By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 144)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed May 24, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary
1. Avery Breaux vs. Kris Statlander. Breaux looked for a release German suplex early but was unsuccessful in doing so. Rather, Statlander turned it into an arm drag takedown and performed a back body drop on Breaux. Afterward, Breaux was able to get some offense in and hit the cannonball in the corner to Statlander. Unfortunately for Breaux, she was planted once more by Statlander with a power slam, and eventually the Night Fever finished Breaux off for the night.
Kris Statlander defeated Avery Breaux via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid preview of what’s to come for Statlander ahead of her match with Ruby Soho on Friday’s Rampage. Statlander is really clean in the ring.
2. T.U.G. Cooper and Eli Isom vs. Angelo Parker and Matt Menard. Isom missed a dropkick early on. Menard hit a release German suplex on Isom. Menard fired off shots at Isom before tagging in Parker. Isom made a tag out to Cooper, while Menard retagged in and both members of the Jericho Appreciation Society hit an elevated double DDT on Cooper to win the match.
Angelo Parker and Matt Menard defeated Cooper and Eli Isom via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A brief match. Both Jericho Appreciation Society members were solid in their outing and dominated the match.
3. Brittany Jade vs. AQA. AQA hit a leaping elbow strike to Jade in the corner and only received a two count. Shortly thereafter, Jade landed the facebuster on AQA and was unsuccessful in getting a pinfall. AQA hit an enzuigiri on Jade and put her away with the flipping neck breaker.
AQA defeated Brittany Jade via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Not much happening here, lot’s of side headlock takeovers in the beginning before AQA took home the victory.
4. Alan “5” Angels vs. Lee Moriarty. Moriarty sent Angels into the ropes, which then caused him to roll to the outside. Angels performed a dropkick off the bottom rope and an enzuigiri to Moriarty to pick up momentum. Eventually, Angels planted Moriarty with a Spanish fly from the top rope. Moriarty returned the favor and landed a jumping sucidia on Angels to the outside. Finally, Moriarty tapped Angels out with a submission hold for the victory.
Lee Moriarty defeated Alan Angels via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A nice match between Moriarty and Angels, who both put in a good outing. Definitely worth going out of your way to see.
5. Carlie Bravo vs. Sonny Kiss. Bravo hit multiple strikes to Kiss to get heat early on. He was caught with the rising kick from Kiss, who dropped Bravo in mid-air. Bravo swept Kiss off the ropes to counter Kiss’s springboard attempt. Kiss fired away with a rolling elbow strike and followed up with a clothesline. Kiss ended up with the win by landing a split legged moonsault on Bravo.
Sonny Kiss defeated Carlie Bravo via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Kiss last scored a victory against Ashton Starr on episode 133 of Dark. With that aside, a good quality match between Kiss and Bravo. I think Bravo could have a big upside and be a star in the future.
6. Vicky Dreamboat vs. Robyn Renegade. Dreamboat nearly scored an upset win on Renegade early, but Renegade countered with a dropkick. Renegade performed a pump handle slam. Renegade missed a moonsault press but then put Dreamboat away with the power slam after Robyn rolled out and Charlette came in.
Robyn Renegade defeated Vicky Dreamboat via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Well, that was certainly something. You had to turn your brain off with the post-match angle with Tony Schiavone trying to figure out if there was a switcheroo, especially since we’ve seen it before.
7. Trenton Storm vs. Anthony Ogogo. Ogogo landed the throwaway slam on Storm and the kitchen sink that turned Storm inside out. Ogogo continued with control until Storm caught him with the dropkick. Storm continued his momentum with a kick to the jaw of Ogogo, however, Ogogo powerfully began stomping Storm. Ogogo ended up knocking out Storm with the upper body shot.
Anthony Ogogo defeated Trenton Storm via knockout.
Briar’s Take: Ogogo has been on a winning streak since returning to AEW earlier this year. He has not lost a match and continues to improve on a weekly basis.
8. Kiah Dream vs. Leva Bates. Dream fired away early on Bates with a kick to the back. Bates fought back by throwing strikes and a northern lights suplex on Dream. Shortly thereafter, Bates rolled up Dream to score the quick victory.
Leva Bates defeated Kiah Dream via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A rare victory for Bates. She doesn’t wrestle that much anymore, but Bates’s last win came two years ago against Madi Wrenkowski.
9. “The Wingmen” Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth (w/JD Drake) vs. “Roppongi Vice” Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta. Avalon and Nemeth attacked Beretta and Romero before the bell. The Wingmen doubled up on Beretta with a double suplex. Romero and Beretta fought back. Beretta landed a moonsault off the stage. The teams got back in the ring and the match started. Beretta laid out Avalon with a clothesline. Later, Romero tagged in and hit multiple running clotheslines on Avalon and Nemeth in their opposite corners. Nemeth almost scored a victory with the leaping DDT on Beretta. However, Beretta and Romero hit a double knee strike on Nemeth. Eventually, Beretta and Romero picked up the victory with Strong Zero on Nemeth.
“Roppongi Vice” Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero defeated “The Wingmen” Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good match overall and a nice storyline follow-up from last week’s incident with Nemeth vs. Beretta’s singles competition. I’d be curious and interested to see if there will be more matches in the future involving these teams.
Overall, not a bad, yet not must-see show either. It was more of an in-the-middle episode. Most of the matches weren’t bad, but i feels like we’ve seen them all before in terms of style. The best match on this show was Lee Moriarty vs. Alan Angels, which is a must-see. They had a fierce match and I’m sure this is not the last match we’ll see from them. The main event was also a fine match. Episode 144 clocked in at 1 hour, 05 minutes, and 58 seconds. Final Score: 7.0 out of 10.
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