AEW Dark: Elevation Review - February 27, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Emi Sakura def. Rachelle Riveter

Sakura's role has been firmly established as someone who can work with the younger women on the AEW roster and lend them experience. Her recent match on Dark against Billie Starkz was a perfect example of that. As I always say, she wins these matches so it means more when she's eventually beaten. That's why we get as many squashes as we do on the Dark shows, but at least she's been showing more personality this past year and thus I don't mind her matches as much.

The Kingdom def. EJ Sparks and Aguila Aguirre

I feel like the last time we saw The Kingdom was in action back at December's ROH Final Battle pay-per-view on the pre-show. That's probably because AEW was holding off on using them until the launch of ROH TV, but it would have been nice if they had the occasional Dark match. This was a fairly standard showcase for them, and it was perfect timing because ROH TV is back this Thursday on HonorClub and I believe they'll be in action on that first show.

Nyla Rose, Marina Shafir and Diamante def. Mazzerati, Miss May and Brittnie Brooks

This alliance of Rose and Shafir is so pointless. They were teasing tension at one point, only for that to go nowhere. Shafir has improved from where she was six months ago, but she's still as exciting as watching paint dry. The best thing AEW can do with Rose at this point is break her away from Shafir and Vickie Guerrero and attempt to salvage whatever credibility she has left, though that ship may have sailed. Speaking of Rose, she was thankfully on offense for a majority of this match. I like Diamante, but she didn't do anything, so I'm not sure why she was in there. Hey, at least she won for a change.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Daniel Evans

Hobbs continues to bring his book with him to ringside, even though it has yet to serve a purpose and hasn't gotten him back on TV in a meaningful role. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind seeing him destroy dudes on Elevation, but he's long overdue for a return to Dynamite or Rampage as well as an actual storyline. This was basic stuff from him, though it's worth noting he was crazy over in front of this crowd. Despite that, I hope he stays heel because that's the right role for him right now.

The Firm ("All Ego" Ethan Page, Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy) def. Ice Williams, Braxton and Watson

The pairing of Page and Hardy has grown on me with both guys being completely over the top, along with Kassidy. The endgame is obviously Hardy turning on Page, but they're having some fun getting there. They're also doing an effective job of getting the crowd into their matches. Hardy is challenging Hook for the FTW Championship this Wednesday on Dynamite, so it was logical for him to pick up the pinfall win for his team here.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Danielle Kamela in an ROH Women's World Championship Eliminator Match

I really thought Kamela would be in higher demand following her departure from WWE/NXT two years ago, but aside from a Dark match here and there in 2021, I don't think I've seen her wrestle anywhere notable. She didn't have a chance to impress here, either, as this was mostly about Athena and giving her another decisive win ahead of the return of ROH TV. She hasn't used the Eclipse much as a heel, so it was cool to see her bring that back here to finish off Kamela.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Lee Johnson

I'm very glad this was saved for the main event spot because it was easily the highlight of the night. Takeshita is just a treasure and kills it every time he's in the ring. Johnson is quite talented in his own right, so this was a very fun sprint while it lasted. By the way, I completely forgot Johnson and Cole Karter were aligned because they're members of The Factory. Karter has been off AEW programming for months and I can't say I noticed he was even gone.

Overall Show

There were enough enjoyable moments to make this edition of Elevation worthwhile. The main event between Takeshita and Johnson is a given, but Athena had her usual spirited squash, The Firm were over with this audience, and Hobbs got a better reaction than I was expecting. Everything else was business as usual, but I appreciated that the episode had energy and didn't feel like a chore to sit through. The sub-45 minute runtimes are a huge help (especially as someone who watches a lot of wrestling weekly).

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews