SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW DARK TV REPORT
APRIL 7, 2020
AIRED LIVE ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY ZACH GRAHAM, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Cody, Excalibur, Taz, Jimmy Havoc
Ring Announcer: Dasha Gonzalez
– Tony Schiavone welcomed the fans to the show off camera and immediately threw it to the ring for the first match.
(1) Q.T. MARSHALL vs. LEE JOHNSON
Cody and Schiavone on the call and talked about Marshall being Johnson’s trainer, while also making jokes at Marshall’s expense.
Marshall quickly powered Johnson into a corner. Johnson tried to take down Marshall, but Marshall escaped a hold and took down Johnson quickly and grounded him. Johnson cornered Marshall and hit him with a chop, but took a second to show off to the camera, and Marshall reversed him into the corner and hit Johnson with a chop of his own followed by a suplex and leg drop for a two count. Marshall then applied an abdominal stretch, but Johnson escaped with an elbow. Johnson attempted to get in some offense, but Marshall stopped the momentum quickly. Johnson appeared to accidentally elbow QT Marshall and cut him open under his right eye at this point. Marshall climbed to the top rope and hit Johnson with a Swanton Bomb for the win.
WINNER: Q.T. Marshall in 4:00
– A graphic of Wardlow appeared on screen announcing that he would be in action.
– Excalibur and Taz on the call for this match.
– Wardlow and MJF walked out together, Wardlow still wearing a full suit, not wrestling gear. Before the bell rang, Wardlow slowly took off his suit jacket, vest, and shirt all while staring directly at Pyles.
(2) WARDLOW (w/ MJF) vs. RYAN PYLES
Pyles charged at Wardlow as soon as the bell rang, but Wardlow picked him up on his shoulders, spun him around at tossed him off his shoulders in what Excalibur called the F10. Pyles landed awkwardly on his knees before laying on his back. Wardlow casually put a foot on his chest and got the pinfall.
WINNER: Wardlow in under 1:00
– A graphic showed the next match Tony Donati vs. Kip Sabian
– Tony Schiavone and Jimmy Havoc on the call of the next match, though Havoc wasn’t mentioned by name until the match concluded.
(3) KIP SABIAN (w/ Penelope Ford) vs. TONY DONATI
As Sabian and Ford made their entrance, Havoc said they are a good looking couple. Schiavone uncomfortably agreed. Havoc said back at their flat, Kip liked to just walk around in his underwear and he “quite enjoyed it.” Schiavone got a little more uncomfortable and said he had another question, but he’d move on instead. The two competitors locked up, but Sabian transitioned from an arm lock up into a headlock. The two grappled exchanging the leverage. Sabian had control of Donati’s arm, but Donati threw Sabian off of him. Donati went to run the ropes, but Penelope Ford grabbed his leg while Sabian distracted the official. Sabian then took advantage of Ford’s interference and hit Donati with a boot to the face followed by a series of stomps in the corner. Sabian then backed off and went to the opposite corner before asking the official to check on his shoulder. Ford again took advantage of the distraction to pull on Donati’s hair and choking him with the middle rope. Sabian then drove his knee into the back of Donati over and over before putting his knee in his back and pulling back on his arms. Donati powered out, but was immediately taken down by Sabian after he tried to run the ropes.
Sabian kicked Donati across the chest twice, but it was only good for a two count. Donati again tried to mount a comeback hitting a hammerlock brain buster for a two count. Sabian then took Donati down with a Russian Leg Sweep followed by a crucifix submission for the tap out victory.
WINNER: Kip Sabian in 6:00
– Schiavone thanked the viewers for watching, reminded viewers about AEW Dynamite tomorrow where he will be joined on commentary by Chris Jericho, and signed off.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was an exceptionally short show at 18:55. I almost don’t understand the point of having it considering it was three squash matches and that’s it. It’s good to get some guys wins, but AEW Dark seems to have become more of a burden for them, rather than a secondary show that they want to put on right now. With that being said, I think that it’s primarily due to the COVID-19 Quarantines and such that have caused Dark to take such a hit, but they have a week to prep some stuff to include on here to hype AEW Dynamite. Now more than ever they aren’t getting a free pass for that from me. As Wade Keller reported, AEW recorded matches last week that can last for weeks if not months while also advancing storylines, so they already know what is happening on Dynamite tomorrow! I continue to be confused by the lack of promotion for their flagship show on their free secondary show on YouTube. I would love to ask them why they don’t promote Dynamite because, if they aren’t going to use this as a vessel to promote the main show, what’s the point of it at all?
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