AEW Dark: Elevation Review - June 7, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jade def. Rache Chanel

Jade seems to be making great strides every time I see her in action. I'm still not high on her pairing with Mark Sterling, but I guess it's better than her having a manager like everyone else in the company since she's calling Sterling her "representation." Her matches are typically on the shorter side, but there's no need for them to be longer at this point until she starts facing real competition. Chanel hasn't been seen on the Dark shows since last year and I can't say I've missed her work at all.

Santana and Ortiz def. Liam Gray and Adrian Alanis

Santana and Ortiz mentioned in a pre-match promo that they haven't gotten a tag team title shot since February 17th, and even that was their first championship opportunity in AEW. It's honestly ridiculous they haven't been in the title picture more than they have, but I realize that's because they've been busy with Inner Circle. I'd like to think they're finally setting their sights on gold, but they also said last Friday on Dynamite that they aren't done with The Pinnacle yet. Either way, this was a solid showcase for them and they were over with the audience as babyfaces.

Scorpio Sky def. Trevor Read

It was nice to see Sky back in singles competition for a change, but I'm aware that his team with Ethan Page is far from over because they resumed their rivalry with Darby Allin and Sting on Dynamite. Don't get me wrong, they work well together and I enjoyed their match at Double or Nothing, but it's time to move on. Page was entertaining on commentary and Sky put Read away in a matter of minutes after being on offense for most of the matchup.

Team Taz (FTW Champion Brian Cage and Powerhouse Hobbs) def. Trevor Aeon and Kendall Blake

Cage and Hobbs are doing all the heavy lifting for Team Taz while Ricky Starks is out injured for the time being (and no, I don't want to see Hook in the ring at all). They have a tag team match coming up on Friday's Dynamite against Adam Page and Preston "10" Vance, so this was basically a tune-up for them. Despite Cage teasing tension with Team Taz at Double or Nothing for wanting to win on his own, they seemed to be on the same page here.

Evil Uno def. Danny Limelight

Uno received a pretty good reaction from the crowd when he made his entrance. Tony Schiavone was mistaken when he said this was Uno's singles debut in AEW, as he wrestled a handful of singles matches on Dynamite as recently as last year. Maybe he meant on Dark: Elevation? Nonetheless, this was a fun outing for Uno ahead of his opportunity at Miro's AEW TNT Championship this Friday on Dynamite. Limelight always looks credible in defeat.

"All Ego" Ethan Page def. Mike Sydal

How many people in the crowd who don't watch the Dark shows do you think thought Mike was Matt when he came out? He has the same entrance theme and might be mistaken for him from afar. Mike Sydal does nothing for me on his own and the yoga gimmick is dumb, but he played his role well here in putting over Page and scored more offense than I was expecting. Again, Sky and Page have developed strong chemistry as partners, but I'd prefer to see them enter the singles ranks.

The Acclaimed def. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and Alan "5" Angels)

Man, Max Caster's raps never get old. They're easily the best part of the Dark shows whenever they're on. They almost never face members of the AEW roster unless they're on Dynamite, so this was a pleasant surprise. Dark Order tend to lose more than they win (at least whenever it matters most), but I was okay with it in this case because Reynolds and Angels aren't a regular duo. This was a good match that I would have liked to see go a little longer.

Kris Statlander def. Queen Aminata

Statlander gradually building momentum with wins on the Dark shows and getting a chance to shake off the ring rust has been nice, but I think we're past that point (assuming she had any ring rust to begin with, which it didn't look like she did). I'm ready for her to have more of a regular role on Dynamite, but I can understand AEW not wanting to immediately feed her to Britt Baker as Baker's first opponent after winning the title. This was another efficient showcase for her, if nothing else.

Varsity Blonds def. Ryan Nemeth and JD Drake

The Wingmen have turned into a fine little undercard act. Their matches aren't anything out of the ordinary, mind you, but at least they generate good heat. This was more competitive than I was expecting with the right result. Varsity Blonds have definitely benefited from two things: getting more reps, experience and exposure on the Dark shows as well as wrestling in front of actual crowds. They're clearly getting over and I don't think they've even been signed to full-time deals by AEW yet, so kudos to them.

Hikaru Shida def. Diamante

Shida is sporting a new haircut following her loss of the AEW Women's World Championship at Double or Nothing and it looks great. I would have kept her off TV for at least a month and brought her back in a big way, but I guess she's already missed a ton of TV time as it is this year. Diamante was a great first opponent for her coming off her lengthy title run as Diamante has been impressive on her own lately. I never thought Diamante would win, but I'm glad they got some time and were spotlighted in the main event. It was a quality match and I liked how Diamante was made to look like Shida's equal throughout.

Overall Show

I thought last week's episodes of Dark and Dark: Elevation having crowds would be a one-off, but I stupidly forgot that the upcoming episodes of Dynamite will also be taped in front of similarly-packed crowds at Daily's Place and other venues, so we can get used to the Dark shows being shorter... hopefully. That was the case with this edition and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a result. Ten matches was the perfect amount, and while some were better than others, it was a solid show on the whole. Having more notable names on the card is a huge help.

SEE MORE: Dark: Elevation Reviews