By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 189)
Taped in February 26, 2023 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed March 14, 2023 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary
1. “The Outrunners” Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds. Floyd was dominated by both Silver and Reynolds with kicks to the midsection. Shortly after, Reynolds had his time in the match with a rolling elbow and a pop-up knee strike on Floyd. Toward the end of the match, Reynolds hit a high boot in the corner and Silver would win with a double stomp to Floyd.
John Silver and Alex Reynolds defeated The Outrunners via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Not much of a match in the Dark opener. There was a lot more muscle flexing than wrestling. I couldn’t care less about who has the most muscle. Either way, a dominating showcase by Silver and Reynolds, as the Outrunners barely had any offense.
2. Diamante vs. Riho. Riho struck with a dropkick after the bell rang and then followed with a snap suplex into a brief cover. Diamante regained momentum by sending Riho to the outside with a baseball slide dropkick of her own. Diamante attempted multiple suplexes until Riho countered with a Northern Lights suplex. Eventually, Riho hit double knees to the face of Diamante and got the pin.
Riho defeated Diamante via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: I’m a bit surprised by the outcome of this match. Yes, I know Riho was the first women’s champion in AEW, however, she hasn’t done much of anything over the past year and hasn’t been featured as prominently as Diamante has. So, I figured Diamante could’ve used a good win here. Nonetheless, a great match between the two women.
3. Terry Kid vs. Sonny Kiss (w/Slim J, Jeeves Kay). Kiss was all over Kid early on. Kid eventually planted Kiss with a back suplex. Kiss faked an injury while Kay provided a distraction. When referee Aubrey Edwards went over to Kay, Kiss struck Kid with a corkscrew kick for the victory.
Sonny Kiss defeated Terry Kid via pinfall.
4. Zoey Lynn vs. Julia Hart. Hart threw a thrust kick at Lynn and came flying off with a moonsault press. Hart locked in the heartless submission and made Lynn tap out.
Julia Hart defeated Zoey Lynn via submission.
Briar’s Take: Back-to-back showcase wins for Hart and Kiss. Hart had the quicker match of the two and it wasn’t much to write home about.
5. Lee Johnson (w/Cole Karter) vs. Action Andretti. Late in the match, Andretti used a backbreaker/neck breaker combination and then performed a DDT for a near fall. Johnson came back with a neck breaker for a two count. Andretti cut off Johnson on the ropes and superplexed him. Andretti put Johnson away with a hanging neckbreaker for the victory.
Action Andretti defeated Lee Johnson via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A great back-and-forth match as you would expect from these two. It felt like the match could’ve gone either way since Andretti is still somewhat new to AEW while Johnson doesn’t win very often.This was the best match on the card and was definitely a lot better than main event than what we saw last week on Dark.
Overall, a short and sweet episode that was mainly passable. There was a new set, which is the same one being used for the new Ring of Honor show. While I think Dark is better in front of an arena crowd, the set made the show feel like a bigger deal despite most of the matches being brief. If you’re short on time this week, watch the main event and that’s enough. Episode 189 clocked in at 43 minutes and 53 seconds. Final Score: 3.0 out of 10.
Be the first to comment