AEW Dark: Elevation Review - February 14, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dante Martin def. Kevin Matthews

We've seen Matthews a time or two before on AEW programming as an enhancement talent. He previously wrestled for IMPACT for about a year or so and that's where I know him from. He's a solid wrestler with an over-the-top personality, so I'm surprised he hasn't signed anywhere since. He was on offense for a majority of this match, but there was never any doubt that Martin would win heading into his Face of the Revolution qualifier against Powerhouse Hobbs this Friday on Rampage.

Thunder Rosa def. Riley Shepard

All signs point to Rosa finally getting her shot at the AEW Women's World Championship at Revolution. Combine that with how she has a No Disqualification match with Mercedes Martinez coming up on Wednesday's Dynamite and it was imperative that she be booked to look dominant here. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. Rosa won with a modified version of her usual finisher, which looked cool.

Zack Clayton def. Serpentico

Clayton is the same guy who took QT Marshall to the limit not too long ago and nothing happened with him since then. I realize he isn't officially signed to the company, but I'd honestly like to see more of him than I would Serpentico, who is an absolute goof along with Luther. He's an impressive dude albeit a bit generic, hence why I was happy this was fairly competitive. The crowd got behind him and it was great that he won. On a side note, Mike The Situation from Jersey Shore was shown in the front row interacting with Luther.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Matt Sydal

Hobbs always works well with the smaller guys and this was no exception, not to mention that Sydal can have a good match with just about anyone. Hobbs will be facing Sydal's buddy Dante Martin this Friday on Rampage in a Face of the Revolution qualifier, so this served as a warm-up of sorts for him before then. It's about time Hobbs starting beating established talent. I feel he's been underutilized for quite a while now.

Men of the Year def. Jaden Valo and Steve Pena

Men of the Year were never my favorite team to begin with, but we've reached the point where there's no point to them sticking together. Ethan Page has unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW TNT Championship on more than one occasion, they've lost against other established tag teams, and Dan Lambert manages loses in AEW. In other words, Scorpio Sky would benefit from breaking off on his own. This was a solid showcase for them, but the only thing I'll remember about it is Page's finisher, which is the only thing that stands out about him.

The Acclaimed, Daniel Garcia and 2point0 def. The Dark Order (Alan "5" Angels, Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, John Silver and Alex Reynolds)

For as beloved as Dark Order are, they continue to lose a majority of their matches on the Dark shows. They've fallen far from where they were over the summer. On the bright side, this was a fun multi-man match while it lasted with everyone getting some shine to shine, specifically Angels. I'm not a big fan of AEW doing so many of these types of matches, but this was enjoyable enough, so I didn't mind it.

Ruby Soho, Tay Conti and Anna Jay def. Nyla Rose, The Bunny and Emi Sakura

With so many known names involved, you'd think this go at least five minutes, but they didn't even get that. Instead, it was over pretty quickly. Maybe the show was running short on time? Rose, The Bunny and Sakura continue to be one of AEW's most random trios that we never see on TV, but they play their roles well as familiar faces who help put over the babyfaces. This was obviously rushed yet decent. Conti's moonsault on the outside was quite awesome.

Overall Show

This was a pretty par-for-the-course edition of Elevation. Seven matches is always acceptable and we got a fair amount of competitive matches with members of the roster. The main event was a lot shorter than I was expecting, but the 10-man tag team match that preceded it was entertaining for what it was and I liked Hobbs vs. Sydal as well. There's nothing you need to go out of your way to see, but it was an easy hour of wrestling to digest per usual.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews