6/1 AEW DARK TV REPORT: Jungle Boy vs. Bear Bronson, Gunn Club vs. The Wingmen from AEW Fan Fest

AEW DARK TV REPORT
JUNE 1, 2021
RECORDED DURING AEW FAN FEST AT DAILY’S PLACE, JACKSONVILLE, FLA.
AIRED ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY RYAN HOWARD, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur and Taz

Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts

-Excalibur and Taz on the call from AEW Fan Fest, welcoming us to the show.

(1) GUNN CLUB (Billy & Colten) vs. THE WINGMEN (Ryan Nemeth & Cezar Bononi)(w/Peter Avalon)

Aside from a brief moment in the early going, this was all Nemeth & Bononi in the first five minutes, isolating Colten after he was tripped up by Peter Avalon outside. Colten was able to fight free and tag in Billy, who cleaned house; crotch chopped and planted Bononi with a Fameasser, for 2. Colten tagged back in and dropped Nemeth with the Colt 45 for the victory.

WINNERS: Gunn Club in 8:00

(Howard’s Analysis: This very much felt like a house show match with some stalling & crowd work early, then the Wingmen controlled most of it until The Gunns made their comeback for the win. Colten Gunn, not including two battle royals, is 18-0 in AEW tag & trios matches. I’m happy we saw Gunn Club wrestle people other than enhancement guys, but with AEW being so heavily focused on win-loss, I can’t believe this winning streak is still going and only mentioned here tonight. 18-0 is pretty crazy.)

-We see highlights from Jungle Boy winning the Casino Battle Royale this past weekend and get some brief comments from him backstage talking about his match with Bear Bronson tonight.

(2) KRIS STATLANDER (w/Best Friends) vs. ROBYN RENEGADE

Statlander did a few cartwheels that led to a boop to Renegade to start things off. Both ladies spilled outside, where Statlander did the Orange Cassidy inspired slow roll splash from the apron to the floor. Back inside, Robyn hit a Sling Blade, taking control, only for Statlander to battle back with a dead lift German suplex and tilt a whirl slam for two. Renegade fought back, busting Statlander’s mouth open in the process, but Statlander dropped her with the Big Bang Theory for the victory.

WINNER: Kris Statlander in 5:00

(Howard Analysis: A quick, but hard hitting victory for Statlander, who continues her winning ways. I’m hopeful she keeps the streak going and we eventually get a Statlander vs. Baker title match down the line.)

(3) TH2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) & SERPENTICO (w/Luther) vs. STU GRAYSON & ALEX REYNOLDS & ALAN “5” ANGELS (w/Evil Uno, John Silver & Colt Cabana)

Chaos Project’s entrance music played and Angelico looked sad he couldn’t dance along to it. Order controlled Serpentico early with fast tags. That ended when Luther tripped up Angels, straddling him on the post, as the Dark Order boys chased him off, clearing ringside. Taz could not remember Luther’s name for the life of him as Excalibur just laughed with Taz blaming it on chair shots. After TH2 double teamed Angels, Serpentico tagged in and seemed lost that Luther wasn’t there to use him as a battering ram per usual. Angels turned Evans inside out with a lariat, then dropped Serpentico with a standing Spanish Fly, getting the hot tag to Reynolds, who cleaned house. Evans tried a merry go round kick, but failed to see the blind tag by Grayson, as the Dark Order hit an assisted springboard moonsault off the second for two. Angels tried a springboard, but Serpentico caught him with a superkick in mid air, while Jack Evans hit Reynolds with a 450 for a two count. Dark Order boys wiped out Angelico & Serpentico with dueling dives as Grayson dropped Evans with the Night Fall back breaker for the victory.

WINNERS: Dark Order in 8:30

(Howard’s Analysis: Very fun six man with the outside factors being taken out early on. Therefore it was an interference free match for the most part. There’s not a combo of guys who could use a trios title more than the Dark Order.)

(4) DIAMANTE vs. RED VELVET

Velvet got the early advantage before Diamante hit an arm drag right into the corner, allowing her to take over. Both ladies traded chops and strikes before Diamante swept the leg and hit a basement dropkick for two. Diamante hits the Three Amigas, but only managed a two count. Diamante got another near fall with her no hands diving splash, then yet another one off a backstabber out of the corner. Velvet was tied up in the Tree of Woe as Velvet got free and hit a cross body off the second rope giving her time to recover. Standing moonsault press by Velvet got her two, as did a running Stunner. Diamante battled back with a standing Sliced Bread, then countered a Velvet wheelbarrow into a release German for a close two. Diamante hit another German, which I think Velvet was supposed to land on her feet, but landed on her head, only to pop up and dropped Diamante with her spin kick to the face to get Velvet the win.

WINNER: Red Velvet in 7:00

(Howard’s Analysis: Another fun back and forth match and one I wouldn’t mind seeing again. This was a good bounce back win for Red Velvet, coming off a loss last night on Elevation. On the other hand, I’d really like to see Diamante get more wins over established names in the women’s division.)

-Backstage the Dark Order talked about their victory and how they were happy fans are back and are looking forward to hitting the road soon.

(5) JUNGLE BOY (w/Jurassic Express) vs. BEAR BRONSON

Taz promised to try not to sing Tarzan Boy, but that quickly went out the window. Even with the smaller crowd there, they still loved Jungle Boy and his entrance. Bronson used his size early, but Jungle Boy off set that with his speed, using a springboard arm drag. Bronson hit what Taz called a pot roast size clothesline. Every strike Bronson threw, Taz compared it to some sort of beef. Jungle Boy baited Bronson into a sunset flip, moving out of the way, but Bronson turned Jungle Boy inside out with a running shoulder tackle for two. Jungle Boy battled back with a rebound lariat, tried a step through DDT between the ropes, but Bronson countered into an exploder suplex for two. Jungle Boy tried again and hit the DDT this time, then a charging lariat to the back of the head to give him the win.

WINNER: Jungle Boy in 7:30

(Howard’s Analysis: Since Jungle Boy is getting a world title shot in two weeks on Dynamite, it’s smart to put him on both Elevation & Dark getting huge reactions with fans after his big win at the PPV. Everywhere you look in AEW, Jungle Boy is there and the crowd is behind him. It also boosts the winning record a bit too, which doesn’t hurt. This was another solid win against the much bigger Bronson, who put on another strong showing in his own right.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Very quick show tonight, but it was quite enjoyable. There wasn’t as big of a crowd as there was for Elevation, but they explained that other things were going on during Fan Fest while this was happening, like the action figure reveals for the rest of the year. Regardless, there were enough fans here to get into the show, especially Jungle Boy, which is mission accomplished on their part. I like the episodes of Dark that aren’t so crammed with quick matches, giving the matches they do have enough time to breathe. This was one of those shows for sure. I also should mention I enjoyed the fact that Excalibur mentioned the Tree of Woe is also called the Tree of Joey Lawrence, which, despite hearing years ago, is a line I laugh at every time I hear it.

NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S AEW DARK REPORT: 5/25 AEW DARK TV REPORT: Brian Cage vs. Sonny Kiss, Julia Hart vs. Tesha Price, Janela vs. Bronson, more