By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 155)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed August 2, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Logan Cruz and Tyshaun Price vs. “The TrustBusters” Ari Daivari and Slim J. Slim J got a side headlock takedown on Price. Daivari then tagged in and struck the rib cage of Price. Price found a breakthrough and tagged in Cruz. However, Daivari decked him after Cruz entered the match. Then, both Daivari and J double suplex Cruz. Eventually, J and Daivari hit a neckbreaker combination on Cruz and pick up the victory.
“The TrustBusters” Ari Daivari and Slim J defeated Logan Cruz and Tyshaun Price via pinfall
Briar’s Take: As I said last week, it’s clear AEW is high on Daivari and Slim J at the moment, giving them both back-to-back victories. We’ll see how much more dominating the Trustbusters are on a week-to-week basis before they get into a real program. I’m intrigued to see if we’ll see them on Rampage at some point.
2. Harley Cameron vs. Willow Nightingale. Cameron locked in the left arm of Nightingale to start the match. Nightingale caught Cameron in a brief sleeper submission. Nightingale hit a senton and a low crossbody block by using the ropes. Shortly thereafter, Nightingale dropped Cameron with a spinebuster. Quickly, Cameron escaped out of a Doctor Bomb attempt. Nightingale countered with the pounce maneuver. As usual, Nightingale ended her opponent’s night with the cannonball senton and a Doctor Bomb on her second attempt.
Willow Nightingale defeated Harley Cameron via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Nightingale dominated this match, barely letting Cameron get any offense in in her AEW debut.
3. Rocky Radley vs. Diamante. Diamante shoulder tackled Radley and rolled her up early on. Shortly thereafter, Diamante planted herself with a low-hanging dropkick in the corner. Diamante drove her knees in the lower back of Radley, who came back and hit Dimanate with a kick to the jaw. Diamante regrouped and locked in the straight jacket submission for the tap out fvictory.
Diamante defeated Rocky Radley via submission.
Briar’s Take: A solid match from Diamante and Radley. Radley had a little more offense than Cameron did.
4. KC Rocker and Caleb Teninty vs. “The Factory” Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto. Comoroto and Solo dominated Teninty early on. Rocker tagged in and targeted Comoroto with a crossbody attempt, but Comoroto hoisted him up and slammed him down in the middle of the ring. Solo rejoined in the ring and planted himself with a leaping knee drop to Rocker. Teninty also returned to the ring and fired away at Solo. However, Solo hipped toss him into the corner. Solo hit a diving foot stomp for the victory.
“The Factory” Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto defeated KC Rocker and Caleb Teninty via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Quick work for The Factory, who showcased their stuff against Rocker and Teninty. I know The Factory are Dark regulars, but it would be cool to see them in a meaningful program on regular AEW television.
5. Jonathan Hudson vs. Capt. Shawn Dean. Hudson suplexed Dean and took advantage of early momentum. Dean then regained momentum with strikes and planted Hudson with a sit-out powerbomb. Shortly thereafter, Dean won with a diving splash on Hudson.
Capt. Shawn Dean defeated Jonathan Hudson via pinfall.
6. Parker Boudreaux vs. Serpentinco. Boudreaux manhandled Serpentinco shortly after the bell rang. Boudreaux continuously lifted up Serpentinco and hit a back suplex for the victory.
Parker Boudreaux defeated Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Parker Boudreaux is the former Harland in NXT. He had a great outing in his brief match against Serpentinco, though he looks a tad different from his NXT character. It should be fun to follow as Boudreaux is a part of the Trustbuster’s group.
7 “The Wingmen” Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth vs. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens. Bowens planted Nemeth with a shoulder tackle and followed up with a dropkick. Bowens took down Nemeth with an arm drag. Caster tagged in and while still in the ring, Bowens took advantage by hitting a sweeping neck breaker. Nemeth broke through and tagged in Avalon.
Avalon doubled stomped Caster and tagged out. Nemeth drove the knees into the midsection of Caster in the corner. Shortly thereafter, Caster tagged in Bowens, who took both Nemeth and Avalon down with a leg drop. Nemeth performed a hanging DDT and only received a two count. Bowens flattened Nemeth and then Caster hit the Mic Drop for the win.
“The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated “The Wingmen” Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A nice match between The Acclaimed and The Wingmen. This was about the only match outcome of the night that I felt a little unsure of. I’m very interested to see The Acclaimed’s match against the Gunn Club on Dynamite, as it should be some great stuff.
8. Pac vs. Connor Mills for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship. Mills wasted no time targeting Pac with strikes to the midsection. Eventually, Pac used a headbutt to gain momentum. Mills struck back with a brainbuster to turn the tide. Mills launched off the middle rope with an uppercut and got a two count. Mills hit a moonsault and landed on Pac on the outside. Mills also hit a missile dropkick on Pac.
Pac threw a punt kick to the jaw of Mills to slow his momentum. Pac brought Mills to the top of the stage and dropped him with a tombstone piledriver. The ref began his count, but Mills beat it by getting back inside the ring. Pac launched off the rope with a knee drop and and followed up with a brainbuster.
Mills dropped Pac with a big back heel kick. The match slowed down a bit before Mills missed a moonsault. Pac struck with a thrust kick. Pac missed a top rope splash. Mills hit a 450 splash and nearly got the upset victory. Mills struck with a cutter to Pac and once again almost got the victory. Pac got back up and put Mills down with a brainbuster. Eventually, Pac got the win with the Black Arrow.
Pac defeated Connor Mills to retain the AEW All Atlantic Championship via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A nice drawn-out match that told a great story between two Englishmen fighting over the All-Atlantic championship. It was a highly competitive bout and stole the show. Heck, I would have been fine if this was just a one-match show with this match taking up half an hour.
Overall, another passable episode of Dark. We are currently going through the matches that were taped a few weeks ago at Universal Studios (aside from the main event, which was taped in Manchester, England at a RevPro event). I encourage you to watch the main event because it was a tremendous match. The Acclaimed and The Wingmen had a good match as well. Episode 155 clocked in at 1 hour, 09 minutes, and 35 seconds. Final Score: 7.0 out of 10.
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