AEW Dark: Elevation Review - January 3, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Riho def. Valentina Rossi

Riho has her shot at Britt Baker's AEW World Women's Championship coming up at Saturday's Battle of the Belts special, so it made sense to give her a last-minute momentum boost before then. The thing is, that feud has barely been furthered on TV since Riho beat Baker in late November. I wouldn't have had Rossi get in as much offense as she did considering Riho's big title opportunity is on Saturday, but I understand she almost always fights from underneath, so it was to be expected.

Andrade El Idolo def. JP Harlow

I hate to say it, but Andrade's AEW run in 2021 was totally underwhelming. He did nothing for his first few months there, had a decent feud with Pac that he lost, and lost to Cody Rhodes in the end as well. Hell, even his debut on Dynamite was lame. Based on what we saw on Friday's Rampage, it appears he could be headed for a feud with Darby Allin, but both guys need wins, so I don't know how much Andrade will actually benefit from that. This was a fairly standard showcase for him.

Megan Bayne def. Leila Grey

Bayne made a handful of appearances for AEW in the first half of 2021. She definitely has a presence about her that helps her stand out, though I don't remember her having many memorable matches/showings aside from when she was quickly squashed by Nyla Rose that one time. That said, I've seen her on a handful of independent wrestling shows since then and she has potential. Maybe AEW feels the same way seeing as how she won here, but there's plenty of room for improvement as far as her in-ring work goes.

Scorpio Sky def. Ray Jaz

I am beyond ready for Sky to get a renewed singles push. Ethan Page wasn't out there with him for this, but Dan Lambert was. I just think the Men of the Year stuff has run its course, though they do play off each other well. Sky got to showcase his skills here and Jaz was impressive in defeat. Maybe they're building up Sky for a shot at the AEW TNT Championship after Page lost to Cody Rhodes last week on Rampage?

The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. Mike Orlando and Shayne Stetson

As I've always said, Silver and Reynolds are a blast to watch in the ring. They're too goofy for their own good on TV sometimes, but in the ring, they can bring it and have a chemistry like few other teams. That's why I want to see them be booked seriously at some point and actually get a run at the AEW World Tag Team Championship. I would have kept this slightly shorter, but the end result was the same, regardless.

Jake Atlas def. Serpentico

It was cool to see Atlas make an appearance here. He was released from WWE back in August and I maintain he never really had a chance to really break out in NXT. Rather, he was largely utilized on NXT as an enhancement guy and on 205 Live. He had a one-off in Ring of Honor in September but announced a temporary retirement from wrestling almost immediately after. He didn't miss a beat and had a strong showing.

Skye Blue def. Angelica Risk

Another week, another chance for me to complain about AEW not signing Skye Blue yet. Seriously, what's the holdup? I'm not saying she should be a champion tomorrow, but she has the potential to be a breakout babyface if booked properly. AEW has been using her for many months and there has been zero indication that she's been officially signed. If nothing else, she's picking up wins like she did here. Risk got to do her thing as well.

Jay Lethal def. Troy Hollywood

Lethal's AEW run has been bizarre to me. He debuted at Full Gear, headlined Dynamite four days later where he unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW TNT Championship, had one match on Elevation, got quickly thrown out of a Battle Royal on Dynamite last month, and hadn't been seen until now. I realize he made a one-off appearance at Ring of Honor's Final Battle pay-per-view, but that doesn't explain why AEW has done nothing with him since. Not even a promo. On the bright side, this was a hell of a sprint from both men and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overall Show

All eight matches were glorified squashes with some lasting a little longer than others. There were no competitive matches, which was disappointing, but at least this show didn't go over an hour like it would have when it first started in March 2021 just because they were back in Daily's Place for last week's tapings. Atlas making his debut was notable as well as Lethal making a rare appearance in the main event, so this episode gets a thumbs-up from me.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews