By Rich Bailin, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@RichBailin)
AEW Dark: Elevation (Episode 76)
Taped August 10, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Target Center
Streamed August 15, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur welcomed us to this week’s Elevation as Tony Nese and Josh Woods made their way to the ring. Excalibur was joined on commentary by Jericho Appreciation Society member Matt Menard. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer.
1. Travis Titan and Arik Cannon vs. Tony Nese and Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling). Arik Cannon got the expected hometown pop. Woods and Titan started the match. Woods kept Titan on the mat until driving a knee into his face. Woods then brought Titan to the corner and tagged in Nese. Nese suplexed Titan and went for a cover but only got a 1 count. Nese mocked Titan and teased allowing him to tag Cannon. Instead Nese lifted up Titan for a belly-to-back suplex but Titan flipped out and tagged in Cannon. Cannon got a few shots on and then kicked Nese.
Cannon then lifted up Nese and hit a corkscrew neckbreaker and went for the pinfall. Woods broke up the pinfall. Titan came in to even the odds but got hit with a dropkick from Woods. Cannon then sent Woods over the top rope but Woods landed on his feet. Cannon turned around into a shotgun dropkick from Nese. Nese and Woods then hit Titan and Cannon with knee strikes. Woods then lifted Cannon for an Olympic Slam as Nese held onto Cannon’s neck with a neckbreaker and got the pinfall.
Tony Nese and Josh Woods defeated Travis Titan and Josh Woods by pinfall in 2:40.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A showcase win for Nese and Woods, as they will need to build up wins to crack the top five tag team rankings.
2. John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno and 10 vs. T.U.G. Cooper, Drew System, Rylie Jackson and Adam Grace. Dark Order tagged in and out while facing off against each member of the other team. The match broke down pretty quickly leading to 10 and Reynolds lifting up Jackson by his arms as Silver ran through Jackson with the Pendulum and got the pinfall.
John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno and 10 defeated T.U.G Cooper, Drew System, Rylie Jackson and Adam Grace by pinfall in 2:25.
Bailin’s Breakdown: More of the same from the Dark Order but the fans in attendance love them.
3. Sierra vs Serena Deeb. Deeb kept Sierra grounded in the early portion of the match. Sierra got in a few shots on Deeb but Deeb quickly recovered and dropped Sierra with a neckbreaker through the middle rope. A few moments later Deeb and Sierra traded backslides and counters, dizzying Sierra. Deeb hit Detox and then locked in the Serenity lock for the submission victory.
Serena Deeb defeated Sierra by submission in 3:00.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A solid showcase for Deeb.
4. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Cezar Bononi. Both men received televised entrances. Match started with a lock up but Bononi powered Takeshita down with one arm. Takeshita got caught in the turnbuckle early and Bononi stomped on Takeshita’s chest to drive him to the map. Takeshita blocked a suplex attempt and hit one of his own and followed up with a flying clothesline. Bononi and Takeshita traded holds until Bononi was able to lift Takeshita up for a Tiger Driver and stacked Takeshita for a near fall. Takeshita recovered and was able to get his boot up at a charging Bononi. Takeshita then hit Bononi with a knee strike from the second rope. Takeshita followed up with the running knee and got the pinfall.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Cezar Bononi by pinfall in 2:40.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Good win for Takeshita before he heads back to Japan. Bononi also got to show off his strength which was compared to Castagnoli’ s strength on commentary. PErsonally I hope Takeshita will be brought back sooner than later.
5. Julia Hart vs Free-Range Kara. Hart had new entrance music. Hart stared and Kara and slowly walked to the center of the ring. Instead of locking up, Hart booted Kara in the face. Hart kicked Kara again and sent Kara outside the ring. Hart slowly followed and then hit a running clothesline outside the ring. Kara got a few shots in on Hart but Hart grabbed Kara by the throat and drove her into the mat while holding on to the choke. Hart looked into the camera and said “The House always wins” and then locked in her submission on Kara. Kara quickly tapped out.
Julia Hart defeated Free-Range Kara by submission in 2:40.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Another strong showing for Julia Hart.
6. Jah-C and JDX vs. “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen. Private Party hit a series of double team moves ending with Gin and Juice on Jah-C to get the pinfall.
“Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen defeated Jah-C and JDX by pinfall in 1:50.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A dominant win for Private Party, as they will be getting an AEW Tag Team title match soon.
7. Heather Reckless vs. Penelope Ford. Ford had the advantage early until she went to mock Reckless. Reckless hit Ford with a couple of punches then sent Ford into the ropes and hit Ford with a back elbow. Ford rolled to the floor. Reckless followed Ford outside the ring but Ford recovered with an elbow strike and then sent Reckless into the guardrail where Kip Sabian was sitting. Ford rolled Reckless back into the ring and hit her with the cartwheel strike. Ford then hit Reckless with a gutbuster off Ford’s shoulders. Ford then locked in the Indian Deathlock for the submission victory.
Penelope Ford defeated Heather Reckless by submission in 2:30.
Bailin’s Breakdown: I’m glad to see Penelope Ford back. She also acknowledged Kip Sabian in the crowd and he was mentioned by name by the commentary team, so he should be back soon as well.
8. Justin Fowler and JT Energy vs. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens. The Acclaimed worked over Fowler until Fowler was able to hit Bowens with a hip attack and make the tag to Energy. The Acclaimed then worked over Energy and hit him with a powerslam. Bowens lifted and slammed Energy to the mat again as Caster came off the top rope with the Mic Drop and got the pinfall.
“The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated Justin Fowler and JT Energy by pinfall in 1:45.
Bailin’s Breakdown: A dominating win for The Acclaimed as they will probably be next or close to next after Strickland and Lee move past Private Party.
9. Hikaru Shida, Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm vs. Emi Sakura, Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero, Ballyman Akki). There was a mix up with the music when Thunder Rosa’s music played but Toni Storm’s tron aired. Toni Storm’s entrance music did not play. Shida and Sakura started the match but everyone quickly came in and started to fight. With the ring cleared Shida and Sakura traded backbreakers. Sakura then tied up Shida and sat on her back while pretending to drink tea. Sakura tagged in Rose who caught Shida with a shoulder tackle but then missed a senton as Shida rolled out of the way.
Shida came off the middle rope with a meteora and tried to make a tag. Rose held on but missed a charge in the corner and Shida tagged in Storm. Storm came off the top rope with a cross body on Rose and then knocked Shafir and Sakura off the apron. Storm then hit Rose with a neckbreaker. Sakura ran into the ring but was quickly thrown out by Storm. Rose caught Storm with a thrust kick and knocked Rosa off the apron.
Rose tagged in Shafir and sent Storm into the ropes. Rose charged and Storm held onto the ropes sending Rose over the top. Storm then hit Shafir with a shotgun dropkick and followed up with the running hip attack. Storm then hit Shafir with a DDT and got the pinfall. Thunder Rosa was not tagged into the match at all.
Hikaru Shida, Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm defeated Emi Sakura, Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose by pinfall in 2:45.
Bailin’s Breakdown: Akki is from Chocopro and was accompanying Emi Sakura. Good match but way too short to amount to much. That was the case with all the matches this week. I feel too much was crammed into this episode and everything was too short to register before moving on to the next. The Deeb vs. Sierra match was the longest match of the night, hitting roughly three minutes. There was just too much in too short a time. Episode 76 clocked in at 40 minutes and 38 seconds.
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