AEW Dark: Elevation Review - April 18, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Kris Statlander def. Ashley D'Amboise

This marked Statlander's first match since being repackaged. She came out with a new look and updated entrance music. I appreciate that she's finally moving away from the one-dimensional alien stuff, but what she's doing now feels generic. Maybe she'll develop the character a bit more, but that's just the vibe I got from watching her here. Despite D'Amboise being a regular on the Dark shows for a while now, she was beaten in roughly 90 seconds.

Andrade El Idolo def. Alan "5" Angels

I'm surprised this didn't either open or end the show because it was one of the better bouts and both guys are established. Granted, there was zero uncertainty surrounding the outcome, but this was a nice sprint for as long as it lasted. We all know what Andrade can do and Angels always shines in singles competition. I'm sure it would have been ever better with more time.

Tony Nese def. J. Spade

I've seen Spade in action on NWA programming a fair amount and he's an impressive athlete. He even got the crowd behind him at one point in this match when he started battling back, but Nese went over in the end, regardless. I'm sorry but Nese's squashes are some of the most boring on either of the Dark shows. He's obviously a technically proficient wrestler, but it's clear AEW has no meaningful plans for him and pairing him with Mark Sterling won't help at all.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. Allen Russell, Kameron Russell, Dale Springs, and Izaiah Zane

This was your typical Dark Order showcase, and while it wasn't any different than the rest, they were over with the audience, so there was that. I don't understand the point of giving Dark Order so many wins on the Dark shows only to have them lose whenever it matters most on the main shows. Nonetheless, this didn't overstay its welcome and was perfectly passable for what it was.

Roppongi Vice def. The Factory (Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto)

As I've said before, I'd be all for Best Friends breaking up so Trent Beretta and Rocky Romero can reunite full-time. Orange Cassidy doesn't need the group, Statlander is already down her own thing, and Wheeler Yuta has since joined British Combat Club. Only Chuck Taylor would be worse off, but who cares? Roppongi Vice are seasoned veterans and can work well with just about anyone. The Factory were hardly exciting opponents for them, but this was a pretty good match on the whole.

Hikaru Shida, Ruby Soho and Anna Jay def. The Bunny, Emi Sakura and Raychell Rose

Soho and Jay have been teaming together on the Dark shows for a while now, and although they have decent chemistry as partners, it's nowhere near as strong as the chemistry Jay has with Tay Conti. I assume that tandem might be over for the time being if Conti is going heel with Guevara (as she should), so that doesn't bode well for Jay. Throwing Shida in there as well felt lazy. They tried to cram a lot into a three-minute match and it didn't work. At least we'll be seeing Soho and Shida in the women's Owen Hart Cup soon.

The Hardys and Top Flight def. The Andrade Family Office (The Butcher, Angelico and Private Party)

The Hardys and Top Flight teaming up for the first time was a great get for this show. Of course, I wouldn't want to see The Hardys relegated to Dark or Elevation every week, but it was a special attraction in this case and the crowd ate it up. They received more time than I was expecting, and although the middle stretch dragged a bit, the final few minutes were a blast.

Overall Show

The 50 minutes flew by with seven serviceable squashes. Okay, so the main event was more competitive than the rest at almost 10 minutes in length, but this was still an enjoyable episode by Elevation standards. The Hardys being in action was a treat, I liked Andrade vs. Angels, and the other stuff was solid. I wish Elevation would feature this sort of star power more often to make the program more bearable.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews