AEW Dark: Elevation Review - December 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Hagane Shinno def. Nick Comoroto

I have absolutely no clue who Shinno is, but I look forward to seeing more of him, assuming this wasn't just a one-off. Unfortunately, the match wasn't long enough for me to get a good enough idea of what he can do, but this was an average outing while it lasted. Comoroto was an fine opponent for him to work with and, although Comoroto means nothing as a member of The Factory, Shinno's win was impressive if only because Comoroto is a bigger dude.

Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir def. Kitty LaFleur and Alice Crowley

Rose and Shafir are still doing their thing as a team and I'm not exactly sure why. I assume it's to benefit Shafir, but the pairing only drags down Rose. Speaking of whom, she's already been demoted back to the Dark shows after failing to beat Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship at Full Gear. Shafir has shown shown improvement, but not enough to justify all of the matches she's been getting. Keeping this on the shorter side was for the best.

Kiera Hogan def. Nikki Victory

Hogan has always been more of a natural heel, so we'll see how she does as a babyface. Maybe she won't be in the role long-term, but it certainly seems like she'll be a babyface for a short-lived feud with Jade Cargill. This gave her the credibility boost she needs, but she just don't click as a babyface as well as she does as a heel based on what I saw here. Splitting her from The Baddies was a dumb move in my opinion.

Top Flight def. Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd

I'm relived that the rumors that Dante Martin got hurt in their recent Rampage match against FTR were exaggerated and he's actually okay. Top Flight going down with a third injury in less than two years would have been disastrous. They're such a blast to watch and I'm glad they had a chance to showcase their skills here. This existed to give them a much-needed win and allow Darius Martin to work off any ring rust he may still have.

Emi Sakura def. Madison Rayne

Sakura and Rayne largely only wrestle on the Dark shows to put others over and pick up the occasional win so it's not completely meaningless when they get beat, so I was curious who would win between them. Both are experienced, so I was surprised this was as short as it was. Then again, Rayne in-ring work in AEW hasn't been the best, so keeping this brief may not have been a bad thing. What we got from them was perfectly passable.

Lee Moriarty def. Serpentico

I like Moriarty, but if he can't win a title as meaningless as the FTW Championship, how can he possibly be taken seriously? I'm glad he's been getting more television time as part of The Firm, but I'm sorry to say, the stable sucks. It meant slightly more for him to beat Serpentico than an unknown local athlete, but not much. This was more competitive than your typical squash, so at least they made the most of the time they had.

The Embassy (Brian Cage and The Gates of Agony) def. Dan Adams, Star Rider and Facade

This was a straightforward squash for The Embassy. They can only ever seem to win on the Dark shows. All three of them work well as a trio, but they need to start racking up wins on Dynamite or Rampage if they're going to be featured on TV as much as they are. That said, the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship might be in their future since Dalton Castle and The Boys emerged afterward. Look for that match to be added to Saturday's Final Battle pay-per-view.

Kip Sabian def. Alex Reynolds

This was the rubber match between these two from the last few weeks. It's the Dark feud no one cares about. In all seriousness, both guys are good, so unsurprisingly, this was a quality contest. With Sabian recently teasing challenging Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship and The Dark Order losing yet another member in Preston "10" Vance, Sabian winning here was the only outcome that made sense.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Aaron Solo

For a "main event" match, this didn't last long at all, but I'm not complaining. Solo scored some offense, but otherwise, this was all about highlighting Takeshita. As I've said many times before, he's a terrific talent, and that's coming from someone who was not at all familiar with any of his work pre-AEW. Now that he's officially "All Elite," here's hoping AEW uses him properly and he isn't solely relegated to the Dark shows.

Overall Show

Doing nine matches over the course of an hour isn't exactly ideal for Elevation (less matches for a 45-minute show has proven to be the perfect format in the past), but this was a serviceable show. The "main event" isn't anything worth seeking out, but I enjoy any opportunity we get to see Takeshita in action. The rest of the show was solid and spotlighted several stars with credibility-boosting wins.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews