Dark
Date: August 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz

Things are getting interesting around here again as the road to All Out is getting bigger and bigger. The most important thing we seem likely to be seeing is Maxwell Jacob Friedman challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title. I’m not sure how much we will be seeing of that round here, but at least they seem to have a goal in mind about a month out. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Tony and Taz give the usual quick preview.

Will Hobbs vs. Scorpio Sky

Hobbs jumps him in the corner to start and hits a good spinebuster for two. Sky slips out of a powerslam though and hits a running kick to the back of the head in the corner. The TKO gives Sky the pin at 1:15. Well that worked.

Post match Sky puts a chair in the ring and calls it symbolic. Lately, people have been calling him the king of AEW Dark so this might as well be a throne. Sky does not like the idea of that being his ceiling because he is one of two people to pin Chris Jericho around here. You people have forgotten who he is so say the name and remember it. Nice promo here and I could go for more from him.

Gunn Club vs. Serpentico/Aaron Solow

Serpentico dives at Billy’s leg to start to no avail. Billy kicking him in the face works a lot better and it’s off to Austin, who runs Serpentico over for two. Serpentico gets him into the corner though and Solow comes in, only to be quickly armdragged. Solow hits a slingshot stomp but Austin kicks Serpentico away. That’s fine though as Solow is right there with a basement clothesline to keep Austin down. Austin sends them into each other though and rolls over for the hot tag to Billy. A missed charge sends Serpentico outside and Austin hits the Fameasser on Solow. The hiptoss neckbreaker finishes Serpentico at 5:26.

Rating: D+. The Gunn Club is just there at the moment as a way to get Austin on TV. He isn’t exactly making me all that interested but I’ll take him over Billy doing his old shtick again. They’re harmless as a Dark team and the match could have been worse, as we at least got a fresh jobber pairing to fed to them.

Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela vs. The Initiative

Janela’s headlock doesn’t get him very far with Cutler so he grabs a running rollup to send Cutler into the corner. It’s off to Kiss so Cutler ducks underneath him and dives onto Janela on the floor. That’s fine with Kiss, who hits his own dive to take Cutler down with a DDT. A running hurricanrana takes Avalon down but he pops back up to take Kiss into the corner. That doesn’t last long either though as Janela comes in for a Hart Attack. Part of the Motor City Machine Guns’ Dream Sequence gets two as Taz talks about being buried online.

Janela hits a running forearm to knock Avalon up the ramp but misses a charge to send himself into the set, hurting his arm in the process. Back in and Avalon works on the banged up shoulder, followed by more of the same from Cutler. Janela dives for the tag but gets driven back into the corner. As you might have guessed, the hot tag goes through a few seconds later and Kiss gets to clean house. Janela throws Avalon at Leva Bates but takes too long, allowing Cutler to escape.

Cutler gets shoved off the top and into a fireman’s carry from Avalon, allowing Kiss to hit a top rope Blockbuster to take them both down. Avalon is back up with a middle rope Russian legsweep for two on Kiss, followed by Bates hitting a Sliced Bread off the post to drop Janela. Back in and Janela is already up on the apron again, allowing Kiss to make another tag. Janela throws Avalon into an electric chair and Kiss adds the top rope splits splash for the pin at 9:38.

Rating: C. The match was entertaining but you really can see how little of a traditional structure their tag matches have. This was about pumping as many spots as they could into a single match and while that wasn’t bad, it does get a little repetitive at times. Janela and Kiss are getting better as a team, though I’m still not sure I can imagine seeing them get much higher up the card than they are now.

Abadon vs. KiLynn King

King goes straight at her to start and they head to the mat for the slugout. Abadon is sent outside where she whips King into the barricade. Back in and King is sent face first into the mat, only to come back with a middle rope dropkick. It’s Abadon getting back up first though (in a rather creepy way) but King gets two off a release German suplex. Abadon doesn’t mind though as she kicks her in the face and hits the hurricanrana driver for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have much time here and that was possibly better for Abadon. What makes her work so well for the most part is having her out there in a quick match and let her do her creepy thing. King is someone who could go somewhere if she had a character or story of some sort but the potential is there.

Jack Evans vs. QT Marshall

Angelico and Allie are the seconds. Marshall takes him into the corner for a clean break and they trade wristlocks. Evans flips out of a hiptoss and adds a handstand kick to the face. Taz thinks Tony would be over huge if he could do that as Evans hammers away in the corner. A middle rope spinning crossbody is countered into a suplex from Marshall and they head outside for a bit. Angelico offers a distraction and Evans hits a running flip dive to take over.

