AEW Dark Review - June 29, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Wardlow def. Baron Black by Referee Stoppage

Wardlow squashes tend to be fun. This was no exception as he toyed around with Black before defeating him in decisive fashion. I maintain he'll be a breakout babyface down the road, but I appreciate that he's been getting more reps in the ring recently, even if they haven't been too lengthy. For anyone wondering if he lost anything from being beaten by Jake Hager inside the cage two weeks ago, I think it's safe to say he didn't.

Lee Johnson def. Vary Morales

Johnson was the one getting squashed pretty consistently on Dark last year, whereas he's the one doing the squashing in 2021. Plus, he's been improving with every outing he's had, which should be the point of Dark and Dark: Elevation. These two had a better bout than I was expecting with Johnson showing off his flashy moveset. Vorales is a good hand, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Johnson should start working with actual members of the roster sooner rather than later.

Abadon def. Hyan

It feels like Abadon has hardly wrestled on AEW programming in 2021. I mean, I'm not complaining because I don't care about the character, but unless she's been having injury issues, it is slightly strange. Maybe AEW wants to make her matches more special by not doing them so frequently? If that's the mindset, then good on them for trying not to overexpose her. This was relatively harmless at only two minutes long.

Powerhouse Hobbs def. Marko Stunt

I was excited for this match more than anything else I saw advertised coming into the show, just because I knew it would an absolute slaughter. I'm not a Marko Stunt fan in the slightest (though I don't mind him being a part of Jurassic Express), so admittedly, I was looking forward to watching Hobbs put a beating on him. Unfortunately, this was over in under a minute. I would have liked to see Hobbs take his time with him. I know I've said before that I prefer squashes to be short and sweet, but I wouldn't have minded this being a minute or two longer. Either way, Hobbs is still a beast.

Lance Archer def. Kenny Bengal

I'm still waiting for Archer to settle into his next feud, because it always feels like this guy is in a constant state of flux. He'll destroy some jobbers, pick up the occasional important win on Dynamite, and then lose whenever it matters most. These squashes are a blast, but he needs to do more than that. Jake Roberts being on commentary was a treat and I liked how Archer used a different finisher to put Bengal away.

Tay Conti def. Charlette Renegade

As I've mentioned before, Charlette is the sister of Robyn Renegade, who has been a regular on the Dark shows for the last month or two. There was no suspense regarding the outcome of course, but Renegade showed some confidence. Meanwhile, Conti continues to put all the pieces together and is turning into an absolute star. The more her in-ring work improves, the more likely it is she'll be in the championship conversation again. We just need to hear from her a little more often than we do.

The Factory (QT Marshall and Aaron Solow) def. Chad Lennex and Zachariah

The commentators noted that Lennex and Zachariah, who made their AEW debuts here, are Dustin Rhodes' students. I thought that was a nice little touch given The Factory is currently (unfortunately) feuding with The Nightmare Family, but hopefully it ends soon because most of these matches haven't piqued my interest in the slightest. This was perfectly fine for what it was. By the way, why haven't we seen Nick Comoroto in action since his Bull Rope match loss to Dustin a month ago?

Frankie Kazarian def. JD Drake

I've been really digging Kazarian's new "Elite Hunter" gimmick. It makes total sense because The Elite essentially ended Christopher Daniels' career and he needed purpose/direction now that he's on his own. I've also liked the newfound intensity in all of his matches. As for Drake, although I like his work, The Wingmen are a bunch of goofs, so he wasn't much of a threat here. That said, I didn't mind this being a bit more competitive than most of the matches on this show, as it was solid while it lasted.

Angelico def. Arjun Singh

Angelico has been getting more singles outings lately than Jack Evans. I don't know the reason behind that, but more of Angelico is never a bad thing. Matt Hardy was in his corner for this. Singh was impressive in his AEW debut here, but this match was Angelico's to win. Interestingly, Hardy approached the former Jora Johl (the former Robo) about the offer he gave him last week about possibly the H.F.O., which Johl looks to be seriously considering.

Nyla Rose def. Holidead

Fun fact: For those unaware, Holidead used to team with Thunder Rosa on the independent scene. She's still doing the same gimmick it appears, which feels way too similar to Abadon. I've read that she's skilled in the ring, but we didn't get to see much of what she can do here because of it being booked as a squash in Rose's favor. They just keep feeding Rose wins as she prepares to contend for the AEW Women's World Championship soon.

The Blade def. Sonny Kiss

Much like Angelico, The Blade has been getting a ton of singles showings in recent weeks, but his partner The Butcher is out injured and I haven't heard anything about when he could be back. Kiss is also without a partner at the moment as he announced his split from Joey Janela last week because of how Janela has been acting. Despite that, Janela came out after this like a moron to make the save. He mentioned somewhere recently that he's injured, so that's why he didn't get physical. This was a fun sprint from these two.

Julia Hart def. Ashley D'Amboise

Hart is obviously very inexperienced, so giving her more experience on the Dark shows is smart. She's certainly benefiting from it considering she's already improved in the handful of matches she's had in AEW. Facing an opponent who can hold her own in D'Amboise only helped her cause. This was a solid showing from both ladies. All members continue to roll ahead of Brian Pillman Jr.'s shot at the AEW TNT Championship on Wednesday's Dynamite.

The Dark Order (Stu Grayson, Evil Uno and Colt Cabana) def. Jack Evans and Private Party

Dark Order and Private Party were feuding for quite a while heading into Double or Nothing, and then the feud was dropped out of nowhere, and it's picked up again in the last few weeks. A big multi-man match would make sense eventually to settle their score once and for all, but it's just as likely that AEW is merely booking these matches to keep the two groups busy on the secondary shows. This was probably the best match on the whole show. Dark Order has lost to the H.F.O. at almost every turn, so I liked that they finally won here.

"Captain" Shawn Dean def. JDX

​Dean was one of the first few guys to work as an enhancement talent for AEW at the beginning of the pandemic last year. He eventually earned himself a contract, but considering he hasn't wrestled since March, I assume he's been taking up more of a behind-the-scenes role recently. He returned to action with a rare win here and looked good. JDX shined as well, so I enjoyed this.

The Wingmen (Ryan Nemeth and Cezar Bononi) def. Sage Scott and Jake St. Patrick

What a weak main event. The Wingmen have their little shtick, but their matches aren't anything above basic. In all honesty, they're probably perfect in that opening match slot, like they when they kicked off Monday's Dark: Elevation against Gunn Club. They aren't main event guys, not even on Dark or Dark: Elevation, unless they're facing notable opponents. The best thing I can say about this is that it wasn't more than three minutes long. I'm just not sure why it was necessary.

Overall Show

This edition of Dark was a lot like Monday's Dark: Elevation in that it featured around the same amount of matches as we were throughout the pandemic and was thankfully about an hour and a half. The only difference is that this was taped in front of a limited audience (i.e. no actual fans). The matches being kept on the shorter side was wise and most of them served a purpose, so all in all, I have no complaints.

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