AEW Dark recap & reactions (Dec. 17, 2019): Kris Statlander will be your leader

Episode 11 of AEW Dark from Garland, Texas featured SCU crashing Private Party, Britt Baker and Kris Statlander in separate singles bouts before their #1 contender showdown on Dynamite, Orange Cassidy in trios action, and the return of Vickie Guerrero.

Here’s the lineup with ratings (watch, solid, pass) on which matches are worth your time:

• Private Party vs SCU (solid)
• Machiko vs Britt Baker (pass, squash)
• Bea Priestley vs Kris Statlander (watch)
• Hybrid 2 & PAC vs Best Friends & Orange Cassidy (solid)

There were three good matches. The one for you depends on what you seek. Private Party had the flippy stuff. Priestley vs Statlander was hard hitting. Orange Cassidy actually performed in the ring. Watch the show here.

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Excuse me!

Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez welcomed us from the control center. To the ring we go. Excalibur announced a special surprise as guest commentator. “Excuse me! I SAID EXCUSE ME!!!”

Vickie Guerrero was in the house. Joey Janela joined for the final three bouts.

Private Party vs SCU

This was a non-title bout for Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky. Vickie was flattered by Private Party’s cougar print on their gear. Top move was a teamwork monkey flip by SCU to send Kaz into the air to deliver a double clothesline. In the end, SCU foiled Private Party’s Silly String finisher. Sky pulled Isiah Kassidy down to the floor for a big kick. Kaz used the ropes to launch Marq Quen into the air for a cutter.

SCU used their SCU Later finisher to win as Sky pinned Quen.

Machiko vs Britt Baker

Machiko was making her AEW debut. She hails from Tulsa, OK. She had colorful hair and wore a leather jacket and a small black cowboy hat. This match was fairly quick. Britt Baker finished it off with a superkick, Russian leg sweep, then Lock Jaw submission.

Bea Priestley vs Kris Statlander

Janela revealed that Kris Statlander had a gymnastics background and is a former stuntwoman. Either he ruined her alien story or Statlander has been on this planet much longer than I thought.

This bout was quite physical with a variety of suplexes and a sweet suicide dive from Statlander.

It was very competitive with neither lady having the upper hand for long. In the end, Statlander was too much to handle as she used a Big Bang Theory piledriver to win.

A side story took place in the crowd. The Nightmare Collective sat front and center bringing signs to persuade Statlander to join their crew.

They left after Statlander’s win. There was no interaction between them.

Statlander cut a promo from a cargo elevator. “Did you hear the news, puny human? Did you hear? Kris Statlander is going to be your leader. Because last week, I just beat Shida. This week, I just beat Bea. Nyla Rose is off of my radar, which means Britt Baker is next. The galaxy’s greatest is getting that rocket strapped to her back. Do you feel that gravitational pull? It’s that title coming into orbit around my waist. Next week, it’s going to be you and me, Britt, and I will be your leader.”

Hybrid 2 & PAC vs Best Friends & Orange Cassidy

Everyone did their thing, but this match was all about the hot tag to Orange Cassidy. He made Angelico look the fool with a dropkick. Then, Cassidy did his kick routine to PAC, dodged a pump kick, and hit a whirling DDT.

Cassidy followed up with a suicide dive.

Cassidy also hit a lazy leaping hands-in-pockets elbow drop.

For the finish, PAC hit a nasty German suplex to Chuckie T. He then applied the Brutalizer submission to a standing Taylor. Taylor crumbled to the mat to submit.

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Solid wrestling action all around for this episode. All the winners made sense. SCU showed they are focused for the tag title defense against the Young Bucks on Dynamite. Britt Baker actually looked impressive in her squash match. I was super excited for Jack Evans and Angelico to finally be part of victory.

Kris Statlander versus Bea Priestley was my favorite bout of the bunch. The physicality looked very believable. I have mixed feelings about Statlander’s alien persona. I really want to like it, but her promo was kind of soft. It also felt slightly heelish in material but not delivery. She’s going to be my leader? I don’t want a leader. Maybe that’s just me.

It was nice to hear Vickie Guerrero again. Her, “Excuse me,” routine always cracks a smile from me. She was more her normal self when doing commentary.

I was going to say Joey Janela kind of stinks, but he turned it around for the main event. For his first two matches, he was monotone with a stuffed nose voice. Janela’s personality picked up for the final match. He revealed that he was going slow to avoid being kicked off the show. Janela began cracking jokes and having more fun. He referenced garbage wrestling, Invisible Stan, and also took a jab at Jim Cornette by referencing the joke that ended his role with NWA.

This episode cracked the hour mark by an extra five minutes, since there were four matches. AEW posted the control center recaps in a separate video (here). I wasn’t a fan of those segments on Dark, so I appreciate that consideration for my time. Thanks, AEW.

Who stood out most for episode 11 of AEW Dark? Which match did you enjoy most?

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