AEW Dark: Elevation Review - November 29, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Nyla Rose, The Bunny, Emi Sakura and Diamante def. Julia Hart, Skye Blue, Ryo Mizunami and "Legit" Leyla Hirsch

It's been a while since we last saw Diamante and Hart in action. I don't know if they were injured or what, but I'm glad they're back. I've said before that these multi-woman matches on Elevation have become really lazy on AEW's part as far as not focusing on them in singles matches on the show instead. This was a fine showcase for all involved yet no different than any of the other multi-woman matches. Rose winning for her team made sense considering she's still involved in the AEW TBS Women's Championship Tournament.

Tay Conti and Anna Jay def. Alice Crowley and Missa Kate

Conti and Jay continue to work really well together as partners. I don't know what's next for them following Conti's unsuccessful attempt to win the AEW Women's World Championship from Britt Baker at Full Gear, but this was a nice rebound win for them. Crowley and Kate didn't really stand out at all, but they didn't need to. This was a short and sweet squash that didn't overstay its welcome.

Santana and Ortiz def. Brayden Lee and Isaiah Moore

Santana and Ortiz feel like they're back to the exact same spot the were in a few months ago where they're being built up with wins but don't have a clear direction. It's not a terrible spot for them to be in, but the Inner Circle vs. American Top Team rivalry was a total waste of their time. At least they were spotlighted here and picked up the win in a matter of minutes. I'm looking forward to them challenging (and ideally beating) The Lucha Brothers for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at some point.

Tony Nese def. Vic Capri

It was announced this past Friday that Nese will challenge Sammy Guevara for the AEW TNT Championship this coming week on Rampage. He hasn't had many matches so far in AEW, but his offense is always impressive and that was once again the case here. He'll get more of a chance to show what he can do when he goes one-on-one with Guevara. This was another example of a match that was exactly what it needed to be.

Hardy Family Office (Matt Hardy, The Blade and Isaiah Kassidy) def. The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and Alan “5” Angels)

Hardy Family Office needs to never any member of Dark Order or Best Friends again. Both rivalries are played out. In fact, H.F.O. needs to go away for good. I'm a Hardy fan and feel he can contribute to AEW as a manager, but the group is beyond damaged goods at this point. It also makes zero sense for Dark Order to be losing to them, especially when Angels has a match coming up against Bryan Danielson on Wednesday's Dynamite. It was a solid match, but Angels getting pinned was baffling.

Jay Lethal def. Trenton Storm

This Chicago crowd was super into Lethal. I don't believe we heard from him at all on Dynamite or Rampage last week, but at least he got to bounce back from his loss to Guevara with a win here. Storm score a bit more offense than I thought he would, but the outcome was never in doubt. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Lethal can do in AEW and hopefully it isn't long before he can find some direction.

The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) and Varsity Blonds def. The Acclaimed and Chaos Project

There was plenty of talent in this multi-man main event (except for Luther, he's abysmal), so I didn't think it would be so short. I mean, how much could they really do in under five minutes? On the bright side, it was an entertaining sprint and Silver really shined. He was beloved by this crowd and it was wise for him to be the one to pick up the win for his team. At least Dark Order were able to pick up one win on this show.

Overall Show

These Elevation episodes always breeze by at just under an hour. Six or seven matches is the perfect amount and they're always what they need to be with one or two of them being a bit more competitive. The main event being short on time was surprising, but otherwise, this was another nice effort by AEW. Because the shows are on the shorter side, the crowds are much livelier than they used to be and that helps add to my enjoyment of it.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews