6/14 AEW DARK ELEVATION REPORT: Scorpio Sky vs. Alex Reynolds, Shawn Spears vs. Falco, Orange Cassidy in action, more

AEW DARK: ELEVATION TV REPORT
JUNE 14, 2021
RECORDED AT DAILY’S PLACE, JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
AIRED ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY PATRICK MOYNAHAN, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight.

Ring announcer: Justin Roberts

– Tony Schiavone opened the show backstage with Wardlow and hyped up his MMA cage match with Jake Hager on this week’s Dynamite.

– Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight welcomed us to tonight’s show.

(1) WARDLOW vs. JASON HOTCH

Wardlow immediately picked Hotch up and slammed him to the mat. Hotch collected himself before testing Wardlow again. It didn’t work out any better the second time. Hotch attacked Wardlow for a third time head-on but received a backdrop for his efforts. Wardlow perched Hotch on the top rope and proceeded to nail him in the face with a knee for the KO victory.

WINNER: Wardlow in 1:00

(Moynahan’s Take: A complete squash for Wardlow as he heads toward his MMA cage match this Friday.)

– Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight formally welcomed us to tonight’s show and threw it to Justin Roberts for the next match.

(2) LEE JOHNSON & DUSTIN RHODES vs. VSK & TRAVIS TITAN

Rhodes and Titan squared off and exchanged a sign of respect. Rhodes knocked Titan down early, then took him down with an arm drag takeover. Johnson made the tag and nailed Titan with a high drop kick. VSK tagged in but fared no better than Titan. Johnson nailed VSK with a kick to the stomach, then allowed Rhodes to take over after tagging back in. VSK nailed Rhodes with a forearm, allowing him to take the advantage and tag Titan back in. Titan and VSK made quick tags as they worked over Rhodes in their corner. Rhodes caught Titan with a right hand then tagged Johnson back in. Johnson took out VSK as Rhodes hit Titan with his patented power slam. Johnson hit VSK with his finish for the win.

WINNERS: Lee Johnson & Dustin Rhodes in 3:30

(Moynahan’s Take: A solid tag team effort by Rhodes and Johnson, who looked good in the effort.)

– An ad aired for AEW’s return to the road, including a look at Road Rager, Fyter Fest Night 1 and 2, and Fight for the Fallen.

(3) ANGELICO (w/Jack Evans) vs. MIKE SYDAL (w/Matt Sydal)

Angelico and Sydal worked the mat early on, exchanging holds in the process. Sydal flipped his way out of a wrist lock, then locked Angelico in an arm bar. Angelico turned things around and synched in his own head scissors. Sydal evaded Angelico with a cartwheel, then took him down with a leg sweep. Matt Hardy made his way to the entrance ramp to cheer on Angelico. Angelico locked in an interesting looking submission which confused both Wight and Schiavone (and me) as to what it’s called. Sydal again used his agility and flexibility to evade Angelico and regain momentum. Angelico caught Sydal and hung him across the top rope. Angelico locked in the Navarro Death Roll for the tap out.

WINNER: Angelico in 6:00

– After the match, Angelico attacked Sydal on the outside, and again locked in the Navarro Death Roll. Matt Sydal came out to break it up as Hardy and Angelico left together.

(Moynahan’s Take: Another good match, but once Angelico took control when Hardy appeared, he never gave it up. A good make-up victory for him after his recent loss on Dynamite.)

(4) SHAWN SPEARS vs. FALCO

Spears and Falco shook hands before the bell. Spears took Falco over with a headlock, then ran right over him with a shoulder tackle. Falco countered the next attempt by Spears and hit an arm whip. That ticked Spears off, as he took it to Falco and threw him to the outside. Spears nailed Falco with a series of knees to the face as Falco laid against the barrier. Back inside, Spears hit a running C4 (a DVD) for the win.

WINNER: Shawn Spears in 2:00

(Moynahan’s Take: Another quick match. Spears looked good in the short time given. I may be part of a small list here, but I am digging the fiercer character since he joined Pinnacle.)

– The Wingmen were backstage. Nemeth talked about how great JD Drake has looked since joining them.

– An ad for AEW Games aired.

(5) PRIVATE PARTY (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen w/ HFO) vs. DEAN ALEXANDER & CARLIE BRAVO

Quen and Alexander locked up to kick things off. Kassidy tripped Alexander’s leg from the outside, which allowed Quen to nail him with a dropkick to the face. Kassidy tagged in, got Alexander in the corner, and proceeded to hammer away with right hands and forearms. Private Party kept their focus on Alexander as Hardy yelled at him from the outside. Quen made a nonchalant cover on Alexander for a two count. Quen missed a kick which allowed Alexander to tag Bravo in. Bravo took out Quen with a Michinoku Driver. Private Party came right back, however, and hit Gin and Juice on Bravo for the win.

WINNER: Private Party in 4:00

(Moynahan’s Take: The ending came off a bit sloppy. Not sure if it was edited due to an actual botch or not. Either way, some quick work by Private Party.)

(6) NYLA ROSE vs. MEGAN BAYNE

Vickie Guerrero cut off Justin Roberts and introduced Nyla Rose. Bane looked taller and impressive next to Rose. That didn’t factor into the equation as Rose nailed Bayne with a stiff clothesline, then went for the Beast Bomb for the quick win.

WINNER: Nyla Rose in 0:30

(Moynahan’s Take: A total squash as Rose builds herself back up on her way to a showdown at some point with Britt Baker.)

(7) ORANGE CASSIDY (w/Best Friends) vs. CAMERON COLE

Cole made his AEW debut here. Cassidy went for the pockets as Cole charged in with a missed clothesline. Cassidy went to lock up, but Cole stomped on his foot, then hit a DDT for a one count. Cole stomped on Cassidy’s hands then went to the top. Cole came off with a dropkick as Cassidy casually walked away. Cassidy used his quickness to evade Cole multiple times, then hit him with the Orange Punch for the win.

WINNER: Orange Cassidy in 2:30

(Moynahan’s Take: It’s hard to capture in text, but Cassidy made this one fun to watch in the short time given.)

(8) EDDIE KINGSTON & PENTA EL ZERO MIEDO (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. ARIK CANNON & KEVIN BLACKWOOD

Kingston and Cannon started things off. The two exchanged holds until Cannon landed a suplex. Blackwood tagged in, and he and Canon landed a series of splashes on Kingston in the corner. Kingston took a number of shots by Blackwood. Kingston fought his way out of a hold by Blackwood, then rolled to his corner to tag in Penta. Penta quieted the crowd and landed his patented chest chop. Canon nailed Penta from the apron. Penta dropped Blackwood with a press slam, then tagged Kingston back in. Penta hit Fear Factor, then Kingston hit the back suplex for the win.

WINNERS: Penta El Zero Miedo & Eddie Kingston in 3:00

(Moynahan’s Take: Another fairly quick match. I wasn’t expecting this one to go so fast after the early advantage by Cannon and Blackwood, but Kingston and Penta made quick work of their opponents once they regained the advantage.)

(9) JULIA HART (w/Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison) vs. DANI JORDYN

Jordyn knocked Hart down with a shoulder tackle, but Hart came back with a dropkick. Jordyn drove Hart into the corner, then nailed her with a right and a forearm. Jordyn followed up with a shotgun dropkick for a two count. Jordyn threw Hart to the outside, then came through the ropes with a dropkick. Back inside, Jordyn covered again for another two count. Hart nailed Jordyn with a few clotheslines, then a few kicks to the stomach. Hart followed up with a running back elbow and a split legged bulldog. Hart hit a standing moonsault for a two count. Hart ht a reverse flip-over DDT for the win.

WINNER: Julia Hart in 4:00

(Moynahan’s Take: This was okay, but you can tell Hart is still a bit green. No problem with that, since that’s the point of Elevation — to help younger wrestlers develop their skills. In fact, I’m a bit surprised we don’t see more of this each Monday.)

(10) AARON SOLOW & QT MARSHALL vs. DEONN RUSMAN & JOE KEYS

Rusman and Keys made their AEW debut as a team. Marshall locked up with Rusman, then tagged in Solow to continue working him over. Rusman hit Solow with a powerslam then tagged in Keys, who landed a back elbow on Solow. Solow yanked Keys down to the mat, then got on top of him and landed a series of punches. Marshall tagged in and hit a standing suplex, then a driving knee to the face. Marshall and Solow traded tags until Keys was able to make the take back into Rusman. Rusman nailed Solow with a clothesline but was met with a spinning kick on the follow up. Marshall came in to hit a Diamond Cutter, then allowed Solow to get the pin.

WINNERS: Aaron Solow & QT Marshall in 3:30

(Moynahan’s Take: Solow and Marshall looked good here as a team. I was impressed by the look of Rusman and Keys, however, and look forward to seeing more of them.)

(11) SCORPIO SKY (w/Ethan Page) vs. ALEX REYNOLDS (w/Dark Order)

Ethan Page joined commentary for this match. Sky took Reynolds to the mat then posed with delight. Reynolds knocked Sky down with a shoulder tackle, make that two. He followed up with a snap suplex for a two count. Reynolds kept his advantage by hitting a few forearm uppercuts. The two traded quick pin attempts, which ended with Sky nailed Reynolds in the stomach with a knee. Reynolds hit a running strike on the outside, then came off the top with a cross-body for a close two. Sky drove Reynolds to the outside, into the barrier.

Reynolds evaded a charge in by Sky and came back with a spinning forearm. Reynolds nailed Sky again with a spinning right hand. He went for a cover and got a two count. Reynolds continued the momentum, nailing Sky with a series of rights, then charging in with a knee to the face. Sky fought back by hitting Reynolds in the back of the knee. He tried locking in his finisher, but Reynolds fought out. Reynolds hit Sky with a double boot to the face, then climbed to the top. He missed a moonsault and tried landing on his feet but hurt himself in the process. Sky locked in the Heel Hook for the win.

WINNER: Scorpio Sky in 8:00

(Moynahan’s Take: I noticed the new team name on social media a few days ago, but it looks like Scorpio and Page are officially going by the name of “Men of the Year.” This was slow in spots, but the final moments picked up nicely.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: For the amount of matches this week, tonight’s episode of Elevation moved fast. That being said, not much really stood out in the way of worthwhile matches to catch up on. I would recommend checking out the main event, especially for the closing moments.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S AEW DARK ELEVATION REPORT: 6/7 AEW DARK ELEVATION TV REPORT: Hikaru Shida vs. Diamante, Scorpio Sky vs. Trevor Read, Jade Cargill in action, more