AEW Dark Review - November 22, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Varsity Athletes def. Dean Alexander and Rosario Grillo

I'm sorry but for as talented as they are individually, Varsity Athletes do not interest me as a team whatsoever. Apparently I'm not alone in feeling that way considering the crowd was completely quiet for them here. I don't think giving them Mark Sterling as their manager has helped, either. They can get it done in the ring, but they feel like lackeys and nothing more, so their matches feel meaningless.

Willow Nightingale def. Marina Shafir

Now that Nightingale has returned from whatever tour she was on (I believe in Japan), she can pick up where she left off momentum-wise. She's officially signed and can finally get going with some wins. It's no secret I find Shafir to be abysmal, but Nightingale beating her is better than beating some random unknown opponent. This wasn't a stellar match by any means, but it was definitely one of Shafir's best bouts I've seen, which is a compliment to Nightingale and her ability to carry Shafir to a competent contest.

Wheeler Yuta def. KM

As I've said before, Yuta's new aggressive edge is a nice touch for his character in the midst of all the drama with Blackpool Combat Club. The group's future is in doubt now that William Regal has turned heel, but the hope is that Yuta can stand on his own if they ultimately go their separate ways soon. KM was a bigger opponent, so it took Yuta a little longer to put him away, but it was a decisive win, nonetheless.

Jake Hager def. Bryce Donovan

We don't see Hager in singles competition often these days and I have no issue with that since he's easily the least interesting member of Jericho Appreciation Society. He isn't bad in the ring, but I don't see the point in wasting time on his matches if they aren't going to accomplish anything. That said, he's challenging Orange Cassidy for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship this Wednesday on Dynamite, hence why he scored a victory here.

Tay Melo def. Skye Blue

We've seen many matches with Melo on the Dark shows that don't amount to anything, so I'm glad she finally has some direction in the form of a mini feud with Blue and Nightingale. Blue always plays her role well as the ultimate underdog, but unfortunately, this was a disappointing outing. They never clicked and there were too many sloppy spots. Post-match, Nightingale went after Melo and Anna Jay A.S., so expect Nightingale to face one of them soon.

Rush def. Leon Ruffin

Ruffin is a lot like Blue in that he excels in the enhancement role and sells the offense for his opponents exceptionally well. Rush is a hard-hitting dude, so this was fun while it lasted. Rush has had a semi-regular role on Dynamite and Rampage recently, so I appreciate that he hasn't gotten lost in the shuffle even without Andrade El Idolo not around for the time being. I thoroughly enjoyed this since Rush's style is perfect for squashes.

The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari, Sonny Kiss and Jeeves Kay)

Dark Order and Trustbusters are the bottom of the totem pole of trios in AEW, so this made sense as a main event for Dark. It was fairly competitive, and to be fair, the action was enjoyable at most points. Trustbusters were being heavily pushed on the Dark shows, so I appreciated that they didn't win here. It told a simple story, received an ample amount of time, and the crowd wasn't completely quiet for it, so this was a quality way of closing out the episode.

Overall Show

This week was a rare case where Dark was actually shorter than Elevation. Ideally, there's no need for this show to be any longer than an hour, so keeping it on the shorter side in front of a full crowd (i.e. not Universal Studios) was a good boost for this week. This was a slightly-above-average edition of Dark with the main event not being a straightforward squash and there being some storyline progression in the middle with Jay A.S. and Nightingale, so this was an easy watch on the whole.

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