AEW Dark Review - February 8, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Julia Hart def. Kelsey Heather

As noted in my review of Monday's Elevation episode, I'm digging the newfound intensity from Hart. She's still a work in progress in the ring, of course, but the character development has been nice to see for someone that was largely relegated to managerial duties up until a few weeks ago. Varsity Blonds backed her up here unlike on Elevation. This match wasn't much, but it did allow her to rebound from her recent loss to Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Gus De La Vega

Hobbs debuted new entrance music before the bout, though I'm not sure if it will be a permanent change or just temporary to promote AEW's new album. This was a dominant showing from Hobbs as it should have been. It was meant to send a message to Dante Martin, who showed up afterward and attacked Hobbs. I'm sure the inevitable rubber match will be enjoyable, but I'm beyond ready for both guys to move on.

Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn) def. Liam Gray and Adrian Alanis

All of Gunn Club's recent wins have apparently earned them an opportunity at Jurassic Express' AEW World Tag Team Championship this Friday on Rampage. I mean, they've been winning fairly consistently on Dark for the past two years, but I guess their wins mean something all of a sudden because it's convenient for the company. This gave them a last-minute momentum boost before Friday and wasn't much more than that.

Mercedes Martinez def. Queen Aminata

Aminata was just in action on Monday's Elevation where she fell short in a six-woman tag team match. She didn't have much luck here, either. Martinez made her in-ring debut for AEW last Friday on Rampage where she and Thunder Rosa had a really good match that unfortunately ended in a disqualification. Thus, this marked her first win in the promotion. Aminata attempted to battle back at one point, but it was a decisive win for Martinez in the end as it should have been.

Anthony Ogogo def. Tony Vincita

Ogogo debuted a new entrance song from the aforementioned album as well. He's been back for months now and I think he's officially worked off any ring rust he may have had. If Tony Khan hasn't come up with anything for him to do by now, I'm skeptical he ever will, especially as more and more new talents debut. He's at risk of eternally being lost in the shuffle. He had a decent enough showing here, but none of these wins will matter until they happen on Dynamite or Rampage.

Lee Moriarty def. Anthony Henry

I wasn't very familiar with Henry prior to his run in WWE NXT, but he impressed me with what he was able to do while he was there, most notably on 205 Live. I was looking forward to seeing how these two would match up and they didn't disappoint. It was less of a spot-fest and more technically sound than I was expecting, so that was a pleasant surprise. Moriarty's post-match promo wasn't the best, but it was better than his last one. Practice makes perfect, right? He actually came across a lot better in the video package that aired later on in the episode discussing his new entrance music.

Anna Jay def. Kaci Lennox

Jay is in a mode right now where she's not doing anything of note other than picking up wins on the Dark shows. Truthfully speaking, that's not a bad place to be, especially if she's using these matches as opportunities to improve. She isn't bad by any means, but she could use some further polishing and she's no doubt come a long way from when she debuted two years ago. This worked as a short showcase for her.

Fuego Del Sol def. Serpentico

Holy shit. Although Fuego and Serpentico are two of the biggest jobbers on the roster, I was actually looking forward to seeing what they could do together because Fuego is fun to watch and Serpentico is at least serviceable, but Luther literally screaming from ringside the whole damn time was so distracting that I couldn't pay attention to the action at all. I am not kidding when I say he is atrocious, I truly do not understand the appeal. I'm sure the match was fine, but Luther's constant screeching almost made me blow my brains out. Good lord.

Wheeler Yuta def. Aaron Solo

I know Solo is a more recognizable name than a majority of the enhancement talent AEW uses, but putting him in the main event (even against a guy like Yuta) was a questionable call. I didn't mind the match being predictable, but it certainly wasn't exciting enough to warrant going on last. Then again, it was made clear afterward why this was positioned as the main event when Orange Cassidy made the save for Yuta and sent The Factory packing.

Overall Show

My favorite part about this show was that it was relegated to just one hour this week, unlike almost every other episode since they moved the tapings to Universal Studios. Hallelujah! That alone didn't make this show worth watching (nothing did if we're being honest), but it did make it more bearable. This was essentially squash city and the more competitive matches toward the end aren't worth checking out at all due to Luther being insufferable and Yuta vs. Solo being a bit too bland. This was a mediocre edition of Dark in my book, but again, its brevity was appreciated. I'm sure they'll be back to featuring 14 matches and go 90 minutes next week, so I'll take these shorter shows whenever I can get them.

SEE MORE: Dark Reviews