AEW Dark: Elevation Review - September 27, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Thunder Rosa def. Kayla Sparks

I assume this was the first thing taped in front of the hot New York City crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the Grand Slam tapings last week because Rosa received a rock star-level reaction. Crowds are always into Rosa, but this was especially loud. If there was ever any doubt that she needs to be the one to ultimately dethrone Britt Baker for the AEW Women's World Championship, listen to that pop. There wasn't much to this match, but it was exactly what it needed to be with Rosa going over decisively.

The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Alan “5” Angels and Preston "10" Vance) def. TJ Crawford, Eric James, Kevin Tibbs and Dean Alexander

As you could possibly expect, Dark Order was massively over in front of this crowd as well. It seems that the entire group is back on the same page with the exception of Evil Uno, who walked out on the rest of the group on Friday's edition of Rampage. It's possible that's paid off on Dynamite in Rochester, New York (Brodie Lee's hometown) this Wednesday, but we'll see. This was a solid showcase for these four members of Dark Order, though it may have benefited from being a minute or two shorter.

Paul Wight def. RSP, CPA and VSK in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match

If Wight is targeting people whose ring names consist of only initials, does that means MJF will be his next major feud? I kid, I kid, but seriously, don't do it, AEW. This was only Wight's second match in AEW and his first on Elevation, so that was a cool treat for those in attendance. I don't know how much of an attraction Wight is at this stage of his career, but if used in the ring sparingly, it could still feel special to see him wrestle. This was a fairly standard squash with Wight completely decimating the local losers like he should have.

Varsity Blonds Attacked The Acclaimed

This started off as a "rap battle" between Max Caster and Tony Khan. Khan brought out Lil Uzi Burt, who apparently helped him write his rhymes. I can truthfully tell you I have no idea who that guy is. But this was fine. The crowd popped for some lines while others seemingly flew over their heads. The brawl between The Acclaimed and Varsity Blonds furthered that feud, which we were getting before Caster's recent suspension.

Overall Show

This was one of the shortest editions of Elevation yet with a different format than what we're used to. Obviously, the three matches were over relatively quickly, leaving the rest of the show to consist of backstage interviews and recaps from last week's Grand Slam shows. Most of the interviews were excellent and Scorpio Sky really stood out with his. The rap battle was what it was and I honestly expected worse. I'd love for Elevation to have a similar format going forward, but I assume this was a one-week thing. Still, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and the crowd being as hot as they were was a highlight.

SEE MORE: Dark: Elevation Reviews