AEW Dark: Elevation Review - January 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Brian Cage def. Schaff

Cage didn't come down to the ring with his ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship belt for some reason. Anyway, this crowd sure did love Schaff, so they made the right choice to have this last longer than your typical squash. Schaff looked good and they had an enjoyable affair. I feel like we don't get to see enough of Cage on his own, so I appreciated that he got to showcase his skills here.

The Kingdom def. The Bollywood Boyz

Bollywood Boyz were over as Schaff was. Okay, maybe not quite as over, but they were still pretty over with this hot Seattle crowd. They're obviously established from outside of AEW, so I had no issue with this being lengthier as well. Unfortunately, this wasn't as interesting as the opener. Bollywood Boyz had a solid showing, but nobody in the crowd cared about The Kingdom. Then again, they're not on AEW TV enough for fans to care, even though Mike Bennett just challenged Darby Allin for the AEW TNT Championship last Friday on Rampage.

House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) def. Ari Daivari and The Wingmen ("Pretty" Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth)

I was fine with the first two matches being competitive considering who was involved, but there was no excuse for Daivari and The Wingmen lasting as long as they did against House of Black, who should be in total destruction mode right now. This should have gone no more than a minute, but at least they were on offense throughout. We really need to see more House of Black matches on Dynamite and Rampage. They won't be able to build/maintain momentum otherwise.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Vinny Pacifico

Pacifico is a standout from the independent scene and is making the rounds right now, so I was happy to see him make an appearance here. Granted, he was only in there to lose to Hobbs in a matter of minutes, but he played his role well and sold nicely for Hobbs offense. I've been digging the Book of Hobbs vignettes that have been airing on AEW TV in recent weeks and I just hope they're leading to something significant for him soon.

Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir def. Amira and Danika Della Rouge

I'm usually pretty harsh toward Shafir, but in her defense, she looked perfectly fine in this match. She's improved somewhat, so this a bit better than some of Shafir and Rose's other tag team matches. Keeping it on the shorter side was also for a smart call. Vickie Guerrero wasn't at ringside with them for this, so the teases of tension continue. I can't bring myself to care personally, but I suppose it's better than them doing the same thing week after week on Elevation with no direction.

ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli def. Josh Woods

No, it was never explained what Woods did to earn an opportunity at the ROH World Championship (I don't think he's won a singles match since officially signing with AEW), but I'm not complaining because this was a very well-wrestled matched with enjoyable action. Castagnoli's matches never cease to deliver, but take nothing away from what Woods can do in the ring as well. I just wish this was positioned as the main event over what we ended up getting in that slot instead.

The Firm ("All Ego" Ethan Page, Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy) def. Guillermo Rosas, Cody Chhun and Sonico

I'm no Firm fan, but this stuff with Page, Hardy and Kassidy has easily been the best part of the stable so far. I don't know many people have seen them, but Page and Hardy have had some excellent interactions in backstage segments on Elevation. It's a different dynamic every week, and this week, Page and Hardy embraced being partners with Page acting over the top during their entrance and jamming out to the Hardy music. That was funny. This was well done and progressed their story in an interesting way.

ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Viva Van (Non-Title)

This was no different than any of the other Athena squashes so far in that she completely killed Van and was on offense the entire time. Her hard-hitting style remains a treat to watch, though it's about time she received a step up in competition. Her feud with Mercedes Martinez was too brief and a rematch would be great, but instead, Athena has a title defense coming up against Shafir based on what happened afterward.

Eddie Kingston and Ricky Ortiz def. Ricky Gibson and Eddie Pearl

It was the battle of the Eddies and the Rickys! That couldn't have been a coincidence, right? In all seriousness, this was more of the same from Kingston and Ortiz. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as AEW crowds love them together, but I'm ready for the next step in their rivalry with House of Black. Kingston and Ortiz are supposed to be having issues (as orchestrated by House of Black), but it feels like the build to the eventual match is being stretched out when it doesn't need to be.

Bandido def. Christopher Daniels

This was a double treat because we got Daniels in action and the return of Bandido, who has been off AEW TV for at least two months. Bandido wasn't hurt, either, because he was wrestling elsewhere during his time away from AEW. Okay, he might be hurt now based on reports from when this was taped, but at least we got this entertaining encounter. Daniels can more hold his own and Bandido can always be counted on for a top-notch performance. This wasn't what it could have been several years ago, but I'm glad we got it.

Best Friends def. Chaos Project

This headlined a show that also featured a ROH World Championship match. Why? I'm not fan of the Spanish Announce Project (the name of Chaos Project's faction with Angelico) and they should be nowhere near the main event of any show. Thankfully, Best Friends are over enough that this ended up being decent. The comedy was unsurprisingly lame, but because this was short and sweet, it was whatever.

Overall Show

As soon as I saw the near-90-minute runtime, I was worried this would be one of those editions of Elevation that dragged on and on, but it actually exceeded my expectation. Yes, 13 matches is way too much, but those early matches had life to them and Daniels vs. Bandido down the stretch was worthwhile. Elevation absolutely has no business being any more than an hour long, but this episode was one the exception because of how hot the crowd was in Seattle.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews