WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
    • Year in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us

Columnist Corner

AEW Dark Review - August 11, 2020

8/11/2020

Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rey Fenix def. Lee Johnson

Whether he's with Pentagon Jr. or flying solo, I never tire or Fenix's matches. He's an exceptional athlete and manages to work well with just about everyone. Johnson has been impressive in the enhancement role during this pandemic era for AEW and sold nicely for Fenix here. This was a very fun match to kick off the show.

Shawn Spears def. Alex Chamberlain

The most interesting thing about Spears right now is not his heavy-handed glove but rather the fact a faction involving himself and FTR continues to be teased. Chamberlain didn't stand out at all, but this was a simple and straightforward squash for Spears that didn't overstay its welcome. The glove gimmick does nothing for me, personally.

The Gunn Club def. Shawn Dean and M'Badu

As I've said before, I have no desire to see Billy Gunn continuing to wrestle in 2020. Yes, it's Dark and I understand the purpose of the team is to give his son Austin Gunn more experience, but AEW's tag team division is loaded enough as it is and doesn't need The Gunn Club. Their matches largely bore me and this was no exception.

Kip Sabian def. Michael Stevens

Stevens is a fresh face for the "local athletes" in AEW, and I liked how he stood out with his entrance. Not everyone will a fan of how flashy he was, but at least he left a lasting impression more than most of the people the company brings in to lose. However, this was all about Sabian. He's a skilled wrestler but screams midcarder. Does every squash have to be at least five minutes long? Shave a minute or two off this and it would have been better.

Private Party def. Griff Garrison and Brian Pillman Jr.

Private Party lost their last two matches on Dark, so it was imperative that they won here. It was obvious that they were going to, but at least it was fun while it lasted. Garrison is a good hand and Pillman will be one to watch in the future. I really hope MLW lets him out of his contract at some point so he can join AEW full-time (AEW won't utilize him in a meaningful manner until he does), especially if MLW doesn't have plans to resume shows any time soon.

Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt) def. Pineapple Pete, Aaron Solow and Corey Hollis

Most six-man tag team matches involving Jurassic Express automatically get a thumbs-up from me. They had a terrific thing going and their matches are almost always enjoyable. This was a treat as well. It had a nice pace to it and their opponents sold everything well. This was a necessary win for Jurassic Express ahead of their AEW World Tag Team Championship match on Wednesday's Dynamite.

The Natural Nightmares def. The Hybrid2

You had to know this was coming after Jack Evans beat QT Marshall last week, and you had to know it was going to end in a loss for TH2 because, well, why wouldn't it? They've been grossly under-utilized since coming to AEW and it bothers me knowing what they're capable of. This was a perfectly fine match with some solid tag team work, but The Natural Nightmares pale in comparison to TH2 in my opinion and didn't need to win here.

Penelope Ford def. Rachael Ellering

This marked Ellering's second AEW match after competing in the quarterfinals of The Deadly Draw on Monday night alongside Dasha. She didn't blow me away with her work there and she didn't have the strongest showing here, either. A lot of Ford's matches are very hit or miss and this was more of the latter in my opinion. Some spots were off and it never hit the right rhythm.

The Butcher and The Blade def. SCU (Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian)

The Butcher and The Blade have been featured pretty prominently on AEW programming in recent months, and although they can hold their own, I don't find them nearly as exciting as most of the other teams in AEW's tag division. On the bright side, this was a quality main event. They didn't tear the house down or anything like that, but it was competent enough and it made sense for this to be the longest match on the show.

Overall Show

The length of Dark continues to be the worst part about the program. Is 90 minutes of squash matches really necessary? I'm all for getting people over, but I don't think boosting their win-loss records with meaningless victories does much to help anyone. The in-ring action on this episode specifically was decent on the whole and thankfully the time didn't drag as much as it normally does, but if they were to just shave off 30 minutes and a few of the matches then Dark would be an infinitely easier watch.
Comments

    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2021 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
    • Year in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us