By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 169)
Taped in October 21, 2022 in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed November 8, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Blake Li vs. Zack Clayton. Clayton took down Li with a strong clothesline after the bell rang. Clayton power slammed Li in the middle of the ring before hoisting him up into a fisherman buster for the victory.
Zack Clayton defeated Blake Li via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: I don’t think that match lasted even a minute. A simple showcase win for Clayton with Li barely getting any offense.
2. Ashley D’Amboise vs. Kayla Rossi (w/Diamond Shiek). Rossi lifted up Amboise and put her in a fireman’s carry position before planting her down. Rossi could have won with a twisting moonsault but she broke the pinfall at two. Eventually, Rossi planted Amboise again and won with a suplex.
Kayla Rossi defeated Ashley D’Amboise via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The only notable thing that happened here is Excalibur stated that Rossi is now paired with Diamond Sheik.
3. BK Klein and Jarett Diaz vs. Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn (w/W Morissey). When the Gunn Clubb made their entrance, they came out impersonating FTR and had a make-shift tag team titles. Austin and Diaz began the match respectively, and Austin took Diaz off his feet with a shoulder tackle. Colten tagged in and hit a dropkick to Diaz, and continued to prevent Diaz from tagging out. Both Gunn Clubb members fell down after missing Diaz, who out. Klein didn’t know which Gunn to cover. Klein’s night ended shortly thereafter when Colt planted him with a Colt 45.
Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn defeated BK Klein and Jarett Diaz via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This was a comedy match somewhat with Klein not knowing which opponent to cover when he tagged in.
4. Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon (w/Cezar Bononi, Ryan Nemeth). Cutler hit a back body drop on Avalon on the outside after dodging his move. Bononi and Nemeth then ganged up on Cutler by stomping him on the outside before putting him back in the ring. Afterward, Cutler hit multiple shoulder tackles and a Manhattan Drop on Avalon. Cutler did the airplane spin on Avalon, making both men dizzy. Avalon caught Cutler with a leg hook, but didn’t get the victory. Avalon attempted to hit Cutler with a chair, but Leva Bates came out and took the chair away from him. Avalon landed a huracanrana and on Cutler and pinned him shortly thereafter.
Peter Avalon defeated Brandon Cutler via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Avalon and Cutler had one of the show’s first rivalries back in the early days of AEW Dark. Thankfully, both men moved away from each other and have become better after those early episodes that saw both men lose in a double count-out. This was one of their better matches.
5. “The Blonds” Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison vs. “The Factory” Cole Karter and Q.T. Marshall. Marshall slowed down Garrison early on by throwing a right hand. Karter tagged in and threw a dropkick at Garrison and received a two count. Garrison tagged in Pillman, who chop blocked Karter. With assistance from Pillman, Garrison leaped over the top rope and landed on both Karter and Marshall. Garrison hit a rolling elbow strike to Karter. Marshall caught Garrison off guard and rolled him up into a pin.
“The Factory” Cole Karter and Q.T. Marshall defeated “The Blonds” Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A solid match while it lasted. I’m sure we’ll see these two teams face each other in the future. Marshall is quickly growing on me. Good stuff.
6. Sio Nieves vs. Anna Jay. Jay dominated Nieves very early on with a thrust kick and then locked in the Queen Slayer for the submission victory.
Anna Jay AS defeated Sio Nieves via submission.
7. Marcus Kross vs. Kip Sabian. Kross hit a huracanrana on Sabian, who came back with a kick. Kross and Sabian threw strikes back and forth until Sabian hit an enzuigiri. Sabian struck with a running kick to the back of the head before sitting out Kross for the deep cover victory.
Kip Sabian defeated Marcus Kross via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Sabian continues his winning streak since his return. I had to chuckle a bit when Taz said he wants to see Sabian wrestle once with the box on his head.
