By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 142)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed May 10, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Jake Something vs. Jay Lethal (w/Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt). Lethal got an early start on Something before the bell rang. After the bell rang, Lethal landed a vertical suplex. Something came back with a big body block to Lethal. Something jumped over the top rope and crashed on Lethal. Back in the ring, Lethal hit a Flatliner combination to regain momentum. Something fought back with double chops and followed up with a spear. Something attempted a suplex, but Lethal knocked him off the top rope and Lethal planted an elbow. Eventually, Lethal hit the Lethal injection on Something to pick up the victory.
Jay Lethal defeated Jake Something via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A great back and forth match between Lethal and Something. Something recently departed Impact after his deal expired. Either way, it should be interesting to see if AEW will continue to bring in Something for future for Dark and Elevation events.
2. Jake Manning vs. Alex Reyonlds (w/Evil Uno, 10). Manning struck Reynolds a few times with the right hands, but Reynolds hit back with multiple dropkicks. Manning and Reynolds fought on the outside briefly before returning to the ring. Manning hit a Russian leg sweep and got a two count. Afterward, Reynolds threw a lariat and charged in with a corkscrew uppercut. Manning tried using the Boy Scout book as an advantage, but Reynolds popped him up and won with the elbow.
Alex Reynolds defeated Jake Manning via pinfall.
Afterward, Cezar Bononi and Tiger Ruas blind side attacked Evil Uno and 10.
Briar’s Take: A simple pinfall victory for Reynolds. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Manning on Dark. I give him creative credit for a unique character with the Boy Scout gimmick.
Jora Johl cut a promo on Matt Hardy and said Andrade El Idolo is his new boss. He said he hopes Andrade can see the talent in him unlike when Matt was his boss.
3. “Fly Def” Warren Johnson and Zack Mason “Gunn Club” Austin and Colten Gunn (w/Billy Gunn). Colten and Austin doubled up on Johnson. Billy spept the leg out underneath of Johnson to continue the Gunn Club domination. Johnson was unable to make the tag out to Mason as the Gunn Club did their beat down until he launched off the back off Colten and tagged out. Mason stayed in briefly and hit a couple of dropkicks to Colten. Johnson then hit the slingshot elbow drop from the top rope to Austin. Shortly thereafter, Austin planted Johnson with the Quick Draw and got the victory.
Gunn Club defeated FlyDef via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: FlyDef had brief flashes, but Gunn Club ultimately came out on top to take the victory.
4. Serpentinco (w/Luther) vs. Capt. Shawn Dean. Serpentinco performed a snap suplex on Dean. He looked to for a diving foot stomp but missed. Dean hit a back body drop on Serpentinco. Eventually, Serpentinco attempted to lift Dean up for the powerbomb, but Dean planted Serpentinco with The Deal for the win.
Capt. Shawn Dean defeated Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: There was no question that Dean would get the victory here, as most of Serpentinco’s matches are predictable.
5. Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson vs. “Brick City Boyz” JCruz and Victor Chase. Johnson and Anderson made frequent tags to stay on top of Cruz while targeting his left arm. Cruz made a leaping tag to Chase, who delivered an enzuigiri in the corner. Anderson broke through and tagged Johnson back in. Johnson planted Chase with a falcon arrow and almost got the victory. Anderson performed a spinebuster on Cruz to normalize the action. Johnson threw a thrust kick to Chase and then Anderson won the match with the gore buster.
Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson defeated Brick City Boyz via pinfall.
6. Vicky Dreamboat vs. Abadon. Dreamboat did her best to gain early momentum, but Abadon quickly turned the match to her favor by hitting a running knee strike in the corner. Abadon then hit a running senton on Dreamboat before planting her for the victory.
Abadon defeated Vicky Dreamboat via pinfall.
7. Trip Jordy vs. Jora Johl (w/Angelico). Jordy was thrown all across the ring by Johl, who followed up with a vertical suplex. Jordy tried fighting back with a dropkick, but Johl dropped Jordy with a cutter. Johl lifted up Jordy on his shoulders and sat him out before driving a big punt kick for the win.
Jora Johl defeated Trip Jordy via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Johl’s earlier promo that saw him side with Andrade over Matt Hardy was great. It sounds like we could potentially see a Johl vs. Matt Hardy rivalry in the near future.
8. Skye Blue vs. Kiera Hogan. Blue executed multiple arm drags before Hogan bailed out and rolled out of the ring. Hogan found an opening and hit a neckbreaker on Blue. Hogan slid into the face of Blue with a running kick. Hogan nearly got the victory with the cut throat move Blue, who then landed arunning knee strike and an enzuigiri and nearly scored the win herself. Hogan threw a roundhouse kick and then scored the pin.
Kiera Hogan defeated Skye Blue via pinfall.
9. “The Factory” Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto (w/Q.T. Marshall) vs. DKC and Kevin Knight. Solo was dominated early by Knight and carried his momentum to Comoroto, but Comoroto struck with the knee lift before slowing his run. However, Knight looked for a backward moonsault, but Comoroto struck with the shoulder tackle. Solo would hit the suplex on Knight before retagging in Comoroto. Comoroto then planted Knight with the backbreaker.
Solo and DKC then traded chops back and forth. DKC struck Solo more with chops and dropped him on the mat. However, Comoroto hit the double suplex on DKC and Knight. DKC swept Solo off the top rope and planted the leg lariat that took down Comoroto. Eventually, Solo landed the corkscrew kick and Comoroto got the spear on Knight to gain the victory.
“The Factory” Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solo defeated DKC and Kevin Knight via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: While predictable, this was a great tag team match that’s worth going out of your way to see. There was also some storyline development as Knight turning on DKC and joining The Factory.
10. Adam Priest vs. Rohit Raju. Priest snap suplexed Raju, but who tripped Priest afterward to forward the match. Rohit followed up with the fisherman’s suplex. Priest struck back with a release German suplex. Raju countered with the jumping knee strike. Raju grabbed the victory with a diving stomp off the top rope.
Rohit Raju defeated Adam Priest via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid match despite the crowd being quiet. I strongly believe that if used correctly, Raju should be booked to rack up a lot of victories on Dark and Elevation.
11. Tiger Ruas and Cezar Bononi vs. Evil Uno and 10. Ruas hit a deadlift German suplex on Uno, who hit back with an enzuigiri and tagged out. 10 planted Ruas with a punt kick. Ruas hit 10 with a rising knee strike after Bononi was swept out underneath. Ruas and Bononi nearly got the victory, but the pin was broken up by Uno. Ruas then ran into a lariat from 10, who finally tapped Ruas out for the victory with a Full Nelson.
Evil Uno and 10 defeated Tiger Ruas and Cezar Bononi via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid main event to close out AEW Dark. Dark Order vs. Ruas and Bononi was back and forth and for a brief while and felt like the match could’ve went either way. I think Ruas has a big upside to him and could become a star. I didn’t care for the way they cut to break so quickly after Ruas and Bononi struck Uno and 10 earlier. Otherwise, not a bad outing from both teams.
Overall, a pretty good show that was loaded with eleven matches. It was one of the longer episodes in recent memory. There were a couple of debuts, including Jake Something, who had a great match with Jay Lethal in the opener. The match of the night is a tie between the main event and Jake Something vs. Jay Lethal. Final Score: 8.0 out of 10. Episode 142 clocked in at 1 hour, 21 minutes, and 10 seconds.
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