AEW opens the “Forbidden Door” so Dark: Elevation can be even bigger!

AEW opens up to NJPW as Rocky Romero is part of the Dark: Elevation multi-main-event! Will #Azucar kick the Forbidden Door down with a victory?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• QT Marshall w/ The Factory VS Robo; QT wins.
• Abadon VS Leila Grey; Abadon wins.
• Thunder Rosa VS Ashley D’Amboise; Rosa wins.
• Lee Johnson VS Daniel Garcia; Johnson wins.
• Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero VS Robyn Renegade; Nyla wins.
• Ethan Page w/ Scorpio Sky VS Alex Reynolds w/ The Dark Order; Ethan wins.
• Tay Conti VS Queen Aminata; Conti wins.
• Mike Sydal w/ Matt Sydal VS Penta El Zero Miedo w/ Alex Abrahantes; Penta wins.
• Scorpio Sky w/ Ethan Page VS Alan Angels w/ The Dark Order; Scorpio wins.
• Matt Hardy VS Fuego del Sol; Hardy wins.
• Ren Narita VS Royce Isaacs; Narita wins.
• Rocky Romero VS JD Drake w/ The Pretty Picture; Romero wins.

MY THOUGHTS

They kept this one to under two hours. If they could consistently do that, I’d be more inclined to go back to Play By Play, but they won’t so I won’t. Good to see Robo again so soon, but of course QT wins. It was still very competitive, but I’m waiting for when QT sees something in someone and recruits them to The Factory. Abadon still creeps me out, and she still keeps winning. I said it before and I’ll say it this week: assuming Britt Baker wins at Double or Nothing, her having to deal with Abadon will be great stuff. Britt and Rebel will be scared of her, and then Britt won’t want to put the Lockjaw on Abadon for fear of getting her fingers bitten off.

Rosa being in the third match was slightly surprising, I figure she’s more of a later card attraction, but of course she wins so I suppose having her in the earlier part of the card is fine. That full nelson with arms at full extension was creative, as was the transition from Ashley’s chinlock into the swinging surfboard. Rosa’s innovation is just one of the many things that makes her a legitimately top tier female wrestler. We got a great vignette promo combo for the Gunn Club, giving us a look at a positive pro-wrestling family story. I didn’t know Austin had a rap album, so that’s cool to learn. I hope AEW considers Trios Championships quickly, that’d make a great retirement story for Billy if he could go for those with his sons, and then win or lose, he can retire happy having been with them for that.

Johnson VS Garcia was good, especially given the showing Garcia got to have. I said before with Big Shotty that we are seeing a future star, and we’ve definitely seen a good part of that happen before our eyes. Lee Johnson went from being the jobber on Dark to being the guy getting wins on jobbers, and it’s only a matter of time before Johnson is competing for the TNT Championship. Is someone ever going to stand up to Vickie? Justin Roberts might get fans to pop if he told Vickie “EXCUSE ME!” But Nyla dominates again, what else is new? Conti also wins to stay strong, both are just waiting for after Double Or Nothing and the women’s title match.

Another good promo from Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky goes well with the good singles matches they both have. These guys really should try for a Two Man Power Trip move, going for both the tag titles and the singles titles. They can even be the Two Man Ego Trip! Reynolds and Angles got great showings, and I’m sure Evil Uno & Stu Grayson will do the same on the go-home, but Ethan & Scorpio are definitely going to build momentum so that their loss to Darby Allin & Sting at Double Or Nothing will be even bigger. It’ll be for the sake of slowing Scorpio & Ethan down since Heels hold all the belts in AEW.

Penta VS Mike Sydal was very good. As a luchador, Penta could handle all the acrobatics from Mike so that both guys could really bring out everything they have. I still feel we did not get nearly enough of Death Triangle VS Best Friends, but I suppose that’s more a choice of AEW management wanting other things for PAC and Orange Cassidy during this same stretch. Hardy had a good promo to try and give a Face spin to the HFO, but still keep himself Heel as the legend that demands respect. Fuego Del Sol is becoming the number one jobber to the stars in AEW, but I’m curious what is in store for him. He could join a faction, like The Dark Order, since he already wears a mask.

The crossover matches with NJPW closing out the show makes sense. The attraction of NJPW in AEW is worthy of the penultimate and main event. Ren Narita and Rocky Romero have been in the US because of NJPW Strong, they were natural choices. And Ren being a Young Lion, maybe AEW could be used as a place for his “excursion,” aka the process in NJPW where a Young Lion finds himself and develops his character before returning home to Japan, and same could go for future Young Lions. Romero VS JD as a 15 minute main event was great stuff, and with Romero getting jumped, you knew Roppongi Vice was gonna reunite. GOT TO GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!

My Score: 8.2/10