By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 124)
Taped in Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed January 4, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
The broadcast team was Excalibur and Taz, and Justin Roberts was the ring announcer…
1. Tony Nese vs. Alan “5” Angels. Nese and Angels traded side headlocks before Nese hit the shoulder tackle in the corner. Afterward, Angels threw a kick and went for the cover, but was unsuccessful in getting the pin. Later, Nese rolled through with the uppercut, but Angels reversed the buster and landed the diving crossbody. Angels continued with the chopping enzuigiri and a step up huracanrana. Nese hooked up Angels and spiked him with a piledriver and nearly won the match. Nese hit a running knee in the corner and scored the pin.
Tony Nese defeated Alan “5” Angels via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A hot opening match to open up AEW Dark this week. Great stuff from Nese and Angels.
2. Dreamgirl Ellie vs. Anna Jay. Jay planted Ellie with a suplex in the middle of the ring. She then continued with the back elbow in the corner as well as a kick. Jay followed with the flipping neckbreaker and locked in the Queen Slayer for the tap out victory.
Anna Jay defeated Dreamgirl Ellie via submission.
Briar’s Take: Jay starts 2022 with a win and built on her Rampage tag match victory.
3. Rolando Perez, Austin Green, and Donnie Primetime vs. “Gunn Club” Austin, Billy, and Colten Gunn. Green sent off Austin and Colten Gunn before Billy tagged in. Billy attempted multiple shoulder tackles, but was unsuccessful. The Gunn Club made cohesive tags, but Green hit a shoulder tackle that sent them down. Perez tagged in, but caught by a boot from Austin. Austin reversed the quick draw on Green and quickly won the match.
Gunn Club defeated Rolando Perez, Austin Green, and Donnie Primetime via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Per usual, Gunn Club chalked up a victory by dominating the bulk of the match.
4. Valentina Rossi vs. Marina Shafir. Shafir locked up the arm of Rossi, but Rossi backed Shafir in the corner. Shafir planted Rossi on the mat and took her off her feet with a kick. Shafir made Rossi tap out to the leg trap triangle submission hold.
Marina Shafir defeated Valentina Rossi via submission.
Briar’s Take: Shafir made her second AEW appearance. It’ll be interesting to see what 2022 holds for Shafir.
5. Ryzin vs. Bobby Fish. Ryzin threw an enzuigiri that sent Fish into the turnbuckle. Fish drove Ryzin into the turnbuckle and hit a dragon screw leg whip. Shortly thereafter, Fish hit a sliding elbow strike that planted Ryzin. Fish followed up with an exploder into the ropes and followed up with a kick that led to him getting the win.
Bobby Fish defeated Ryzin via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A quick, painless match for Fish, who picked up a victory to open up the new year.
6. Renee Michelle, Sofia Castillo, and Marina Tucker vs. Leyla Hirsch, Kris Statlander, and Red Velvet. Velvet hit a leg lariat on Tucker to begin the match and quickly tagged out. Hirsch threw some strikes, but Velvet tagged in again and was clobbered with a leg lariat from Michelle. Castillo threw a thrust kick to Velvet and nearly got the victory. Tucker lifted up Velvet, but Velvet countered by planting her to the mat. Statlander tagged in and performed a powerslam on Michelle. Hirsch made a blind side tag to Statlander and when Hirsch came in, she shoved Statlander and made Michelle tap out to the cross arm breaker.
Leyla Hirsch, Kris Statlander, and Red Velvet defeated Renee Michelle, Sofia Castillo, and Marina Tucker via submission.
Briar’s Take: It appears as though we may be heading toward a Statlander vs. Hirsch feud, which should be interesting.
7. Blanco Loco and Axton Ray vs. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens. The Acclaimed dominated early with Caster planting Ray, but Ray hit Caster with a roundhouse kick. Loco was caught with a dropkick from Caster and Caster planted Loco with a powerslam. Caster and Bowens planted Loco with a double suplex. Loco found a breakthrough and tagged in Ray, who threw a kick and performed a leaping enzuigiri on Caster. Loco came off the top rope with a crossbody block on Bowens. Caster hit the Mic Drop on Loco to win the match.
The Acclaimed defeated Blanco Loco and Axton Ray via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The Acclaimed won a quick enhancement match.
8. Madi Wrenkowski vs. Jamie Hayter. Hayter planted Wrenkowski with the side headlock after the bell rang. Hayter threw chops to the chest of Wrenkowski and landed a snap suplex. In the end, Hayter performed a brainbuster to win the match.
Jamie Hayter defeated Madi Wrenkowski via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A showcase victory for Hyter and nothing more.
9. Chandler Hopkins vs. Dante Martin. Martin threw a dropkick after a top rope move and attempted a jumping sucidia, but was denied. Hopkins planted Martin with the flatliner as a counter. Hopkins continued with a bounce off the rope with a kick. Martin then hit a backwards moonsault to gain the win.
Dante Martin defeated Chandler Hopkins via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Taz brought up some interesting points on commentary by saying that he and his legal team could end Martin and Rush as a team, but he didn’t want to do that. It seems as though we might be going forward with Team Taz vs. Martin and Rush.
10. Ho ho Lun vs. Sammy Guevara. Guevara threw a dropkick that sent Lun on the outside of the ring. Lun hit a missile dropkick off the top rope. Lun looked for a brainbuster, but Guevara hit a back elbow and a knee strike to the head of Lun. Guevara ended the night of Lun with the GTH and CossRhodes.
Sammy Guevara defeated Ho ho Lun.
Briar’s Take: Guevara gained a bounce back win after losing to Cody Rhodes a couple of weeks and the idea was that he was sending a message to Rhodes by performing his finisher. While the two are slated for a rematch with the Battle of the Belts on Saturday, I don’t see Guevara winning the belt back quickly.
11. Colt Cabana vs. Powerhouse Hobbs. Hobbs drove Cabana into the barricade. Hobbs continued to dominate Cabana in the ring with strikes. Cabana came back with an elbow and a flying apple. Cabana missed the moonsault press and Hobbs lifted him and put him in the Torture Rack submission to win the match.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Colt Cabana defeated via submission.
Briar’s Take: A dominating victory for Hobbs. 2022 could be a big year for him.
12. JD Drake vs. Brian Pillman Jr. Pillman took out Drake with a diving crossbody to the outside. With the ref distracted, Cezar Bononi took advantage and laid in some shots to Pillman Jr. Drake followed with strikes and a lariat to the back of Pillman. Drake locked in a submission hold, but Pillman countered the submission with chops to the chest. Pillman landed an elbow drop from the top rope to pick up the victory.
Brian Pilllman Jr. defeated JD Drake via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Pillman picked up a momentum building victory ahead of his match with Malaki Black on Wednesday night.
Overall, a solid edition of Dark. As is the case with most episodes, this show featured AEW regulars against enhancements wrestlers. There was really no storyline follow up from last week/year, but this was a much better episode due to it being held outside the studio. The match of the night goes to Tony Nese vs. Alan “5” Angels, who had a great opener. Episode 124 clocked in at 1 hour, 05 minutes, and 05 seconds. Final Score: 6.5 out of 10.
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