All Elite Wrestling presents Dark
Date: 10/15/2019
From: Boston, MA
Matches:
1.) Kip Sabian defeated Peter Avalon & Sonny Kiss
2.) The Hybrid 2 (Angelico & Jack Evans) & The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) defeated CIMA & SCU (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky)
3.) Kenny Omega defeated Joey Janela in a lights out match
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Backstage, Kenny Omega talked with the Young Bucks about not having a match on Dynamite and instead got a match on Dark. He’s wrestling Joey Janela in a Lights Out match because it’s something he needs to do for himself to prepare for Jon Moxley. Bucks think he’s nuts to do this.
2.) Peter Avalon and Leva Bates come down to the ring and Avalon cuts a promo saying the fans aren’t giving him proper respect. Avalon insults the Red Sox for not competing in October, unlike him. Avalon continues to get cheap heat by mocking the Bruins for not winning the Stanley Cup. Leva Bates simply says “I’m sorry, guys.”
3.) Avalon is kicked to the floor by both Kiss and Sabian. Sabian shoves Kiss into the ropes, but Kiss hits a tilt a whirl arm drag, but Sabian lands on his feet. Avalon tries to get involved, but falls to the floor. Kiss arm drags Sabian while doing a split. Kiss does a few handsprings and slaps Sabian in the corner. Kiss stops Sabian with a jawbreaker. Avalon kicks Kiss after missing a clothesline due to Kiss doing the Matrix spot. Avalon stomps on Kiss and delivers a scoop slam. Avalon pulls back on Kiss’s arms while wedging his knee between the shoulder blades. Kiss knee strikes free and elbows Avalon. Avalon yanks Kiss to the mat and knocks Sabian off the apron. Avalon strikes Kiss in the corner a few times. Sabian dumps Avalon to the apron and hits a springboard kick. Sabian kicks Kiss from the apron and takes Avalon out with a cannonball senton to the floor. Sabian looks to have dislocated his finger and is trying to put it back into place. Avalon hits a suplex on Kiss and plays to the crowd. Avalon punches Kiss in the corner. Sabian nails Avalon with a dropkick. Sabian kicks Avalon in the corner and hits a northern lights suplex on Avalon while pinning Kiss for a near fall. Avalon tosses Sabian into Kiss and hits a neckbreaker on Kiss, who proceeds to hit a DDT on Sabian. Avalon fails to pin either wrestler. Kiss kicks Avalon in the corner and hits a double facebuster for a near fall. Bates hits Kiss with a book from the floor. Avalon clotheslines Kiss to the floor. Sabian leg sweeps Avalon in the corner and hits the Deathly Hallows to win the match. (*1/2. I think the crowd was hoping for a Sonny Kiss win here, and Kiss looked pretty good in there. Sabian’s finishing move is a good one, but Kiss may have been the better option to go over just basing off of crowd interest and reaction. Avalon is a good worker, but he’s not going to get the chance to show that in AEW with the current gimmick he has.)
4.) CIMA and Angelico kickoff the eight man tag match with Angelico taking CIMA to the mat. CIMA arm drags Angelico a couple of times and gets a rollup for a two count. CIMA dropkicks Angelico into the corner and tags in Daniels. Angelico is met with a double back elbow and Daniels rams Angelico into the corner to keep control. Angelico tags in Grayson and Daniels takes Grayson down to the mat. Daniels runs the ropes and is met with a dropkick by Grayson. Grayson rams Daniels into the corner and delivers a chop against the ropes. Daniels kicks Grayson followed by an STO and a tilt a whirl slam to Evans. Grayson is met with a series of strikes by each opponent in the corner. All eight guys are going at it leaving Daniels and Evans in the ring. Evans eye rakes Daniels and holds Daniels for a kick by Angelico. Grayson slides back into the ring to get a near fall. Grayson slams Daniels and pushes Daniels to the apron. Grayson hits a swanton onto the apron. Uno tags into the match and elbow strikes Daniels. Daniels is worked over in the corner by Angelico and Evans hits a handspring splash. Angelico delivers a kick to drop Daniels to the mat and Evans gets a two count.
