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AEW DARK TV REPORT
AUGUST 25, 2020
RECORDED AT DAILY’S PLACE, JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
AIRED ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY NICK MORGAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Tony Schiavone, Taz, and Veda Scott
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– Announcers, Tony Schiavone, Taz, and Veda Scott highlighted some of the matches coming up and then threw it to Justin Roberts for the first match.
(1) STORM THOMAS & DIMITRI JACKSON vs. THE BEST FRIENDS (Chuck Taylor & Trent w/Orange Cassidy)
Storm Thomas and Dimitri Jackson were teaming together for the first time. Announcers pointed out that as first-time teammates, Storm and Dimitri could have a tough time against a seasoned team like The Best Friends. As the match started Chuck Taylor took the early advantage over Storm, who tagged quickly with Dimitri. Trent also tagged in and like his partner quickly got the advantage. Dimitri rebounded with several kicks, but Trent countered with double-knees and a reverse slam off the top rope.
The Best Friends double-teamed Dimitri with matching elbows. After some more abuse, Dimitri made a comeback, throwing Taylor into the corner, where he and Storm took turns punishing Taylor. Taylor was able to get out of the corner and make the tag to Trent who went on a run, with a DDT to Dimitri, followed by a dive through the ropes onto Storm and a subsequent spear to Dimitri on the floor. Back in the ring, Trent leveled Dimitri with a running knee and tagged in Taylor. After the requisite hug over a prone Dimitri, the hit back to back sit-down pile drivers, with Taylor finishing up with the pin for the three-count.
WINNERS: The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent) in 6:00.
(Morgan’s Take: The announcers made a point of stressing, and I would agree, that The Best Friends came out with a purpose and were somewhat more brutal and matter of fact than in the recent past. This is definitely something to watch going forward if this new rougher attitude continues on Dynamite. As for Storm and Dimitri, they were purely cannon fodder and while passable in this role here, did not make much of an impression. This match was purely about how The Best Friends can be rough and tough and are not all about the gimmick.)
(2) JESSE SORENSEN vs. SHAWN SPEARS (w/Tully Blanchard)
As Jesse Sorensen came out, Taz and Schiavone tried to build him up as a “good looking athlete,” but don’t believe it, he is here to lose to Shawn Spears. Spears did his “loaded” glove bit and the match started. Sorensen’s trunks said, “Can’t Be Broke,” but Taz mentioned he had broken his neck and he was also wearing a knee brace, so he obviously has been broken in the past.
Spears started off in control, but Sorensen hit a drop kick which sent Spears to the floor for a quick conversation with Tully Blanchard. Back in the ring Spears hit a kick, an elbow and several knife-edge chops. Sorensen mounted some offense which Spears put a stop to with a drop kick to the back of Sorensen’s head followed up by several moves on the floor, concentrating on Sorensen’s neck. The announce team played up Sorensen’s past issues with a broken neck as Spears threw him back into the ring. The two exchanged blows with Sorensen getting the temporary edge with a cutter. Sorensen was unable to go for the cover as he sold his possible neck issues.
Sorensen continued to do damage in the corner, climbing up on the second rope to get more leverage on his blows, but Spears reversed things, dropping Sorensen on his neck on the turnbuckle and following that up with a death valley driver for the win.
WINNER: Shawn Spears in 5:00.
After the pin fall, Tully entered the ring, slipped Spears “something” and distracted the ref, while Spears clocked Sorensen to the back of the hear with the loaded glove.
(Morgan’s Take: As noted above, this match was just to give Spears another win and to “get over” the loaded glove gimmick. Sorensen was able to make it look good and the match, such as it was had some good action, but on the whole was somewhat slow and plodding. A quick suggestion to AEW, stop with the loaded glove thing already. We all know about it, and by doing it every time, it will lose its impact when Spears uses it in a bigger moment.)
(3) RED VELVET vs. MEL
Red Velvet came out strutting and as the announcers stressed, “full of confidence”. Mel came out all cold and threatening and, in the ring, she dwarfed Red Velvet. As Mel stalked the ring, Red Velvet danced around and used her speed to avoid Mel. Red Velvet finally attacked Mel with several punches and kicks, but when she tried a move of the ropes, Mel just scooped her up and drop her in a side slam but did not go for the pin. Mel proceeded to toss Red Velvet around the ring, from corner to corner and followed up by bashing her head into the ring a few times. Mel hoisted Red Velvet up for some kind of slam, but Red Velvet reversed in and went for a bulldog move. It appeared that the move was missed, but Mel sold it anyway, oooppps.
Red Velvet took the opportunity to go to the top turnbuckle for some sort of flying move, but Mel caught her by the one-handed and nailed her with a power bomb for the three-count.
WINNER: Mel in 3:00.
(Morgan’s Take: Not much to say about this match. Just an excuse for Mel to abuse a much smaller opponent and show that she is a “monster.”)
(4) D3 vs. LANCE ARCHER (w/Jake Roberts)
Lance Archer came out dragging some very overweight “somebody” with a Never Give Up shirt on. Archer threw him through the ropes and after missing a lariat attempt proceeded to kick the guy in the face and kick him out of the ring. He then kicked D3 right in the face and then the bell rang to start the match. Archer tossed D3 all over the ring, and when D3 actually threw a forearm, Archer took it and told D3 to hit him again. Archer then continued to abuse D3, hitting a short clothes-line followed by an ineffectual pin attempt by placing his foot on D3’s chest. The camera cut to a close up of Jake Roberts talking trash. Back in the ring, Archer tossed D3 about seven feet in the air into the corner and then hit a huge, incredibly high (as Taz said, “almost hit rain”) chokeslam for what should have been an easy pin. But Archer picked up D3 at the two-count, trying to rip his nose off.
Archer tossed D3 into the corner and came running in to do more damage, but D3 managed to get in a couple of uppercuts that backed Archer off a bit. D3 went to the top turnbuckle and went for a flying slam, but Archer simply moved out of the way and D3 went “splat”. Archer followed up with his Blackout finisher, but rather then pinning D3, instead picked up D3’s head in a claw and slammed it into the ring three times. Archer finally held down D3 with a casual knee for the pin.
WINNER: Lance Archer in 4:00.
(Morgan’s Take: A very simple squash match, with Archer in complete control and showing off just how brutal and nasty he can be. Personally, I think this sort of squash match would be much more effective on the main show instead of here. Yes, it shows what a monster Archer is, but it seems like a waste to do it on Dark.)
(5) LUTHER & SERPENTICO vs. THE INITIATIVE (Peter Avalon & Brandon Cutler w/Leva Bates)
Luther and Serpentico attacked Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler before the bell rang pounding on both of them before things settled down to Luther vs. Avalon. After several attempts at kicking Avalon which he avoided, Luther finally planted a kick to Avalon’s face, putting him on the canvas. Luther dragged Avalon over to his corner where he tagged in Serpentico, who went to the top rope and came down on Avalon’s arm which Luther had continued to hold onto. Avalon recovered enough to make the tag and Cutler came in where he and Serpentico exchanged several leapfrogs, slides and such, before Serpentico hit a nice hurricanranna. Cutler countered with a dive off the top rope and tagged in Avalon.
Avalon hit a couple of body slams for a two-count, but Serpentico was able to throw him into the ropes and land a kick but was unable to follow up when Cutler tagged himself in and nailed Serpentico with a knee as he attempted an elbow. Serpentico got the upper hand on Cutler and Luther ran across the ring (untagged) and nailed Avalon on in his own corner, then retreated back to his own corner. While this was going on, Serpentico had Cutler all wrapped up in the corner half in and half outside the ropes. He then went back to his corner and tagged in Luther.
