By Briar Starr, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@briarstarrtv)
AEW Dark (Episode 158)
Taped in Orlando, Florida at Universal Studios
Streamed August 23, 2022 on the AEW YouTube Page
Excalibur and Taz were on commentary…
1. Rocky Radley and Allie Recks vs. Robyn Renegade and Charlette Renegade. Robyn got a big leaping dropkick from Recks, but Charlette tagged in quickly. The twins would landed a double vertical suplex on Recks. Radley tagged back in and hit a double clothesline. However, the twins finished Radley off quickly with a neckbreaker combination for the win.
Robyn Renegade and Charlette Renegade defeated Rocky Radley and Allie Recks via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Quick work from the Renegade twins. We did not see the Twin Magic style switch that we usually see from them.
2. Meto vs. Anthony Ogogo. Ogogo and Meto began the match with a lockup before Ogogo targeted his left arm. Meto got some brief offense with a dropkick before Ogogo countered with an overhead belly-to-belly. Ogogo lifted Meto and planted him in the middle of the ring. Eventually, Ogogo laid out Meto with a big right hand for a knockout victory.
Anthony Ogogo defeated Meto via knockout.
Briar’s Take: A little bit of a longer match than normal by Ogogo. He used different techniques that we haven’t seen before, which was noticed by Excalibur.
3. “The Wingmen” Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth vs. Adrian Alanis and Liam Gray. Nemeth dominated Gray early on in the match and covered him briefly. Avalon then suplexed Gray after tagging in. Gray reversed the counter with a jawbreaker and a crossbody to takedown Avalon. Alanis hit a bodyslam on Nemeth and then a dropkick that sent Avalon to the outside. The Wingmen turned the tables with Avalon landing a splash for the victory.
The Wingmen defeated Adrian Alanis and Liam Gray via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Well, at least we didn’t get a Dark Order vs. The Wingmen match this time around.
4. Lucky Ali vs. Blake Christian. Christian hit a top rope moonsault but was denied the cover. Ali used kicks to the back of Christian to slow down the match. Christian hit back with a backward leg kick. Christian continued with stomps to the back of the head of Ali. Afterward, Ali avoided contact with Christian for a brief moment, as Christian rolled through with a twisting neck breaker. Christian got the victory after a stomp to the head.
Blake Christian defeated Lucky Ali via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Good in-ring action. Both men showed fight, which didn’t make the match feel like a total squash.
5. Vary Morales vs. Jora Johl. Morales got a kick-up huracanrana on Johl and then flew to the outside and landed on him. Johl grabbed control of the match with elbow strikes to the face of Morales. Shortly thereafter, Johl dropped Morales using a superplex from the top rope. Toward the end of the match, it was lights out for Morales after he was caught by a punt kick from Johl to win the match.
Jora Johl defeated Vary Morales via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Another sleeper match. I enjoyed it for what it was and Johl continues to shine in singles competition.
6. Justin Cotto vs. Max Caster. Cotto had some flashy moves, but Caster struck back with his own dropkick. Cotto missed a shooting star press as Caster moved out of the way after dropping him with a backdrop. After that, Caster finished Cotto with the Mic Drop.
Max Caster defeated Justin Cotto via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Rare singles action from Caster, who is typically solid in the ring when he works on his own.
7. “The Factory’s” Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto vs. Dante Martin and Matt Sydal. Martin and Sydal hit a double dropkick on Solo. After the early pace settled down, Sydal hit a standing twisting moonsault on Solo. Comoroto threw Martin into the barricade after Solo tagged out. Solo tagged in and went for a quick cover on Martin, who kicked out at two. Comoroto missed a splash on Martin. Sydal made the tag and drove both knees into the face of Comoroto along with a running senton to Solo. Comoroto planted Sydal with a backbreaker. Martin eventually won the match for his team with the double jump moonsault.
Dante Martin and Matt Sydal defeated The Factory’s Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: A nice tag team match. There was a scary spot where Sydal landed on his head following a spot with Solo, but it was great tag team action otherwise.
