AEW Dark Review - June 9, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) def. El Fuego del Sol and Low Rider

This marked the AEW debuts of El Fuego del Sol and Low Rider. They fared well for themselves here, but they didn't have enough time to truly showcase their skills. SCU was on offense for a majority of the match and went over in under three minutes. They have largely been floundering since losing the AEW World Tag Team Championship earlier this year, so hopefully their recent string of wins leads to them getting back on track and potentially entering the title picture again eventually.

5 def. Lee Johnson

5 is the former Alan Angels, who has been a regular on Dark since they started taping shows without a formal crowd. The interesting thing is that unlike with Alex Reynolds and John Silver, this move wasn't foreshadowed at all. If it means he'll be sticking around with AEW, then I'm all for it because he's an excellent athlete. This was a nice little match and Johnson was able to look good in defeat.

Santana and ORtiz def. Musa and Brady Pierce

As I've said before, Santana and Ortiz really need to regain that aggressive edge they had in IMPACT. They've done well for themselves in AEW and have been winning a bunch of enhancement matches lately, but they still feel like the lackeys in Inner Circle who can't win when it matters most. This was a fine exhibition for them, but it was odd that it took them almost five minutes to beat a bunch of no-namers.

The Butcher and The Blade def. Anthony Catena and Pineapple Pete

The Butcher and The Blade suffer from the exact opposite issue as Santana and Ortiz. They're intense in the ring, but I couldn't care less about them as characters. Every time Allie is asked about them, she dodges the question, so it's clear she isn't done with them yet. This wasn't as enjoyable as the squash with Santana and Ortiz because The Butcher and The Blade bore me to tears.

QT Marshall def. Zack Clayton

We saw Marshall backstage beforehand informing Dustin Rhodes that this wouldn't be a tag team match and that he and Brandi Rhodes would have to wear extra-large t-shirts with his face on them (designed by Allie, of course). It's a pretty basic storyline and you can see where this is going from a mile away, but I appreciate their attempt to make Marshall more interesting. The match was total throwaway, but at least it moved the story along.

Christopher Daniels def. Sonny Kiss

This was a perfect mashup of talent as Daniels is a seasoned veteran and Kiss hasn't been around nearly as long. It isn't a match I would have ever expected to see, but I'm glad we got it because they had terrific chemistry together. I don't think Kiss benefits from being in tag team matches as much as he does competing in a singles capacity where he has more of a chance to shine. He had a solid showing in defeat here. This was a matchup I didn't mind seeing get time because Kiss isn't another unsigned enhancement talent.

Jurassic Express (Luchasaurus & Marko Stunt) def. Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler

Avalon and Cutler are clearly enemies on Being The Elite, so I have no idea why they continue to team up. They've never won any matches on their own, so maybe the idea is that they can finally find success together? Regardless of what they're going for, I can't say I'm invested. As a match, this was fun as anything Jurassic Express is involved in is a treat. However, I could have done without it lasting for 10 minutes.

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley def. Robert Anthony (Non-Title)

Upon looking it up, I found that Moxley and Anthony traded wins in CZW in 2010 and 2011, so I believe this was the tie-breaker. As you'd expect, Taz talked a lot about Moxley's upcoming title defense against Brian Cage (who was standing behind Taz at the commentary desk the entire time) at Fyter Fest, so the focus was firmly on that. Anthony took Moxley to the limit, but the outcome was never in doubt. I liked that Moxley won with the Texas Cloverleaf, which sends the message that he can finish off his opponents with more than just the Paradigm Shift.

Overall Show

After reverting back to a shorter show with less matches, Dark once again had an overabundance of squash matches this week, which I'm no fan of. They're in the process of getting their full roster back, so there's really no need for there to be as many squash matches as there has been on this show. It doesn't make for the most compelling hour-plus program in my opinion, even if it does give some people necessary wins. At least this episode featured a rare appearance from Moxley and it was a match that had history behind it, in addition to being competitive. Other than that, there was nothing to see here, unless you're really digging the storyline with Allie and The Natural Nightmares.