AEW Dark: Elevation Review - May 31, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Acclaimed def. Brent and Brandon Tate

Man, The Acclaimed are going to be so over in front of fans when AEW starts touring full-time. Their pre-match rap received a pretty good reaction and the crowd at Double or Nothing loved Max Caster. As for the Tate brothers, they're the current reigning OVW Tag Team Champions. They previously wrestled as The Boys with Dalton Castle in Ring of Honor and also got a WWE tryout a few years ago. They're talented and deserve a look, but I could see them getting lost in the shuffle if AEW were to sign them. This was a nice little match to kick things off.

Jungle Boy Saved Christian Cage From Matt Hardy and Private Party

This appeared to be taped after Double or Nothing on Sunday night, though it was an empty arena as there was no one in attendance. Jungle Boy was speaking to Tony Schiavone about his victory in the Casino Battle Royale (which was appreciated because never hear him speak) when he was interrupted by Cage, who said he wasn't happy with losing. That led to Hardy and Private Party attacking Cage for what happened at Double or Nothing before Jungle Boy made the save. It was a simple segment that served to set up a tag team match, either for one of the Dark shows 

"Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Robyn Renegade

Hirsch was more over than I thought she would be when she made her entrance. I've thoroughly enjoyed her work in AEW up to this point, but she's mostly been on the Dark shows and I wasn't sure how many people paid attention to that stuff. I would have kept this shorter and more dominant in favor of Hirsch, but it was a fine match, nonetheless. The commentators noted that Hirsch has officially cracked the Top 5 in the AEW Women's World Championship rankings, so hopefully we see more of her on Dynamite soon enough.

Thunder Rosa def. Reka Tehaka

The show opened with a pre-match promo from Rosa where she addressed Britt Baker's AEW Women's World Championship victory from Double or Nothing, so clearly that rivalry will be revisited at some point. She got a great reaction from this crowd, which was really cool considering she debuted for AEW during the pandemic. Before that, she most notably wrestled for the NWA in front of limited fans. She'll definitely be holding gold again soon. This was a solid showcase for her, albeit slightly more competitive than I was expecting.

Varsity Blonds def. Chaos Project

Varsity Blonds were already making strides, but that Dark Side of the Ring special on Brian Pillman was the best thing that could have happened to Brian Pillman Jr. because everyone is rallying behind him to win. There was some history here as Pillman beat Luther a few weeks ago on Dark. I really couldn't care less about Chaos Project, but they had a passable performance here in what was a perfectly average outing. Varsity Blonds winning was the right call.

Dustin Rhodes Addressed Nick Comoroto

Similar to Jungle Boy's, this promo was also taped after Double or Nothing when the venue was empty. We haven't heard from Dustin much at all this year, but he's a hell of a talker. I've largely liked how he's been used in AEW, but I'd argue he could be around and wrestling more often than he is. Him against Comoroto has been teased for a while, so I'm looking forward to their Bull Rope match on Friday's Dynamite. This was an intense and passionate promo from him.

Nyla Rose and The Bunny def. Big Swole and Red Velvet

Was it just me or did these two teams receive lousy reactions when they came out? Hell, Vickie Guerrero got a bigger reaction than anyone in the actual match and that's not a good thing. Rose has cooled off considerably, Bunny has regressed in the ring, and Swole feels cold because of her lack of appearances on Dynamite. Velvet has more momentum than the rest of them and I never thought I'd say that given she's the newest and the least experienced. That said, this was a decent match. Nothing about it stood out, but they filled the time well. I don't think Private Party were needed at ringside, though.

Penta El Zero Miedo def. Jack Evans

I felt like I was watching an episode of Lucha Underground for a second. Also, Penta is really over, as you'd probably expect. This was a fun match for what it was, but it definitely felt like a spot-fest at certain points. I've just accepted that The Hybrid2 won't be positioned as anything but stepping stones in AEW, so I can't say I'm bothered anymore. Penta and Evans worked well together here and the crowd enjoyed it.

Tay Conti def. Ashley D’Amboise

D'Amboise has had a handful of appearances on the Dark shows in recent months and has shown signs of potential. Conti is also a work in progress, so while this wasn't the most technically proficient match on the show, it gave D'Amboise more exposure and Conti another win as well as additional experience. She's going to be a real player in AEW in due time and I'm glad she's getting her reps in on the Dark shows.

Jungle Boy def. JD Drake

It was already evident at Double or Nothing, but holy shit, people LOVE Jungle Boy. I think we all expected that when he debuted the new entrance song earlier this year because you know people were going to sing along. He feels like such a star and was the right choice to win that Casino Battle Royale. Drake had an impressive outing in his own right, but this was all about Jungle Boy and keeping his momentum rolling. I can't wait for him to challenge Kenny Omega on Dynamite this month.

Overall Show

This was the most entertaining edition of Dark: Elevation yet, which should come as no surprise considering this had a hot crowd in attendance. Who knows if that will be the case every week when AEW starts touring again this summer, but it was refreshing for this one week. I also loved the layout with fewer matches and more star power than usual (or at least less enhancement wrestlers). Throw in the promos from Jungle Boy, Dustin Rhodes, Rosa and Penta and this was an above-average episode. It'll be a bummer next week when it goes back to the way it was, at least until July.