AEW Dark: Elevation Review - August 1, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Julia Hart def. LMK

This lasted a little longer than most of Hart's other matches since she turned heel earlier this year and joined House of Black. She still hasn't done much with him, anyway, so I'm not sure what the purpose of that was. At any rate, putting Hart in matches longer than a minute is always a risk, but then again, she won't improve without reps. This existed and that's perhaps the best thing I can say about it.

Leila Grey def. JC

First LMK, now JC. Was LOL not booked for this show? Bad joke aside, I believe this marked Grey's first squash win since she started appearing in AEW. She was supposed to compete on Dynamite a few weeks ago but wasn't cleared to compete. She remains an honorary baddie as far as I know, so giving her a win to establish her credibility is a smart call. This was what it needed to be.

Private Party, The Butcher, The Blade and Angelico def. Waves and Curls, Julio Cruz, Victor Chase and Joey Ace

Cruz and Chase are collectively known as Brick City Boyz throughout the northeast wrestling scene. I'm not sure why they weren't called that here since AEW has referred to them as such in the past, but oh well. As I've said before, Waves and Curls are one of the hottest up-and-coming tag teams in all of wrestling and it'd be criminal if they're not signed to a major promotion any time soon. Unfortunately, this was all about The Andrade Family Office, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves these days. Jora Johl was in their corner as well.

The Factory (QT Marshall, Anthony Ogogo, Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto) def. Bobby Orlando, Bryce Donovan, Brett Gosselin and T.U.G. Cooper

This was the second straight squash where I was more interested in the jobbers than I was the team doing the squashing. The Factory has always bored me to tears and I doubt that's ever going to change. Gosselin, however, has a ton of potential. Similar to Waves and Curls and Brick City Boyz, I'm familiar with him from Northeast Wrestling and he's been a standout for me this past year. He should also be signed to a full-time deal by a main promotion soon. This served as a showcase for The Factory. Are the people who don't watch the Dark shows even aware Ogogo is still on the roster?

Cole Karter def. Serpentico

Karter recently had a strong showing against Ricky Starks for the FTW Championship on Dynamite. We found out a short time later that he's been signed to a deal by AEW, though I have yet to see an "All Elite graphic for him. It makes you wonder why he wasn't signed last year when he was on Dark almost every week, but better late than never, I suppose. This was solid stuff, but the fact he joined The Factory (unless it's just a ruse) is a pretty big step backward for him in my opinion.

Athena def. Christina Marie

It's been great to see Athena looking motivated again in AEW. Who knows how long this push for her will last, but I'm enjoying it and looking forward to her eventual encounter with Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship. Marie scored some offense here, but this was designed to give Athena another win and allow her to maintain momentum. I don't want to see her become a regular on Dark and Elevation long-term, though.

Hikaru Shida, Toni Storm and Willow Nightingale def. Emi Sakura, Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir

It'd be wonderful if Tony Khan stopped trying to make Shafir a thing because it will not work, I promise you. She is so beyond boring it's not even funny, though I do applaud her improvement from her WWE NXT days. Thankfully, there were several other women involved in this thing, so we didn't have to see her in there that much. This was a random collection of talent, but it was a nice sprint to give the babyfaces some shine.

Overall Show

With only seven matches in about 45 minutes, this was exactly the sort of show I want to see Elevation have every week. Anything longer than an hour to me is overkill, but this episode served its purpose in showcasing several stars and giving viewers some serviceable action. The six-woman tag team main event was fun and everything else was average. The first two matches weren't the greatest, but the rest of the show recovered just fine.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews