AEW Dark Review - January 25, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Bunny def. Erica Leigh

The Bunny is one of those people that will score the occasional win on Dark or Elevation but will never win whenever it matters most on Dynamite or Rampage. She's perfectly fine in the ring, so this served as a serviceable squash for her. Leigh tried to stand out with some of her mannerisms, but her in-ring work simply wasn't all that impressive. This gave Bunny a rare win but won't mean much in the long run.

Daniel Garcia and 2point0 def. Pat Brink, Rayo and Kekoa

Garcia and 2point0 have a six-man tag team match with Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz coming up at Beach Break, so it made sense to give them a win and a last-minute momentum boost here. They were all business here and put away their opponents with ease. They also addressed Inner Circle afterward and I definitely think it's possible they win on Wednesday if AEW is going to continue teasing tension within Inner Circle. Lord knows Santana and Ortiz would benefit from breaking away on their own.

Lance Archer def. Joe Keys

Poor Keys. He just lost his gig at Ring of Honor with the company going on hiatus until April, and now he comes over to AEW to get killed by Archer. Hey, I'm not complaining as this was exactly what it was needed to be. He even dodged Archer's attack before the bell rang, but he wasn't too lucky beyond that. It arguably went a little longer than it should have, but it was well worked and Archer got to pick up another victory as he prepares to challenge for the AEW World Championship soon.

"Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Janai Kai

I noted in my Elevation review from Monday that I wasn't sure if Hirsch was officially a heel or not. I wasn't paying attention to her entrance that night, but I did notice she came out of the heel tunnel for her entrance here, so I guess it's official. I was impressed with Kai on Elevation and was happy she was given that chance to shine, but this was completely one-sided in favor of Hirsch. This could have been better with more time, but establishing Hirsch's dominance before she faces Red Velvet at Beach Break made more sense.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, Alan "5" Angels and Preston "10" Vance) vs. The Acclaimed and Gunn Club (Austin and Colten Gunn)

Billy Gunn accompanied his sons to ringside and tried to do his DX shtick beforehand but was cut off by The Acclaimed. I believe Austin and Colten are still undefeated as a duo and The Acclaimed are coming off a main event match on Dynamite against Sting and Darby Allin, so although Dark Order are popular babyfaces, the heel team had to win this one. This was an enjoyable multi-man affair for the time it was given.

Penta El Zero Miedo def. Wheeler Yuta

If Penta is about to embark on a singles run with Rey Fenix out injured for the foreseeable future, consider me all in. Had you told me ahead of time that Yuta was going to take Penta to the limit here, I may have been skeptical, but this turned into an excellent sprint. They certainly made the most of the time they had and it featured plenty of back-and-forth action throughout. Yuta gained a ton in defeat and Penta once again got to showcase his skills to the world, so it was a win-win for both guys.

AEW World Tag Team Champion Jungle Boy def. Nick Comoroto

Jurassic Express beat The Factory a week or two ago on Dark, so this was basically an extension of that. Although Comoroto doesn't have much credibility by himself, I didn't have an issue with this being competitive or with Comoroto being on offense for a good chunk of it given the size difference. I could have done without the shenanigans on the outside, but I thought Comoroto had a solid showing before Jungle Boy picked up the victory.

Overall Show

It's worth noting that this edition of Dark was filmed the same night as Friday's Rampage (which is usually taped with Wednesday's Dynamite), hence why it took place in an actual arena and not at Universal Studios. That would also explain why there were only seven matches and not the usual 12 to 15. That was a big positive and it made the show significantly more entertaining, especially with those final three matchups that had established stars on the roster. This was an above-average episode with a Penta vs. Yuta match that I'd recommend making time for if you missed it.

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