By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 160)
Taped September 2, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois at NOW Arena
Streamed September 6, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Storm Grayson and Brandon Gore vs. Tony Nese and Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling). Nese and Gore began the match respectively for each team. Nese was in briefly before tagging in Woods, who hit a knee and hip attack on Gore. Woods followed up with a gutwrench throw. Grayson tagged in, but his run was short-lived, as Nese and Woods landed combination offense for the victory.
Tony Nese and Josh Woods defeated Storm Grayson and Brandon Gore via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Another quick outing for the newly formed Nese and Woods team.
2. Laynie Luck vs. “The Problem” Marina Shafir (w/Nyla Rose, Vickie Guerrero). Luck rolled up Shafir early with an inside cradle, but Shafir quickly kicked out. Shafir laid a shot to the back of Luck with a forearm. Shaifr sent Luck to the outside and Rose took advantage with a cheap shot. Afterward, Luck threw a shot at Shafir, but that didn’t affect her. Shafir planted Luck and quickly locked in the arm bar submission for the win.
Marina Shafir defeated Laynie Luck via submission.
Briar’s Take: So that was kind of awkward. Shafir was trying to lock in a submission move, but it looked as though the actual move was also a submission at the same time. Eventually, though, Shafir turned it into a submission hold.
3. Serpentico (w/Luther) vs. “The Reality” Zack Clayton. Clayton turned Serpentico inside out with a powerful clothesline. Following the move, Serpentico flattened Clayton with a flatliner. Clayton regained momentum and hit a flying back elbow. Clayton followed up with a vertical suplex and then a knee drop. Serpentico countered one of Clayton’s moves with a bulldog. Eventually, Clayton ended Serpentico’s night with a fisherman’s buster suplex.
Zack Clayton defeated Serpentico via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Both men were fine, as was the match for what it was, but it felt like it went a lot longer than it needed to.
4. Missa Kate vs. Julia Hart. Hart drove her knees to the face of Kate to begin the match. Kate fought back with a punt kick to try and get some momentum on her side. Hart afterward threw a shot to the back of Kate that sent her into the ropes. Quickly, Hart made Kate tap out to the heartless submission.
Julia Hart defeated Missa Kate via submission.
5. Sierra vs. Serena Deeb. Deeb threw a kick to the arm of Sierra and began chopping her in the corner. She then catapulted Deeb into the bottom rope. Sierra hit a thrust kick. Deeb dropped Sierra and began driving her knee into the mat. Shortly thereafter, Deeb twisted the arms of Sierra and made her tap out for the victory.
Serena Deeb defeated Sierra via submission.
Briar’s Take: I always look forward to Deeb’s matches because they are always fantastic. However, this one was a little slow start and never really kicked out of first gear.
6. Robert Anthony and GPA vs. “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen. GPA hit a rolling back elbow to Quen after the match started. Quen struck back with a big moonsault from the top rope. Quen and Kassidy made cohesive tags while dominating GPA, who eventually found a breakthrough with a Stunner on Quen before he tagged out to Anthony.
Anthony lifted up Kassidy and planted him with a delayed vertical suplex. Anthony attempted a powerbomb, but Kassidy countered it by tagging in Quen. Anthony’s night was over shortly after Private Party landed the gin and juice finisher move.
Private Party defeated Robert Anthony and GPA via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Anthony made his AEW return. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him. His last appearance in AEW was back in February. However, this match was predominantly a showcase for Private Party, who hit all of their signature moves.
7. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ari Daivari for the ROH Championship. Daivari tried escaping Castagnoli as the match started, but Castagnoli eventually caught him and laid in an uppercut on the outside. The two fought at ringside briefly before returning to the ring. Castagnoli planted Daivari on his knee. Daivari then targeted the left side of the knee of Castagnoli, who eventually used his popular swing until his knee gave out. Daivari continued to target Castagnoli’s left knee.
Daivari caught Castagnoli with a crossbody block from the top rope. Castagnoli hoisted up Daivari, who countered by throwing him into the post and then landing a frog splash. Daivari was dropped by Castagnoli with a powerbomb and then Castagnoli went on for the victory.
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Ari Daivari to retain the ROH Championship via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A very good match for the ROH Championship. I was curious to see how this match was going to go, especially with the way AEW had been building up Daivari lately. The match wasn’t a total squash by any means, as Daivari was able to tell a story by targeting the left knee of Castagnoli and it felt like he could’ve played spoiler. I believe Daivari will have his time soon. As for Castagnoli, he was solid, as always.
The show was back in a front of an arena crowd this week. For the most part, there were some nice matches, though most of them were very predictable. This really could’ve been a three-match show with Zack Clayton vs. Serpentinco, Robert Anthony and GPA vs. Private Party, and the ROH Championship match. The match of the night has to go to the main event without question. Castagnoli and Daivari put on a great match and were stellar. Episode 160 clocked in at 48 minutes and 48 seconds. Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
Be the first to comment