Daniels staggers Evans with a jawbreaker, but Uno tags into the match and runs into a boot in the corner. Uno and Grayson hit a side slam/top rope elbow combo on Daniels for a two count. Evans rams Daniels into the corner and hits a handspring eye rake in the corner. Daniels drops to the mat. Evans misses a kick attempt and Daniels hits a sit out powerbomb. Kazarian gets the tag and cleans house on everyone. Kazarian tries for a rollup on Grayson and spears Uno after the kick out. Kazarian hits a DDT/stunner combo on the Dark Order. Kazarian hits a slingshot hurricanrana to send Grayson into Uno with a spear. Angelico and Evans are sent into each other. Sky and CIMA dive to the floor onto Hybrid. Sky hits a moonsault off the apron onto the Dark Order. Grayson knee strikes Sky coming off the middle rope. Grayson hits the Night Fall backbreaker on Sky. Kazarian slingshots Grayson into the ring with a cutter. Uno pump kicks Kazarian. Daniels hits Angels Wings on Uno. CIMA double stomps Evans. Sky takes Angelico down and hits a neckbreaker. Evans spin kicks Sky, but Sky responds with a double stomp to the back. Uno distracts the referee to allow a low blow to Sky by Hybrid. Evans rolls up Sky and gets the three count for a shocking win. (**1/2. I’m all for shocking wins at the start of the promotion. I was not expecting SCU to lose here, at all. The match ended up being a bunch of guys doing quick moves and while that’s fun and exciting there’s no depth to it and it’s a played out spot to do.)
5.) Janela tries to grab a chair, but Omega stops Janela with stomps and a chop in the corner. Omega forearms Janela in the corner and chokes Janela for a few moments. Janela responds with a chop in the corner. Omega charges the corner, but Janela moves and hits a running hurricanrana. Janela takes Omega out with a suicide dive. Janela brings a ladder out after tossing several chairs into the ring. Janela lays several chairs together, but Omega clubs Janela over the back followed by a chop. Janela runs into a boot in the corner. Janela smashes Omega with a chair shot to the face. Omega hits a leaping facebuster sending Janela face first onto a pile of chairs. Omega takes Janela out with a somersault dive over the top to the floor and Omega hits the railing dangerously. Omega sends Janela into the ring steps shoulder first. Omega goes under the ring and introduces a table to the match. Omega leaps off the top to hit Janela with a missile dropkick for a near fall. Omega has Janela on his shoulders, but Janela elbows free. Omega hits a rolling fireman’s carry and hits a moonsault for a near fall. Janela gets out of a dragon suplex and hits Omega with a chair shot a couple of times.
Omega avoids a chair shot and hits a dragon suplex. Omega hits another dragon suplex. Omega brings Janela to the apron looking for another dragon suplex, but Janela fights free. Omega boots Janela, but Janela puts Omega on his shoulders. Omega breaks free with a few elbow strikes and ends up hitting a dragon suplex on the apron! Omega has Janela on his shoulders and walks up the ring steps. Janela gets out of it and hits a German suplex off the ring steps onto the floor! Janela lays a table over ring steps and the apron, but the bottom of the table is facing upward. Janela sends Omega into the ladder in the corner a few times. Omega tosses Janela into the ladder back first. Omega elbows Janela, but Janela hits a quick German suplex onto the ladder for a near fall. Omega forearms Janela, but Janela responds with strikes, as well. They trade a series of strikes in the middle of the ring. Omega knee strikes Janela and is met with an uppercut. Omega knee strikes Janela coming off the ropes. Janela nails Omega with a clothesline and a fisherman brainbuster for a two count.
Janela sits Omega on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex! Omega knocks Janela off the apron sending Janela crashing to the floor. Omega tries for a piledriver, but Janela backdrops Omega onto the bottom of the table. Janela drives Omega onto the ladder in the corner with a Death Valley Driver. Janela sets up a table and ladder as Omega struggles to get up. Janela strikes Omega onto the table. Janela climbs the ladder and leaps off the ladder missing a frog splash attempt and crashes through the table. Omega powerbombs Janela into the corner and a sit out powerbomb for a two count. Omega nails Janela with a knee strike against the ropes. Janela tosses Omega into the ropes, but Omega delivers a knee strike. Omega decks Janela with a clothesline. Omega hits a double arm DDT for a near fall. Omega tries for a double under hook, but Janela tosses Omega over the top through the table! Janela goes to the top rope and double stomps a chair onto Omega for a near fall. Janela wedges a chair into the corner. Omega and Janela trade forearm strikes with Janela gaining the advantage. Omega slaps Janela, but Janela responds with a kick to knock Omega out of a chair and into the corner. Janela sets up four chairs near the corner. Janela climbs to the top, but is stopped by Omega. Omega tries for a suplex, but Janela blocks the attempt. Omega settles for a slam onto the top of the chairs. Omega nails Janela with a running knee strike into a chair in the corner. Omega hits the One Winged Angel onto a chair and pins Janela. (***1/2. Yeah, there were some crazy spots in here for an AEW Dark show there’s no doubt about that. I’m not sure this really needed to go 20+ to get the point across. It’s not as if Janela is going to be presented in any serious role in AEW. It’s an enjoyable hardcore match.)
Final Thoughts:
It’s a fine episode with the main event being fun just for the sake of hardcore wrestling. Aside from that there’s not much going on here for importance other than Hybrid winning the tag match, too.
Thanks for reading.