AEW Dark Review - November 15, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Skye Blue def. Paris Van Dale

Blue never really wins whenever it matters most, but at least she wins her squash matches on Dark so she isn't a total loser. Plus, she's the the ultimate underdog and crowds like her. This was a fairly basic bout, but it served as a simple showcase for her and didn't overstay its welcome. I missed this match when I attended this Dark/Rampage taping a few weeks ago because I hadn't found my seat in time and apparently I didn't miss much.

Iron Savages def. Brando Lee and Lucas Chase

It's interesting that we haven't seen the former Bear Country on AEW TV since they started going by Iron Savages. They have a manager now, but otherwise, there isn't much else that's different about them. That's perfectly fine because the act as it was worked. This was the usual domination from them as they got their stuff in and won with ease. I'm looking forward to them eventually getting a step up in competition.

Kiera Hogan def. Kennedi Copeland

As I've mentioned before, Hogan is a similar spot as Blue in that she'll win the smaller matches like this on Dark but never against established names on television. There's plenty of room for her improvement as far as her in-ring work goes, so these matches help with that. This was what you'd expect and was wisely kept on the shorter side. Hogan would benefit from Red Velvet returning so they can reunite their team.

Frankie Kazarian def. Zack Clayton

I noticed when I was there live for this show that Kazarian received one of the strongest reactions of anyone who appeared that night. He hasn't appeared on AEW TV in many months, so that's pretty cool. I've always been a fan of his and am looking forward to him challenging Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship at Overdrive (even though he has no shot in hell of winning). Clayton remains a generic heel, but this was well worked.

The Factory (QT Marshall, Lee Johnson and Cole Karter) def. Man Scout, Teddy Goodz and Channing Thomas

I popped big for Man Scout and Thomas being in there because I'm familiar with both guys from their time in Northeast Wrestling. That was most exciting than the match itself, which was more of the same for The Factory. They're winning all these matches lately and I'm not exactly sure why because whatever feud they're a part of, I lose interest. Johnson and Karter have a higher ceiling than this, but they've been featured regularly recently, so there's that.

Athena def. LMK

If you've seen one Athena match on Dark or Elevation in the last few weeks, then you've seen them all, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Her newfound aggression has made her matches much better, leaving me to wonder why she wasn't a heel sooner (and that includes her WWE run). This wasn't pretty, but it wasn't supposed to be. Also, props to her opponents for selling her stuff so well. They're certainly taking a beating. Athena going off on Lexy Nair backstage later on effectively progressed her heel turn as well.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. Arjun Singh, Mike Magnum and Brett Gosselin

There is just nothing remotely interesting about Dark Order at this point. I guess it's encouraging that they're still over with live crowds and that's probably part of the reason why they haven't been completely broken up yet, but I can't bring myself to care about their matches at this point, especially when they mostly face people who aren't on the roster. This was an extended squash with the best part about it being the appearance of Gosselin, who has been a blast to watch as BRG on the northeast independent scene the last year.

ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia def. Brock Anderson

Although this was taped almost three weeks ago, this was the second title defense for Garcia in the last two days, as he defeated Leon Ruffin on Elevation this week to retain the title. Anderson was a bit more of a threat, but Garcia retaining was never in doubt. This was a well-wrestled match with Anderson scoring some offense before eating defeat. Even with Arn Anderson as his manager, Brock is feels dead in the water at the moment.

Overall Show

As previously noted, this was taped the same night as the edition of Rampage I attended back on October 29th, so I had already seen a majority of these matches in person with the exception of the first two due to not being in my seat at this point. The other matches they taped for Dark (which aired two weeks ago) had more star power and were more enjoyable on the whole, but this was still solid stuff and (much like Monday's Elevation) the ROH Pure Championship defense in the main event provided a nice little boost.

SEE MORE: Dark Reviews