Luther body slammed Cutler and then used Serpentico as a weapon, body slamming him three times on top of Cutler before going for the pin. Cutler kicked out at two. Luther continued to pound on Cutler, finally tagging in Serpentico and again used Serpentico as a weapon, arm-whipping him into Cutler several times. After a few rapid tags by Serpentico and Luther, Cutler was able to tag in Avalon who landed several moves to both of his opponents. Avalon blasted Serpentico with a clothesline followed by a sit out powerbomb for a near fall.
Serpentico was able to tag Luther in after suplexing Avalon. Luther then again used Serpentico with a back suplex onto Avalon and went for the pin. Cutler broke up the attempt at two. With all four wrestlers in the ring (Avalon and Luther the legal men) general mayhem ensued ending up with Cutler in the corner with Luther’s foot in his face. Leva Bates actually came through the ropes to check on Cutler and while the ref was occupied by her, Avalon hit Luther with a low blow from behind and rolled him up, but only for a near fall.
Luther and Serpentico double teamed Avalon in the corner with a body slam and then an over the top rope stomp by Serpentico for a two=count. Avalon was able recover and after an exchange of moves, Avalon and Cutler were able to double team Serpentico ending with a double knee by Cutler and a top rope splash by Avalon. They were only able to get a two-count as Luther came in to break up the pin.
Once again, all four men were in the ring. As things sorted themselves out, Cutler positioned Serpentico on the top turnbuckle for a move while Leva Bates came over to hand Avalon a big book. As Avalon attempted to hit Serpentico with the book, he ducked, and Avalon ended up whacking Cutler instead. Luther then came over and body slammed Avalon outside on the floor. Luther entered the ring and picked up Cutler, hoisting him high so Serpentico could deliver a flying, double knees off the top rope. Luther then applied the pin and got the pin.
WINNERS: Luther & Serpentico in 9:00.
(Morgan’s Take: This match had some good action and while I am not a big fan of Luther’s act, the match was okay. The main thrust of the match was whether Cutler and Avalon could get their first tag team victory, and all the near falls they had were to push that storyline. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get it done, and the main reason was that they tried to “cheat” using the book. If they had played it straight, Cutler might have hit the move and gotten the win. Oh well, cheaters never prosper I guess.)
(6) KILYNN KING vs. NYLA ROSE (w/Vicki Guerrero)
After locking up collar and elbow, Nyla Rose forced Kilynn King into the corner. After faking a clean break, Nyla gave her a stiff forearm. Back in the middle of the ring, King hit a nice round kick, but was able to take advantage and ultimately ended up outside the ring where Nyla plowed her into the ring post. As Nyla was using the post to damage King, King was able to reverse and slammed Nyla headfirst into the post.
Back in the ring, Nyla got a two-count with a body slam, but King was able to get some strikes in before Nyla picked her up over her shoulders. King fought her way out and with a hip toss and roll up was able to also get a two-count. Impressively, King picked up Nyla and landed a Samoan drop for a two-count. King climbed to the top turnbuckle, but while the ref was checking on Nyla, Vicki Guerrero shoved King off the top and she landed hard. Nyla sprang up and landed a stiff sit out power bomb for the win.
WINNER: Nyla Rose in 4:00.
(Morgan’s Take: AEW used this match to promote the fact that Thunderosa will be going for the championship at All Out. Several times the announcers mentioned that Nyla and Vicki were upset that Thunderosa was getting the chance instead of Nyla. A good use of this match. Of course, Nyla is impressive, and she did all that was asked of her in this match – she was mean and violent. I would also say that King came out of this match in good shape. She appeared to have some talent and the strength move of picking up Nyla was impressive. At only four minutes, it was short, but good, plus there wasn’t too much of Vicki Guerrero screaming.)
– After the match, Nyla tossed King out of the ring and Vicki cut a promo on how perfect the victory was (never mind that she cheated of course) and then she announced the name for her alliance with Nyla Rose: The Vicious Vixens. She then invited the rest of the division to “come and play” in their ring. Taz then christened them V-Squared. We will have to see which name sticks.
