WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

AEW Dark Review - May 25, 2021

5/25/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
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
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact