AEW Dark Review - September 21, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Wardlow def. JDX

Wardlow murdering people is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the Dark shows, right behind Lance Archer murdering people. He has "breakout babyface" written all over him, but I wouldn't pull the trigger on that turn just yet. He totally decimated JDX here and went over in decisive fashion. My only complaint is that it wasn't shorter, but I understand Wardlow wanting to take his time putting his opponents away.

Big Swole def. Allie Katch

Since Swole won her feud with Diamante a few weeks ago, shouldn't we ideally be seeing her on Dynamite more going forward? I'm all for her gaining momentum and getting more experience, but she can accomplish only so much by only working the Dark shows. I've heard of Allie Katch (back when she was doing her cat gimmick), but I didn't see enough from her here to get a good enough grasp of what she's capable of. There wasn't much to the match, but it did keep Swole's winning ways going.

Santana and Ortiz def. Chaos Project

It's been well documented that Chaos Project are among my least favorite acts in AEW, and it hurt my heart to see Santana and Ortiz have a competitive match with them, but at least it was a decent match. I'm all for Santana and Ortiz picking up more wins and building momentum ahead of an eventual opportunity at the AEW World Tag Team Championship. This was a slight step up over the unknown athletes Santana and Ortiz have been beating recently.

Joey Janela def. Dillon McQueen

I'm not a Janela fan in the slightest, but there's no denying that Kayla Rossi has made him more bearable, in addition to the fact he's now a heel. His matches aren't as much of a chore to watch as they were before, but that isn't to say they're remotely good. This was pretty basic stuff with Janela bouncing back from losing to Sonny Kiss on Monday's Elevation. We didn't see Kiss here, but after what happened following their match, I assume their feud isn't over.

Tay Conti def. Marina Tucker

If you've seen one Tay Conti match in recent months, you've seen them all because they're largely the same. There's nothing wrong with that, but she was long overdue for a storyline of some sort and I'm glad she's found one with The Bunny and Penelope Ford. It's not lighting the world on fire, mind you, but it's better than being directionless. This was serviceable stuff, but the most noteworthy part about if was that it saw the return of -1 at ringside.

Lee Johnson and Brock Anderson def. Luke Cameron and Cameron Stewart

This marked the first appearances of Johnson and Anderson since the two of them were battered and beaten by Malaki Black last month. I appreciate AEW having them sell those attacks by keeping them off the shows for a little while. They've resumed teaming and this was the usual solid showing from them both. I don't see them rising in the tag team ranks, but if the intention is for them to get more experience, then I'm in favor of it.

FTR def. Anthony Greene and Stallion Rogers

Greene and Rogers are fresh off their departures from WWE NXT. Greene wrestled there as August Grey while Rogers competed as Curt Stallion. Yes, he had that name before signing with WWE, but apparently they now own the trademark and that's terrible. Stallion Rogers works, though. This was not only my favorite match on this show but also one of my favorite matches on Dark ever. If you saw it, you'd agree. FTR did everything to elevate these guys who aren't even signed while Greene and Rogers showed what WWE missed out on. This was tag team wrestling at its finest, though I'd expect nothing less from FTR.

The Bunny def. Xtina Kay

I have zero interest in the Bunny squashes on the Dark shows. She's technically fine, but the bunny crap sucks and I maintain that she's regressed since her IMPACT days. Maybe it's the partnership with The Butcher and The Blade, but she does nothing for me at this point. This was a standard showcase for her to allow her to rebound from her recent loss to Anna Jay on Rampage.

Lance Archer def. Marcus Kross

This was the perfect combination. I love watching Archer destroy dudes, and I love watching Kross get destroyed. Nothing against Kross, he seems like a perfectly competent competitor, but he looks like a goof and is therefore an excellent enhancement guy. He can take quite the beating. This was a warm-up for Archer ahead of his Lights Out tag team match with Minoru Suzuki against Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston on Friday's Rampage.

The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds) def. The Wingmen ("Pretty" Peter Avalon and Ryan Nemeth)

The Wingmen are the definition of enhancement talent in that I feel they do a decent job of enhancing their opponents. They're also a bunch of goofs, but at least they're somewhat established, so them taking the fight to Dark Order made sense. This was his first time teaming with jut Silver since the start of this year as he recently took time off after the birth of his child. Congrats to him on that. At least Silver and Reynolds appear to be on the same page.

Daniel Garcia def. Alan "5" Angels

Angels is the main guy out of Dark Order who can lose to other opponents and can always make his opponents look good. As for Garcia, it's clear AEW is super high on him and understandably so. He's very talented and has excelled in every situation he's been put in. Him with 2point0 is a nice dynamic as well. This was well wrestled and resulted in another win for Garcia. It's worth noting that Angels flew solo without anyone from Dark Order at ringside.

The Factory def. Darian Bengston, Cole Carter and Sean Maluta

We're still doing this Factory thing? Ugh. I was hoping Paul Wight destroying them at All Out would put that faction to rest once and for all, but no such luck. At the very least, they're being relegated to Dark and haven't been on Dynamite at all lately. As I've said before, Comoroto has potential, but Solo and especially Marshall are beyond boring to me, and so was this match because I couldn't care less about these guys.

Colt Cabana def. JD Drake

These are two skilled wrestlers, but what was the point? We already got The Wingmen and Dark Order earlier in the episode, so this felt completely meaningless to me, especially when the show was already longer than it should have been. Drake looks like a moron in his new gear, but I guess it fits the Wingmen stuff. Interestingly, Evil Uno and -1 were in Cabana's corner when no one was out there for Angels. Again, the Dark Order civil war continues. This was good for the time given albeit not necessary.

Eddie Kingston def. Bear Bronson

Kingston was definitely a big enough name to feature in the main event. I thought Bronson was done doing stuff on his own now that Bear Country is back together, but I'm not complaining because he always shines in singles competition. They had a hard-hitting affair with Bronson getting to look credible in defeat. Kingston briefly addressed the audience afterward before brawling to the back with Archer, who he'll collide with in tag team action on Rampage as noted.

Overall Show

i thought we were done with the Dark shows running almost two hours now that it's being taped from Universal Studios? Damn! I'll give them a pass this one time because it's Grand Slam week, but Dark is way more bearable when it's around/under an hour. That said, this edition featured plenty of quality wrestling, including some familiar faces making their AEW debuts. I would have cut down on the amount of squashes we got, but on the whole, this was one of the stronger editions in recent memory from an in-ring standpoint. The new structure of the show is off to a solid start.

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