Dark – September 4, 2020: The Secret To Its Success
IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Dark
Date: September 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
Yes it’s a double shot of this show as they continue their tradition of running a special show the night before a pay per view. In theory this means that we won’t be having a show next Tuesday, though I do wonder what that means for the Gunn Club and Kip Sabian. How can we get by without seeing them every single week? Let us get to it.
Here are this week’s results if you need a recap.
Faboo Andre/D3 vs. Butcher and Blade
Eddie Kingston is here with Butcher and Blade. The beatdown is on before the bell with Butcher running D3 over and taking him into the corner for the beating. D3 gets in a shot and hands it off to Andre, who walks into a side slam as the beating is on in a hurry. Blade doesn’t seem worried about Andre and slowly kicks him in the back but charges into a knee in the corner.
A hurricanrana allows the hot tag to D3 but he gets caught in a chokeslam/belly to back suplex combination. Andre makes the save and gets powerbombed/neckbreakered for his efforts. The suplex onto Blade’s knees is good for the pin on Andre at 3:34. They have those two big combinations and use the suplex onto the knee for the finisher?
Rating: D+. Again, you can only go so wrong with someone named Faboo Andre and it was nice to see Butcher and Blade destroying people like this. It isn’t a match that you need to see or course but as a brief showcase for Butcher and Blade, who seem to be on their way up, it worked out well enough. Now do something with them.
Allie vs. Red Velvet
QT Marshall is here with Velvet and Brandi Rhodes is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Velvet grabbing a headlock and then running her over with a shoulder. A rollup gives Velvet two and Allie isn’t into the handshake. Instead Allie sends her into the corner but gets choked down with a boot. Velvet gets caught on top though and Allie hits a superkick. The running knee sets up a bulldog as Brandi wants Allie to stay on it. Down The Rabbit Hole finishes Velvet at 4:19.
Rating: D+. Another not too bad match with Allie and Brandi’s issues being front and center. What those issues are still isn’t clear, as Allie hasn’t exactly been trying to do anything bad to Marshall. I’m not sure what they’re going for long term, but it seems that the short term goal is to get Brandi on TV, which is working well enough.
Colt Cabana vs. Zack Clayton
Cabana drives him into the corner to start and we get some clean breaks but Stu Grayson of the Dark Order doesn’t seem thrilled with Cabana’s tactics. Evil Uno comes out to yell at him as well so Cabana shoulders Clayton down to take over. Clayton gets two off a rollup and Cabana is ticked off enough to start the aggression. Clayton fires off some uppercuts but the Dark Order offers a distraction. The Chicago Skyline puts Clayton down and, after an order from Uno, Cabana uses Brodie Lee’s discus lariat for the pin at 4:20.
Rating: C-. It was nice to see some storyline advancement during a match on this show because it has been lacking for nearly a year now. This is the kind of thing that can make Dark worth watching (or at least a little more worth watching) but for some reason this stuff is rather rare. That being said, if Cabana needed help beating this guy, maybe the Dark Order is a little beyond him.
Peter Avalon says the Initiative is done because it’s all about him. He isn’t an enhancement talent and it’s time to light a fire under Brandon Cutler. The two of them can go one on one and it’s time for the loser to win. Leva Bates does not seem pleased.
Lucha Bros vs. Ryzin/Angel Perez
Fenix and Ryzin start things off with Ryzin being knocked down in a hurry. Penta comes in and holds Fenix’s hand for a crazy springboard flipping armdrag but Ryzin gets a boot up in the corner. Perez comes in to elbow Fenix in the face and a running knee to the face drops him again. Penta’s distraction lets Fenix grab a spinning sunset flip out of the corner for two. Penta hits a running Canadian Destroyer on Ryzin and a spike Fear Factor (though with Fenix standing up for the spike instead of coming off the top) finishes Perez at 2:53.
Post match here are Eddie Kingston and Butcher and Blade with Eddie promising that one of them is going to win the Casino Battle Royal. Butcher isn’t happy but Kingston gets them together for a group hug.
Ivelisse vs. KiLynn King
Diamante is here with Ivelisse. They trade some strikes to start until King takes way too long trying a slam, allowing Ivelisse to slip away. A springboard tornado DDT gives Ivelisse two and a kick to the head gets the same. The full nelson with the legs keep King down and a running knee gives Ivelisse two more. Another big kick misses though and King hits a hard forearm. King kicks her in the head and sends Ivelisse flying with a German suplex for two. As Taz criticizes the covering, Diamante offers a distraction so Ivelisse can hit a Downward Spiral. Code Red finishes King at 4:48.
