AEW Dark: Elevation Review - December 20, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Nyla Rose, The Bunny and Emi Sakura def. Jessica James, Gigi Rey and Lady Bird Monroe

I'm not sure why Rose, The Bunny and Sakura have formed an alliance. I know they've won together before, but it feels like a random trio. That said, this was a decent enough match that served as a showcase for the heels. Ruby Soho sat in on commentary because she'll be facing Rose in the next round of the AEW TBS Women's Championship Tournament on Wednesday's Dynamite. Soho is absolutely winning that one.

Red Velvet def. Madi Wrenkowski

Wrenkowski was just starting to become a regular on Dark earlier this year before AEW returned to the road and her appearances became a lot less frequent. I would assume she lives in Florida and that's why she was always used for the Dark tapings. This was the first time we've seen her in a while and she's sporting a new haircut. She had a good showing, but this was all about Velvet and giving her a win.

Bear Country def. Chaos Project

I've made it quite clear in my reviews over the last year how unbearable I find Chaos Project and that hasn't changed. The only thing that's changed is that they don't wrestle as often as they used to, which is a plus. Thankfully, they were used to elevate Bear Country here. It was a perfectly passable match with the right result as Bear Bronson prepare to face Hook on Friday's Rampage.

Andrade El Idolo def. Kaun

Kaun is actually one-third of the reigning Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. Technically, he's still champ because they haven't officially relinquished the titles yet. He'd probably get lost in the shuffle on his own in AEW, but Shane Taylor Promotions on the whole would be an awesome pickup for AEW. I liked how Kaun took the fight to Andrade at certain points and he had a solid showing before eating defeat.

Thunder Rosa def. Amber Rodriguez

Most of Rosa's squashes are the same, but she's such a blast to watch that I can't complain. Rodriguez scored a bit of offense, but a majority of this match was all about Rosa as it should have been. She's racking up wins before she faces Jade Cargill in the next round of the aforementioned TBS title tourney. Since I want her to dethrone Britt Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship, I hope she falls short against Jade Cargill (who should then lose to Ruby Soho in the finals)

The Dark Order (Preston "10" Vance, Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) def. The H.F.O. (Matt Hardy, Isiah Kassidy and The Blade)

If I never saw another match pitting Dark Order against members of The H.F.O., I'd be content. This is where the faction wars go overboard to me, but as a match, this was enjoyable while it lasted and the crowd was into it. Dark Order has lost a lot more than they've won lately, so this was a nice win for them, for whatever the hell it's worth. I maintain that Hardy is the perfect person to be managing people, but The Blade is an odd fit for the group and Private Party have so far gained nothing on-screen from their alliance with him.

Overall Show

These shorter shows from Elevation continue to be a breeze. The fact they feature star power is a huge help and we got that on this episode in the form of appearances from Rosa and Andrade. Per usual, this show spotlighted several stars and hyped up several upcoming matches. Everything received an appropriate amount of time and the crowd was lively. AEW has finally found a formula that works with Elevation. Now if only they could keep Dark on Tuesdays under an hour as well...

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews