AEW Dark Review - May 25, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Nick Comoroto def. Jake St. Patrick

Comoroto is an absolute hoss. I'm really interested to see how he'll do in a lengthier match at some point. A guy like Powerhouse Hobbs did well against Christian Cage last month, so I'm curious if Comoroto is as competent in the ring or he needs additional development. Either way, I have no problem with him mostly working squash matches against enhancement talent. He demolished this dude.

Aaron Solow def. Ganon Jones

The Factory was already at ringside for Comoroto's match (with QT Marshall sitting on the steel steps on the ramp), so Solow just jumped into the ring for his match and didn't waste any time. Granted, the match itself was a waste of time because Solow is merely someone that exists in The Factory, but the best thing I can say about it was that it didn't overstay its welcome. I have no idea why he does the Pedigree as a finisher and it doesn't look great, anyway.

Preston "10" Vance def. Dillon McQueen

McQueen is a pupil of Cody Rhodes, who briefly walked out with McQueen before returning to the back. He's appeared on the Dark shows before and has shown good fire. That said, I'm surprised he scored as much offense as he did here, especially with how dominant Vance has been in most of his matches lately. McQueen definitely stands out from the rest of the enhancement talent, so I can certainly see him getting more opportunities.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno and Colt Cabana) def. Steven Andrews and Simon Lotto

Is it just me or does it feel like Uno and Cabana have teamed up more lately than Uno and Stu Grayson? The weird thing is that Uno and Grayson have a match coming up on Dynamite this week against Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, so you'd think they'd win together ahead of then. Regardless, Uno and Cabana had a fun showing per usual against Andrews and Lotto. It was smart to keep this on the shorter side because there was no need for it to be any longer.

Big Swole and KiLynn King def. The Bunny and Madi Wrenkowski

Swole and King have had an alliance over the last month or so (along with Red Velvet), so it made sense for them to team up here. Wrenkowski, on the other hand, went from one faction (with Vickie Guerrero) to another (now with Matt Hardy). She's officially not in the H.F.O., but it is funny how she'll align with different factions just so she can taking the losing fall. That said, she has potential, even if this wasn't her finest outing. I'm glad the women were spotlighted, though.

Gunn Club (Colten and Billy Gunn) def. Kal Herro and Liam Gray​

The feature that aired for Gunn Club on Monday's Dark: Elevation was really well done. I'm still not their biggest fan, but it did make me care about them more than I did before, if only a little. I don't think we've seen Billy and Colten team up yet, so that was an interesting combo (remember, Austin got destroyed by Anthony Ogogo on Dynamite recently). There was nothing memorable about the match except that Gray did a dumb topa suicida to the outcome and nearly injured himself. Seriously, what was the point of that?

"Legit" Leyla Hirsch def. Vertvixen

The best part about Hirsch's matches is that she gets the job done in a matter of minutes, especially if it's someone that has no business being in there with her for more than that. Don't get wrong, Vertvixen isn't terrible, but given Hirsch's legitimate background and how she's been built up, having her squash her opponents is smart. The next step is getting her on Dynamite more often, which I feel is inevitable the more wins she racks up.

Dante Martin def. Jason Hotch

I'm almost positive Dante has been wrestling every week on either Dark or Dark: Elevation for the last two months. The consistency is appreciated and it helps that he's getting so many reps in. Top Flight was pretty green when they first arrived in AEW, so at least Dante is getting the experience he needs while Darius is out injured. Is there any update on his status? Because I thought he'd be back by now. This was a quality contest ahead of Dante's AEW TNT Championship opportunity against Miro on Dynamite this Friday night.

Diamante def. Reka Tehaka

I liked that Diamante got some mic time beforehand backstage. You'd never know how good of a talker she is because we almost never hear from her. Unfortunately, she doesn't win whenever it matters most (unless you count The Deadly Draw last summer which proved to be a complete waste of time), but at least she wins some of these other matches she has. She and Tehaka brought the intensity here and it was a nice little sprint.

Joey Janela def. Bear Bronson

Bronson is following in the footsteps of Dante Martin as far as being a tag team guy who can benefit from wrestling singles matches on Dark while his partner is out. This was a strange clash of styles on paper, but they ended up having a well-wrestled match. Janela isn't awful in the ring, but he rarely holds my interest. Bronson, however, kept me engaged. He never ceases to impress me with what he can do at his size. I liked that Bronson was once again able to look credible in defeat.

Angelico def. RYZIN

I'm constantly clamoring for more of RYZIN in singles competition (as opposed to the random tag team matches he's being lumped into all the time) and I'm glad we got that here. Angelico is very talented but obviously lacks direction. He flew solo here and even had mic time beforehand, so that was cool. They weren't given a ton of time, but it was solid while it lasted. I just wish AEW was more consistent with The Hybrid2, either as a tag team or on their own.

Julia Hart def. Tesha Price

Poor Price. Hart just got here and she's already won her first match in AEW, whereas Price has wrestled quite a few matches for months now and hasn't won a single one. Being the new cheerleader for Varsity Blonds was obviously a factor, but she has skills as well. That's not to say Price doesn't, but AEW just hasn't found the right role for her yet. This was a decent little outing while it lasted.

FTW Champion Brian Cage def. Sonny Kiss (Non-Title)

Cage is often facing uncontracted talent on this show, so since Kiss is actually on the roster, I thought this would be somewhat competitive. Hey, I'm not complaining that Cage dominated a majority of the match because given where he is on the card and the fact he's fresh off a win over Adam Page, he absolutely should have. Kiss is athletic and sold Cage's offense well, so there was that. Also, Joey Janela finally turned heel afterward by not saving Kiss from Cage and Hook. Janela does nothing for me, personally, but maybe he'll be better off as a heel.

Overall Show

If you've read a handful of my Dark reviews, you'd know that any show that's on the shorter side is instantly one of my favorites regardless of what happened. If not an hour, then 90 minutes is a perfectly acceptable for a show of this nature. The Janela heel turn at the end was notable and there was a decent amount of hype for Friday's Dynamite as well as Double or Nothing on Sunday. That made this an efficient episode even though none of the matches stood out to me.

SEE ALSO: AEW Dark Reviews