SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW DARK TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
RECORDED AT DAILY’S PLACE, JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
AIRED ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Excalibur and Taz.
Additional announcers throughout the show: Ricky Starks and Frankie Kazarian.
Ring announcer: Justin Roberts
– Excalibur and Taz welcomed us to Dark. They were joined this week by Ricky Starks at the start of the show.
(1) TNT (Terrence & Terrell Hughes) vs. CHAOS PROJECT (Luther & Serpentico)
TNT, twin sons of D-Von Dudley, made their AEW debut here. Chaos Project jumped TNT before the bell, double teaming Terrence at the start. Terrence fought back against Luther but was taken down by a pump kick. Luther followed up with a belly-to-belly, then traded tags with Serpentico. Serpentico blind-sided Terrence from the apron, allowing Luther to follow up with a snap suplex. A few double team moves were landed by Chaos Project, including Luther slamming Serpentico off the top rope, directly onto Terrence. Terrence finally hit a boot and a strong shoulder tackle on Serpentico, which allowed him to finally tag Terrell into the match. Terrel hit a nice flying forearm onto Serpentico, which gave him the advantage. TNT hit some double team moves on Serpentico, but were unaware Luther was legally tagged in behind their backs, which allowed Chaos Project to take advantage, and hit the Creeping Death finisher for the win.
WINNERS: Chaos Project in 9:30.
(Moynahan’s Take: Nice debut match by TNT. I can now say I’m officially old, as I vividly remember watching D-Von Dudley’s ECW debut as the heel half-brother of Bubba (and the other Dudley brothers). Overall, a fun, quick match, with some nice double team moves by Chaos Project. Excited to see more of TNT.)
(2) THE ACCLAIMED (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) vs. LOUIE VALLE & JUSTIN BLAX
The Acclaimed made their official debut under this name. Bowens started it off with Valle, landing some vicious chops, then a perfect dropkick. Blax tagged in, as did Caster. Bowens drove Blax’s face into the apron on the outside—nasty. Caster took a moment to play to the crowd, then tagged in Bowens, whi flew in with an elbow drop on Blax. The Acclaimed hit a classic double team move, leapfrogging one another, and landing on Blax, who was hung on the ropes. Blax was able to turn it around, and hit a rising knee strike on Caster, then tagged in Valle. Valle landed a nice hanging neck breaker on Caster, but turned his attention to Caster and was met with a mule kick. Acclaimed hit a dup of nice double team moves, the second being their finisher, The Critically Acclaimed, for the pin.
WINNERS: The Acclaimed in 5:00
(Moynahan’s Take: The Acclaimed is a great team. Call them up to the main roster… I mean Dynamite. )
(3) TOP FLIGHT (Darius & Dante Martin) vs. BARON BLACK & FRANKIE THOMAS
Black and Thomas made their debut as a team here. Darrius started off against Black, exchanging a few arm drags and reversals. Dante tagged in, and the two hit a nice double team dropkick to Black’s arm. Thomas tagged in but was met by an arm drag. Thomas and Black took the advantage, with Black working the abdominal stretch on Dante. From the apron, Thomas hit Dante with a stiff clothesline. On the other side, Darius hit a similar clothesline on Black, evening the odds. Darius got the hot tag and hit a series of clotheslines on Thomas, then a Spanish fly for a near three count. Top Flight set Thomas on the middle rope, sticking his head under the buckle. Top Fight then hit a stiff dropkick on Thomas, who then fell back into a powerbomb for the pin.
WINNERS: Top Flight in 6:00
(Moynahan’s Take: Ricky Starks spoke well of Top Flight during this match, and I have to agree. Any time a team comes prepared with matching gear, is a ‘check the box’ moment for me. I have been impressed from the start, having seen the duo for the first time a few weeks back on Dark They are another team I am very much looking forward to seeing progress.)
– ‘Pretty’ Peter Avalon was shown in the back, this time, in an elevator. Similar to last week, he was speaking to the camera, whom he called ‘my sweet.’ Someone came into the elevator, and Avalon got upset, throwing the person out in a huff.
– Frankie Kazarian joined commentary.
