By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 69)
Taped June 22, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena
Streamed June 27, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur welcomed us to Elevation as Anna Jay’s music played. Excalibur was joined on commentary by Mark Henry and Anthony Ogogo. Dasha Gonzalez was the ring announcer…
1. Anna Jay vs. Heather Reckless. Jay caught Reckless with a Flatliner early. Jay tried to capitalize but Reckless kicked Jay’s leg and then hit her with a low dropkick. Jay quickly recovered and got back on the offensive. Moments later Jay locked in the Queen Slayer and got the submission victory.
Anna Jay defeated Heather Reckless by submission in 1:50.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A quick showcase for Anna Jay this week, though slightly longer than last week’s Jay showcase.
An ad for AEW Grand Slam aired…
2. Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks (w/Taz) vs. Jordan Kross and Joey Jet. Jet and Hobbs started the match. Jet had chants of Joey from the crowd. Jet hit Hobbs with a back elbow but Hobbs shrugged it off and clotheslined Jet. Jet made the tag to Kross. As soon as Kross entered the ring Hobbs dropped him with a spinebuster. Hobbs toyed with the much smaller Kross before making the tag to Starks. The fans started cheering for Jet again and Starks acted like he was going to let Kross tag Jet in. Instead, Starks knocked Jet off the apron.
Starks sent Kross to the corner and charged in but Kross got the leg up. Kross then hit Starks with a forearm and a chop. Starks glared at Kross and slapped him hard on the face and Kross dropped to the mat. Starks then lifted up Kross and hit Roshambo while Hobbs came in and knocked Jet down again. Stark made the cover and got the pinfall.
Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks defeated Jordan Kross and Joey Jet by pinfall in 3:27.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Dominate showcase for Team Taz. The story was that Hobbs and Starks could have ended it whenever they wanted.
Anthony Bowens “Celebrate Pride” PSA aired.
3. Ruby Soho vs. Missa Kate. Kate used Soho’s hair to push Soho into the corner and slap her across the chest. Soho came out of the corner with a double leg takedown and started pounding on Kate and followed up with a running kick. Soho sent Kate into the corner and charged but Kate moved out of the way and went behind Soho to ram her face first into the middle turnbuckle. Kate then raked Soho’s eyes and face across the top rope.
Soho recovered and hit Kate with a series of strikes. Soho then dropped Kate with a back heel trip and climbed to the top rope. Soho went for the double stomp but Kate rolled out of the way. When Soho turned around, she was met with a pump kick from Kate that got a near fall. Kate tried a spin kick but Soho caught Kate’s leg. Soho hit Kate with a knee to the face and then followed up with Destination Unknown for the pinfall.
Ruby Soho defeated Missa Kate by pinfall in 2:38.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Showcase win for Soho so nothing new here but I can’t help but feel she is being wasted with all these appearances on Elevation.
4. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland vs. GPA and Vic Capri. Lee and Strickland fist bumped as they came to the ring. Strickland wanted to start the match but Lee said he had it. GPA tried an arm ringer on Lee but it had no effect. Lee held onto GPA’s hand and lifted him before dropping him to the mat. GPA caught Lee with a trio of jawbreakers but then Lee caught GPA with a powerslam. GPA tagged in Capri who went after Lee with forearms that Lee shrugged off. Capri tried to lift Lee but Lee didn’t budge.
Lee used a claw hold on Capri and slammed him to the mat then threw Capri across the ring. Strickland was asking to be tagged in through all this. The fans chanted for Lee to do it again and Strickland said go ahead so Lee threw Capri across the ring again. Lee backed up to hit Capri with a running shoulder tackle but Strickland made the blind tag.
Lee was going to finish Capri but GPA came in and was Spirit bombed. Strickland got up on the top rope and as Lee turned around, he asked Strickland what he was doing. Strickland came off the top rope with a dropkick to Capri as Lee moved out of the way. Strickland kicked Capri once more and pinned him.
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland defeated GPA and Vic Capri by pinfall in 4:05.
After the match, Strickland and Lee had a few words as The Butcher, The Blade, and The Bunny walked out on the entrance ramp to stare them down…
Bailin’s Breakdown: Again, more storyline than a match this week which is fine if we didn’t see Lee and Strickland last night on the Forbidden Door pre-show. By the end of Sunday’s match, it seemed like Lee and Strickland were more on the same page, so tonight’s match felt weird and almost a step backwards, almost like I watched them out of order. I would not mind if they had the match with The Butcher and The Blade on next week’s Elevation.
