AEW Dark – December 16, 2025 (Stocking Stuffer): It’s Back: Elevation
Dark
Date: December 16, 2025
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
So AEW was in Wales last week and since we’re getting an hour less of Collision this week and since AEW has to film EVERYTHING rather than having actual dark matches, Dark is back for one week. It’s a short form show as opposed to the former two hour marathons this series would have, which does sound appealing. Let’s get to it.
Isla Dawn vs. Marina Shafir
Shafir backs her into the corner to start and grabs a double knuckle lock to take Dawn down with ease. A cartwheel sets up a kick to the back has Dawn in trouble but she fights back with some forearms. This leads to the always good sign of Shafir telling Dawn to kick her in the head, with Shafir beating her down rather quickly. A hurricanrana driver sends Dawn into the apron as the dominance is on. Back in and a short arm clothesline sets up Mother’s Milk to finish Dawn at 5:51.
Rating: C. Dawn was there for the sake of having a wrestler from the UK involved and that’s not exactly a surprise. She’s a bit of a name from her time in WWE but it isn’t like she has been anything but a person in AEW. Shafir pretty much dismantled her here and that’s about all it needed to be.
Mark Andrews/Kid Lykos I/Kid Lykos II vs. Orange Cassidy/Mascara Dorada/Roderick Strong
Dorada flips away from Andrews to start and armdrags both Lykoses down. Cassidy comes in and gets enziguried, setting off some triple teaming. Andrews and II hit Lionsaults onto the floor but Dorada is back with a Code Red. Cassidy gets the tag and puts his hands in his pockets for some dropkicks. The Stundog Millionaire hits I and a less than enthusiastic Strong comes in. Everything breaks down and End Of Heartache ends II at 4:16.
Rating: C+. They got in some fast paced offense here and the fans seemed to approve. I’m not sure how wise it is to have a popular Welsh wrestler lose in a match like this, especially to a popular team from AEW, but in theory the chance to see Cassidy and Dorada in person makes it better. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll take that.
Here’s what’s coming on various shows.
Death Riders vs. Grizzled Young Veterans/Nathan Cruz
The Riders jump them to start fast but Drake is back up with a spinwheel kick to Yuta. Cruz comes in to faceplant Pac and the Veterans hit a pair of suicide dives to the floor. Back in and Pac takes over on Cruz in the corner, including some casual choking. Moxley drapes him over the top for a double stomp from Yuta, who grabs a front facelock.
Cruz enziguris his way to freedom and brings in Gibson to make the comeback. A dropkick/Michinoku driver combination gets two on Yuta but Pac slips out of a Doomsday Device. Moxley is back in with a cutter but walks into a middle rope Codebreaker. Everything breaks down and Moxley kicks out of Cruz’s Samoan driver before Cruz gets sent into the corner. The rapid fire clotheslines set up the Brutalizer for the tap at 8:34.
Rating: C+. For a match where there was no reason to believe the Riders were in any danger, this could have been worse. Cruz has done well in his few appearances and the Veterans are a nice pair of hands who never win anything. Moxley is a main event star, Pac is a UK star and Yuta is apparently contractually obligated to be on every Tony Khan produced show ever, so the pieces made logical sense.
Overall Rating: C+. While I’m not clear on why actual dark matches were out of the question, this could have been a lot worse. That being said, the show is less than thirty two minutes long and that makes it pretty hard to be annoyed about. The wrestling was fine and no one was out there too long so this could have been a lot worse. Just don’t make it a regular thing, because Tony Khan really does need another plate to spin.
Results
Marina Shafir b. Isla Dawn – Mother’s Milk
Orange Cassidy/Mascara Dorada/Roderick Strong b. Mark Andrews/Kid Lykos I/Kid Lykos II – End Of Heartache to II
Death Riders b. Grizzled Young Veterans/Nathan Cruz – Brutalizer to Cruz
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