(7) THE GUNN CLUB (Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn) vs. BARON BLACK & FRANK STONE
Austin Gunn and Baron Black started things off with a string of standard wrestling moves, running the ropes, arm drags, etc. Billy Gunn tagged in landing a leg drop and then an arm twist. Austin came in and continued the move. Black broke free and tagged in Frank Stone who was able to do some damage before tagging Black back in. Black and Stone exchange several tags keeping Austin in trouble. Stone put Austin up in a delayed vertical suplex for a two-count followed up by Black tagging with a couple of elbows and an atomic drop.
Austin was finally able to tag in Billy who came in fired up, but Stone and Black were able to fight back forcing Billy to tag out. After an exchange of blows and moves, Austin Gunn was able to hit the Quick Draw, pretty much out of no where for the three-count. I did not see that one coming.
WINNERS: The Gunn Club (Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn) in 6:00.
(Morgan’s Take: Wow, I really didn’t see that ending coming, it just happened. Black and Stone had probably 80% of the offense in this match, mostly pounding on Austin Gunn. I know Dark is all about building up records for the bigger acts, and that Stone and Black are clearly the jobbers here. But this just didn’t seem to make any sense to me. The action was OK, though I think Billy Gunn needs to hang it up, he did not look good. Just kind of meh.)
(8) PENELOPE FORD (w/Kip Sabian) vs. HEATHER MONROE
Penelope Ford and Heather Monroe exchanged holds in the middle of the ring, including several hip tosses. Monroe got the advantage with some hard strikes, but after a distraction by Kip Sabian with the leaf blowers, Ford took over with double knees to the back, several kicks and even dragged Monroe’s face along the top rope. Monroe was able to counter with a couple of roll ups and double knees to the back of her own. Ford was finally able to throw Monroe headfirst into the corner and hit her handspring elbow in the corner. Ford followed this up with a fisherman suplex into a back-bridge pin for the three-count.
WINNER: Penelope Ford in 4:00.
(Morgan’s Take: A quick match. Both women worked well, though clearly Ford is the better wrestler and is in fact doing a very good job and could again be back in the title picture. Monroe may have a way to go, but she does show some promise.)
(9) SANTANA & ORTIZ vs. THE METRO BROTHERS (Chris Metro & J.C. Metro)
A battle of New York: The Bronx (Santana & Ortiz) vs. Coney Island.
Match started with Ortiz vs. J.C. (I think, they never identified which brother was which). Both wrestlers started out with a more technical wrestling techniques, until Ortiz laid in a couple of uppercuts. Once the ice was broken, the two went after each other with Ortiz hitting a kick to the head followed up by a body slam. After tagging in, Santana abused his opponent with double fists to the throat, a kick to the spine and a stiff senton. He followed all that up with a trio of no release suplexes.
Ortiz came back in for several elbows and a DDT. J.C. rolled over to his corner and tagged in his brother, Chris Metro. Chris tried to mount some offense by Ortiz hit a double hook suplex and Santana followed up with a vicious power bomb. Tagging back in, Ortiz hit a sit out power bomb followed by a kick in the face by Santana, Ortiz applied the pin for the three-count.
WINNERS: Santana & Ortiz in 5:00.
While Santana & Ortiz were taking in their victory, The Best Friends stormed the ring and all four wrestlers went at it on the floor and basically went ahead and fought out into the parking lot. They stayed with this action for a few minutes and then cut to a promo for All Out.
(Morgan’s Take: Santana and Ortiz totally dominated this match with the Metro Brothers getting practically zero offense. This match was basically an excuse for the angle after the match with The Best Friends. It is all about building on the animosity (mini-van destruction, clothes bleaching and everything else) between these two teams and their big match at All Out. I always enjoy watching Santana and Ortiz and while they are being played more as comedy on Dynamite, on Dark, they are allowed to really show their stuff. Hopefully, this will transition to the main show very soon.)