Rating: C-. They might have something here with King, who gets noticed every time she is on the show. I know she probably isn’t going anywhere, but it could be worth giving her a little something. Like say, a win, over another of the Dark jobbers. That could help a few other people here and there but for some reason it never happens. I really don’t get it, but that’s not what the show seems to be about.
Shawn Dean/Brandon Bullock vs. Dark Order
It’s John Silver and Alex Reynolds for the Order here. Silver takes Dean straight down for an attempted choke and then fires a knee to the face. It’s off to Reynolds, who gets caught with a quick enziguri so Bullock can come in off the tag. Silver kicks Bullock in the chest though as commentary talks about Tom and Jerry.
The Order starts hammering away on Bullock in the corner and back to back splashes give Reynolds two. Bullock flips out of a belly to back suplex though and it’s back to Dean. That earns him some quick strikes to the face from Dean and a spinning torture rack powerbomb plants Dean again. The double flipping DDT gives Silver the pin at 5:42.
Rating: D+. Kind of a long match by comparison to the rest of the show and that’s not the best thing. Dean is one of the better jobbers but there is a reason that Silver and Reynolds were put under masks and are often just identified by numbers. The match wasn’t anything of note, but the Dark Order has been getting a lot more TV time as of late so I can’t say I’m surprised to see them here.
Brandon Cutler, also with Leva Bates, says he’ll take Peter Avalon’s challenge. If Avalon wants to light that fire, be ready to be burned.
Luther vs. Darby Allin
Taz is suddenly a huge Luther fan. Luther kicks the knee out to start and sends Darby’s knee into the post. Back in and Luther stomps at the knee some more with Allin not even being able to run the ropes. Allin comes back with a Fujiwara armbar but Luther makes it over to the rope. Luther is right back to the knee and a backdrop driver gives him two. There’s a reverse suplex for two more as Taz wants Darby to headbutt a fire hydrant. The Cannonball only hits corner though and Luther rolls outside for a Coffin Drop from Allin. Back in and the Coffin Drop finishes Luther at 4:29.
Rating: C. Luther was wrestling a much more logical match here and that made it a lot easier to watch. He hasn’t been the disaster that I was expecting when he seemingly was hired because he and Jericho worked together a long time ago, but this worked out well enough. Allin survived until the end here, and that’s perfectly fine.
Dark Order vs. Natural Nightmares
It’s Preston Vance/Alan Angels for the Order here. The Nightmares jump them before the bell and the fight is on with the Order getting beaten out to the floor in a hurry. Dustin hammers on Vance and hits a belly to back suplex for…well more right hands actually. Marshall comes in for his own shots to the face but Angels low bridges Marshall to the floor. Back in and Vance hits his own suplex for two, followed by a spinebuster for the same.
Marshall gets in a faceplant on Angels but Vance pulls Dustin off the apron. A DDT gives Angels two and the hot tag brings in Dustin to clean house. The snap powerslams plant the Order but a cheap shot from the apron lets Vance get a rollup for two. Back in and Marshall hits a Diamond Cutter on Angels, leaving Vance to take the Final Reckoning for the pin at 8:00.
Rating: C. Again, believe it or not, the talented wrestlers getting a little time led to a better match. It also helps that there is an actual story here instead of just people doing moves to each other for the sake of filling in time. This wasn’t bad either, as the Nightmares continue to be a nice little pairing.
Quick All Out preview wraps it up.
Overall Rating: C-. I know I’m beating a heavily damaged horse here but the time was the key to making this one a lot more watchable. There was nothing wroth going out of your way to see here but then again there almost never is on Dark. It was more of the same, but there wasn’t a point where I was wondering how much longer I would have to sit through the thing. This was as proof positive as you could get that there is no need to make the show so long most of the time and it was easier to watch as a result. I’m sure that won’t matter next time, but it was a nice break for one week.
Results
Butcher and Blade b. Faboo Andre/D3 – Suplex onto Blade’s knees to Andre
Allie b. Red Velvet – Down The Rabbit Hole
Colt Cabana b. Zack Clayton – Discus lariat
Lucha Bros b. Ryzin/Angel Perez – Spike Fear Factor to Perez
Ivelisse b. KiLynn King – Code Red
Dark Order b. Brandon Bullock/Shawn Dean – Double flipping DDT to Bullock
Darby Allin b. Luther – Coffin Drop
Natural Nightmares b. Dark Order – Final Reckoning to Vance
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