AEW Dark Review - December 28, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Anna Jay def. Reka Tehaka

Tehaka has appeared on a number of Dark shows this year. She's a competent competitor and scored some offense here, but this was all about Anna Jay. She hasn't won too many important matches on television lately, so this allowed her to get back on track. Some of her matches can be hit or miss, but she had a decent showing. I like her pairing with Tay Conti because they're legitimately friends, but she feels less like her tag team partner and more like her set-up sidekick.

The Blade def. Toa Liona

I believe The Butcher is still on the road touring with his band, so The Blade is flying solo for the time being (or at least only has The Bunny in his corner). Butcher and Blade have bored me to tears as characters over the last two years and there's nothing remarkable about either of them on their own, either. Thus, these singles squashes are pointless. Liona has stood out to me in the past and I would've liked to see more of him here.

Wardlow def. Casanova

Wardlow once again teased tension with Shawn Spears backstage beforehand. That tells me AEW is planning on splitting Wardlow away from Spears (and potentially the rest of The Pinnacle) soon because why else would they be foreshadowing it so heavily? Wardlow stayed true to his promise of destroying this dude with multiple powerbombs in record time. I hope Lance Archer is cleared to compete soon so we can see a hoss fight between him and Wardlow.

Diamante def. Shawna Reed

I said this in another review recently, but we need more of Diamante. She lost her feud to Big Swole (who isn't even with the company anymore) back in September and she's barely been featured since then. I understand her not having a regular role on Rampage or Dynamite, but she should have more of a presence on the Dark shows as she did throughout the pandemic. At least this was a quick and decisive win for her.

Tony Nese def. Anthony Greene

It's weird we haven't seen Greene on Dark since losing to Adam Cole two months ago. He had a strong showing that night and was made to look like he's on Cole's level (which he's not but that was idea I believe), but anything he gained from that is gone because it was a while ago. I thought I was watching 205 Live from six months ago when he and Nese went at it here. They had a quality contest in the time they were given, but I was shocked it was shorter than what they were doing on 205 Live. It didn't have a chance to reach that next gear.

The Bunny def. KiLynn King

The Blade was in Bunny's corner here as she was for him earlier. Similar to The Blade, I have no idea what the purpose of these Bunny matches is. She only ever wins so she can be fed to someone else on the roster, and understandably so because her AEW run has been vastly underwhelming so far. On the bright side, this was standard stuff and didn't overstay its welcome. King's Dark appearances are far and few between at this point, so it's difficult to care about her.

The Acclaimed def. Bear Country

This was set up on last week's show when The Acclaimed challenged Bear Country. Bear Bronson lost last Friday on Rampage to Hook, so AEW will likely have no problem having Bear Country losing now. That said, The Acclaimed were the right choice to win here. It was a good, competitive contest and I appreciated that Bear Country were made to look credible in defeat. The Acclaimed rarely win whenever it matters most, but at least they were able to beat Bear Country.

Skye Blue def. Ashley D'Amboise

D'Amboise always impresses whenever she's in action serving as an enhancement talent. Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to do much at all here. Blue hit about three or four moves and it was over almost immediately. Blue doesn't strike me as the dominant type, but a win is a win. I'm assuming AEW intends to sign her soon or she's being built up to lose to someone actually on the roster, or both. Either way, I'm all for more of Blue on AEW programming.

Orange Cassidy and Wheeler Yuta def. The Wingmen ("Pretty" Peter Avalon and Cezar Bononi)

Cassidy and The Wingmen are all goofs, so I feared the worst when I saw this advertised (especially after the atrocity that was Preston "10" Vance vs. Leroy Patterson on last week's show). Thankfully, they kept the silliness to a minimum (though I could have done without the outside interference from Ryan Nemeth and Chuck Taylor). I maintain Bononi is pretty abysmal in the ring, but he's better in smaller doses like he was here. This was perfectly fine and served its purpose in giving Cassidy and Yuta a victory as a team. Personally, I have zero interest in this apparent ongoing feud between Best Friends and The Wingmen.

Joey Janela def. Sonny Kiss in a No Disqualification, No Count-Out, No Rules Match

Kiss attempted to take Kayla Rossi out of the equation early by throwing a trash can at her right from the get-go. It wasn't long after that Rossi resurfaced and helped out Janela at several points. This has been the never-ending feud of 2021, so hopefully this brings closure, even though the heel won. They definitely put forth a hell of an effort, so I'll give them that. I don't know if the blood was necessary, but it's Janela, so I can't say I'm shocked. That diving splash from Kiss was pretty bad, but at least the piledriver through the table was what Janela won with.

Overall Show

This was my favorite edition of Dark in weeks, largely because it was kept under an hour. Ten matches is probably the perfect amount for this show. There was a nice mix of squashes and competitive matches, including a hardcore main event that has been in the works for a while. The hour flew by and there were less filler matches than usual, though I certainly could have done without Blade being showcased for no reason. If nothing else, the matches that weren't as necessary were kept on the shorter side, so this episode was what it needed to be.

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