Thus far, AEW has been really good at giving the audience a reason to watch Dark every week, starting with an All Out rematch between SoCal Uncensored and the Jurassic Express in Episode 1, then you had the chaotic Lights Out match last week, and now for the third episode, a star-studded eight man tag, as the Young Bucks team up with Cody and Dustin Rhodes to take on Private Party, CIMA, and T-Hawk, the latter two representing Strong Hearts. Cody, Dustin, Matt and Nick are of course four of the founders and biggest names of All Elite Wrestling, so booking them in the main event can make up for an otherwise lackluster card, plus there's the appeal of seeing the Young Bucks and Private Party face off again after their show-stealer in Boston.
- The October 22nd, 2019 episode of Dark comes to you from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and AEW has taken some further steps to differentiate their two shows. Last week, Dark got the addition of a different lighting set-up and altered graphics in the arena, and now this week, it gets it's own commentary team, as Taz joins Excalibur in the booth, replacing Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. This was just intended to be a guest role for the "Human Suplex Machine", but positive reception towards him eventually secured Taz a full-time AEW contract. He and Excalibur are a terrific team, offering plenty of insight on the action and the characters, and they easily banter with each other, you can tell both guys enjoy working together. Why they weren't the permanent team on Dynamite is beyond me, it would be a massive step-up in presentation.
- Our opening contest sees Joey Janela continue to establish himself as one of the standout competitors on Dark, following his classic with Kenny Omega from last week by beating Brandon Cutler this week. Joey is as entertaining as ever, with a super fun spot where he runs around the ring to leap off the stairs and attack Cutler, the only real memorable moment in this match. Both men don't do much outside of that, as Cutler controls much of the match in dull fashion, wearing down Janela before falling to an avalanche brainbuster.
- Women's action up next, as Nyla Rose picks up her first pinfall victory in AEW, bulldozing through Leva Bates. I do really enjoy Peter Avalon's pre-match promos, where he works for the cheapest of heat, mentioning the US moving the nation's capital out of Philly, Bryce Harper's failure of a first year with the Phillies, and getting the sickest burn by saying he wasn't bothered by the crowd being defensive, just like the Viking weren't scared of the Eagles' defense (Minnesota had battered Philly, 38-20, a couple days prior to this taping). The match that follows had no chance to follow that up, and never got remotely close, mainly thanks to Leva. Her offense just looks terrible, with glancing strikes and a low-impact DDT. Leva does at least bump well enough, taking a powerslam and Death Valley Driver from Rose, forcing Avalon to interject to save his fellow librarian. Nyla, sick of this nonsense, press slams Bates onto Avalon, that was cool, and finishes it off with a sit-out powerbomb, called the Beast Bomb.
- We get a couple promos featuring fallout from last week's Dynamite, as Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian share their devastation over the vicious attack on Christopher Daniels, and PAC swears revenge on Jox Moxley for Mox's betrayal during their tag match. I really enjoyed the latter promo, brief as it was, as the sight of a blood-drenched PAC yelling angrily at the camera really sold me at seeing that match, though I was totally down for it already.
- Main event time, as Cody, Dustin Rhodes, and the Young Bucks go over Private Party, CIMA, and T-Hawk. Before the match starts, I have a couple notes on entrances. I really enjoyed the interactions with the latter team, as the two members of Strong Hearts are held by a bouncer, who is guarding a rope barrier near the ramp that Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen enter through, and they have to give permission to the guy so that CIMA and T-Hawk can proceed. Cody's entrance is super elaborate, given this is technically a dark match, rising up on a podium with Brandi and even getting his full pyro. I know there's been a lot of complaints over Cody's self-indulgent nature in AEW, which I haven't really seen much of thus far, but this seemed a little unnecessary. As for the actual match, it was a fun collection of spots, with the four faces putting on a show to get the most out of a tiring crowd. The Jackson boys each get a moment to run wild, with Matt taking Kassidy for a ride with the Locomotion Northern Lights suplexes, and Nick flattening all the members of the opposing teams with running kicks, finishing off with a spingboard facebuster and moonsault off the apron. Dustin gets a moment to shine as well, hitting Quen, CIMA, and T-Hawk with snap powerslams, before getting blown up before he can perform a fourth. Kassidy hilariously waits for Dustin to catch his breath, good sportsmanship is always appreciated, before receiving his powerslam. Private Party and the Young Bucks trade dives, Quen and Kassidy taking flight for double tope con hilos, and Matt nailing a double dropkick before Nick takes Quen, Kassidy, T-Hawk, and CIMA down with a twisting splash. Brandi gets a pop for leaping onto Quen and T-Hawk, and MJF, in Cody's corner for this one, gestures that he also wants a dive before just running the ropes and flipping off the fans, brilliant. Everyone then cycles through finishers, as Cody delivers a Cross Rhodes, T-Hawk hits Cody with a lift-up into a knee, and CIMA gets a backstabber. Private Party gets bludgeoned with countless superkicks, and they, CIMA, and T-Hawk all receive Shattered Dreams, now renamed the Unnatural Kick. Dustin then finishes T-Hawk off with the Curtain Call, referred to as the Final Reckoning, getting his first win in AEW. This was a really exciting, action-packed main event, largely dominated by the winning quartet, although Private Party and Strong Hearts got enough offense in to make it competitive, their best moment coming during a sequence where a Gin and Juice was followed up by a diving meteora from CIMA and capped off with Quen's Shooting Star Press.
7/10
Just like last week, Dark was carried on the strength of it's main event, and while the eight man tag wasn't at the caliber of the Lights Out match, it was still wildly entertaining. Everything else on the show ranged from dull to awful, so it wasn't the finest hour of wrestling I've ever seen or anything, but it ended on a high note.
- Henry
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