AEW Dark: Elevation Review - June 27, 2022

By Grham "GSM" Matthews

Anna Jay def. Heather Reckless

It feels like they're slowly starting to distance Jay from ​The Dark Order and I'm not complaining. She's been appearing with them less and less (even on Being The Elite) and that's probably for the best at this point since being with that legion of losers will not do her any favors. She's still better in smaller doses as far as her in-ring work is concerned, so it was wise to keep this short and sweet.

Team Taz (FTW Champion Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs) def. Jordan Kross and Joey Jett

Starks and Hobbs are always a blast to watch work. They've been featured on TV a bit more lately, but they still feel underrated and that AEW should be doing more with them. The crowd was livelier for this squash than almost any other on this show and you could tell Starks was having fun out there. They teased unfinished business with Swerve In Our Glory on the Forbidden Door pre-show, so I wouldn't be surprised if that match is added to Wednesday's Dynamite.

Ruby Soho def. Missa Kate

It's been about a month since Double or Nothing and AEW has still shown zero signs of doing anything meaningful with Soho. I know her and Toni Storm won that tag team match against Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter on the edition of Dynamite following the pay-per-view, but that was clearly designed to set up Storm for an AEW Women's World Championship opportunity. Thus, Soho is back to where she was before and that's Dark. This was passable and no different than any other squash she's ever had on this show.

Swerve In Our Glory def. Vic Capri and GPA

Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland have been teasing tension in recent weeks, yet they continue to have strong chemistry as partners. Crowds are certainly into them, but I maintain that both men would be better off in the singles ranks at this point and shouldn't be pulling Dark duty for much longer. Much like at Forbidden Door, the dissension was once again apparent in this outing, but they picked up the victory, nonetheless.

"All Ego" Ethan Page def. Serpentico

The best thing I can say about this is that Luther wasn't at ringside for Serpentico. He's practically unbearable, so I was glad Serpentico went at it alone. There really wasn't much to the match, but I will give props to Serpentico for his selling. He usually does a good job with that and that was on display in this match. As for Page, I'm not sure what they're building him up for, unless this was just to pad his singles record.

John Silver def. KM

KM, also known as Kevin Matthews, has made quite a few appearances on the Dark shows in the last year or two. He worked briefly for IMPACT a few years ago. Obviously, he's a much bigger dude than Silver, so I thought this might last longer than a few minutes. Despite the significant size difference and KM scoring some offense early on, Silver went over decisively relatively quickly. He might have the most singles potential of anyone in Dark Order in my opinion.

House of Black (Brody King and Buddy Matthews) def. CJ Esparza and Brubaker

I still don't see Julia Hart being a necessary addition to the group since she doesn't add much by just standing at ringside, but as long as it doesn't hinder House of Black's momentum, that's all that matters. I continue to love House of Black, but I wish AEW did more with them on TV. This was a simple squash for them and it served as a reminder of their dominance. I heard recently that Matthews was injured, but I don't know how true that is he if was in action here. Perhaps he's just working hurt unless he was injured in this match.

Max Caster and Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn) def. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and Preston "10" Vance)

The Gunn Club-Acclaimed alliance grows on me more and more by the week. The crowd is into the act, though I think most of that has to do with Acclaimed and how damn popular they are. Honestly, they make Dark Order feel like old news as they were a total afterthought here. This was probably the best match on the show, even if that's not saying much. It was enjoyable while it lasted and kept the heels on a winning streak following their victory on the Forbidden Door pre-show.

Overall Show

Although I appreciated the 44-minute runtime, ​I don't think there needed to be eight matches, especially when a majority of them were so short. It made more sense a few weeks ago when they were doing less matches and some of those matches were more competitive and had more time. That said, this was still a solid show. Nothing stood out at all, mind you, but the show served its purpose in showcasing certain stars and not overstaying its welcome.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews