The release schedule of Dark gets it's first alteration this week, as with Full Gear upcoming, Dark went out on Friday, instead of Tuesday, so that it could premiere on YouTube before the pay-per-view. In addition to releasing Dark, this Friday also saw the debut of AEW's new rankings system, part of their effort to place more importance on the results of matches and give the company a sports-esque presentation. We'll take a look at the Top 5 for men, women, and tag teams later on, but first, we head to the ring for a show featuring two women's matches and a championship appearance.
- The November 8th, 2019, episode of AEW Dark comes to you from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the first taped before this week's Dynamite, and the latter two after the final bell. Excalibur and Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez are behind the desk for this one, to be joined by two guest commentators at separate points throughout this hour.
- Our opening contest is yet another showcase of the talents of Hikaru Shida, as she gets a highly entertaining match out of Big Swole. Shida is on point with her array of knee strikes in this match, rocking Swole from every angle, and getting the crowd on their feet with her leap off a seated chair. The crowd goes into dueling chants as Shida applies a half Boston Crab, which had to give both women a gigantic boost of confidence, and both pick up the pace after hearing that outpouring of support. Swole rocks Shida with a headbutt and rolling Flatliner, before picking up a near fall on a dramatic sequence that saw Shida fight out of a guillotine, attempting to deliver a big vertical suplex before Swole counters neatly into an inside cradle. From there, Shida takes it home, lighting up Swole with a knee to the temple, before sending the powerlifter flying with a running Busaiku Knee that finishes the job off. This really had no right to be as good as it was, but in front of a sympathetic and energized crowd, Shida brought the best out of Swole, and demonstrated how ready she was for a major push. It's worth noting, if only for posterity, that Arn Anderson was the third commentator for this contest, entering to an ear-popping ovation, though he didn't have much insight to offer. I have a feeling he was only here for that tremendous pop, but I don't know why AEW saved that for Dark, surely he could've fit in somewhere on Dynamite.
- Chuck Taylor takes Arn's spot for the final two matches, which was an improvement as he's definitely more of a chatterbox, although he ended up being rather bland.
- The second contest of the night is a complete departure from the first, as this entertaining see-saw battle is followed up a pure demolition derby, as Nyla Rose runs through Shazza McKenzie and Shalandra Royal. Rose is technically teaming with Leva Bates, although Rose never needs to tag out, as McKenzie and Royal are dead meat almost immediately. The pair take a double suplex and a double chokeslam, and Rose hilariously rejects the chance to tag by tossing Royal into Bates on the apron. McKenzie and Royal are just attempting to survive at this point, but they aren't getting away, as Shazza is dragged by the waist in for a devastating release German suplex, before Royal is forced back in, as Rose slaps her with McKenzie's limp hand. McKenzie shows an inkling of life, saving Royal from being pinned by the Death Valley Driver, but that only results in more devastation, as both women are planted with a double Samoan Drop, before Rose nimbly leaps to the top rope to take flight with a somersault senton bomb that mercifully ends it. Rose's monster aura was certainly re-invigorated here, and with her awesome half-skull mask entrance attire, and this kind of booking, the sky is the limit for her AEW prospects moving forward. Bates going wild to celebrate her "win" was cheesy fun, and Rose's post-match interview gave a solid justification of her actions, as she felt disrespected by management for not acknowledging her dominant display in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out.
- Main event time, as CIMA continues his association with SCU, teaming up with the champs, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky, to battle Kip Sabian and The Hybrid2. I loved Excalibur digging into the shared history between CIMA and Angelico, who were both trained by the legendary Ultimo Dragon, and honestly, I would've been down to see this as a singles match instead, Excalibur totally sold me on seeing the distinct differences that both pupils would bring to the ring. The actual match was far less interesting, with a long, dull build towards a hot tag, as the three heels work over Sky. CIMA does get a great run going after Sky tags him, bringing that high-impact strong style to the proceedings, and Evans is always fun to watch, landing his assisted stomp and 450 Splash, before being launched into the atmosphere by CIMA's avalanche German. Kaz takes flight to nail Sabian with a huge springboard dropkick, and the Brit takes the fall after a SCU Later and CIMA's big diving meteora. This wasn't terrible, but all six guys are capable of much better.
7/10
Both women's matches over-delivered, with Shida and Rose as the clear standouts of the night, which was great to see. A major appeal of watching Dark is seeing younger or less established workers find their footing and grow as performers, and the women's division, needing that extra development, has sort of taken over the show as a result, which helps it gain a unique identity from Dynamite.
With the review out of the way, let's take a look at those rankings:
(all photos courtesy of All Elite Wrestling)
Wow, that took a lot of formatting to get right, I hope it looks right for you. Anyway, here are the rankings, which are reflective of this episode of Dark, although that only alters Shida's record, since SCU weren't in a straight tag match, while Nyla Rose wasn't in singles competition. There's not much to talk about here yet, everyone has been sorted out by record, although it does allow you to see how random Sakura's title shot is, given she only has one singles win, which came on Dark #4. These should be more interesting in the future, when we get a better picture on how they evolve throughout AEW's lifetime. See you soon.
- Henry
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