AEW Dark: Elevation Review - October 3, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Skye Blue def. Trish Adora

It was nice to see Adora make an appearance considering she's been a standout on the independent scene over the last year and shockingly has yet to be signed anywhere. I think she'd be a nice fit for Ring of Honor's women's division (which is where she primarily competed before ROH closed down last year), but ROH TV needs to start up again for that to be a possibility. This was short and sweet as it should have been. I will say, Blue needs a new finisher. Her current one sucks and doesn't look devastating at all.

Brian Cage def. Tracy Williams

These are two guys I feel like I haven't seen in forever. Yes, Cage was in that Battle Royal on the Grand Slam edition of Rampage, but he didn't stand out and if you blinked, you missed him. I'm stunned he re-signed and that Tony Khan chose to re-sign him earlier this year. For the record, I'm a fan of his and want him on television more, but it's pretty apparent AEW has no meaningful plans for him. At any rate, Cage vs. Williams was competitive and a cool clash of styles. Williams was a standout in ROH and he deserved this opportunity. We found out later in the show that Cage will answer Wardlow's open challenge on Wednesday's Dynamite, so this was designed to give him a win before then.

Lance Archer def. Cheeseburger

On the subject of guys who haven't been around at all in 2022, I was happy to see Archer resurface here. He, too, was involved in that Rampage Battle Royal and was in there until the very end. Beyond that, we haven't seen him whatsoever since the start of the summer. This was a classic Archer squash and Cheeseburger was an awesome opponent for him to throw around because Cheeseburger has traditionally thrived in this spot.

Abadon def. Abby Jane

It's well documented that I think Abadon's gimmick is awful and that hasn't changed. Therefore, I haven't minded her not being featured as much on the Dark shows over the past year, but it begs the question why she's still on the roster if she's barely used. She also wins almost all of her matches, so if wins and losses are supposed to matter, why hasn't she been in the mix for a title? I'm happy she hasn't been, but it isn't very logical. The best thing I can say about this is that it was over fairly quickly.

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Dalton Castle and The Boys def. Primal Fear

Primal Fear received an entrance, but their individual names weren't announced. I couldn't tell you who they are because I feel like they were featured so sparingly in ROH and they only contended for the six-man tag titles on occasion. Thus, they weren't much of a threat to the belts here, but at least the belts were defended for the first time since Death Before Dishonor. Castle and The Boys are a treat of a trio, so any chance to see them in action is appreciated.

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford def. LSG and Gia Scott

I knew the name Gia Scott sounded familiar, so I looked her up on this very site and discovered she faced Abadon on Dark earlier this year and also challenged Rok-C (now WWE NXT's Roxanne Perez) for the ROH Women's World Championship late last year. As for LSG, he was very impressive as a singles competitor in the final year or two in ROH and recently worked as a security guard on Dynamite I believe. Sabian and Ford are clearly being built up as a duo again, so this was essentially a showcase for them.

AEW World Trios Champions The Lucha Brothers def. Dante Martin and Tony Deppen

Deppen is a former ROH World Television Champion (albeit briefly) and it's a bummer he hasn't been utilized much by many major promotions since ROH closed down in December. He wasn't the most exciting character in ROH, but his in-ring intensity was always impressive. I'd be in full favor of him and Martin forming a temporary team because they have wonderful chemistry as partners and this was a hell of a sprint while it lasted.

Best Friends (Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor), Rocky Romero and Danhausen def. The Factory (QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto and Cole Karter)

Karter went from one group to WWE NXT with Tony D'Angelo and Channing Stacks to another with The Factory in AEW. Truthfully, I thought he was perfect as one of D'Angelo's henchmen, but I realize he was fired and didn't leave on his own. I am completely apathetic toward The Factory, but this was a well-worked main event with everyone playing their roles well. Danhausen got some shine in the closing moments and the crowd ate it up.

Overall Show

For all intents and purposes, this was an episode of ROH TV disguised as Dark: Elevation. A majority of the talents were either in ROH when it closed or previously wrestled for the company. I've been saying this for many months (and I'm not the only one who has this opinion), but they really should turn Elevation into ROH TV until it gets a television deal of some sort. At this point, I'm doubting it ever will. If you're not an ROH fan, you probably didn't care much for this show, but I thought it was one of the strongest installments in recent memory at just under an hour with several familiar faces we haven't seen lately returning.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews