Taz and Excalibur welcome us to yet another edition of AEW Superstars.
Singles – Sean Legacy (0-0) v. Will Hobbs (0-5)
It’s always exciting to see someone get their first win on AEW Dark. Well, it’s mildly exciting. Like finding a tooney on the ground, or fries in the bottom of the bag, or a tooney in the bottom of the bag, or fries on the ground.
This was a showcase for young Mr. Hobbs, who appears to be officially ascending from jobber status. Hobbs is young and green, but he has some charisma and he’s built like a garage on legs. There’s a lot of potential there.
Give me Hobbs vs Brodie Lee for the TNT Title, or give me a grim death via discus lariat.
Will Hobbs defeats Sean Legacy via pinfall w/the Oklahoma Stampede (running powerslam into turnbuckle, then onto mat) to move to 1-5 in AEW.
1* 20/100
Singles – Brian Cage (6-1) v. Toni Donati (0-2)
Nothing like a Brian Cage squash. This man was put on Planet Earth to toss jabronies around a wrestling ring for 1-4 minutes at a time.
Pretty average squash match, but if you showed me a Brian Cage squash every week, I wouldn’t complain. Brian Cage is awesome in 5-minute bursts.
Brian Cage wins via pinfall w/Weapon X (Gory Special Into Downward Spiral / Flatliner) to move to 7-1 in singles competition in AEW.
2.5* 50/100
Singles – Angelico (3-5) v. Griff Garrison (0-4)
Oh man, there’s no way Angelico’s record is even close to right. The Hybrid 2 (he and Jack Evans) lost approximately 120 matches in a row in the first year of AEW. We need detailed AEW records. I may have to do it myself.
Awesome little showcase for both wrestlers here. In all honestly it wasn’t much more than an average match, but it was a perfect example of what AEW Dark does well. Both of these wrestlers have been elevated by this match, and I, the viewer, now want to see more of them. After some nice offense by Griff, including a tasty torture rack into a powerbomb, Angelico steps it into third gear and wins with a spinning toe-hold style reverse figure-4 leglock, that he (apparently) calls the Cruceta Inverdidas. Whatever it was, it was awesome.
Angelico wins via submission w/the Cruceta Inverdidas (stepover reverse figure-4 leglock) to move to 4-5 in singles competition.
2.5* 50/100
Singles – Anna “99” Jay (2-4) v. Skyler Moore (0-4)
Winning zero, losing four, what’s her name, Skyler Moore! LETS GOOOOO. LETS GOOO>
… I apologize. This Wayne Gretzky reference in Anna Jay’s name has me feeling hockey feelings.
Fairly straightforward squash match, made more than the sum of its parts by Anna Jay’s charisma, which really does pop off the screen. Jay needs a push right away. She’s been an excellent edition to The Dark Order.
Lol, Excalibur called Anna’s submission the Kata-Anna-Jay (which is of course a play off of the Kata-Ha-Jime aka the Tazmission, Taz’ finisher). Delightful.
Anna Jay wins via submission w/the Rear Naked Choke (which will hopefully heretofore be referred to as the Kate-Anny-Jay) to move to 3-4 in AEW.
2* 40/100
Singles – Eddie Kingston (0-1) v. Lee Johnson (0-14)
Not a whole lot to it, but there’s an aura of violence to Eddie Kingston that nobody else on the AEW roster has. The intensity in Kingston matches makes up for his lack of athleticism, at least in my eyes. Not a lot of flippy do’s, but you’re going to get a “realistic”, hard hitting match from Eddie every time. He’s a welcome addition to the AEW team for that alone.
Eddie Kingston wins via pinfall w/the Spinning Backfist to move to 1-1 in singles comeptition in AEW.
1* 20/100
Singles – Serpentico (2-6) v. Sonny Kiss (9-12)
This match was greatly hurt by Taz on commentary, who went out of his way to call Serpentico a biter and a hack the entire time.
It’s part of the gimmick with a heel announcer to sometimes make fun of or criticize talent, but the chirping went too far in this case (also, Serpentico is the heel in this match. Tazz should theoretically be on his side, no?). This felt too real almost, and regardless of whether it was Tazz’ true feelings or not, him repeatedly pointing out that Serpentico was a shithead actively detracted from the match.
Sonny Kiss defeats a no good biter clown hack idiot shithead schumckbag in Serpentico, and wins a match that could have been better with real commentary. Taz is great at his job, I really like his work and think he was very good on this show (other than this match), but I felt like he straight up ruined this one.
Sonny Kiss wins w/the Sonny-Go-Round (Front flip into seated senton) to move to 9-12 in AEW.
1* 20/100
Singles – Ben Carter (0-0) v. “Absolute” Ricky Starks (6-1)
This was great for what it was! In direct contrast to the previous match, this match was treated seriously by both the commentary and the wrestlers. Through both the words you heard and the things you saw on the screen, you had no other conclusion to draw but that these are two strong prospects and future stars.
I really appreciated the little nuances both guys have on offense. They are both able to throw their own twist on basic moves, making those moves their own. A good example of this would be Ricky Starks’ back suplex, where he quickly lifts the opponent up and snaps them back down, going for speed and impact rather than slow, exaggerated elevation, like almost every other person who has ever done that move.
Not sure why Ricky Starks named his finisher after the kick-you-in-the-nuts game from Season 1 of South Park, but hey here we are. Great match, although brief. I wish we had 15 more minutes of it. Leave them wanting more. This is what AEW Wrestling Challenge is all about.
Ricky Starks wins w/the Ro Sham Bo (Running Sit-out Dominator) to move to 7-1 in singles competition in AEW
3* 60/100
7/10 overall good Dark, would Dark again