(4) ADAM PRIEST & SHAWN DEAN vs. THE HYBRID 2 (Jack Evans & Angelico)
Shawn Dean started things off with Angelico. Dean hit a dropkick, but Angelico tagged in Evans. Evans hit a standing sky twister press, put Dean was able to kick out. Evans took a quick moment to motion over to Kazarian at the commentary booth. TH2, both in the ring, hit a series of double team moves, ending with an assisted 450 splash from Evans onto Dean. Dean avoided an initial corkscrew kick, but Evans landed a second. TH2 has kept Dean isolated up until now, but Dean hit a DDT on Evans, which allowed him to crawl over to Priest for the tag. Priest came in hot, fending off both TH2 members, hitting a release German suplex on Angelico for a two count. All four men hit the ring briefly, with Priest and Evans working to the outside. Evans hit a 450 onto Priest on the floor. Inside, Angelico wrapped Dean in the Navarro death roll for the submission.
WINNERS: TH2 in 7:30
(Moynahan’s Take: Continuing with my ring gear comments, I’m glad Angelico no longer wears the full-piece scuba suit. Otherwise, this was a very fun, albeit short match. TH2 always impress, so not much new there. Although they didn’t get much offense in the long run, Priest and Black showed off a solid move set. Priest reminds me of Dynamite Kid, stature-wise.)
– An Inner Circle ‘A Little Bit of the Bubbly’ ad aired.
– Ricky Starks re-joined commentary
(5) ASHTON STARR & DAVID ALI vs. LUCHA BROS. (Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo)
Penta and Ali kicked things off. Penta started with his usual ‘zero miedo’ chant, then a really nice series of quick exchanges between the two. Penta took advantage, tagged in Fenix, which didn’t last long, and was back in the ring, hitting a double foot press off the middle rope. Fenix, back in, threw Ali into his partner for the tag. Starr came in but was met with a double stomp to the….rear-end, by Penta coming off the top. With all four men in the ring, Penta and Fenix had an interesting double team submission move applied on each opponent at the same time. Ali escaped from Penta’s double underhook and made the hot tag to Starr. Starr, in with Fenix, hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker, then dumped Fenix onto Penta outside. Some quick action among the four back in the ring ended with the Lucha Bros. hitting a double superkick to Ali. They then set Ali up for a spike piledriver for the win.
WINNERS: Lucha Bros. in 5:00.
(Moynahan’s Take: As to be expected, some fast-moving action here. It felt very quick, but in a good way. Sign me up for anything to do with the Lucha Bros. Wait, what’s that you say? They’re facing off tomorrow on Dynamite? Sold!)
(6) DANI JORDYN vs. LEVA BATES
Dani Jordyn came to the ring with her ‘mean girl’ burn book. Bates, the only remaining Librarian, was still playing up the gimmick. The two shared some dialogue about their respective books, with Jordyn jaw-jacking about Avalon no longer being part of the Librarian duo. Bates, not having it, landed a kick to Jordyn’s head. Bates rolled Jordyn into a cross-face, but Jordynn was able to escape. Bates hit a northern lights suplex for a two count. Jordyn rolled outside, and then proceeded to destroy the books left by Bates. In turn, Bates took the burn book and acted as if she would destroy it, but threw it aside. Jordyn poked Bates in the eye, gaining the advantage. Taz, speaking about burning the books, made a Firebreaker Chip reference. Some slow action from here, but Bates hit a roll up for the pin.
WINNER: Bates in 5:00.
(Moynahan’s Take: Love the burn book, but isn’t that a 2004 thing? Innocent match, with some comedy sprinkled in. It was slow at times, but enjoyable nonetheless. Jordyn has a good look to her, which reminds me a bit of Layla Hirsch. Future tag team down the road?)
(7) ALAN “5” ANGELS (w/The Dark Order) vs. FUEGO DEL SOL
A lot of speed to start, with Fuego rolling out of a leg hold by Angels. Fuego hit a monkey flip, and Angels bailed to the outside. Angels rolled back in as Fuego went to the apron. Fuego tried for the springboard but was met with a dropkick. Both outside, Angels hit a scoop slam on the floor. He then climbed back on the apron and hit a frog splash on Fuego. Back in the ring, Angels hit a second, standing, frog splash for a two count. Angels hit a pump handle and then a foot stomp onto Fuego. Fuego, holding the top rope, took a Curt Hennig-esque flip when Angels kicked his knee. The two worked back and forth, with Fuego missing a tornado DDT. Angels took the advantage, hitting the Wing Snapper for the three count.