(10) RICKY STARKS vs. SHAWN DEAN
During introductions, Taz went off about how Ricky Starks is part of Team Taz. Back in the ring, Starks and Shawn Dean exchanged moves without anyone gaining an advantage until Starks hit a high knee. Starks kept up the pressure with some kicks and a back elbow and a coffin drop (hi Darby). Dean mounted some offense with a couple of elbows and a DDT. Dean followed up with a knee in the corner and an attempted pin for a one-count.
Dean was in control until he missed with an attempted inziguri. Starks jumped on the opportunity with a kick to the face and his finisher, the Roshambo, for the win.
WINNER: Ricky Starks in 5:00.
(Morgan’s Take: While Dean got in some attacks, Starks was the clear star of this match, again all pointing to his match at All Out versus Darby Allen. I really like Stark’s abilities and Dean played a good foil to show of Stark’s talent. A good quick match with solid action. _
(11) MARKO STUNT vs. JAKE HAGER
You have got to be kidding me.
As Jake Hager came into the ring, he was speaking to the ref in effect saying, “Are you crazy, this is ridiculous.” Hager was not taking this at all serious. He even got down on his knees and told Marko Stunt to put him in a headlock. Hager then held the ropes open and offered to let Marko leave. Marko kicked him.
Marko did “the floss” behind Hager’s back, kicked at his legs, slid through Hager’s legs and out of the ring. Hager was very frustrated, kicking the ropes and getting madder and madder. Hager finally got his hands-on Stunt, landed several punches and latterly threw Stunt across the ring. A foot to the face put Stunt on the canvas. Hager picked up Stunt and pressed him over head and threw him to the mat. He then picked up Stunt for a side slam and applied the side choke and the ref called for the bell.
WINNER: Jake Hager in 4:00.
-After the match Hager picked up Stunt and was going to do some real damage with Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus came out telling Hager not to do it. Hager went ahead and gave Stunt a knee to the face and then ran off, giving them a bow and “the finger” from the stands. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus looked after Stunt as they went to a “Heels” promo.
(Morgan’s Take: This match was totally unnecessary and stupid. The only way I can see this match having any point is if it was in front of a live crowd and you could get the audience pops for Marko Stunts antics. As a match in a YouTube show with no fans, why? Just bad!)
(12) KIP SABIAN (w/Penelope Ford) vs. FRANKIE KAZARIAN
After tussling into the corner, Frankie Kazarian broke clean and he and Kip Sabian grappled in the middle of the ring. Kazarian maintained control with an arm twist and lock. Sabian tried to find an answer and finally poked Kazarian in the eye to gain the advantage. Kazarian hit a drop kick and went to the ropes to gain momentum but Penelope Ford tripped him. Sabian knocked Kazarian out of the ring and delivered a kick to the face from the apron.
Sabian built on his advantage with several stomps to Kazarian in the corner. As Kazarian came out of the corner, Sabian tied him up in a pretzel move until Kazarian was able to reach the ropes. After a knee to the face, Sabian went for a punt kick but Kazarian dodged leading to a clothesline by Kazarian and a flying forearm. Kazarian was able to get a two-count with a back-drop bridge pin attempt. After this sequence the two exchanged plows on the apron. When Sabian went for a springboard move, Kazarian caught him with a forearm and using the rope, propelled Sabian into the ring where he hit a cutter for a two-count when Ford put Sabian’s foot on the ropes.
After exchanging moves, Sabian hit a knee lift to the face and attempted a pin using the ropes for leverage but Kazarian still broke the count at two. Sabian hit another knee lift and a clothesline. Instead of going for the pin, Sabian went to the top turnbuckle going for a stomp but missed. Sabian tried for some sort of flip suplex, but Kazarian counted with a reverse DDT for the win.
WINNER: Frankie Kazarian in 10:00.
