Much like yesterday's Dynamite review, this may well be my last review of an episode of AEW Dark, and while that Dynamite show was quite good, my expectations aren't as high for the fourth weekly edition of Dark. The card is underwhelming on paper, especially in comparison to episodes 2 and 3 of Dark, which featured various members of The Elite in the main event, putting on pay-per-view quality outings working with the likes of Joey Janela, Private Party, and Strong Hearts. But even though the name value might not be as high, I am very intrigued at the prospect of the wacky pairing of Dustin Rhodes and Sonny Kiss, plus the trio of Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Jack Evans in the main event will almost certainly create a highlight or two, knowing how crazy those three guys can be.
- The October 29th, 2019 episode of AEW Dark comes to you from the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Excalibur and Jim Ross on the call. It's unfortunate that Taz was only given a one week trial at the desk, but he would eventually be signed to AEW full-time for commentary and managerial work, which was a terrific decision from Tony Khan in my opinion, I love Taz and he's a perfect fit for AEW's counter-culture vibe.
- Our opening contest is a thrown together tag match, pitting Dustin Rhodes and Sonny Kiss against Peter Avalon and the debuting QT Marshall. QT has a significant role on the AEW production team, and while his future is destined for more work outside of the ring than in it, he's a perfectly capable performer. QT, in one of his only offensive maneuvers in the match, delivers a crunching vertical suplex to Kiss, before later displaying some impressive athleticism, mirroring Kiss' handspring moonsault. Kiss spends a lot of time as the legal competitor in this one, and gets some good shine, playing the face in peril role competently. I liked the fire he showed while delivering mounted punches to Avalon, and the closing stretch where he took flight with a diving meteora off the apron to neutralize QT was a risky move to attempt, but seemed to go off without a hitch. Dustin, the only guy here with an important role in the product, is obviously going to go over, and that he does with a Final Reckoning to Avalon, after the latter accidentally knocked his fellow Librarian, Leva Bates, off the top rope. The ongoing tension between the Librarians has been given a regular role both on Dark and BTE, but clearly isn't connecting with the audience, as the crowd don't even pop for Leva shushing Avalon while he took cheap shots at Pittsburgh sports teams, which feels like as sure as sign as any that this act isn't working.
- Emi Sakura is perhaps the strongest character worker currently in the AEW women's division, with a lot of bubbly babyface charm and a few signature spots that get over well with virtually any live crowd. AEW could be doing a lot more with her, with they seem to realize, putting her over in fatal four-way against Penelope Ford, Allie, and Sadie Gibbs. On the whole, this match was a rough watch, as none of the four women has much chemistry with each other, and the action moves at a frustratingly slow pace. They do add in a couple crowd-popping spots, like Sakura doing a do-si-doe with referee Rick Knox, causing Ford to charge into Knox's arm, and Sakura applying a submission to both Allie and Gibbs, only to be put in an abdominal stretch by Ford was cool. I loved Ford being Irish whipped by Gibbs so forcefully that she dived out of the ring into a tope suicida, and Sakura's journey to deliver a triple shoulder charge in the corner hooked the crowd, with lots of stomping and clapping by Sakura to get them on her side. The match starts to get wearing after Sakura delivers a Vader Bomb to all three women, as they do a ton of busy work, running around the ring and exchanging moves, with the crowd starting to lose interest. Ford kicking out of a butterfly backbreaker by Sakura felt unnecessary, especially as Sakura immediately delivered a Tiger Driver moments later to win, exposing one of the fatal flaws of AEW booking, which is their elongated match length. Don't get me wrong, I prefer my wrestling shows to feature more wrestling than mic work, but you have to recognize the limitations of your performers, and adjust to fit what suits them best. These four women could've been served better by going 8 or 9 minutes instead of 12, and it's not like Tony Khan has a rigid time slot to stick to, Dark is a YouTube exclusive show.
- Before the final match, we do get some talking, with a brilliant little interview segment with Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who is interviewed by Cody as part of his running "Undesired to Undeniable" sit-down interview series on Dark. We get a rare glimpse behind the character of MJF, as brings up a past incident in his youth, where he earned the starting middle linebacker spot on his football team. Friedman earned the ire of several teammates for having the nerve to be a successful Jewish athlete, getting a roll of coins thrown at him, and he then relishes in informing us that his bully grew up to become a drug addict and a college dropout. Friedman finishes with his interpretation of what the term "undeniable" means; it's being the best and letting everyone know it. This segment was brilliant, effectively blending MJF's past and present, allowing us to be empathetic of the man behind the persona while also informing us of his darker side, which could play a huge role in the future when he inevitably ends up in a heated rivalry, you know he has a chip shot on his role and a desire to see his enemy be destroyed. The usage of actual footage of Friedman on a football field lends credence to this being entirely legitimate, though who know if the story of his bully is factual or not. I do know from my days both playing and following the sport that it likely wouldn't be very open to a scrawny Jewish kid, so I could absolutely believe this was real. Either way, it doesn't matter; Friedman sold this as well as anyone could, completely committing to a more sympathetic form of his character. I'm stunned at how likeable he came off after being such an arrogant prick in literally everything else I've seen him, he may well be the best talker in the business today.
- Main event time, as Darby Allin, Jack Evans, and Jimmy Havoc put their bodies on the line in a chaotic spotfest. No one is left out of the party to close out Dark, as all three men take turns diving off the stage and ramp, and over the barricade. Highlights include: a sequence where Darby Allin lands on his feet during a German suplex, proceeding to nail Havoc with a float-over stunner, and dive into a chair thrown by Havoc attempting a suicide dive; Evans hitting a double foot stomp to Havoc while Allin has the Brit up in an Argentine backbreaker; a Tiger Driver '98 that spikes Darby into a chair; a spot where Havoc's back is smacked onto the side of an upturned chair, which is then followed up by a 450 Splash from Evans; and the closing minutes, as Evans goes through a table positioned on the middle rope with a piledriver from Havoc, only for Darby to grab a chair, and drive it into Havoc with a Coffin Drop, allowing Darby to pin Evans for the win. There's really no intriguing psychology or character drama to speak of here, it's just three daredevils doing whatever it took to get a reaction out of the sleepy Pittsburgh crowd, and while they never got the folks in "The Pete" to a consistent loud noise level, there were a few decent pops. I definitely think AEW needs to move on from the pairing of Allin and Havoc as opponents, we've seen it enough by now.
7/10
Dark Average: 7.25
AEW Average: 7.25 (down from 7.27)
Yet again, Dark was more than worth the hour I took out of my day to watch it. All three matches had their moments, the main event especially, but the highlight of the night belongs to MJF, who overshadowed everyone else with relative ease. That man could sell snow to Eskimos.
I'm currently at a bit of a divide as to what to do next with my AEW reviews. On one hand, I could call it for now, hope for the Dynamite archive to be eventually put back up, and continue on at a later date. On the other hand, I will have access to live TV shortly, as football games will be on in my household, so I could be covering the newest offerings from AEW if I so pleased, although that would mean making a significant jump in the timeline. I've not yet decided what I want to do, but I'm likely far from finished with All Elite Wrestling, and I think that's cause for celebration. See you soon.
- Henry
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