AEW Dark: Elevation Review - September 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Julia Hart def. Alice Crowley

Hart tends to kick off Elevation a lot these days. She appeared alongside the rest of House of Black at All Out but didn't do anything. She primarily wrestles on the Dark shows and I'm fine with that since she's still improving. However, I'm not sure what the future holds for House of Black if Malakai Black takes time off as has been rumored. This was fine and kept her momentum going, but I don't have any desire to see her challenge for a championship any time soon.

Tony Nese and Josh Woods def. Jordan Kross and Renny D

Nese and Woods seemed to peak as a duo when they failed to beat Swerve In Our Glory in the main event of Rampage a month or two ago. I get the sense that Tony Khan is waiting until Ring of Honor TV is up and running again to use them more. They work well together, but they scream "undercard team" with Mark Sterling as their manager. This was a solid showcase for them and not much more.

Serena Deeb def. Nikki Victory

Deeb is consistently a treat to watch work with the way she picks apart her opponents. It's a crime she isn't on television more, and although I realize she already unsuccessfully challenged for the AEW Women's World Championship and the ROH Women's World Championship in recent months, surely she could be feuding with someone in the division like she did with Hikaru Shida last year and earlier this year. That submission finisher from Deeb looked awesome.

Private Party def. Brandon Gore and JDX

AEW has been doing a storyline with Private Party and Matt Hardy in recent weeks on Being The Elite where Hardy has confronted Private Party and acted remorseful for "dragging down" their careers. It's cool to see it playing out on Elevation as well. I'm curious what the payoff will be, though. Does this lead to three of them reuniting as babyfaces while Jeff Hardy is out? If so, who does that really benefit? Nonetheless, the match served as a backdrop to further that angle.

Skye Blue def. Diamante

The commentators brought up how it was on Dark one year ago over All Out weekend that Blue was named an entrant in the women's Casino Battle Royale. I don't think she's been officially signed since then, but she must be under some sort of deal because she's been a regular on the Dark shows over the last year. Diamante also hasn't gotten that elusive "all elite" graphic and we've seen a lot less of her, but they had a nice match here and I'm glad they were given some time.

Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir def. Madison Rayne and Queen Aminata

Rayne and Aminata are a fitting team because of their regal-esque gimmicks. Of everyone on Elevation and Dark I'd like to see get more television time, the duo of Rose and Shafir are not among them. Rose has grown on me in the last few years, but Shafir is just awful and is not improving at the rate she probably should be. As I've said before, they're a terrible team and their matches are almost always abysmal. They need a new tag team finisher, too, because it never looks good.

Overall Show

As I mentioned last week, Matt Menard has been a treat to listen to on commentary alongside Excalibur while he's been out injured. I have no idea where Paul Wight has been and if he'll be back behind the booth on this show soon. The show itself was solid and inoffensive at 35 minutes long. The main event was subpar, but everything else was acceptable and it breezed by. Shorter shows are always a plus in my opinion, especially if they're going to mostly consist of squashes.

SEE MORE: Elevation Reviews