(Morgan’s Take: A very solid match as you would expect from two wrestlers who regularly appear on Dynamite. Good back and forth action and except for the one small interference from Ford, it was a clean match. Both men can go and was the best match of the night. One note: A few times Kazarian had words for Penelope Ford, and while it might just be that she is annoying at ringside, they may be building up some sort of angle that we could see down the road.)
(13) SONNY KISS & JOEY JANELLA vs. JACK EVANS & ANGELICO
Sonny Kiss and Jack Evans started things off and after some athletic moves, Kiss quickly tagged to Joey Janella. Evans was able to get a quick roll up for a one-count and then tagged in Angelico. Janella laid some lumber on Angelico and tagged in Kiss. They double teamed Angelico, but after Janella left the ring, Angelico was able to drive Kiss into the turnbuckle face first and tag in Evans.
Evans hit a snap suplex for a two-count and with Kiss in their corner, Evans and Angelico pounded on Kiss, leading to a reverse figure four leg lock. Janella ran in to help, but ref, Aubrey Edwards, ran him back allowing Evans and Angelico to continue the beat down of Kiss. Kiss finally made the tag and Janella cleaned house. In an interesting move, Janella ran Evans into Angelico and while they were tangled up, Janella went up to the top rope and came off taking Angelico down and at the same time spiking Evans into the mat. Evans looked done, and Janella went for the pin but could only get a near fall as Evans kicked out at two.
Janella tagged Kiss but went back to splash Evans in the corner. As Evans stood dazed on the apron, Janella ran along the floor and leg swept Evans, crashing him into the apron. While this was going on, Kiss entered the ring and hit a flying double stomp over the top rope. Janella then hit Evans with a Death Valley driver on the floor. At this point Angelico reentered the fray and rammed Janella into the ring post, at which point, Kiss laid Angelico out with a kick to the face from the apron. Kiss then hit a moon sault onto Angelico out on the floor from the top turnbuckle. After rolling Evan back into the ring, Kiss went to the top and hit a 450 splash on Evans for a near fall before Angelico came in to break it up.
At this point all four wrestlers are in action. Angelico spiked Janella on the apron and then knocked Kiss off the top turnbuckle as he was going for a move on Evans, who was still prone in the ring. Kiss was pretty much out up on the turnbuckle and Evans was able to pull him off, put Kiss in a back slide and then flip over into a bridge on top of Kiss for the three-count and the win.
(Morgan’s Take: A very brutal match. These two teams really went after it and while there was a ton of wrestling, there was a lot of big spots and OMG moments. The match was pretty well fought, and as I see more of Sonny Kiss and he gets more work, there is something there. Many of his moves still look a little too “dancey” or gymnastic, but they are getting better. This was a match to kind of check your brain at the door and just go with it and enjoy what these men put their bodies through to entertain. I am not sure where these two teams are going, but if they are pretty much going to be mainstays of Dark, that is ok with me.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: I could pretty much say this for every episode of Dark: This show is created to build up the records of those wrestlers who will eventually be on Dynamite and they want to be able to tout a winning record. So be it. It is not a bad plan, but the repetitive nature of the structure of the matches can at times get tedious.
I really enjoyed the Kip Sabian-Frankie Kazarian match and I always enjoy watching Santana and Ortiz raise their game and really take it to their opponents. Definitely take some time to watch those, as well as the final match of the night Joey Janella & Sonny Kiss vs. Angelico & Jack Evans and the match between Ricky Starks vs. Shawn Dean.
One thing I noticed tonight that I feel is a good sign, is that while not essential to current angles on Dynamite, there were several examples of building the angles for All Out and for future feuds on Dynamite. Most notably the Santana & Ortiz vs. The Best Friends feud, the fact that Nyla Rose and Vicki Guerrero are not happy at being passed over by Thunderosa, and Ricky Starks getting his hands-on Darby Allen.
Thanks for ready, enjoy and be safe.
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