By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 149)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed June 21, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary.
1. Trevor Aeon vs. “Platinum” Max Caster (w/Anthony Bowens). Caster landed a dropkick on Aeon and followed with a single leg sweep. Aeon dropped Caster with a low back suplex. Aeon hit a big back elbow to continue his momentum, but only received the one count. Caster regained control with a big back body drop and eventually won the match with the Mic Drop.
Max Caster defeated Trevor Aeon via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Rare singles action from Caster with Bowens out with a knee injury for the time being. Caster is always solid with his singles in-ring work.
2. Vary Morales vs. Serpentinco. Serpentinco slammed Morales with a shoulder block, but Morales countered back with the huracarana and dropkick that sent Serpentinco to the outside. Serpentinco caught Morales with a Flatliner to get the match back in his favor. Serpentinco missed a foot stomp, allowing Morales to fire back with multiple strikes. Serpentinco ended Morales’s night quickly with the Neutralizer to win the match.
Serpentinco defeated Vary Morales via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: It’s rare that we see Serpentinco get a victory, especially in singles competition. The last time Serpentinco scored a singles win was against Marko Stunt last September.
Lexy Nair interviewed Blake Christian about his main event match with Jay Lethal.
3. Ava Everett vs. Kris Statlander. Statlander was fierce from the get go and planted Everett with a delayed vertical suplex. Everett attempted to fight back but was caught with a running knee strike. Statlander planted Everett to gain the victory.
Kris Statlander defeated Ava Everett via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Quick work from Statlander, who won the match without using the Big Bang Theory. Statlander was received really well by the studio audience.
4. “Pretty” Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi vs. “Dark Order’s” John Silver and Alex Reynolds. Silver covered Avalon, who kicked out at two shortly after the bell rang. Silver dropkicked Bononi’s shin. Bononi fought with a suplex with ease. Bononi followed up with multiple suplexes to Silver and Reynolds. Avalon tagged in and missed a moonsault from the top rope, which allowed Silver to tag in Reynolds.
Reynolds hit a corkscrew uppercut to Avalon but was unsuccessful in getting the pinfall. Reynolds popped up Avalon with the knee, but Bononi lifted up Reynolds and planted him on the mat. Silver evened the odds by suplexing Bononi. Eventually, Reynolds rolled up Avalon and got the pinfall victory.
Dark Order’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds defeated Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid match with the Dark Order and The Wingmen that got a little clunky in the middle. Despite the clunkiness, the two teams did well.
5. Larry Lazard, Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas vs. Brock Anderson, Brian Pillman Jr, and Griff Garrison. Pillman and Yaki began the match respectively and briefly. Anderson used the ropes for a standing elbow drop on Yaki. Garrison tagged in and splashed Yaki in the corner before following up with a back body drop. Pillman, Garrison, and Anderson each landed their finishers on Yaki to win the match.
Brock Anderson, Brian Pillman Jr, and Griff Garrison defeated Larry Lazard, Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Nothing much to say about this match, as it was really predictable.
6. Devlyn Macabre vs. Diamante. Macabre tripped Diamante that rolled her into the side headlock. Diamante laid in stomps to Macabre before the referee stepped in. Diamante landed a running dropkick to Macabre in the corner. Diamante followed with a German suplex. Macabre tapped out to a Diamante’s crossfface submission.
Diamante defeated Devlyn Macabre via submission.
7. JDX vs. Tony Nese. The match was contested under Ring of Honor’s Pure rules. Nese hit a powerful running clothesline on JDX. Nese then struck JDX with a leaping knee drop. Shortly thereafter, JDX threw a leaping kick to the side of Nese’s head after using the ropes. Nese won the match quickly with a sit-out powerbomb.
Tony Nese defeated JDX via pinfall.
After the match, Mark Sterling threw out a challenge to Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure Championship for next week on Dark.
Briar’s Take: The Pure rules always add a little extra flavor to the match. JDX was a solid opponent, though you had to know he wasn’t going to beat Nese. I am very much looking forward to the Nese vs. Yuta match on Dark next week.
8. Yaide and Anna Diaz vs. Mercedes Martinez and Serena Deeb. Deeb used the ropes for a neckbreaker on Yaide and then suplexed Diaz. Martinez struck Diaz with a knee and a pump handle move on Yaide. Martinez quickly made Diaz tap out to a sleeper for a quick win.
Mercedes Martinez and Serena Deeb defeated Yaide and Anna Diaz via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Martinez and Deeb make an interesting pair. I’m looking forward to seeing where their tag team goes and potentially we could get a cool program between Martinez and Deeb, who are both great wrestlers.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Wheeler Yuta, who accepted Tony Nese’s challenge to an ROH Pure Rules Championship match.
9. Blake Christian vs. Jay Lethal. Lethal briefly stomped Christian in the corner after the bell rang and then threw a dropkick. Christian fought back with an uppercut and a standing splash. Christian continued with a corkscrew kick that sent Lethal to the outside. With a distraction from Singh and Dutt, Lethal struck from behind and used his momentum to perform a jumping sucidia.
Lethal suplexed Christian after both competitors countered each other’s suplexes attempt. Lethal struck the back of the head of Christian with a dropkick. Christian rolled up Lethal and nearly got the win. Shortly thereafter, Christian planted Lethal with a standing Sliced Bread. Christian performed a reverse DDT on Lethal and followed with a springboard 450 splash, but Lethal got his knees up. Lethal regained momentum with the Lethal Combination and would win with the Lethal Injection.
Jay Lethal defeated Blake Christian via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid back and forth match, which is what one would expect from these two. It would be nice if they could get a television match on Rampage sometime in the future. This was the match of the night for sure.
Overall, a passable episode of Dark. There was really nothing that stood out other than the main event. The Mercedes Martinez and the Serena Deeb tag match was intriguing since their pairing has recently started, so it’ll be fun to see where it goes from here. It’s hard to get excited about these matches with unknown opponents who are rarely seen in AEW, because most of the time the matches are predictable. It’s reps and experience for the wrestlers, but it would be nice if we could get some kind of video packages on YouTube or social media on the lesser-known opponents before they wrestle the AEW stars. Final Score: 6.5 out of 10. Episode 149 clocked in at 1 hour, 03 minutes, and 18 seconds.
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