Back in and Evans flips around before poking him in the eye, setting up something like an Octopus hold, with Evans hanging in the air off of Marshall’s shoulders. Marshall gets out and counters Evans’ springboard with a powerslam for the big crash. A pop up right hand gives Marshall two but Evans kicks him in the head. The standing corkscrew moonsault gives Evans two and draws Allie up to the apron. Angelico uses the distraction to get in a cheap shot though and Evans grabs a backslide with a flip over for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C-. That might be the biggest upset ever on this show, assuming you consider it to be that big of an upset. Evans and Angelico are a nice midcard heel team and it’s nice to see them back after such a long time away. Allie and Marshall continue to be a weird combination, but I don’t think I can picture anything happening to them anytime soon.

Post match the beatdown is on until Dustin Rhodes makes the save.

FTR vs. Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr.

Points for Pillman for getting as much ring time as he can. FTR seems to get some advice from Tully Blanchard before they come through the entrance. Harwood and Pillman start things off and it’s a quick standoff. A wristlock doesn’t last long for Harwood as Pillman flips around and kicks him in the head. After the Hollywood Blonds camera work, Pillman allows the tag off to Wheeler, who chops away rather hard. Pillman is back up with a high crossbody and a superkick, allowing the tag to Garrison.

Harwood pulls him down by the hair but he’s back up with a heck of a right hand to Wheeler. Pillman is back in with a running shot in the corner and an armbar. Wheeler powerslams his way to freedom though and it’s Harwood tying him in the ropes to strike away. A kick to the head almost gets Pillman out of trouble but Wheeler drags him right back to the corner. Pillman slips out of of a gordbuster and rolls over to bring in Garrison….who walks into the Goodnight Express for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. I liked the ending to this one as it was a nice twist on the usual story. Instead of going with Garrison cleaning house and going into the ending sequence, they just knocked Garrison silly for the pin. Pillman continues to look young but full of potential and that’s a place that he can grow from in a big way.

Post match we see Shawn Spears watching FTR.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Private Party

Butcher easily drives Quen into the corner to start and it’s off to Butcher vs. Kassidy. This time it’s Kassidy being brought into the corner and the beating is on in a hurry. A hiptoss into a dropkick gets Kassidy out of trouble but Blade cuts him off with a hot shot. Butcher comes back in and hits a running clothesline in the corner. The quick tag brings Quen back in though and everything breaks down. Blade is sent outside, where he helps break up Silly String so Butcher can plant Quen to take over again. Some corner clotheslines give Butcher two and it’s time to stand on Quen’s throat.

The chinlock goes on for a few seconds but Quen sends Blade into the middle buckle. The hot tag brings in Kassidy, who mostly misses a springboard Stunner to knock Blade off the apron. A springboard flipping Stunner to Butcher works a bit better and it’s already back to Quen. Butcher gets double drop toeholded onto Kassidy’s knees for a standing moonsault to the back from Quen. Blade shoves Quen off the top for a big crash to the floor, leaving Kassidy to miss his Swanton. The suplex onto Blade’s knees is enough for the pin at 8:48.

Rating: C+. It really is amazing how much better it is to have even a pair of midcard teams like this fighting each other on this show. They give us something a little more interesting and makes the stakes feel somewhat higher. On top of that, the match wasn’t too bad as it felt a lot more structured than a lot of AEW matches, even though the ending wasn’t in the most doubt.

The Dynamite preview wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C. The length was a lot better on this show and it made things easier. The biggest problem with a show being that long continues to be that it feels draining to look over and see how much longer there is. They kept this show short and to the point, with only a handful of matches and the winners getting to showcase themselves a little bit more than usual. In other words, doing what should be the point of the show.

Results

Scorpio Sky b. Will Hobbs – TKO

Gunn Club b. Serpentico/Peter Avalon – Hiptoss neckbreaker to Serpentico

Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss b. Initiative – Top rope splits splash to Avalon

Abadon b. KiLynn King – Hurricanrana driver

Jack Evans b. QT Marshall – Flipping backslide

FTR b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Goodnight Express to Garrison

Butcher and The Blade b. Private Party – Suplex onto Blade’s knees to Kassidy

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Dark
Date: January 14, 2020
Location: Landers Center, Southaven, Mississippi
Commentators: Excalibur, Dave Brown
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

It’s a special show this week as we focus on the legends of Memphis wrestling. This was teased back on last week’s Dynamite but then it was “hey check out Dark for that thing we built the advertising for this show around”. I can always go for a legends ceremony so hopefully we get some cool stuff here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. This show has an opening sequence?

Excalibur and Dave Brown, open the show in the style of the classic Memphis show. They even have the tracking issues on the side of the screen. It’s a nice touch, but please tell me that Excalibur won’t spend most of the show doing a Lance Russell impression.

