By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 177)
Taped December 17, 2022 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed January 3, 2023 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Brian Pillman Jr. vs. “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. Daniels took Pillman down with a shoulder tackle. Pillman fought back with a scoop slam. Daniels landed a leg lariat that swept Pillman off his feet. Pillman came off the top rope with a crossbody block and then both men went back and forth with their pin
Daniels looked for a brainbuster. Pillman countered the move with a dropkick. Shortly thereafter, Pillman struck with a backbreaker. Daniels attempted Angel’s Wings, but Pillman rolled him up with a bridge pinfall attempt with no success. Pillman missed a senton from the top rope and then Daniels landed the Best Moonsault Ever for the victory.
Christopher Daniels defeated Brian Pillman Jr via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Man, what a fantastic matchup. Highly recommend. If my research is correct, this was the first time that Daniels wrestled at Universal Studios since 2014 in a losing effort against The Wolves in a tag team match. Also of note, Pillman had a fresh look to start the year.
Lexy Nair interviewed Ryan Nemeth about his match with Dak Draper. Nemeth reminded all of us that he is the only “Hollywood Hunk”…
2. Jada Stone vs. Emi Sakura. Sakura fired away with kicks to the face of Stone. Sakura locked in a stretch submission hold. Stone hit back with double knees in the corner. Sakura landed a crossbody block and planted Stone with a backbreaker before putting her away for good with a moonsault.
Emi Sakura defeated Jada Stone via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A fairly simple showcase from Sakura with very little offense from Stone. Stone made her AEW debut. Unfortunately, it’s a new year and the same old Sakura with the constant screaming in the ring.
Lexy Nair was backstage with Arn Anderson, who was with Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr. Arn said both have tagged in the past and won matches. He told Pillman he just got beat by a veteran by 15 years. Arn added that he wanted to make a tag team of Pillman and Brock. Pillman accepted Anderson’s offer to be a tag team.
3. Dak Draper vs. Ryan Nemeth. Nemeth targeted the knee of Draper right after the bell rang. Nemeth poked the eyes at Draper, who then face-planted Nemeth after countering a maneuver. Draper continued with a shoulder to the midsection and followed up with a back elbow. Draper attempted a gut-wrench suplex, but Nemeth ended his night with a Hunk of Love.
Ryan Nemeth defeated Dak Draper via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: For those who don’t know, Draper is formerly known as Travis Tyler and wrestled in NXT as a developmental wrestler from 2014 to 2016. He also had a run in Ring of Honor after his NXT stint.
4. Sean Maluta vs. Blake Christian. Christian came off the ropes with a rolling knee to Maluta and then went over the top with a diving press. Maluta rallied with a running knee strike to Christian and received a two count. Maluta threw a punt kick. Christian performed a twisting bulldog. Maluta rolled to the outside. Christian struck him with a cutter from the stairs. Eventually, Christian landed a 450 splash for the victory.
Blake Christian defeated Sean Maluta via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Solid match between Christian and Maluta, with more awesome spots from Christian.
5. Leon Ruffin vs. Ari Daivari (w/Jeeves Kay, Slim J, Sonny Kiss). Prior to the match, Daivari asked Ruffin to join The Trustbusters and said all he had to do was lay down and accept the pinfall. Ruffin turned down his offer. Ruffin landed a dropkick that sent Daivari to the outside. Ruffin leaped from the top turnbuckle and landed on Daivari.
Kay distracted Ruffin. Daivari took advantage with an elbow strike. The two wrestled outside of the ring where Daivari slammed Ruffin into the barricade. Daivari continued his dominance over Ruffin with a stomp to the midsection. Ruffin came back with a flying elbow strike to Daivari and followed up with a lariat. Ruffin nearly put Daivari away with a cutter from the top rope. Kiss distracted Ruffin, allowing Daivari to plant Ruffin for the victory.
Ari Daviari defeated Leon Ruffin via pinfall.
Following the match, The Trustbusters continued their beatdown on Ruffin until AR Fox and Blake Christian made the save.
Briar’s Take: With the way The Trustbusters have lost momentum since last summer, I wouldn’t want to join their faction either. The group appears to be going nowhere at this point.
6. Richard Adonis vs. Rohit Raju. Adonis rocked Raju with a roundhouse kick to the face. Raju brought Adonis down to the mat and stomped his chest. Adonis hit a diving back elbow and landed a Northern Lights suplex. Adonis looked for a ripcord move, but Raju countered with a high boot to the side of the head. Raju ended the match with a diving foot stomp to Adonis.
Rohit Raju defeated Richard Adonis.
Briar’s Take: It’s been a while since Raju wrestled in AEW with his last outing taking place in August 2022 when he lost a tag match to Josh Woods and Tony Nese. This was his first victory on Dark since defeating Adam Priest last May.
7. Jarret Diaz vs. Jora Johl. Johl performed a delayed vertical suplex on Diaz shortly after the bell rang. Diaz threw a thrust kick. Johl put Diaz’s lights out with a hell of a kick.
Jora Johl defeated Jarret Diaz via pinfall.
8. Axton Ray and Blanco Loco vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds w/(Evil Uno). Silver had the momentum early before tagging out. Reynolds hit a high boot to Loco, who found a breakthrough and tagged out. Reynolds used a rolling back elbow and a double stomp to the spine of Ray. Reynolds continued with a lariat. The Dark Order duo quickly would win the match using multiple combination moves.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds defeated Axton Ray and Blanco Loco via pinfall.
9. Liam Gray and Adrain Alanis vs. “Varsity Athletes” Josh Woods and Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling). Woods sent Gray into the turnbuckle to start the match. Both Woods and Nese made cohesive tags with both taking their turns on Gray. Nese took too much time and Gray attempted to steal the victory with a rollup. Gray then tagged out. Alanis hit a high boot to Nese. Woods made a blind tag and then performed a release German suplex on Gray. Woods and Nese hit their double team finisher to win the match.
“Varsity Athletes” Josh Woods and Tony Nese defeated Liam Gray and Adrain Alanis.
Briar’s Take: Good stuff from the Varsity Athletes. As for the Dark Order match, it sure was hard to keep up with the multiple combination moves toward the end of the match.
10. Kaci Lennox vs. Kiera Hogan. Hogan sent Lennox into the turnbuckle with a dropkick. Shortly thereafter, Hogan won with a back suplex.
Kiera Hogan defeated Kaci Lennox via pinfall.
11. Ryzin and Cameron Stewart “The Trustbusters” Slim J and Sonny Kiss (w/Jeeves Kay). Ryzin hit a Northern Lights suplex on Kiss for an early one count. Kiss tagged out. Slim J ground the midsection of Ryzin before coming off the top rope with a rolling kick. Kiss tagged in and slapped the face of Ryzin. Kiss came back with a high boot. Ryzin tagged out. Stewart got rocked by Kiss. J sturck with a diving DDT and then Kiss finished the match off with a 450 splash.
Slim J and Sonny Kiss defeated Ryzin and Cameron Stewart via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: An okay match. Hearing The Trustbuster’s music twice in one night was a bit too much.
12. Ariel Dominguez vs. Capt. Shawn Dean. Dominguez threw a kick to Dean shortly after the bell rang. Dean fought back with a release German suplex and fired with a running dropkick. Dean quickly put away Dominguez with a splash from the top turnbuckle.
Capt. Shawn Dean defeated Ariel Dominguez via pinfall.
13. “The Workhorsemen” Anthony Henry and JD Drake vs. “Top Flight” Darius Martin and Dante Martin. Darius threw a dropkick to the back of Henry’s head. Dante threw a dropkick of his own that sent Drake and Henry to the outside. Later, Drake tagged in eventually and dropped a headbutt on Darius, who tagged out. Dante targeted the left leg of Drake, who countered Dante, allowing Henry to hit a diving knee to the midsection.
Late in the match, Darius hit a big crossbody splash to Henry. Darius followed up with a Spanish Fly and nearly got the victory. Dante hit a shotgun dropkick on Henry. Darius face-planted Henry with a Flatliner. Top Flight won with a nose dive combination.
Darius Martin and Dante Martin defeated Anthony Henry and JD Drake via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This felt a lot longer than it needed to be, especially since The Workhorsemen take so many losses. Even so, both teams did their part and Top Flight looked especially good. Hopefully, this is the last time we see Top Flight face The Workhorsemen in a main event of Dark for a while. It seems like we get this match every month or so.
Overall, this was not a bad episode of Dark to open up the new year. I can’t say I’m surprised the company loaded the episode up with 13 matches, but I still think is a bit too much for one show. Like Rampage, it always seems like they try to cram too much action into one episode aside from spreading it out over a week-to-week basis.
With that being said, there’s a little something for everyone on this show with a mixed bag of competitive matches, brief matches, and tag team matches. The show peaked with the first match of Daniels vs. Pillman, which was a tremendous match that is worth going out of your way to see. Maluta vs. Christian was okay for a match that could have used more time, and Johl vs. Diaz for a brief match. Episode 177 clocked in at 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 50 seconds. Final Score: 7.5 out of 10.
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