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AEW Dark: Elevation Review - August 22, 2022

8/22/2022

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By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Anna Jay def. Nikki Victory

Jay is still being announced as Anna Jay even though the graphic lists her as Anna Jay A.S., so I'm sticking with the former until I hear otherwise. This was every Anna Jay squash you've ever seen. It was kept brief, which was for the better, and she went over in dominant fashion. I'm still not into this goofy shtick she's doing where she attempts to act badass, but she's giving it her all, I'll say that much.

Ruby Soho and Ortiz def. Queen Aminata and Mickey Midas

Soho and Ortiz are only teaming because they're friends with Eddie Kingston and both have issues with Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo right now. That's about it. They're clearly headed for a mixed tag team match that I don't care about, so this was designed to establish their alliance and give them a win before that happens. This was short and sweet. I'm curious if Santana will stick around when his contract expires or if AEW will actually attempt to push him as a singles star.

Dante Martin def. Jackson Drake

Martin has lost pretty much all momentum since branching off into singles competition, which is a shame because he's damn talented. Hopefully he can get more opportunities to shine on his own like he did last year, but time will tell. I fear he'll be largely relegated to the Dark shows until his brother returns to action again. If nothing else, this was a nice little match while it lasted and it gave him a much-needed victory.

Serena Deeb def. Megan Meyers

We really haven't seen a whole lot of Deeb since she unsuccessfully challenged Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women's World Championship at Death Before Dishonor. She's terrific and was getting over with the audience ahead of her AEW Women's World Championship match against Thunder Rosa at Double or Nothing, so I'm disappointed her television time has drastically decreased. I love watching her squashes to see how she dismantles her opponents.

The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds and Preston "10" Vance) def. D'Mone Solavino, Alexander Apollo and RC Dupree

It was confirmed on today's episode of Being The Elite that these three will be representing Dark Order in the AEW World Trios Championship Tournament as Evil Uno will be in Germany doing promotional work for AEW's upcoming video game. House of Black beating Dark Order on Dynamite feels like a foregone conclusion unless the idea is that Adam Page will fill in for one of them at some point. The crowd was into them here and the match was what it needed to be.

Julia Hart def. Hayley Shadows

Hart officially has her own entrance music. She's still focused more on the character stuff and her in-ring work, but she seems to be gradually improving. That's what Dark is for, but the crowds couldn't be quieter during her matches. You'd think she was wrestling in a damn library. Is it because some AEW fans forget she's on the roster because she barely appears on AEW TV with the rest of House of Black? This was fine for what it was.

Tony Nese and Josh Woods def. Andrea Guercio and Logan James

I'm still not sensing the chemistry between Nese and Woods. They work well as partners, but they already lost to current AEW World Tag Team Champions Swerve In Our Glory, so I'm not sure what they're striving for at this point aside from picking up pointless wins on the Dark shows. Mark Sterling serving as their manager does them no favors, though. This was decent, but the crowd couldn't have cared less.

Death Triangle (AEW All-Atlantic Champion Pac and The Lucha Brothers) def. Rosario Grillo, Manscout and Dean Alexander

Manscout! Seeing him make an appearance was my top takeaway from this match. He competed at the very first independent wrestling show I attended in 2009 and I've enjoyed his act ever since. He actually works for AEW in the merchandising department the last I heard. At any rate, this was a straightforward showcase for Death Triangle before they battle United Empire in an AEW World Trios Championship Tournament quarterfinal match on Wednesday's Dynamite.

Emi Sakura and Maki Itoh def. Hikaru Shida and Skye Blue

I've said this before, but I'm not nearly as high on Itoh as everyone else. I understand the appeal I guess, but the singing sucks, she comes across as annoying, and the headbutt crap she does is stupid. That's just me, though. I'll never forget when she was the surprise entrant in the Women's Owen Hart Cup earlier this year and her return fell flat. Nonetheless, this was a perfectly solid main event and it was logical for it to be as competitive as it was. The heels winning certainly took me by surprise. I assume we haven't seen the last of Shida vs. Sakura.

Overall Show

I'm always down for Elevation lasting between 35 and 45 minutes each episode, so at 47 minutes long, this edition was right around that sweet spot. I don't know that all nine matches were necessary, but the show did fly by and it closed out with a well-wrestled main event featuring some star power. There weren't any highlights among the other matches, but at least we got to see several people who aren't usually featured.
SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews
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