AEW has already established themselves as a hub of tag team wrestling, filled to the brim with dynamic duos that are given a proper spotlight to distinguish each team and attempt to create an entire catalog of incredible matches. Tonight on Dark, that business model is taken to the next level with a card entirely comprised of tag team bouts, which features three of the best AEW has to offer (The Young Bucks, Best Friends, and Private Party) in addition to one of the only established female alliances in the company, as Riho and Britt Baker team up for the second time. If you love tag team wrestling, then this is the hour for you.
- The November 19th, 2019 episode of AEW Dark comes to you from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, with Excalibur joined by "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes on commentary. Dustin is wearing a cast to sell the arm injury he sustained in the Jake Hager limo door attack, and while his personality and distinct voice stood out, I felt he struggled to keep up with Excalibur's flow (admittedly, a daunting task) and didn't offer much insight into the action.
- Our opening contest sees Private Party square off with Best Friends, with Dark airing a day before Marq Quen and Isaiah Kassidy were booked for Dynamite to face Proud n' Powerful. You'd think that would mean Quen and Kassidy would be positioned as top-tier talent in this one, but if so, you'd be far off base, as Chuck Taylor and Trent slice through the youngsters. Best Friends are a step ahead the entire way, cutting off a streak of forearms by Kassidy with a Sole Food/half-and-half suplex combo, and later preventing Gin and Juice from connecting. Quen gets hung up in the corner, and Chuck powerbombs Kassidy into Quen, allowing Best Friends to revel in their eminent victory with their trademark hug, and sure enough, Strong Zero then connects to end it. This was all around a highly impressive win from Best Friends, who also had the two offensive highlights of the match, with the double suplex to the floor on Kassidy, and the Doomsday superplex that woke up the crowd. It makes very little sense to have Chuck and Trent look this unstoppable, and for Private Party to seem like total pushovers, but it is what it is. As always with a Best Friends match, the biggest pops were for the antics of Orange Cassidy, who accidentally posed with the wrong team, and totally failed to stop Quen from diving onto Trent.
- Big Swole has a new partner this week, for some reason, as Kris Statlander makes her AEW debut to assist Swole in battling Britt Baker and Riho, though this was a tag match in name only, as neither duo showed much chemistry. Statlander and Riho proved, far and away, to be the most polished workers of the bunch, as Statlander's crisp power arsenal and Riho's crumple selling kept the match interesting. I loved Statlander breaking out the Oklahoma Roll, it's a rarely used pinning maneuver that never fails to get a reaction, and Riho charging into backbreakers and strikes put over the danger of Statlander and Swole. Swole and Baker were extremely awkward whenever they attempted to wrestle each other, but did at least have one fun spot when Baker leaped over a leg sweep and got caught with a Swole headbutt. Baker, no matter how inelegant she remains in the ring, continues to receive outstanding booking, going over yet again by submitting Statlander with the Lockjaw after a miscommunication between Statlander and Swole allowed the dentist to strike.
- Cody Rhodes' "From Undesirable to Undeniable" interview series features Justin Roberts this week, which seems like a waste of this spot, as there are still so many wrestlers on the roster that could use this mic time, as opposed to a ring announcer, but it's clear that AEW loves Roberts and wants to make him a part of the show. In fairness, he does have a deep repertoire of unique vocal inflections and projects well, but none of that translates to being an interesting personality, or having a backstory that desperately needs to be highlighted. These few minutes were very bland.
- Main event time, as El Lindaman and T-Hawk, representing Strong Hearts, square off with The Young Bucks, who are fresh off being destroyed by Ortiz and Santana in the Dynamite that was taped beforehand. Lindaman and T-Hawk push Matt and Nick back towards their puroresu roots, with T-Hawk in particular upping the intensity with heavy chops and insane speed through his transitions into moves. Lindaman brought more of a catch wrestling flavor with his array of suplexes, then shocks everyone in attendance with a wild Tope con Hilo. Matt and Nick do close this short main event on top, taking control with their dazzling high-flying and spamming of superkicks, putting Lindaman away with the Meltzer Driver, but even though the win was never in doubt, Lindaman and T-Hawk gave it their best shot, and definitely saw their stock elevated as a result.
7/10
I really wish the main event had been given more time, that likely would've pushed this episode of Dark to being the best yet in my eyes, but it was still an easy watch and worth recommending if only to see T-Hawk and El Lindaman shine.
UPDATE: Forgot to take a look at the latest rankings. Here they are now.
(Last week's rankings here. This week's rankings here.)
On the men's side, PAC moves to the top after his win over Hangman, which feels deserved, although the 50/50 booking of their feud means that neither feels like a strong contender right now. Jon Moxley should definitely be above Page and possibly Cody as well, no one in AEW has been able to halt his momentum, and even though the Lights Out match with Omega doesn't count towards either man's official record, the loss knocked Omega out of the top five, so it should've elevated Mox more. Rounding out the five is Darby Allin, and I'm extremely curious to see how the booking team handles his match with Mox considering how strongly both men have been booked.
The women's division is still a mess in the rankings, as only Baker is portrayed as a legitimate challenger right now, and she's already lost in a previous challenge against Riho. Shida moves up despite not competing at all this week, though there is some logic there as Sakura lost to Riho at Full Gear. It's going to be interesting to see how committed AEW is to feeding Nyla Rose wins, as her record remains unimpressive, but will likely look very different in the future as she begins a monster push.
SCU's reign of dominance is felt heavy in the tag team rankings, as they handed off losses to the Lucha Bros, who surprisingly didn't move from their perch at the top, and Private Party, who fell off the list entirely after failing to take the gold at Full Gear and getting defeated soundly here on Dark. Best Friends and Dark Order continue to hold down the bottom two spots, the Young Bucks remain in the middle of the pack, and the big news here is the appearance of Santana and Ortiz, who are quickly gaining steam with a featured role on Dynamite. AEW has given that duo a distinct, threatening presence, and it's great to see that reflected in their official record.
- Henry
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