SCU (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian) def. Jay Lyon and Midas BlackSCU keep rolling as a team, and given that they'll be forced to break up the next match they lose, it was a forgone conclusion that they'd win here. It was an enjoyable outing from them per usual and it was wise to keep it under four minutes. I'd have to imagine that they'll be getting their much-deserved shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship in the not-too-distant future and they'll go their separate ways from there. Matt Sydal def. LutherGod bless Sydal for trying his best to get a passable match out of Luther. I'm a fan of Sydal, but he's no miracle worker. Luther's just abysmal. Thankfully, this wasn't too bad as they made the most of the time they had. As I've said before, I'm all for Sydal getting more of a push on his own. I honestly feel like his brother Mike is holding him back as their team will not escape Dark duty with so many other teams already ahead of them due to being more exciting to watch. The Dark Order (Alan "5" Angels and Preston "10" Vance) def. Kit Sackett and Hayden BacklundAngels and Vance had pretty good chemistry as a team. I still prefer John Silver and Alex Reynolds as well as Stu Grayson and Evil Uno over them, but they work well together and are a fine third team for Dark Order. They won't be getting a tag title opportunity any time soon (nor should they), but they compliment each other nicely as they did here. It was also a refreshing change of pace for Vance, who usually competes on his own. Colt Cabana def. Jake ManningMan Scout!!! I've been a fan of Manning's for over a decade, no joke. I've been following him on the northeast wrestling independent since getting into wrestling and, for a long time, he had an undefeated streak that would make Curt Hawkins blush. When he finally won, it was a huge moment (one I wish I was there for). I doubt AEW ends up signing him given that gimmick is too goofy, but it's perfect for a show like this. He was actually the perfect opponent for Cabana, who wrestles a similar style. Some people may hate this, but I found it to be a blast. Big Swole and Red Velvet def. Amber Nova and Queen AminataI'm okay with AEW not having women's tag titles because that's the last thing the division needs at the moment, but as I've said in the past, giving Swole and Velvet (or one of them with KiLynn King, who is also involved in their alliance) a shot at the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship would be cool. Their chemistry is great and this was a solid showcase for them. Jade Cargill coming out and brawling with Velvet was a nice touch before they face off on Dynamite. Aaron Solow def. Fuego Del SolSolow is technically fine in the ring but bores me to tears as a character. Him linking up with QT Marshall won't do much to change that, either. Of all the matches he's had in AEW since last year, this actually marked this first singles win. Fuego is fun to watch in the ring and thus this was a nice little match while it lasted. I wish Solow would ditch the Pedigree as a finisher because it doesn't fit him at all. Gunn Club (Austin, Colten and Billy Gunn) def. Andrew Palace, Stone Rockwell and Mike MagnumMy biggest issue with the Gunn Club matches is that Billy tends to be in the ring most of the time. I know his boys are inexperienced, but him doing a majority of the work doesn't help them at all. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here as Colten and Austin were in the ring more than he was and Colten scored the win for his team. As always, my favorite part about this match was that it was only around three minutes. It was great seeing Rockwell again. KiLynn King def. Madi WrenkowskiWrenkowski is a work in progress, and although she isn't signed, I think she could have potential at some point. We just need to hear from her more because we've only had her in-ring work to go off of so far. King doesn't stand out to me as much, but she's better in the ring than Wrenkowski is. Together, they had a short-and-sweet sprint. They kept things interesting throughout and kept the pace moving, which I appreciated. Matt Hardy def. Ken BroadwayAs I've said before, it's cool that Hardy makes regular appearances on the Dark shows. It doesn't make him any less of a star and it gives him a chance to wrestle without it being a full-length match on Dynamite, which he'll be having this Wednesday against Darby Allin for the AEW TNT Championship. I think this could have been a minute or two shorter, but either way, it provided Hardy with another nice win ahead of his encounter with Allin that I'm looking forward to. The Dark Order (Stu Grayson and Evil Uno) def. Vary Morales and Spencer SladeGrayson and Uno are my absolute favorite duo of Dark Order. I feel like we don't see them in action together often enough, and I'd love for them to get a push toward tag title contention eventually (I know they did last summer, but that was one time). They were in complete control of this match, winning in under two minutes. I'll never tired of seeing that awesome tag team finisher of theirs. Britt Baker def. Shawna ReedReed some minimal offense in early on, but otherwise, this was all about Baker. She's been wrestling more aggressively lately and it's been wonderful to see. She's racking up her wins so she can be firmly established as number one in the AEW Women's World Championship rankings ahead of Double or Nothing. Tay Conti obviously isn't winning the title, which should mean Baker is next in line. She should have gotten her rightful shot months ago, but it's better late than never. Team Taz (FTW Champion Brian Cage and Ricky Starks) def. Carlie Bravo and Dean AlexanderThe dissension between Cage and Starks continues and I have no idea why. I assume it's to keep them busy before they settle into their next program, which will most likely be with Christian Cage considering Taz has been attempting to recruit him into Team Taz lately. Cage and Starks attempted to outdo each other before Cage hit the Drill Claw for the victory. Can we please skip to the part where they get over their issues and go back to being a cohesive unit? No way AEW is dumb enough to break them up already. Nyla Rose def. Leila GreyI could definitely do without Vickie Guerrero coming out before every Nyla Rose match. Sure, she gets good heel heat I suppose, but her act is so old and tired that I can't imagine it's benefiting Rose any. Seriously, is Rose any important or hated as a heel than she was prior to joining forces with Vickie? On the bright side, Rose made short work of Grey and remained dominant. Varsity Blonds def. Price Kai and Will AlldayBrian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison are really coming along as a tag team. They may not be signed to full-time deals yet, but they definitely will be in time. I mean, the fact they win more than they lose and are regulars on the Dark shows should make that apparent. They continue to gel well together and make strides in the ring. They still need some work, but getting more experience on Dark and Dark: Elevation will be crucial for their developmental. Lance Archer def. Cole KarterAs much as I love Archer's squash matches, Jake "The Snake" Roberts sitting in on commentary for them has become my favorite part. I feel like we hear more from Archer these days than we do from Roberts, so at least we got to hear from him for a few minutes here while Archer killed Karter in the ring. I'd usually say that this should have been a minute or less, but the lengthier match meant Roberts was on commentary for a little longer, so I can't complain. Alex "3" Reynolds def. Ryan NemethReynolds vs. Nemeth isn't exactly a "must-see" main event, but at least it was better than one of them beating an unknown enhancement talent in the same spot. Nemeth hasn't impressed me with much of his in-ring work up to this point, but he held his own here. As for Reynolds, I'm glad he's getting a chance to shine as a singles star while Silver is out injured for the foreseeable future. They made the most of the time they had and Reynolds continued his winning ways. Overall ShowDark: Elevation was almost two-and-a-half hours on Monday, yet this show was almost an hour shorter. Usually they're around the same length, but you won't get any complaints out of me. As I always say, I'm always nicer in the reviews of the shorter shows because 90 minutes is the perfect length for a show featuring nothing but enhancement matches. I appreciated that most of them were kept short and sweet and several stars had solid showings. It didn't drag too bad and that's all I can really ask for from these Dark shows. Some of the promos were also well done.
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