WINNER: Alan “5” Angels in 7:00.
(Moynahan’s Take: Any ‘Hennig flip’ off the rope is a win-win for me. I liked the fast start to this one, and I’m not sure my coverage could do some of the moves justice, unfortunately. Angels impresses me every time I watch him. Like many of the Dark Order members, he has so much talent that will someday be on even more display.)
– An Inner Circle “A Little Bit of the Bubbly” ad aired.
(8) DREAMGIRL ELLIE & JENNACIDE vs. IVELISSE & DIAMANTE
Jennacide started off with Ivelisse, overpowering her with a size advantage. Dreamgirl Ellie tagged in and landed a dropkick on Ivelisse. Diamante tagged in, hitting a quick suplex on Dreamgirl. Diamante laid out Dreamgirl with a stiff kick to the face, then a clothesline to follow it up. Dreamgirl kicked out at two, perhaps surprisingly. Ivelisse, back in the ring, hit an impressive double underhook suplex on Dreamgirl. Dreamgirl, finally able to mount some offense, hit a second rope front face slam to Ivelisse, allowing her to tag Jennacide. Jennacide showed off some impressive power, hitting a fall away slam, then picked up both opponents on her shoulders. Dreamgirl Ellie made a blind tag, and as the other three were in the ring, hit a double diving cross body onto both Ivelisse and Diamante. Ivelisse and Dreamgirl found themselves as the two left in the ring. Ivelisse wrapped Dreamgirl’s legs in a submission for the tap.
WINNERS: Ivelisse & Diamante in 6:30.
(Moynahan’s Take: *Ring Gear Comment Alert.* Impressive ring gear by both Dreamgirl Ellie and Jennacide. Dreamgirl Ellie took some impressive offense from Ivelisse and Diamante, and Jennacide has impressive size. All in all, I really enjoyed this match. There was some fast-action, stiff moves, and good tag team work by Ivelisse and Diamante.)
(9) SONNY KISS & JOEY JANELA vs. JURRASIC EXPRESS (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus w/Marko Stunt)
Sonny Kiss and Jungle Boy started things off. The two exchanged quick reversals to start, playing to the crowd. Luchasaurus tagged in, and briefly faced off against Kiss and Janela, which didn’t work out well for the duo. Jungle Boy came back in but was met with a double team backbreaker by Kiss and Janela. Outside, Jungle Boy hit a tope suicida onto Kiss, with Janela diving out on the opposite side onto Luchasaurus. Luchasaurus made his way back in the ring and was again fending off both Kiss and Janela. He was hit with a double shoulder tackle by Kiss and Janela, then rolled to the outside. Janela went for a Frankensteiner but was caught by Luchasaurus. Kiss then made his way to the top and hit a moonsault onto Luchasaurus. Fast action, as Jungle Boy then hit a destroyer on Janela onto the outside. Janela wad rolled back in by Jungle Boy. As Kiss came off the top rope he was met with a chokeslam by Luchasaurus. Luchasaurus hit a hook kick, and then sent Janela into a double team powerbomb by Jungle Boy for the three count.
WINNERS: Jurrasic Express & Kiss at 7:30
– After the match, all five men (with Marko) met in the ring and hugged/shook hands to close the show.
(Moynahan’s Take: Easily the match of the night. I didn’t realize I needed to see Jungle Boy and Sonny Kiss in the ring together until now. It makes sense, with the speed and athleticism of each being showcased here. This was also apparently jungle themed across both teams, with Jungle Boy (obviously) and Janela/Kiss both wearing matching leopard print attire. Fun match to close the show.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Another enjoyable Dark episode this week, and not only due to the impressive ring gear throughout. I find myself very satisfied with the majority of young talent being showcased, and their pairings with the more experienced wrestlers is a nice, refreshing thing to watch. This week also showcased a few less matches, which was nice, although I do expect a return of the 15+ matches next week. I’ll make sure to rest up in the meantime!
Stay safe everyone!
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