AEW Dark Review - August 25, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Best Friends def. Demetri Jackson and Storm Thomas

Best Friends never cease to entertain me. Their tag team work is consistently solid and that was once again the case here. This victory gave them an additional momentum boost, which helps considering they're currently in the midst of a rivalry with Santana and Ortiz. This was a quality opening to the show with Jackson and Thomas selling well for Best Friends' offense.

Shawn Spears def. Jesse Sorenson

It was nice to see Sorenson brought back by AEW after making his Dark debut on last week's episode. As I've said before, I was impressed by him in IMPACT, but I'd need to see more of him in order to get a better idea as to whether he should be signed or not. As for Spears, he continues to roll. He's been winning a lot lately on Dark, but he needs more meaningful wins on Dynamite for his winning ways to truly matter.

Mel def. Red Velvet

I'm always reminded that Mel is on the roster whenever she makes her entrance. Once The Nightmare Collective was cut short (as it should have been because it sucked), that was it for her. She just isn't that good in the ring at all and that was evident here. The only positive thing I can say about this is that it didn't overstay its welcome, but then again, it probably shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Lance Archer def. D3

There's going to come a time when Archer will have to do more than annihilate people in a matter of minutes. That said, that time is not now. I'm still incredibly entertained by these short-and-sweet squashes, especially since they're constantly executed so well. I appreciate that Archer is winning matches on Dark, but he definitely should be doing more of note on Dynamite at the moment.

Luther and Serpentico def. The Initiative

AEW is so obsessed with tag teams that Luther and Serpentico have since formed an alliance. You had to know they were winning when it was announced that they'd be facing The Initiative, but I doubt a push is coming their way. I'm not even sure Serpentico is signed. On the bright side, this pairing makes Luther slightly more bearable. This bout bored me and did not need to last as long as it did.

Nyla Rose def. KiLynn King

I still can't get over how pointless Rose's partnership with Vickie Guerrero is. Sure, she's a heat magnet, but Rose was doing fine without her and doesn't need Vickie to do the talking for her. It feels forced and unnecessary. At any rate, Rose is in the process of being built back up, so this was exactly what it needed to be. Unfortunately, this was all over the place and easily one of Rose's weaker showings in recent memory.

The Gunn Club def. Frank Stone and Baron Black

Can we please get The Gunn Club off Dark? I understand this isn't Dynamite and it doesn't matter as much, but Dark should be utilized to get people over in preparation for a bigger role on Dynamite. Billy Gunn has absolutely no place on any active roster in 2020. His son Austin Gunn is a work in progress, but I'd rather watch him work singles matches than be subjected to seeing his dad wrestle at the age of 56.

Penelope Ford def. Heather Monroe

Ford has all the tools necessary to be a future star in the AEW women's division. I don't know if I would call her one yet, but she certainly had a star-making performance against Hikaru Shida at Fyter Fest last month. It's odd AEW has done very little to capitalize off that since then, but Ford has at least continued to improve in these outings on Dark. This was solid stuff.

Santana and Ortiz def. The Metro Brothers

Santana and Ortiz have been gaining steam recently in their rivalry with Best Friends and have been showing more of an aggressive edge than they have in a while, but it'll be difficult to take them seriously until they win something of actual importance. This was a nice win for them and their post-match brawl with Best Friends was well done, but they're going to have to do more than that to make up for the months of bad booking they endured that caused them to come across as afterthoughts.

Ricky Starks def. Shawn Dean

Starks is one of those guys who I'll likely never get tired of seeing in action on this show (no matter who he's up against) because of how he oozes charisma. He's skilled in the ring, but the way he radiates stardom is what makes him special, along with his exceptional mic skills. This was a well-wrestled affair with the expected result.

Jake Hager def. Marko Stunt

Had we not seen Hager squash Stunt before? I find that hard to believe because of how long Jurassic Express has been feuding on and off with Inner Circle. Well, better late than never, I suppose. In all seriousness, I'm not the bigger Hager fan whatsoever, but I'll never miss an opportunity to see Stunt get thrown around. Nothing against the guy, but he's the perfect bump machine because of how small he is. Plus, the floss dance is annoying, so I can't say I felt bad for him here as Hager choked him out.

Frankie Kazarian def. Kip Sabian

It's easy to forget how talented Kazarian is on his own considering we mostly ever see him with either Christopher Daniels or Scorpio Sky in tag team action. Sabian has plenty of potential as well, but as I've said before, he screams midcarder. Maybe he could benefit from some character development or an edge or something along those lines. He and Kazarian had pretty good chemistry together, though it might have benefited from being a bit shorter just because of how it took place so late in the show.

The Hybrid2 def. Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss

I'm glad that of the many, many matches on this show that this was slotted as the main event. It was far and away the best bout of the night. It featured fun tag team wrestling as both teams put in an excellent effort. I stand by what I've said in that Janela and Kiss are a random duo I don't care much for, but The Hybrid2 have deserved better since Day 1 and thus I was happy they went over here.

Overall Show

While I personally think it's too soon for AEW to be welcoming fans back into the building, it may prove to be a blessing in disguise if it means they stop filming so many matches for this show. Listen, I'm speaking strictly from the viewpoint who watches it to review it. Props to AEW for giving so many indy works a paycheck during a pandemic, but a two-hour show filled with nothing but squashes is overkill in my book. Per usual, there's nothing worth seeking out from this edition of Dark, unless meaningless enhancement matches is your thing.