AEW Dark Roundup: It’s AEW Dark Order

By the end of Tuesday night we were already four hours of amazing wrestling and we still had the joy which was Dynamite to come! We’ve been lucky enough to have some amazing wrestling this week, so I’m just going to jump straight in!

Highlights of the Week

ELEVATION:

AEW – Elevation

Elevation clocked in at just under two and a half hours this week, but it absolutely flew by! We saw some amazing debut’s, some brilliant promo’s, and some fantastic storytelling. Narrowing this down this week was so hard – I want to gush about all the matches! If you aren’t already making a habit of watching Elevation, you really should – these first three weeks have been absolutely outstanding.

5) Danny Limelight vs Frankie Kazarian

This match was just brilliant. Danny got to show off his high flying and Frankie got to showcase a new finisher. These two seriously went at it and it was glorious. I highly doubted that they’d have Kaz end his winning streak, but Limelight looked like an absolute star. This did get very technical, which you all know how much I love, Kaz doing his best to ground the High Flyer, and in the end was victorious with a new cross-face chicken wing submission. This was a great warm up match for Kaz vs Christian on Wednesday and I cannot wait!

4) Leyla Hirsch vs Vipress

Aah this was freaking amazing!! Hirsch is getting better and better every time she steps in the ring, as is Vipress. It was great getting so see Vipress show off some more of her skills in one of the longest matches we’ve seen her in so far, and this was a brilliant performance by Hirsch. She can transition into that armbar from literally any position and its just amazing. She’s got so much fire and heart, and I am still stupidly excited that she’s finally #AllElite. Vipress put on a really great showing and I’ve loved everything she’s done in an AEW ring so far and can’t wait to see where the future lies for her. 

3) Joey Janela vs Chandler Hopkins

This was one of two seriously impressive debuts of the show with our introduction to Chandler Hopkins. And what an introduction. Although we haven’t seen as much of Joey as we’d like over the last year and a half, his talent is undeniable and he really put Hopkins through his paces. I don’t’ know anything about Hopkins past, though after this match, I will definitely be going and looking for some more of his work, and I cannot wait to see his future with AEW because after this match he certainly has one. 

2) Mox vs Bill Collier

Much the same can be said about Bill Collier and his AEW debut against Mox. Just wow. For them to put him up against Mox, you can tell AEW have some faith in him, his skill, and his ability to get over with the fans, and monday night he showcased all of that. Mox was a beast as always, but this match lasted so much longer than I was expecting, and this was after an amazing promo from Mox to start the show. I will definitely be going and checking out some more of Collier’s work, and I’m waiting with baited breath to see where he goes in AEW.

1) Jungle Boy vs Jack Evans

Match of the night by a million miles was Jungle Boy vs Jack Evans and I don’t have the words to adequately describe the sheer skill, athleticism, and tenacity of these two guys. Arguably two of the best in AEW right now, this was a battle of gravity defying high-flying and some beautiful matwork from both men. Their chemistry in the ring was amazing, their styles matched up perfectly and this was just an absolute joy to watch.


DARK:

AEW – Dark

5) Madi Wrenkowski vs Jazmin Allure

This feud building between Leva and Madi is great, and Leva was a fantastic addition to the commentary table for this match. Madi looked dominant as hell, but let’s not ignore Jazmin here, even in loss she looked amazing- the black and pink may have something to do with it, but she reminds me of AJ Mendez the way she holds herself, her style and tenacity in the ring, and she’s got a bright future ahead of her and so does Madi. Seeing these two showcasing their talent was fantastic. They will both be fantastic additions to the women’s roster.

4) Sonny Kiss vs Angelico

This match was a technical dream, and huge props to Sonny for going hold for hold with Angelico, as it was mightily impressive. I loved seeing the more technical and aggressive side of Sonny in this match, it’s not something we get to see too often, but it was a fantastic showcase of their skill and talent. Angelico was clearly in his element even if he, like many of us, may have underestimated Sonny going into this match. This was just a heck of a lot of fun, and Joey and Sonny post match was as sweet as ever.

3) Red Velvet, Big Swole and Kilynn King vs Ashley Vox, Delmi Exo and Vertvixen

I. Love. Tag team. Wrestling. 

The women absolutely tore it up and for the vast majority of the match, it was Ashley, Delmi, and Vertvixen that looked like the seasoned professionals. Each woman got their moment to shine and just. Gaah it was awesome!! I’m wondering if this means we may get a men’s and a women’s trio’s tournament..?

2) Evil Uno, Stu Grayson and Cold Cabana vs Bill Collier, Vary Morales & D3

As Excalibur proudly proclaimed, it was AEW Dark Order Tuesday night and they absolutely killed it. I am loving babyface Dark Order, it finally feels like Colt fits in, and they are still absolutely kicking butt. That’s not to take anything away from Collier, Morales, and D3, who also looked awesome and worked fantastically together as a team. The chemistry all six of these guys had in the ring together was just brilliant and I just wanted to see more!

1) Max Caster vs Alex Reynolds

Heel student beats his babyface trainer. I cannot wait for the rematch. These two just went at it and it was amazing and a fantastic main event for what was overall a brilliant episode of Dark. Reynolds started in control, but soon lost it when he injured his left arm. Castor proceeded to spend the rest of the match working over that arm. It was distractions and cheeky heel shenanigans that finally lost Reynolds the match though. As I said, the eventual rematch will be amazing.

AEW Dark – Max Caster vs Alex Reynolds