5. Ethan Page (w/Dan Lambert) vs. Serpentico. Both men had televised entrances. Serpentico stepped up to Page to start the match but Page booted him in the midsection and went for the Ego’s Edge. Serpentico slipped out and slid outside the ring. Dan Lambert told Serpentico to get back in the ring before he called Border Patrol. Serpentico then tried to go for a single leg takedown on Lambert.
Page grabbed Serpentico by the mask and threw him back into the ring and then hit Serpentico with a shoulder tackle. Page then started to punch Serpentico over and over before finally lifting him up for the Ego’s Edge and the pinfall.
Ethan Page defeated Serpentico by pinfall in 1:35.
Bailin’s Breakdown: I’m glad this match didn’t go the usual Elevation route of giving Serpentico a few spots before eventually losing. This match was exactly what it needed to be and that was a dominant win for Page.
6. John Silver vs. KM. KM mocked Silver’s size so Silver told KM to run the ropes. KM did and Silver drop kicked him low. Silver followed up with a running kick and then climbed the middle turnbuckle and came off with a shoulder tackle. Silver went for a German suplex but was hit with a back elbow. KM then came off the ropes with a big boot.
KM got a near fall after a splash from the apron over the top rope onto Silver. KM ran at Silver who was in the corner and was met with a kick. Silver then hit KM with chops and kicks and then tripped KM into a 619 position. Silver came off the ropes with a kick to KM’s back. Silver then got KM with a deadlift German suplex and then finished KM off with the Spin Doctor.
John Silver defeated KM by pinfall in 2:21.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Impressive strength shown by Silver in this match. Some back and forth but no doubt who was winning this match.
7. Buddy Matthews and Brody King (w/Julia Hart) vs. Brubaker and CJ Esparza. Matthews and King isolated Esparza early. King lifted Esparza up by the head and then dropped him with a backbreaker over Matthews’s knee. Matthews threw Esparza into his corner so he could tag in a reluctant Brubaker. Matthews lifted up Brubaker and then threw Brubaker into Esparza like a lawn. Matthews tagged in King then hit Brubaker with a knee strike. Matthews then threw Brubaker into a Gonzo Bomb from King for the pinfall.
Buddy Matthews and Brody King defeated Brubaker and CJ Esparza by pinfall in 2:34.
Bailin’s Breakdown: An absolutely brutal (in the best way possible) showcase from the House of Black.
8 Max Caster, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn (w/Billy Gunn, Anthony Bowens) vs. Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and 10. Both teams met at the center ring. Caster and the Gunn’s turned around then attacked the Dark Order. The Dark Order cleared the ring and Caster and the Gunn’s regrouped on the outside. The bell rang once Austin was back in the ring. Colten outside the ring rammed Uno’s head into the ring steps and threw him into the ring. Caster and the Gunn’s isolated Uno in their corner. Uno was able to fight his way out and made the tag to 10. 10 cleared the ring with clotheslines and held up Austin for the delayed vertical suplex. Austin rolled outside the ring and 10 tagged in Reynolds. 10 backdropped a running Reynolds over the top rope onto Austin and Colten.
Reynolds threw Austin back into the ring and into a clothesline from 10. Reynolds then hit Austin with a double underhook lung blower for a near fall before it was broken up by Colten and Caster. Outside the ring Billy threw 10 into the ringside barrier which distracted Reynolds allowing Austin to roll him up. Reynolds kicked out but then Billy got up on the apron and Austin rolled up Reynolds again this time with his foot on the ropes and got the pinfall.
Max Caster, Austin and Colten Gunn defeated Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and 10 by pinfall in 5:10.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A good back and forth match that felt like it could have gone either way. Both teams are just kind of there with no real direction, which was kind of the story of this whole episode of Elevation this week. It was just kind of there with no real direction. The work was good all around, but I don’t really have a match of the night this week. At this point in AEW’s history, is there really a need for weeks and weeks of showcase matches for the same people? Let’s get some of these people in real programs and play those out on Elevation and Dark. We get bits and pieces of that from time to time, but there is no reason for the lack of consistency in that area. Tonight’s episode clocked in at 44 minutes and 7 seconds.
Be the first to comment