AEW Dark Review - July 19, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jora Johl def. Luke Sampson

I've mentioned The A.F.O. in a few of my reviews lately because I've been questioning whether it's still technically a group or not. I thought they weren't, but then Johl came out with Private Party. Honestly, who the hell knows. Johl is a competent competitor, but because he's almost never shown on Dynamite or Rampage, a majority of the AEW audience probably doesn't even know he exists and thus he'll never get beyond a certain level. Sure, he won here, but how much does that really mean?

Lee Moriarty def. Ren Jones

Moriarty just unsuccessfully challenged Jonathan Gresham for the ROH World Championship on last week's Rampage. It was nice to see him back on TV for the first time in a while, but I wish he'd appear more regularly because he has a ton of untapped potential. This was very brief, but with Moriarty picking up what feels like a rare victory, I can't complain. It got him back in the winning column and that's what matters.

Serena Deeb def. Viva Van

With Deeb set to challenge Mercedes Martinez for the ROH Women's World Championship at Death Before Dishonor, this was an easy setup win for her to give her some extra momentum before then. Deeb is always such a treat to watch because of the style she wrestles and how she picks apart her opponents. I'd have no issue with Deeb being the next ROH Women's World Champion.

Marina Shafir def. Amber Nova

I'm sorry but I immediately lose interest in anything involving Shafir. Sure, she's improved since she started in AEW, but her lack of personality has made her matches as of late a chore to sit through. This really wasn't much different than her other matches, but on the bright side, they kept it short and sweet with Shafir winning decisively. It's a bit strange that she's been featured so frequently despite being far from the best women's wrestler AEW has on the roster.

Konsuke Takeshita def. Anthony Henry

I hate to sound like a broken record, but Takeshita continues to be so damn impressive. It goes to show that mic skills aren't everything and you can get over with the audience simply by being great in the ring (the opposite is true as well). I'm happy to see him getting so much exposure across all of AEW's shows and he worked really well with Henry here. I'd be shocked if he wasn't "all elite" before long.

ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham def. Jordan Oasis (Non-Title)

I assumed this was taped before Gresham's heel turn because it felt like he was in babyface mode, not to mention Tully Blanchard didn't accompany him to ringside. He just defended the ROH title against Moriarty on Rampage and it's been announced his next defense will come against Claudio Castagnoli at Death Before Dishonor. This gave him another win before then, though Jordan scored more offense than I thought he might.

ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta def. Bryce Donovan (Non-Title)

Much like Gresham, Yuta will also be defending his gold at Death Before Dishonor. His opponent will be Daniel Garcia, which makes sense given the recent issues between Blackpool Combat Club and Jericho Appreciation Society. It's been nice having Yuta back in action over the last month and this was another opportunity for him to showcase his skills. He cut a decent promo afterward addressing Garcia.

Danhausen def. Jake Something

This was quite the contrast of styles, to say the least. I love Danhausen, but it was a bit difficult to take him seriously against a guy like Something, who is much larger in size and very skilled. I know Something hasn't been used as anything other than an enhancement talent in AEW, but this was still a bit too unbelievable on the surface since Danhausen hasn't won many (if any) matches on his own yet. That said, I'm glad Danhausen didn't do as much of the comedy stuff here and they had an actual match. It reminds me of how Orange Cassidy is utilized, and the inside cradle finish made sense.

Charlette and Robyn Renegade def. Avery Breaux and Valentina Rossi

The Renegade twins just lost to Athena and Kris Statlander in tag team action on Rampage a week or two ago. They've never done much for me, personally, but Tony Khan must be impressed if he keeps bringing them back. This win allowed them to establish some credibility and their post-match promo with Tony Schiavone gave them more of a reason for viewers to care about them.

ROH Women's World Champion Mercedes Martinez def. J-Rod (Non-Title)

As previously noted, Martinez has her next title defense coming up against Deeb at Death Before Dishonor this Saturday. Much like Deeb's match earlier in the evening, this also served as a showcase ahead of their outing. Rod scored more offense than I thought she would, but she didn't have a poor performance. Martinez is the perfect person to be working with these younger talents and give them the experience they need.

Varsity Blonds def. Terrence and Terrell Hughes

Varsity Blonds are set to face off with Christian Cage and Luchasaurus this Wednesday on Dynamite. Good luck with that one, boys. I don't expect it to last long after Luchasaurus recently made quick work of Griff Garrison. It's honestly amazing how far they've fallen from last year, and what's sad is that I don't think this is part of some longer storyline with them. Rather, I think they've been firmly slotted in the enhancement role. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this at all.

QT Marshall def. Fuego Del Sol

Fuego has been feuding with Marshall and the rest of The Factory on Dark for a few weeks ago. Have I cared? Not really, but I do appreciate there's an actual rivalry on the program for a change. Not too long ago, these two had one of the best Dark matches I've seen in the last year, and although this wasn't quite on that level, it was still an enjoyable affair while it lasted. I can't say Marshall winning was the right call, though. Is this really a "new" Fuego if he's already back to losing?

Jay Lethal def. Logan Cruz

Lethal will finally challenge Samoa Joe for the ROH World Television Championship at Death Before Dishonor. Lethal has had to carry the entire program by himself with Joe being off TV since June, but I think he's done a decent job. He noted in a pre-match promo that Cruz was one of his trainees, which was a nice touch since Lethal was once a pupil of Joe. The match was whatever, but they told a cool story that made this more meaningful than it would have been otherwise.

Daniel Garcia def. Alan "5" Angels in a Pure Rules Match

I thought we had seen the last of Angels in AEW since his contract expired at the end of June (he actually appeared in IMPACT and competed for the Impact X-Division Championship soon after), but apparently not since this must have been taped prior to that. This had "Pure Rules" because that's the type of match Garcia will have with Wheeler Yuta for the ROH Pure Championship at Death Before Dishonor. They had the best bout of the night as they worked well together and the stipulation played to Garcia's strengths.

Overall Show

Dark was back to featuring 14 matches this week at almost two hours long. As I always ask, is that really necessary? The show has been better this year as far as being on the shorter side (around an hour), and I'll make the occasional exception like a few weeks ago when the Pac vs. Shota Unimo and Thunder Rosa vs. Miyu Yamashita matches aired, but this had no business being as long it was. There was some quality stuff sprinkled throughout the show, but it would have benefited from cutting some stuff out that didn't serve much of a purpose.

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