AEW Dark: Elevation Review - January 31, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lance Archer def. Chase Oliver

It was confirmed last week on Dynamite that Archer will get his shot at Adam Page's AEW World Championship in a Texas Deathmatch (why, I don't know) next week on Dynamite. He's obviously not winning, but it should be a fun match. It also makes sense to continue establishing his dominance before then. His quick squashes were missed in his absence. His post-match promo was fine as well as he put Page on notice, though it's weird we've barely heard from Jake Roberts since his return.

Brandi Rhodes def. KiLynn King

Oh lord, Brand is now coming up through the middle of the stage like her husband Cody. I'm confused as to whether she's supposed to be a babyface or a heel because that entrance doesn't make her come off as very likable. As for King, she was a regular on Dark in the early days of the pandemic but has barely been seen since. She was obviously used here because she's an Ohio native and that's where this episode emanated from. Like I said last week about Brandi, her matches aren't as awful as I was expecting upon her return, but they also aren't good. The crowd wasn't into this at all and Brandi was booed after she won.

Jay Lethal def. Casey Carrington

The booking of Lethal continues to boggle my mind. He debuted only two months ago and is already an afterthought, having wrestled mainly on Elevation and sparingly appearing on Dynamite. He'll actually be challenging Ricky Starks for the FTW Championship this Friday on Rampage, but I wish that actually meant something. This gave him a necessary win before then and served as a nice reminder of what he can do.

Anna Jay def. Nikki Victory

Jay's in an odd spot at the moment in that she's already failed to beat Britt Baker and Jade Cargill, so what does she vie for? Who does she feud with, if anyone? Until AEW can figure that out, hopefully she can continue making appearances on the Dark shows so she can keep honing her skills. This was short, sweet and straight to the point with Jay decisively beating Victory in under a minute. No complaints here. 

Dante Martin, Matt Sydal and Lee Moriarty def. The Factory (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto)

I honestly forget The Factory is still a thing until I see them appear on-screen together. I guess that's better than them being overexposed on Dynamite every week like they were back in the spring and summer of 2021. They do serve their purpose in helping put over other talent like they did here and to their credit, this was an entertaining six-man tag team affair with everyone playing their roles well. The babyface trio are just a blast to watch.

Thunder Rosa and Ruby Soho def. Joseline Navarro and Megan Myers

I believe Rosa and Soho teamed up on last week's Elevation and won in a similarly-booked match. They have a natural chemistry together and always get the crowd engaged in their matches. This was a simple win for them to keep their winning ways going. Mercedes Martinez emerged on the stage afterward, hyping up her match Rosa for Friday's edition of Rampage. I'm looking forward to that one.

Penta El Zero Miedo def. Serpentico

As I've said before, I'm all for a Penta singles push while Rey Fenix is out injured. I know he'll be teaming up with his Death Triangle stablemate Pac against The Kings of The Black Throne on Wednesday's Dynamite, but I'd primarily like to see him in the singles ranks beyond that. Serpentico is a goof, but he sold well for Penta's offense here in what was basically an extended squash. The crowd was hot for Penta as you'd expect.

Overall Show

These editions of Elevation are always a breeze to get through because they run under an hour and feature a perfect amount of matches with a lively crowd. Granted, I could have done without Brandi vs. King, but I know they're trying to build Brandi's win-loss record (likely to challenge Jade Cargill for the AEW TBS Championship eventually which scares me). The rest of the show was solid and was an enjoyable 43 minutes of action.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews