AEW kicks off the summer with some heat!

Former AEW Women’s World Champion, Hikaru Shida, is on Dark: Elevation! Will she uses Diamante to redeem herself in the wake of Double or Nothing?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Jade Cargill w/ Mark Sterling VS Rache Chanel; Cargill wins.
• Santana & Ortiz VS Liam Grey & Adrian Alanis; Santana & Ortiz win.
• Scorpio Sky VS Trevor Read; Scorpio wins.
• Brian Cage & Will Hobbs w/ Team Taz VS Trevor Aeon & Kendall Blake; Team Taz wins.
• Evil Uno w/ The Dark Order VS Danny Limelight; Uno wins.
• Ethan Page VS Mike Sydal; Ethan wins.
• The Acclaimed VS Alex Reynolds & Alan Angels w/ The Dark Order; The Acclaimed win.
• Kris Statlander w/ Best Friends VS Queen Aminata; Statlander wins.
• Varsity Blonds w/ Julia Hart VS Ryan Nemeth & JD Drake w/ The Wingmen; Varsity Blonds win.
• Hikaru Shida VS Diamante; Shida wins.

MY THOUGHTS

I like this episode just on keeping it to 10 matches and 75 minutes. I am thinking, and maybe hoping, episodes stay around this size with AEW planning to make big moves now that they can get on the road in July. With the touring, and eventually Rampage on Fridays, Elevation and Dark might be able to have manageable run times since the load will be lightened. Dynamite will have the best stuff, Rampage will have great stuff on par with the best parts of Elevation, and then Elevation and Dark divide the rest, depending on how AEW ranks everyone.

In fact, that’s how AEW should think to use their win-loss records. There’s been the concept of lower midcard, upper midcard, etc, so the rankings should create tiers. It isn’t meant to belittle a character that’s a bottom tier, but it creates a ladder that someone climbs, going from Dark to Elevation to Rampage to Dynamite, so fans can watch their journey and be a bit more excited about seeing someone they like go from Dark on YouTube to one of the TV programs.

But on to the show itself. Opening with a promo from Santana & Ortiz to put things in perspective was great stuff. The new take on their theme song is great stuff, and their match being second on the night was a great way to fire the fans up. They’re hungry, fired up, and it’s about time that they get to remind us who they are. Jade Cargill was the first match of the night, and of course she squashes her opponent. It was a good way to open, as was Mark Sterling’s promo. I do like that he sets it straight: he isn’t a manager, he is her lawyer, her “representation.” One of these days, she’s going to be a contender to the title, and she might just win it in her first go.

There’s something about Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky being on commentary during the other’s match that makes sense. In a situation where these two are in singles action, and certainly against guys they know they can take, it works for the one not active to put the other over. And I guess “The Men of the Year” is their team name now. The Varsity Blonds had another good promo that is keeping with their football theme. Their match with the Wingmen being the penultimate match tonight is great in itself, as it really shows their stock rising in AEW along with their tag ranking.

Team Taz of course mauls their opponents, and after that display of endless scoop slams, AEW should think to have Will Hobbs be Mr. Scoop Slam City. Brian Cage might want to work on his take of the Murphy’s Law or Made in Japan, whichever he was going for. But it was an interesting detail for Cage to leave the ring last, essentially left behind by Ricky Starks, Hook and Hobbs. It hints that things still aren’t fine in the group. The Dark Order had another good group promo to hype up the TNT Championship match on Friday Night Dynamite, as well as Uno VS Limelight tonight. Uno VS Limelight was of course great stuff, what Elevation is about and what I’m sure Rampage will be about, too.

Max Caster had another great “corporate synergy” rap diss, and The Acclaimed had a great match with Reynolds and Angels. I’ve actually been watching Wipeout on TBS, it’s not on the level of the original from ABC but that’s not Cena’s fault. Even with the Turner family of networks, I don’t think we’ll ever get Caster VS Cena and that’s a bit of a shame. As for the Dark Order, I feel like they let off on the angle of Angels feeling like last place in the team, but maybe with how The Acclaimed won, those feelings come back and that becomes a story within the faction on the way to All Out.

Kris Statlander had a very fun match with Queen Aminata, a lot of great character work on top of the ring work. That extended tilt-o-whirl into Big Bang Theory was a bit risky, though. It looked like Aminata took some real damage to her head and neck, but maybe she was just selling even after the match. Diamante had a good promo to hype her main event match with Shida, but not getting even 10 minutes is a disservice to the fact it was the main event, and between a rising star and the former champion. Either way, Shida gets a good rebound win to stay in the top five.

Also, Shida’s new look isn’t bad, either. Short hair, new ring gear, but the red mesh “hakama” pant leg either needs to be put aside during a match or completely ditched. While a cultural reference, which are always appreciated, it seems a bit superfluous. Second, I feel like it could end up a hazard at some point because (by design) it is baggy and could get snagged.

My Score: 8.5/10