By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 192)
Taped in March 24, 2023 in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed April 4, 2023 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Peter Avalon vs. AR Fox. Fox went over the top and landed on Avalon with a suicide dive. Avalon threw a superkick to regain momentum and also flew to the outside on top of Fox. Back in the ring, Avalon was looking for a moonsault press but failed as Fox rolled out at the last second. Fox planted Avalon with a cutter and nearly got the pinfall victory. In the end, Fox rolled up Avalon and would score the win.
AR Fox defeated Peter Avalon via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A back-and-forth match while it lasted. I thought the match could’ve gone either way since both guys aren’t pushed much. The right person went over. This could’ve been a killer match had we had more time and didn’t have the flat finish.
2. Serpentinco (w/Luther) vs. Willie Mack. Mack had a big hip-toss on Serpentinco early on in the match. Shortly thereafter, Mack continued his dominance with an impressive dropkick. Serpentinco began firing away and targeted the left leg of Mack. He followed up with a low-hanging DDT. Mack hoisted up Serpentinco and stuck with a Samoan drop. Serpentinco was caught in mid-air by Mack, who planted him with a powerbomb for the victory.
Willie Mack defeated Serpentinco via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: They told a story with Serpentico targeting the left knee of Mack, who sold it by not kipping up as he usually does. Still, you had to know Mack was going over. It was cool to see Mack in an AEW outing.
3. Ameera vs. Leila Grey. Grey went for the underhook Flatliner and quickly put Ameera away for the quick match.
Leila Grey defeated Ameera via pinfall.
4. Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki vs. “The Varsity Athletes” Tony Nese and Ari Daivari (w/Mark Sterling). The Varsity Athletes made cohesive tags early on in the match. Lucas traded shots with Nese, who countered with a hammer throw and then Daivari planted Lucas with a cutter. Nese eventually got the win for his team.
“The Varsity Athletes” Tony Nese and Ari Daivari defeated Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Just a couple of quick showcase matches for Grey and the Varsity Athletes.
5. Invictus Khash vs. Lee Moriarty. Moriarty locked Khash in a Full Nelson submission multiple times after the bell rang. Khash and Moriarty rolled each other through multiple times with both men being unsuccessful at pinfall attempts. Moriarty hit a low blow on Khash and followed up with a leg lariat for the win.
Lee Moriarty defeated Invictus Khash via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good match while it lasted.
Tony Schiavone interviewed the Varsity Athletes about their victory and the new addition of Ari Daivari…
6. Cezar Bononi vs. Evil Uno. Uno used the big boot on Bononi, but it didn’t even phase him. Bononi turned the tables and performed a gut buster on Uno. Bononi threw Uno into the stair steps on the outside. Back in the ring, Uno attempted a piledriver, but Bononi swept out the leg and struck with an underhook powerbomb. After the powerbomb, Uno kicked into another gear and lifted Bononi up for a piledriver that led to his eventual victory.
Evil Uno defeated Cezar Bononi via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A good match from Uno and Bononi. Both men worked hard and had an awesome match despite the differing styles.
7. Kiera Hogan vs. Toni Storm. Storm rushed at Hogan and stomped her in the corner. Hogan rallied with a hip attack and came off the back of Storm with a leg drop. Storm eventually came back and hit a hip attack on Hogan. Hogan and Storm went back and forth attempting to get pinfalls on one another. Hogan hit a sliding dropkick across the jaw of Storm, who eventually hit another hip attack and won with the Storm Zero piledriver.
Toni Storm defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: This is about the match you would expect to see out of these two. They did not disappoint. The match felt like it could have gone either. AEW seems high on Storm, so it made sense that she got the victory despite a competitive outing from Hogan.
Overall, a ho-hum edition of AEW Dark. Most of the matches were brief and predictable. There were also some strange production moves. Once the matches concluded, they quickly cut to the next match while Excalibur was still talking about the previous match that had just ended.
The last three matches on the card most were the best matches on this week’s show. If you’re short on time this week, you can get by with just watching the main event. Episode 192 clocked in at 47 minutes and 15 seconds. Final Score: 6.0 out of 10.
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