AEW Dark Review - January 24, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Britt Baker def. Billie Starkz

Starkz first appeared on Dark last month to plenty of fanfare (at least from fans online), though she didn't have much of a chance to stand out because she was promptly squashed. Luckily for her, this was much more competitive and she faced arguably the biggest star in AEW's women's division right now. She had a solid showing and impressed in defeat. Baker hasn't competed on Dark in nearly two years, so this was a nice treat.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. Vary Morales, Baliyan Akki and Marcus Kross

If you've seen any Dark Order six-man tag team match, you've seen them all. There's never anything wrong with them from a technical standpoint, but I can't muster up much excitement for them. I assume they're in the process of being established as a trio so they can eventually go back after the AEW World Trios Championship. This was less interesting than the match they had on Elevation because their opponents on this show weren't contracted talented, but at least they kept the pace consistent throughout.

Tony Deppen def. Serpentico

I feared that Deppen was only in there to lose to Serpentico, but I'm happy to have been wrong. As I've mentioned before, Deppen is a former ROH World Television Champion and was seen sitting in the crowd by ringside during Final Battle last month. It'd be a smart call to have him get more exposure on the Dark shows so he can eventually rejoin the Ring of Honor roster when ROH TV starts soon. This lasted longer than I thought it would, but it was well worked and had the right result.

Matt Sydal def. Cezar Bononi

Sydal hasn't competed on Dark since October, so I was happy to see him back in action. I believe he was out injured, but I can't remember exactly. I have no desire to see Bononi wrestle singles matches because he isn't very good, but Sydal was able to carry him to a competent contest here. Post-match, The Wingmen attacked Sydal before Top Flight made the save, so expect to see a six-man tag team match one of these days.

Harley Cameron def. Brittany J

This was an interesting situation because on paper, I had no idea who would win between the two because neither of them are signed to the AEW roster to my knowledge. However, the outcome became obvious as soon as Cameron made her entrance. This was a fairly basic bout, but it was decent and Cameron fared just fine for herself. We'll see if she continues to make appearances on Dark and rack up wins or if this was merely a setup for her to lose to someone else on the actual roster.

Madison Rayne def. Kaci Lennox

Rayne pops up on Dynamite and Rampage from time to time, but only to elevate others. She's been wrestling for a long time, so while she doesn't necessarily need the credibility booster, it never hurts to give her the occasional win. That's why this existed. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it whatsoever, but I had no issue with this because it was so short. This was quick and painless.

Action Andretti def. Bronson

Bronson is one-half of Iron Savages, the former Bear Country. I don't think we've seen them on AEW TV in months, so I wouldn't  be surprised if a majority of the audience weren't aware of their name change yet. They're dominant as a duo, so I was looking forward to seeing what Bronson could do on his own. Andretti is fresh off a win over Daniel Garcia on Rampage, so there was no chance he was losing here. I thought they had a fun match and the win keeps Andretti's momentum going. Realistically, Andretti should have won quicker than he did seeing as how he owns wins over Garcia and Chris Jericho.

Mascara Dorada def. Anthony Henry

To my knowledge, Dorada isn't under contract anywhere, so I hope we see more of him in AEW, specifically against Bryan Danielson on Dynamite one of these days as Danielson has always wanted. He's a hell of a talent and I love the choice to have him wrestle guys like Henry who can also clearly go. This was a really enjoyable sprint and I appreciate that it was positioned as the main event.

Overall Show

Even if it emanates from Universal Studios, any edition of Dark that is under an hour long automatically earns a thumbs-up in my book. This was a swift eight-match card. I really liked the last two matches and was happy that the opener between Baker and Starkz exceeded my expectations. It helped that the stars showcased weren't the usual undercarders. This is the formula Dark should follow every week to make it an easier watch.

SEE MORE: Dark Reviews