AEW Dark Review - June 15, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"All Ego" Ethan Page def. Danny Limelight

Scorpio Sky emerged victorious in the main event of Monday's Dark: Elevation, so I liked how Page kicked off Dark with a win as well before he and Sky take on Darby Allin in a two-on-one Handicap match on Dynamite. Limelight is consistently one of the best enhancement talents AEW uses, but this was mostly about Page who was on offense for a majority of the match. It was a well-worked opener designed to make Page look like more of a threat ahead of Friday.

Dante Martin def. Sonny Kiss

As I've said time and time again, Dante has been really impress by himself while his brother/partner Darius has been out injured. I figured his mini singles push peaked when he lost to AEW TNT Champion Miro on the Dynamite before Double or Nothing, but apparently not because he beat Kiss here. That surprised me because I figured Kiss would have more of a future on his own than Dante, who will likely be returning to the tag team ranks sooner rather than later. This was a good match while it lasted. Kiss ended his partnership with Joey Janela later in the night after he didn't come to his aid here.

Nyla Rose def. Charlette Renegade

Excalibur noted on commentator that Charlette is the sister of Robyn Renegade, who we've seen in action quite a few times on the Dark shows recently. How long before they're tagging together? I didn't get a grasp of what she's capable of because Rose demolished from the get-go in under a minute. They're clearly feeding Rose wins so she can climb the AEW Women's World Championship power rankings and get a title shot against Britt Baker soon, likely on one of the upcoming themed shows.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Stu Grayson) def. Shane Mercer and KTB

We don't seen Uno and Grayson in action often enough, and despite Uno recently challenging for the AEW TNT Championship against Miro, I much prefer to see him in the tag team ranks. I'd argue they're an underrated team in the ring and this was the usual enjoyable showing from them. They have to rack up some wins before they can be taken seriously as top title contenders, however. Hearing from John Silver on commentary was a treat, too.

Wardlow def. Chandler Hopkins

This marked Wardlow's second straight squash this week following his dominant showing on Dark: Elevation. Hey, it is "Wardlow Week" after all as he'll be fighting Jake Hager in a cage fight with MMA rules on Dynamite. He choked out Hopkins (like he said he would on Monday) after being on offense for the entire minute and a half. As I've said before, Wardlow has future breakout star written all over him.

Cezar Bononi def. Dillon McQueen

I still don't get what AEW see in Bononi. Yes, he's a big dude, but none of his matches have been remotely above average so far, regardless of what show they've been on. He's getting another opportunity to compete on Dynamite this week when he faces Orange Cassidy. He's fine in the bodyguard role, but his matches should be limited in my opinion unless he's tagging with someone else. Speaking of limited, I was glad this was kept on the shorter side.

Frankie Kazarian def. Jake Tucker

Now that SCU is no more, Kazarian is officially sporting a new look, entrance attire and theme song. I'm digging this "Elite Hunter" gimmick of his, as it makes sense for him to want revenge on The Elite for (seemingly) retiring Christopher Daniels. He worked this match with more aggression than I've seen from him in recent memory. He'll be teaming with Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo on Dynamite to take on the trio of The Good Brothers and Matt Jackson.

KiLynn King def. Valentina Rossi

King has been featured fairly consistently on the Dark shows over the last year and she's finally getting a bit of a push in her alliance with Big Swole and Red Velvet. That said, she went at it alone here and had a fine match with Rossi. King doesn't do a ton for me personally, but at least she's skilled in the ring and this new stable of sorts has allowed her to show off her personality more. Rossi getting as much offense as she did surprised, but keeping this at around four minutes ensured it didn't overstay its welcome.

Gunn Club (Colten and Billy Gunn) def. Chaos Project

We don't ordinarily see Gunn Club have competitive matches, so this was a refreshing change of pace for them. It was also a smart use of Billy because he gets to give the rub to his son. That said, Colten won't gain too much if it's always Billy picking up the pinfall win for the team. I'm honestly shocked I didn't hate this more than I did considering who was involved. It was perfectly passable while it lasted.

Tay Conti def. Willow Nightngale

As much as I like her, these Conti squashes are going to get old at some point if they continue to be the same thing over and over again. Obviously, the key is that she's getting more experience, but she needs to start defeating more members of the roster as well for these wins to truly matter. My guess is that she's being built up for an eventual shot against Britt Baker on Dynamite. This was a basic bout that served its purpose, but again, Conti will need direction eventually.

The Acclaimed def. The Dark Order (Alan "5" Angels and Colt Cabana)

You'll never get any complaints out of me for putting The Acclaimed in the main event spot. These guys are gold, though Max Caster's pre-match wasn't as strong as it normally is. Angels and Cabana are a random duo out of Dark Order, so there was no doubt they were losing here. Despite there being nothing overly special about it, these teams put together an enjoyable main event.

Overall Show

I was worried when Dark: Elevation was around an hour long that Dark would be closer to two hours, but I'm thankful that wasn't the case. This carried a similar format with most of the matches being kept relatively short and several people getting showcased. The hour was once again a breeze, and although there weren't any memorable developments (aside from the Janela and Kiss stuff but who cares), the show was exactly what it needed to be. It'll be more fun when they're back in front of full crowds again.

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