The hosts welcome us and send it to the legends ceremony.

There are a bunch of legends in the ring and each gets their own introduction with a quick bio:

Handsome Jimmy Valiant

Kevin Lawler (representing Brian Christopher (and he looks EXACTLY like him) and realistically Jerry Lawler)

Dave Brown

Shane Russell (representing his father Lance Russell)

Austin Idol

Doug Gilbert (representing his family and, to a much lesser degree, himself)

Rock N Roll Express (biggest reaction so far by a mile)

Lanny Poffo (representing his family and, to a much lesser degree, himself)

We get a ten bell salute to all of the legends who have passed away.

This was VERY nice and a cool moment and felt like it was done out of pure respect and honor rather than trying to pop a bigger audience. In a pretty rare moment, I have no criticisms of this at all.

Brandon Cutler vs. Darby Allin

They lock up to start as Brown talks about seeing Flex Kavana in Memphis, who is better known as the Rock. The lockup keeps going even as Allin goes up and monkey flips him (Brandon, not Brown). A shoulder puts Cutler down and a dropkick sends him into the corner. Cutler gets in his own whip into the corner and a very spinny Boss Man Slam gets two.

Allin is right back with a Fujiwara armbar before dropping a knee on the arm. That’s broken up as well and Cutler slaps on a torture rack, which is broken up with a pull of the hand. Allin is busted open over his nose and Cutler makes it worse by crotching him on the top. A running legdrop with Allin hanging in the ropes puts him on the floor. Back up and Allin knocks him away and hits a quick suicide dive to put Cutler down again. The front flip Stunner drops Cutler and it’s the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 9:02.

Rating: C. Cutler continues to be your designated jobber to the stars and that’s not the worst role to have. He’s going to be around as long as he wants to be due to his connection to the Young Bucks and he can do well enough in the ring to back it up. Allin continues to be a potential top star of the future and the cult response to him is growing.

Nyla Rose vs. Shanna

Shanna jumps her from behind in the aisle and the beatdown is on early. Rose drives her back into the barricade but can’t hit a powerbomb on the floor. Instead Rose shrugs off a kick to the head and hits a spinebuster to make it even worse. A table is loaded up but Shanna escapes another powerbomb and spears Rose off the apron through the table. Cue the referees to break it up. No match.

After a quick chat with the hosts, Shanna’s interview is broken up by Rose, who says Shanna just made this personal. She tries to cut a promo of her own but Shanna starts the fight again.

Here’s where AEW is coming over the next few weeks.

Gunn Club vs. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is with Avalon and Spears and that would be Billy and his son Austin. Before the match, Austin says if the crowd gets loud enough, Billy might hit the catchphrase. He manages to pull it off but here is Peter Avalon (with Leva Bates) to talk about the royal history around Memphis, with one king having a restaurant so bad that after you eat there you’ll die just like another king. Leva apologizes and we’re ready to go.

Spears tells Billy to suck it and it’s time to walk around a bit before the contact begins. Billy shoulders him down a few times and Spears winds up kneeling in front of Billy’s crotch. Imagine what he is told to do from there. Austin, with the headband, comes in and Spears bails to the apron for a little while. Avalon comes in as well so Austin picks up the pace, setting up a hiptoss into a neckbreaker for two.

It’s back to Billy, meaning Leva has to save Avalon from a powerslam. Spears’ chops just annoy Billy so he chops away until Spears wants time out. Austin comes in and misses a dropkick, allowing Spears to send him into the post a few times. It’s back to Avalon to work on the arm some more but Austin fights up with a clothesline. The hot tag brings Billy back in to clean house as everything breaks down. Avalon rolls Austin up for two but walks into the Fameasser for the same. Spears gets sent into the barricade and it’s the cobra clutch slam into a Swanton from Austin for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C-. Just a match here to get the Gunns on TV and that worked out well enough. They’re not a great team and Austin looked rather green. That’s going to happen to everyone at some point though so it’s really way too early to say anything about him. The rest of the match went fine and it wasn’t bad by any stretch. Just kind of there really, but Austin wasn’t a disaster.

Tony and Dasha wrap us up in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C+. That legends ceremony helped bring this way up as it was easily the best part of the show. What mattered most here was keeping the show shorter over the last few weeks. I’m good with this show being just shy of an hour after a few weeks approaching an hour and fifteen minutes. The show has stopped being anything worth seeing most weeks, but it has also gotten less annoying so we’ll call it a little bit in both directions.

Results

Darby Allin b. Brandon Cutler – Coffin Drop

Gunn Club b. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears – Swanton to Avalon

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also -available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6