to the ring, Khash continued his domination over Martin with strikes. Martin rallied with a crossbody from the top rope and nearly get the victory. Martin landed a double moonsault from the top rope for the victory.
Dante Martin defeated Invictus Khash via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: More solid stuff from Martin, who shines in singles competition while his brother Darius is once again sidelined. Dante’s match with Rey Fenix on Wednesday night should be a killer.
9. Diamante vs. Toni Storm. Diamante snapped the neck of Storm shortly after the match started. She hit a baseball slide that sent Storm to the outside. Both wrestlers fought briefly on the outside with Diamante throwing Storm into the steps. Back in the ring, Diamante planted Storm with three consecutive German suplexes. Diamante and Storm went back and forth with multiple pinfall attempts. Diamante looked for the Code Red, but Storm dropped her with the Storm Zero instead to pick up the victory.
Toni Storm defeated Diamante via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A great matchup between Storm and Diamante that could’ve easily headlined an episode of Rampage. Unfortunately, Dark was back in front of a studio audience this week, as the company just did a batch of tapings at Universal Studios over the weekend. Overall, this was just a somewhat passable episode. There were a few quality matches such as John Silver vs. Ryan Nemeth, The Varsity Blonds vs. The Workhorsemen, and Toni Storm vs. Diamante. Otherwise, Dark featured the typical enhancement matches you would normally see every week. Episode 141 clocked in at 1 hour and 15 minutes and 37 seconds. Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
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