AEW Dark: Elevation Review - April 3, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Action Andretti def. Nick Comoroto

Andretti going from beating Chris Jericho on the Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite in December to now opening Dark against Comoroto (who I completely forgot was still on the roster) is sad to see. That isn't to say he can't be redeemed, but it feels like he'll be pulling Dark duty for a while until AEW finds the right role for him. This was a quality contest, but the fact the crowd couldn't have cared less was telling.

Skye Blue def. Angelica Risk

Blue wrestles so much on Dark that she has her matches down to a formula at this point. It's nice that she's getting so many reps, but I'd be lying if I said her squashes matches were interesting in ​any way when they're all exactly the same. This was whatever, but I assume it existed to give her a win so she has at least some wins on her record the next time she loses to a member of The Outcasts.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions The Gates of Agony def. Leonis and Maximus

Gates of Agony are coming off a successful defense of their ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship at Supercard of Honor over the weekend, which I wasn't expecting since all signs pointed to Brian Cage not re-signing with AEW/ROH. That's good news for Gates of Agony, who will remain regulars in ROH and apparently making the occasional appearances on the Dark shows. This was the usual dominance from them.

Julia Hart def. Kelsey Heather

We've been getting more of Hart in the ring as of late, which is a positive considering she's been inactive for the better part of the past few months. Yes, she's been managing House of Black, but how much is she actually doing in that role? She's also improving, but she's still not at a point where I want to see her having longer matches on Dynamite or Rampage yet. This was fine for what it was.

Kip Sabian def. Leon Ruffin

Sabian is a skilled competitor, but I'm already back to not caring about him after he returned from his long layoff last year to challenge Pac for the then-AEW All-Atlantic Championship. He's probably best off teaming with The Butcher and The Blade to lose to other trios. This was a competent contest and Ruffin always sells well for his opponents, but I could've done without this lasting as long as it did.

Lance Archer def. Bryce Cannon

Cannon looked like an obnoxious moron, so I was more than happy to see Archer kick his ass. I still don't know if Archer is supposed to be a babyface or a heel, but he was definitely the babyface in this match. He took his time beating up Cannon and that was about it. Archer recently resurfaced on AEW programming, but it still doesn't look like he has the slightest bit of direction and he'll continue to relegated to the Dark shows from here on out.

AEW World Tag Team Champions The Gunns def. The Infantry in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match

The Infantry consist of Carlie Bravo and Shawn Dean and have been on ROH TV a time or two in the last month. They're a talented team, but I don't think this was the right week for them to look competitive against The Gunns, who are two days away from defending against FTR on Wednesday. This really should have been a more straightforward win for The Gunns seeing as how the outcome was never in doubt, but at least it was a well-wrestled main event.

Overall Show

I cant remember the last time Elevation was taped at Universal Studios, but I assume that was because ROH TV was taped before Dynamite last week in place of Elevation. As a result, this came off more like an episode of Dark than Elevation, and I don't mean that as a compliment. It ended up being a solid show, but the crowd was largely lifeless. I appreciated that the main event was more than a squash, but as I mentioned, it may have been the wrong week for that.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews