By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 183)
Taped in January 28, 2023 Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed February 14, 2023 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary
1. Fuego Del Sol and Leon Ruffin vs. Matt Menard and Angelo Parker. Late in the match, Menard back planted Del Sol in the middle of the ring. Menard and Parker prevented Del Sol from tagging out and dominated him. Del Sol struck with a back elbow to Parker, who was able to strike with a backbreaker. Del Sol countered with a gut wrench suplex on Parker and tagged out. Ruffin landed a cutter from the top rope, followed by a Tornado DDT on Parker. Momentum turned when Parker landed an elbow and Menard. Parker finished Del Sol by spiking him for the victory.
Matt Menard and Angelo Parker defeated Fuego Del Sol and Leon Ruffin via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A great, competitive match.
Lexy Nair interviewed Christopher Daniels, who said 2023 marked his 30th year in pro wrestling. Daniels added that his last days are nowhere close. He said he signed a contract, and if any wrestlers stood in his way, they better say their prayers.
2. Hyena Hera vs. Mei Suruga. There was a quite size difference with Hyena being the taller one. Suruga began biting the hand of Hera and struck with a crossbody block. Suruga double stomped the fingers of Hera. Suruga was caught with multiple clotheslines from Hera. Suruga regained momentum with a dropkick to the back of the head on Hera, who quickly locked in a submission and made Hera tap out
Mei Suruga defeated Hyena Hera via submission
Briar’s Take: I hate to say it, but man, that match was boring. The crowd wasn’t into the match either as they were so silent you could have heard a pin drop.
3. Allen Russell and Kameron Russell vs. “Varsity Athletes” Josh Woods and Tony Nese (w/Mark Sterling). Nese and Woods were dominant to start. Allen attempted a sunset flip. Nese fired back with a kick to the head. Kameron tagged in after Allen found a breakthrough with an enzuigiri. Woods hit a release German suplex on Allen. Nese and Woods used their combination finisher on Kameron to win the match.
“Varsity Athletes” Josh Woods and Tony Nese defeated Allen Russell and Kameron Russell via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: More of a showcase than anything for the Varsity Athletes. It was hard to tell the Russell brothers apart. Excalibur even had a hard time pinpointing who was who.
4. Gravity vs. Kip Sabian (w/Penelope Ford). Late in the match, Sabian was hanging on the middle rope and Gravity was able to capitalize with a diving splash. Gravity followed up using a power slam and a moonsault press. Gravity was caught with a big knee from Sabian, who won the match.
Kip Sabian defeated Gravity via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good, back and forth match. Gravity is quite the name to use for a wrestler.
Backstage, Lexy Nair was interviewing the Varsity Athletes when they were interrupted by Trent Beretta. Nese challenged Baretta to a match next week on Dark.
5. Dan Adams vs. “The Reality” Zack Clayton. Adams was striking Clayton, who blasted him with a lariat. Clayton hit a snap suplex. Clayton threw Adams overhead and into the ropes. Eventually, Clayton planted Adams very quickly for the victory.
Zack Clayton defeated Dan Adams via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Boy, that was something. Short and sweet. Clayton reminds me of Nick Aldis with his style and look. I’m surprised he’s not doing anything on regular AEW television given that he definitely has the look.
6. Jeeves Kay and Sonny Kiss (w/Slim J) vs. Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr. Late in the match, Pillman found a breakthrough and tagged out. Anderson landed a back elbow on Kay and a back body drop on Kiss. Kiss hit a corkscrew kick on Anderson, who came back with a spine-buster on Kay. Pillman won with a splash.
Brock Anderson and Brian Pillman Jr. defeated Jeeves Kay and Sonny Kiss via pinfall
Briar’s Take: One of the more unpredictable matches on the show, as I thought this match could’ve gone either way. Anderson and Pillman Jr looked good here after getting words of wisdom from Arn Anderson a few weeks ago.
Backstage, Nair interviewed Ryan Nemeth, who talked about how great Hollywood is.
7. Serpentinco (w/Luther) vs. Christopher Daniels. Serpentinco planted Daniels with a suplex before falling on his own. Serpentinco spiked Daniels using a DDT. Daniels threw Serpentinco off the ropes and performed a back body drop. Shortly thereafter, both Daniels and Serpentinco countered each other’s pin attmepts. Daniels won with his moonsault finisher.
Christopher Daniels defeated Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: If you can get past the typical comedy from Serpentinco and Luther, this was a good, short match. Daniels never misses a beat.
8. J. Spade vs. Ari Daivari (w/Sonny Kiss, Jeeves Kay, Slim J). Prior to the match, Daivari promised the Universal crowd that he would give them $1,000 if Spade won the match. Spade took down Daivari with a dropkick and nearly got the win. Daivari struck back with elbows until Spade countered with a leg lariat. Spade caught Daivari in a backslide for a near fall. Daivari threw a superkick and ended up making short work of Spade.
Ari Daivari defeated J. Spade via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Unfortunately for the Universal crowd, they won’t be getting that $1,000 that was teased by Daivari, who won this showcase.
9. Ultra Violette vs. Diamante. Diamante fired away with strikes to the head of Violette and hit a missile dropkick in the corner. Violette rallied with a lariat and a dropkick of her own. Diamante then signalled that the match was near the end and hit three German suplexes to end the night of Violette.
Diamante defeated Ultra Violette via pinfall.
10. Larry Lazard, Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas vs. Dalton Castle and The Boys. Castle planted Yaki with a scoop slam. The Boys doubled up on Lucas, who eventually hit a shot to the jaw on of the Boys. Lazard dominated one of the Boys until Castle tagged back in. Castle threw Yaki into the bottom ropes and turned him inside out with a suplex-type move. Castle planted Lazard with a Bang-A-Rang to get the win for his team.
Dalton Castle and The Boys defeated Larry Lazard, Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Not much here from the past two matches, as both were just showcases for all wrestlers involved. I never thought I would see the day that a wrestler was named Terry Yaki.
11. Bronson vs. Konosuke Takeshita. Bronson and Takeshita traded chops. Takeshita landed a leg lariat on Bronson. Bronson slowed Takeshita’s momentum down with a Bossman Slam. Takeshita turned the tables with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Bronson planted Takeshita with a pump-handle suplex. Takeshita rallied with a kick in the corner and then won the match after hitting knee strike.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Bronson via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good match while it lasted. Takeshita is often the fall guy on AEW television, but this is great use of him on Dark, where he has picked up bounce-back victories.
Overall, Dark was back to their longer show format tonight with eleven matches. Most of the matches were predictable, but there were some good matches on the card. Kip Sabian vs. Gravity, Christopher Daniels vs. Serpentinco, and Takeshita vs. Bronson were all fairly good and felt Rampage-worthy. The rest of the card was mainly skippable. I didn’t think this episode needed to run nearly 90 minutes. Episode 183 clocked in at 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 10 seconds. Final Score: 7.0 out of 10.
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