8. Diamante vs. Athena. Athena caught Diamante and performed a backbreaker and heel trip combination to gain control. Shortly thereafter, Athena put Diamante on the ropes, and then Diamante countered by suplexing her on the stage. Back in the ring, Diamante hit a Stunner and nearly pulled off the upset. Athena and Diamante rolled to the outside once more and Athena hit a shotgun dropkick that sent Diamante into the barricade. Back in the ring, Athena hit a low blower for the win.
Athena defeated Diamante via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: An awesome match between Diamante and Athena. These two were given a little bit of time to show their stuff off and I suggest going out of your way to watch this one. I continue to hope that Diamante will get a meaningful storyline. She’s great.
9. Rico Gonzalez vs. Powerhouse Hobbs. Shortly after the bell rang, Hobbs hit a spinebuster for the win on the debuting Gonzalez.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Rico Gonzalez via pinfall.
10. Ativalu, Fulton, and Troy Hollywood vs. “Dark Order” Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, and John Silver. Hollywood and Reynolds began this match. Reynolds came flying in with a back elbow strike. Uno hit a scoop slam that caused Hollywood land on Reynolds and Silver’s feet. With an assist from Silver, Uno planted Hollywood with a hanging neckbreaker. Eventually, Dark Order landed all of their finishing moves on Hollywood and picked up the victory.
“Dark Order” Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, and John Silver defeated Ativalu, Fulton, and Troy Hollywood via pinfall
Briar’s Take: Man, poor Hollywood. He got absolutely destroyed by Dark Order in this match, while Ativalu and Fulton never even tagged in.
11. AR Fox and Caleb Konley vs. Eddie Kingston and Ortiz. Fox landed an inverted senton on both Kingston and Ortiz to catch them off guard. However, Ortiz hit a power slam on Fox and made the tag out to Kingston. Kingston threw chops to Konley in the corner. Kingston hit a lariat to Konley, while Ortiz would win the match with a fisherman bomb.
Eddie Kingston and Ortiz defeated AR Fox and Caleb Konley via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The only storytelling that is happening with Ortiz and Kingston is that Kingston continues to hold onto their opponents after the bell while potentially risking a disqualification.
12. Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga vs. Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Storm planted Sakura with a high boot and then sent her to the outside using a hip attack. Storm continued her momentum with multiple monkey flips. Suruga provided a distraction and then Sakura chopped Storm on the side of the neck. Suruga tagged in bit the hand of Storm.
Sakura and Suruga made cohesive tags. Suruga drove the heel of her boot into the head of Storm, who regained control with a neckbreaker. Shida tagged in for the first time. Shida hit a big elbow strike including a jumping knee to Sakura, who countered by driving Shida face-first into the mat. Sakura and Suruga hit a steamroller senton on Storm and Shida. Sakura missed a moonsault on Shida. Eventually, Storm hit a hip attack on Sakura and then Shida ended the match by using a Katana.
Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm defeated Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A stellar tag team match that was given plenty of time. Awesome match.
13. Cezar Bononi and Ryan Nemeth vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta. William Regal sat in on commentary. Castagnoli took a late hot tag and hit multiple uppercuts on Nemeth. Castagnoli attempted The Swing on Nemeth, but Bononi broke it up. Yuta and Castagnoli sent Bononi on the outside. Eventually, Castagnoli used The Swing on Nemeth. Yuta struck with a dropkick and then Castagnoli locked in a leg submission hold for the win.
Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta defeated Cezar Bononi and Ryan Nemeth via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The heels dominated the babyface team early on and controlled the majority of the match. It was all downhill from there for The Wingmen once Castanoli tagged in.
Overall, this was a much-improved episode of Dark compared to recent episodes. Despite this being taped from a few weeks ago, this card was one of the better cards in quite some time. Sure, there were some brief matches during the middle of the show, but the show didn’t feel like a complete throwaway as it sometimes does.
Athena and Diamante had the best match of the night. The Factory and The Blonds were great in their own right, and the women’s tag team match was also fun. If you are short on time, those matches and the main event are worth checking out, as the rest of the matches were brief. Episode 169 clocked in at 1 hour, 13 minutes, and 16 seconds. Final Score: 8.0 out of 10.
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