8. Westin Blake vs. Daniel Garcia. Garcia countered a maneuver from Blake with a back suplex. Blake took control of Garcia and slowed him down by wrapping his hands for a submission hold. Garcia fought out of the submission with chops, which eventually turned into an exchange. Garcia hit another back suplex. Garcia found a breakthrough and locked in the dragon sleeper submission for the victory.
Daniel Garcia defeated Westin Blake via submission.
Briar’s Take: A long, drawn-out match. Blake was Wesley Blake in The Forgotten Sons tag team in WWE and he had a nice showing here. Excalibur questioned a couple of times if he would upset Garcia in his first outing. Blake’s got the big men’s size, so I’m interested to see if AEW will be using him more in the future.
9. Ryan Howe, Omar Amir, and Cash Flo vs. “The Trustbusters” Ari Daivari, Parker Boudreaux, and Slim J. Boudreaux knocked down Amir with a double clothesline. Slim J tagged in and doubled up on Cash Flo. Slim J ended his night with the sliced bread.
The Trustbusters defeated Ryan Howe, Omar Amir, and Cash Flo via pinfall.
10. Dark Order’s John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10 vs. Tyshaun Perez, DK Vandu, and Joey Sweets. Perez stomped Reynolds who was in the corner. 10 tagged in and laid out Perez with a punt kick while Sweets was hit with a spinebuster. The Dark Order won the match by their finisher combination move.
Dark Order’s John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and 10 defeated Tyshaun Perez, DK Vandu, and Joey Sweets via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Back-to-back quick tag team matches with really nothing at stake.
11. GKM and Oliver Sawyer vs. Tony Nese and Josh Woods. Woods attacked Sawyer with his technical moves as the match began and eventually landed the German suplex. Woods concluded the match briefly with an assisted Olympic Slam for the win.
Tony Nese and Josh Woods defeated GKM and Oliver Sawyer via pinfall.
12. “Iron Savages” (f/k/a Bear Country) vs. Sean Maluta and Manny Lo. The former Bear Country tag team made quick work of Maluta and Lo after Boulder dropped Lo with a chokeslam. Bear Bronson drove Maluta onto Lo using a Death Valley Driver. The Iron Savages won the match with a cannonball in the corner.
Iron Savages defeated Sean Maluta and Manny Lo via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: Bear Country got a name change to Iron Savages, but their moveset is still the same and nothing else has really changed. I guess we’ll see what happens with them moving forward.
13. Rosario Grillo and Dean Alexander vs. “The Workhorsemen” JD Drake and Anthony Henry. Drake laid out Alexander with a clothesline, while Henry hit him with a low-standing dropkick. Alexander continued to be dominated by Henry with strikes, but Alexander found a way to tag out. Grillo had tons of momentum and hit a leaping dropkick on Drake. He attempted a powerbomb on Henry, but Drake struck him with a cannonball. Shortly thereafter, Drake and Henry scored the victory after Drake planted himself using a splash.
“The Workhorsemen” JD Drake and Anthony Henry defeated Rosario Grillo and Dean Alexander via pinfall.
Briar’s Take: The Workhoremen picked up their first win of 2022 after being 0-5 throughout the year in AEW.
14. Mafioso vs. KiLynn King. Mafioso hit a kick to the back of King, who rallied and flew from the top rope with a missile dropkick. Afterward, King used a pump-handle slam and won the match.
KiLynn King defeated Mafioso via pinfall.
Afterward, Dr. Britt Baker came to the ring and had a segment with King to preview her match on Wednesday night. They had a quick brawl in and outside the ring before the show went off the air.
Briar’s Take: Overall, another needlessly long episode of AEW Dark. There were some nice matches in between like the tag team matches including singles matches like Lucky Ali and Blake Christian and Vary Morales and Jora Johl. I’d say those two were matches of the night as they were a bit longer compared to others and more competitive. I think I enjoyed the Ali and Christian just a tad more due to their back-and-forth nature Otherwise, most of the card was predictable and the matches were very brief. AEW did a long session of tapings this past weekend, so we’ll probably see a couple of longer episodes. Episode 158 clocked in at 1 hour, 33 minutes, and 06 seconds. Final Score: 6.0 out of 10.
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