AEW Dark Review - April 7, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

QT Marshall def. Lee Johnson

I can't think of many (if any) matches Marshall has won on his own, so this was a necessary victory for him. Granted, his offense isn't exciting in the slightest and he's much better when teaming with Dustin Rhodes, but he had a pretty good showing here. Johnson also looked fine in defeat. I honestly think the best part about this was Cody being on commentary, as he's a natural at it.

Wardlow def. Ryan Pyles

Wardlow came down to the ring still dressed in his signature suit alongside MJF. He wasn't wearing his usual gear and he didn't have to be considering how short this was. He hit an "F10" (a more impressive looking F5) on Ryles and that was it. In other words, it was exactly what it needed to be. As for MJF, I'm surprised he hasn't been making more appearances on Dynamite lately. I realize there haven't been any crowds for a few weeks now, so while cutting promos in an empty arena may not be his strong suit, he should at least have some sort of a presence on the show in order to maintain momentum coming off his huge victory over Cody at Revolution.

Kip Sabian def. Tony Donati

As I've said before, Sabian is a talented performer, but he hasn't scored many important victories in his time in AEW. He and Penelope Ford are a solid act, but her constant interference doesn't do him any favors. This was an average outing that didn't feature anything out of the ordinary. Much like the opener, the commentary was the best part, though this time it was Jimmy Havoc. He's been showing way more personality since resurfacing in AEW a few months ago and he's grown on me as a result.

Overall Show

This was easily the shortest edition of Dark AEW has ever produced. If the show is going to consist of nothing but squash matches for the foreseeable future, that might for the better because it's going to get old after awhile (assuming it hasn't already). They're effective in getting people over, but it doesn't make for the most must-see show, especially if they aren't going to be recapping/previewing Dynamite at all. If you skip this show, you're miss absolutely nothing.