Dark – November 26, 2019: The Big Is Back
IMG Credit: AEW
Dark
Date: November 26, 2019
Location: Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Shawn Spears, Excalibur
Host: Tony Schiavone
It’s a big week this time around with the AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega defending against Jack Evans. Jack was a big deal down in AAA so it makes sense to give him a shot here. You never can tell what you might get around here and in this case, that is a better case than most. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Tony, without Dasha this week, welcomes us to the show and runs down the card.
Trent vs. Pentagon Jr.
Orange Cassidy is here with Trent. Pentagon starts with some CERO MIEDOS but gets chopped for his efforts. You don’t chop with Pentagon so he slugs away, only to get caught in a bridging northern lights suplex for two. They head to the apron with Trent knocking him down and hitting a sliding knee to the floor. The slingshot dive misses though and Pentagon hits a quick superkick to set up some more chops.
Back in and they slug it out until Trent clotheslines the heck out of him. The big flip dive takes Pentagon down and it’s a running knee for two back inside. Pentagon is right back with the Sling Blade but can’t get the Fear Factor. Trent is right back with a tornado DDT but he gets knocked off the top, setting up the double stomp for two.
A Backstabber into a springboard Canadian Destroyer (egads) gives Pentagon two more, only to have Trent blast him with a running knee. Pentagon is right back on the apron and hits the Package Piledriver to knock Trent silly. Back in and Pentagon snaps the arm but the Fear Factor is countered into the belly to back kneeling piledriver for the clean pin at 12:00.
Rating: C+. The ending rather surprised me as I wouldn’t have bet on Trent getting a fall over someone like Pentagon Jr. If nothing else, Trent hasn’t won much in AEW so far and it was quite out of nowhere to see him beat a former World Champion. What we got here was fine and rather action packed, but Trent winning was a real shock. We’ll figure out if that is good or bad later.
Video on Shanna, a Portuguese wrestler by way of Portugal. She has always wanted to wrestle and tried to get here, including several tryouts from WWE. Impact told her that she was too fat for television and she was considering leaving the business. Then AEW came around and here she is to this day. She is fighting for everything she has.
Big Swole liked Shanna’s story but everyone has own. Tonight, she is going to show everyone what a Swole attitude is all about.
Big Swole vs. Shanna
Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere off an attempt at arm control. Swole grabs the wristlock and takes her down for a second but Shanna is right back up. Some armdrags take Swole down and it’s time to start each other down again. Shanna hits a running flip neckbreaker but Swole is right back with a big boot for two. Swole chokes away in the corner and we’re off to the neck crank.
A running clothesline gives Swole two more but Shanna fights out of a choke on the ropes. They slug it out from their knees until Shanna gets the better of it off a running charge to tie her up. Swole’s tornado DDT is countered as she gets tied up in the ropes, meaning it’s a top rope double stomp to the back for a change. A Deep Six gives Swole two more but Shanna is right back with the dragon suplex for the fast pin at 11:12.
Rating: C-. Swole continues to not do anything for me and it is getting to be a problem. She is here every week and it isn’t like they have anything worse to use in her place. Shanna is someone who could be turned into something that matters sooner rather than later and that vignette helped her a good bit. Not a great match but it was fine enough.
We look at SCU tricking Chris Jericho into giving Scorpio Sky a World Title match.
We see the end of last week’s battle royal.
We get a By The Numbers video, including:
88 days since Kenny Omega lost at All Out
0 losses for Chris Jericho until he was pinned in the six man
8 stitches Cody needed after his most recent match
Come to our shows!
Leva Bates vs. Awesome Kong
Before the match, Peter Avalon insults the Indianapolis Motor Speedway but Kong’s entrance cuts him off. Brandi is out with Kong and Bates tries to show the monster some reading after the bell. The Implant Buster finishes Bates at 1:05.
Post match Kong cuts some more hair due to reasons.
AAA Mega Title: Kenny Omega vs. Jack Evans
Omega is defending. Evans plays to the crowd a bit before get get to some quality circling. Omega can’t get far off an armdrag so instead he does the Omega BANG pop. That gets him a right hand to the face and get some some of the fast paced flips. Evans shrugs off the running Fameasser by blocking most of it before dropkicking a springboarding Omega out of the air.
A hard whip into the corner has Omega in control again, setting up a backbreaker for two. Omega goes for a Gory Stretch to stay on the ribs, with Evans being bent hard over the shoulder. With that broken up, Omega hits a heck of a right hand, only to have his powerbomb reversed into a faceplant.
Omega shrugs that off and hits an over the shoulder kneeling backbreaker for two. Evans manages to kick him to the floor though and that means the big springboard moonsault. A slingshot 450 gets two back inside and a standing corkscrew moonsault is good for the same near fall.
Omega kicks him straight into the corner though and there’s the snap dragon suplex to put Evans down. A second sends him to the apron and it’s a running knee to send Evans to the floor. Back in and the V Trigger is cut off with a dropkick but Omega cuts off a charge. Omega gets two off a Tiger Driver 98 and it’s the One Winged Angel to retain Omega’s title at 15:49.
Rating: C+. Omega never felt close to being in trouble here but I think that was the point. It is going to take someone special to take the title from him and Evans isn’t that kind of a wrestler. The stuff with Omega wearing down the back worked fine and they did well enough, though it could have been trimmed down a bit.
Quick wrap up from Tony.
Overall Rating: C+. The show still needs to be a bit shorter (an hour and fifteen minutes for three regular matches and a squash is FAR too long) but it was nice to have something that felt big for a change. Even if Omega wasn’t in any danger of losing and Trent winning is kind of shocking, you could have done them in shorter matches. Shanna got a nice rub out of this week though and Omega gets back on the winning track. Just don’t have it go so long.
Results
Trent b. Pentagon Jr. – Belly to back kneeling piledriver
Shanna b. Big Swole – Dragon suplex
Awesome Kong b. Leva Bates – Implant Buster
Kenny Omega b. Jack Evans – One Winged Angel
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