AEW Dark recap & reactions (Jan. 21, 2020): Jurassic Express on a roll

Episode 16 of AEW Dark from Miami, FL featured Big Swole in singles action against Diamante and Jurassic Express in trios action taking on Stronghearts.

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

• Diamante vs Big Swole (okay)
• Stronghearts vs Jurassic Express (solid)

This was a simple episode. Two matches and no fluff. The trios main event had a couple of very cool teamwork moves. If you are interested in any of the participants, you won’t be disappointed watching their respective bout. That doesn’t count Diamante, since I’ve never seen her before. I have no clue if she lived up to expectations. If you aren’t interested in the participants, then you won’t be missing anything if you skip the episode.

Watch the show here.

Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez welcomed us to the show from poolside. Excalibur and Taz handled commentary duties.

Diamante vs Big Swole

Diamante was making her AEW debut. Both ladies worked tough. Top moves were a German suplex by Diamante and a chain from Big Swole starting with a swinging sitdown slam, a knee strike to the jaw, then a big lariat. For the finish, both participants dodged strikes until Swole landed a headbutt.

Swole followed up with a Dirty Dancing ripcord forearm blow to win.

Stronghearts vs Jurassic Express

This bout was trios action. CIMA, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman represented Stronghearts. Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy, and Marko Stunt represented Jurassic Express. Top sequence early was back-to-back suicide dives from Jungle Boy then Luchasaurus gorilla pressing Stunt onto the bodies below.

Once the match settled down, Stronghearts worked over Stunt culminating with a three-man power pendulum.

Luchasaurus got the hot tag and spots started flying for everyone. In the end, Jurassic Express was victorious via teamwork maneuver. Luchasaurus tossed Lindaman over his head into a powerbomb from Jungle Boy.

There’s not much to say in terms of reaction. Everyone worked hard and provided enjoyable viewing. This was my first time seeing Diamante. She didn’t wow me, but she would definitely be a quality fit in AEW. Diamante is much more fluid than half the women’s division.

It’s nice to see Big Swole and Jurassic Express pick up some wins after lousy records for 2019. I wouldn’t mind either getting fast-tracked for title shots on TV. I don’t think they are at a level to convincingly compete on PPV, but a marquee TV match would be entertaining.

Who stood out most for episode 16 of AEW Dark? Which match was your favorite?