By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 164)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed October 4, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
1. Sio Nieves vs. Marina Shafir. Nieves attempted a shoulder block early, but Shafir was too powerful to be knocked down. Nieves threw a dropkick to Shafir, however, Shafir countered with a backdrop and eventually locked in the armbar for the submission victory.
Marina Shafir defeated Sio Nieves via submission.
Briar’s Take: Yikes, this match was kind of sloppy throughout the middle and I pondered at some points what Shafir was trying to do in terms of locking in holds. Nevertheless, she quickly put away Nieves, who made her AEW debut. Definitely not one of Shafir’s best showings.
2. AR Fox vs. Ariya Daivari (w/Slim J, Parker Boudreaux, Sonny Kiss). Fox and Daivari began with a lockup before the ref broke it up in the corner. Fox came in with a sliding elbow to Daivari in the corner and hit a leaping moonsault off the apron. With distraction from Slim J, Fox was turned around with a strike from Boudreaux. This allowed Daivari to get back in the game and land a crossbody on Fox. Fox regained momentum by hitting a stunner off the ropes and followed up with a cutter. Fox hit multiple cutters and nearly pinned Daivari. With Slim J distracting the ref again, Daivari struck with a low blow and finished him off with a clothesline.
Ariya Daivari defeated AR Fox via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The ref distractions were a little annoying because we see it every week whether it’s on Dark or Dynamite. However, despite the distractions, this was a great back-and-forth match. If you can do without the ref distraction, definitely would recommend going out of your way to watch.
2. Rohit Raju and Invictus Khash vs. Tony Nese and Josh Woods (w/Mark Sterling). Khash and Nese started by going back-and-forth with lockups. Nese tripped Khash. Woods hoisted up Khash after tagging and hit two punt kicks to the head of Khash. Nese and Woods hit a combination finisher on Khash to gain the pinfall victory.
Tony Nese and Josh Woods defeated Rohit Raju and Invictus Khash via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A quick match that continued the domination by Nese and Woods
3. Freya States vs. Abadon. Abadon sent States to the outside with a baseball slide dropkick and followed through with a huracanrana. States showed some upside, but that was short-lived, as Abadon flattened the right arm of States to win the match.
Abadon defeated Freya States via pinfall.
Lexy Nair interviewed Robyn Renegade about her match with Skye Blue for later on Dark.
4. Blake Christian vs. Slim J (w/Ariya Daivari, Parker Boudreaux, Sonny Kiss). Christian locked in the left arm of J for a brief submission. He then hit a leaping dropkick to J to continue his momentum. J performed a diving splash from the ropes. J continued with a kick to the back of Christian. Shortly thereafter, Christian and J traded blows. Christian dropped J on his knee. Christian leapt to the outside with a moonsault. Kiss distracted Christian, allowing J to flatten Christian and make him tap out for the victory.
Slim J defeated Blake Christian via submission.
Briar’s Take: Sigh, another distraction victory for the Trustbusters.
5. Eli Isom and Chris Farrow vs. Ryan Nemeth and Cezar Bononi. Bononi tossed Farrow across the ring. Isom showed some fire with an enzuigiri and tagged in Farrow, who came off the middle rope. Bononi hoisted up Farrow and dropped him down on the knee before Nemeth planted him down for the quick win.
Ryan Nemeth and Cezar Bononi defeated Eli Isom and Chris Farrow via pinfall.
Backstage again, Lexy Nair interviewed the manager of Iron Savages.
6. Terry Kid vs. Parker Boudreaux (w/Ariya Daivari, Parker Boudreaux, Sonny Kiss). Boudreaux hit a running double clothesline in the corner and threw Kid across the ring before planting him with a chokeslam. Boudreaux splashed Kid for the victory.
Parker Boudreaux defeated Terry Kid via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The Trustbusters feel overexposed on this episode.
7. Robyn Renegade vs. Skye Blue. Robyn attacked Blue once the bell rang. Blue flew off the top rope for a diving crossbody block. Robyn kicked Blue off the apron. Blue returned the ring and Robyn planted her with double knees. Blue rallied by flattening Robyn for the victory.
Skye Blue defeated Robyn Renegade via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Surprisingly, we didn’t see any Renegade (twin) magic here which is fine by me.
8. Vary Morales and Levy Valenzuela vs. “Iron Savages” Bear Bronson and Bear Boulder. Bear Bronson and Morales began this match respectively for their teams. Bronson blindsided Morales with a sitting senton. Valenzuela tagged in and began striking Bear Boulder. Iron Savages threw Valenzuela out of the ring and then Boulder tossed Morales on top of Valenzuela on the outside. Eventually, Iron Savages hit a running double cannonball senton on Morales in the corner for the win.
Iron Savages defeated Vary Morales and Levy Valenzuela via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: As expected, this was a short match from the newly named Iron Savages, who previously were known as Bear Country.
9. “The Workhorsemen” Anthony Henry and JD Drake vs. Dante Martin and Matt Sydal. Late in the match, Sydal made a hot tag to Martin, who hit a diving splash from the top rope on Henry and Drake. With an assist from Drake, Henry planted Martin with a powerbomb, but he only received a two count. Drake missed a moonsault. Sydal struck a kick to the side of the head of Drake and then Martin followed up with his diving moonsault finisher for the win.
Dante Martin and Matt Sydal defeated Anthony Henry and JD Drake via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A typical heel vs. babyface tag team match with the heels dominating most of the match before the faces made a comeback. Overall, a passable episode of Dark this week. This show was overloaded with a cluster of singles matches from the Trustbusters, which got old quickly. They could have saved a lot of time by putting them all in a tag team match. AR Fox and Ariya Daivari had a great match. The rest of the matches were brief. Episode 164 clocked in at 1 hour, 03 minutes, and 13 seconds. Final Score: 6.0 out of 10.
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