AEW Dark: Elevation Review - November 28, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Bunny def. Blair Onyx

Penelope Ford is back to accompanying Bunny. They'll be losing tag team matches on Dynamite and Rampage in no time! I kid (but not really). I don't think I've seen a single memorable match from The Bunny in the near four years she's spent in AEW, so it was for the best that this was kept short and sweet. I'm not sure how much these wins mean for her if they're not amounting to anything, though.

Brandon Cutler def. Man Scout

It's no secret I'm a Man Scout fan. I've been following his career since my very first independent wrestling show in 2009 and I'm stoked he has a backstage gig in AEW. I love any chance he has to compete on the Dark shows, but I really wish his opponent wasn't the goofy Cutler. I find his antics more annoying than entertaining, and there was way too much comedy in this thing. Man Scout made it bearable, but there's no need for Cutler to be wrestling as often as he has been lately.

Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir def. Emi Sakura and Maki Itoh

What a weird match. All four of these women were heels the last time I checked, unless Rose and Shafri were actually the babyfaces in their feud with Jade Cargill despite being the ones who stole the AEW TBS Championship belt from her. Shafir sucks, and Itoh's shtick is terrible, too. Hey, just my opinion. As a result, I can't say I cared much for this match, but they made the most of the time they had and produced a passable outing.

Konosuke Takeshita def. Ari Daivari

AEW recently announced that Takeshita is "All Elite" and it's incredibly well deserved. The dude is fantastic and can be a real star for AEW if they're actually consistent with his television time. Daivari scored much more offense than I think he should have, but the outcome was obviously the right one. I have no idea why Don Callis was out there. I can't see him getting involved with The Elite any time soon, so I'd keep him away from Callis if it's not necessary.

Lee Moriarty def. Robert Anthony

I'm all for Moriarty getting more television time, and it was nice to see him have a little competitive match with Jon Moxley on Dynamite a few weeks ago. However, this Firm crap does nothing for me and I question how much he'll benefit from it in the long run. On the bright side, he's a treat to watch work and he was able to pick up a rare singles win here over an experienced opponent.

Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh def. Joe Alonzo and GPA

The Dark shows are a good place for Singh to develop, so I'm glad this didn't happen on Dynamite or Rampage. I'm also glad they're not rushing Singh into an AEW World Tag Team Championship program, but then again, Lethal's crew shouldn't be anywhere near the tag titles at this point coming off their loss to Darby Allin and Sting at Full Gear. Worse yet, Jeff Jarrett is still an on-air character and will apparently be teaming with Lethal in place of Singh on the main shows. I'll pass.

Best Friends and Rocky Romero def. Davey Bang, Freedom Ramsey and Yabo

I'm very much in favor of Romero sticking around and teaming with Best Friends on a regular basis. AEW needs more trios (though having The Elite and House of Black back helps), and with Orange Cassidy defending his AEW All-Atlantic Championship weekly, Best Friends need a partner. They always work well together and this was a fun showcase for them. The matching attire for all three is a nice touch.

Athena def. Laynie Luck

This aggressive Athena heel turn has been awesome so far. Granted, other than that one match she had against Madison Rayne on Rampage recently, you probably haven't been following any of it unless you watch the Dark shows regularly. Her knocking Luck on her ass almost as soon as the bell rang was fantastic. She went on to dominate Luck and beat her up afterward. I'm looking forward to Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women's World Championship at Final Battle (once it's officially announced, that is).

Matt Hardy and Private Party def. Isiah Moore and Chaos Project

Hardy and Private Party had a run-in with Ethan Page backstage beforehand where Page blamed Hardy for costing him money after hitting Daivari with a Twist of Fate recently. The whole story is stupid and it's impossible to care, but at least it's giving Hardy and Private Party something to do other than spinning their wheels. This gave the babyface trio another victory ahead of their match with Daivari and Varsity Athletes next week on Elevation.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz def. The Factory (Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto)

Although I appreciate the story they're telling with Kingston not being able to control his anger, it's a story they've been dragging on for way too long with no real progression. Almost all of it has played out on the Dark shows as well, so I don't blame anyone who only watches the main shows for wondering where he's been. Of nothing else, he and Ortiz obviously have nice chemistry as partners and them racking up tag team wins isn't a bad thing.

Overall Show

This edition of Elevation had more matches than usual with 10 and it lasted longer than your average episode at just over an hour. Some of the squashes could have been trimmed down on time and it wouldn't have mattered, but that's merely nitpicking. All in all, this was a fairly straightforward show. We got the usual faces in action and none of the matches stood out, but it served its purpose in highlighting certain people and progressing some undercard stories.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews