Dark keeps pace with Elevation for another big week of AEW action!

#WardlowWeek continues on AEW as the Pinnacle’s powerhouse is on Dark! Will he keep his promise and choke out his competition tonight?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Ethan Page w/ Scorpio Sky VS Danny Limelight; Ethan wins.
• Dante Martin VS Sonny Kiss; Dante wins.
• Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero VS Charlette Renegade; Nyla wins.
• Evil Uno & Stu Grayson w/ The Dark Order VS Shane Mercer & KTB; The Dark Order wins.
• Wardlow VS Chandler Hopkins; Wardlow wins.
• Cezar Bononi w/ The Wingmen VS Dillon McQueen; Bononi wins.
• Frankie Kazarian VS Jake Tucker; Kazarian wins.
• KiLynn King VS Valentina Rossi; King wins.
• Gunn Club VS Chaos Project; Gunn Club wins.
• Tay Conti VS Willow Nightingale; Conti wins.
• The Acclaimed VS Colt Cabana & Alan Angels w/ The Dark Order; The Acclaimed win.

MY THOUGHTS

Ethan being the opener to Dark makes sense. Scorpio was Elevation’s main event, they probably went right into taping Dark, and with Ethan and Scorpio already there, they just had to reset and go out again. Ethan VS Limelight was also a great opener either way, when is Limelight going to get a TNT Championship match? But of course Ethan wins, as I said he would last night. The Men of the Year need momentum going into their Handicap match with Darby Allin, that one will be good.

Kiss VS Dante was also a great match, very technical but also agile, as both men are. Kiss not hitting the Rabid Kiss Missile slap when he could have was a nice detail. It fits how Kiss said he was going to take things more seriously. Dante’s somersault Throwback stunner is an awesome finisher, and his win helps keep him hot while also keeping Kiss’ story of struggling to get that win going. Janela waiting until after Kiss’ match to have a promo clearly means he cares even less about being around when Kiss is on the card and more about the Bad Boy Summer he’s having. It’s hilarious that he tries to sell Marvez out, but Kiss sees right through it. Not how I would’ve had them break up but it’s creative at least.

Nyla and Vickie being back so soon hurts everyone’s ears. Not sure what Vickie giving the ref a $10 bill is about. Maybe to look the other way as Nyla destroys her opponent, which she does to the sister of Robyn Renegade. Here’s hoping the Renegade sisters have better luck in AEW’s unofficial women’s tag division. Evil Uno tagging with Stu was a good way to rebound after losing to Miro, and John Silver on commentary was fun. Mercer and KTB had a very good showing, they could really be something someday, but of course The Dark Order wins. I know Santana & Ortiz are going to go after the tag titles after they settle things with FTR, but the Dark Order really should try and get close to the tag titles themselves.

Wardlow promised to knock out Hotch last night, and he did that. He promised to choke out Hopkins, and after throwing him around and roughing him up, he did that, too! Wardlow VS Hager in the MMA style cage match is going to be some great stuff. Bononi not pulling Avalon on the heart sled was a good choice, he needs to save his energy for the match. McQueen immediately regrets slapping Bononi and Bononi is definitely the muscle in the faction where you’ve got the Blue Collar Badass and Hollywood Hunk. Bononi VS Cassidy on Friday is going to be fun, but definitely Bononi’s to lose given Cassidy is super over with fans.

Kaz debuts his new titantron and song here, and has a really good match with the debuting Tucker to get momentum going into the trios match this Friday. King has a good match with Rossi, who shows a lot of good character work already. King wins and builds up, she might make it to the top five. Gunn Club has a good, fun match with Chaos Project, and good to see Gunn Club keeps winning. The Gunn Club is still undefeated in tag and trios competition, even without Austin, and can use that momentum once Austin is back to get going in the tag division.

Conti winning in the second to last match is great, it shows she is moving up the ranks both in kayfabe and in the company. Nightingale has a good showing but of course Conti wins. I wonder, though: Will Conti ditch the DD-Tay since it is a hammerlock DDT, like Andrade’s WWE finisher? Or will Andrade use something else so as to leave the WWE behind him? The Acclaimed being in the main event is awesome for them, they are the biggest stars on tonight’s card. Max Caster has another good diss rap, The Acclaimed has another great match, and Angels and Cabana make a fun combination. But Cabana might truly be Number 8 because 8 + 5 = 13 and that’s bad luck, The Acclaimed win to stay strong in the tag division.

My Score: 8.2/10