AEW Dark recap & reactions (Mar. 10, 2020): Hikaru Shida slayed a ghoul

Episode 24 of AEW Dark from Denver, CO featured Hikaru Shida fighting a ghoul, energetic tag team action, and a surprise appearance from Death Triangle.

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

• Kip Sabian & Peter Avalon vs Jurassic Express (okay)
• Severino Corrente vs Jimmy Havoc (pass)
• Abadon vs Hikaru Shida (watch)
• Sonny Kiss & Brandon Cutler vs Private Party (okay)

The two tag matches had good action with plenty of athletic spots. Jimmy Havoc’s match was a showcase for his skills. I’m saying Abadon vs Hikaru Shida is worth watching not because it was great wrestling, but more in the manner of what the heck did I just watch with Abadon’s character. She was truly ghoulie.

Watch the show here.

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Excalibur and Taz welcomed us to the show and handled commentary. Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzalez appeared later from the control center.

Kip Sabian & Peter Avalon vs Jurassic Express

Penelope Ford and Leva Bates were ringside for their men. Jurassic Express was represented by Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy. Marko Stunt was ringside.

The top highlight was Jungle Boy with an inside out senton to Sabian then a springboard corkscrew to Avalon.

In a side story, Ford would cheat to help Sabian, while Bates disapproved of those tactics. The ladies ended up shoving each other. Perhaps they’ll have a future singles match.

For the finish, Luchasaurus knocked Sabian off the apron with a Tail Whip kick. Jurassic Express then executed Avalon with a teamwork stunner. Jungle Boy got the pin to win.

Severino Corrente vs Jimmy Havoc

Severino Corrente made his AEW debut. It took a little while for Jimmy Havoc to find success, but he eventually steamrolled Corrente with a flurry of moves. It started with en eye poke then a suplex driver, an elevated DDT, a rolling DVD, a running forearm blast, and finished with the Acid Rainmaker for victory.

After the match, Luther ran down to attack Havoc. Luther laid Havoc out with a DDT on the entrance ramp.

Abadon vs Hikaru Shida

This was Abadon’s AEW debut. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you go. A ghoul for you.

AEW

Abadon was billed from the Black Hills. Her weight is 1,000 lost souls. Hikaru Shida was visually disturbed at the sight of her opponent. I can’t say I blame her.

Shida was a little unsure of how to take on this challenge. Once Abadon licked Shida’s face, Shida put it into high gear. The finish came after a vertical suplex from Shida. Shida ran the ropes, but Adabon screamed. That halted Shida temporarily. Shida shook off the shock then went forth with a knee to the face to win.

Dasha Gonzalez asked Jimmy Havoc for an injury update. He laughed it off as always being sore. Havoc thanked Luther for doing exactly what he wanted. Luther ran in from the side to attack again.

The Librarians were discussing the book of the month, Written in the Stars, when they came upon Colt Cabana. Avalon mocked Cabana for listening to podcasts instead of reading. They bickered then a challenge was accepted by Bates for a match between the two men. Avalon stormed off. Bates came back to tell Cabana that she loves his podcast.

Sonny Kiss & Brandon Cutler vs Private Party

This bout went about 12 minutes. Brandon Cutler and Sonny Kiss actually looked like the better team for much of the match. Cutler picked up with momentum from his tag match against Private Party in episode 22.

Cutler and Kiss almost won when Cutler hit Total Party Kill on both members of Private Party.

The problem was that Kiss was the legal man. Time was wasted when he had to get back in the ring for the cover. A kick out followed and the match carried on.

For the finish, Isiah Kassidy blocked Kiss’ leg drop. Marq Quen hit Kiss with an enziguri. Gin and Juice came next as Quen pinned Kiss to win.

After the match, Death Triangle attacked Private Party. They also beat down Cutler and Kiss when those two tried to help Private Party. PAC grabbed a mic to say AEW will get exactly what it asks for if they continue to disrespect athletes of their caliber. It will be anarchy. No one is safe.

Joey Janela ran down for the save. The numbers game got him, and Fenix blasted him with a running dropkick to the mush. The Best Friends came out next to chase off PAC and the Lucha Bros. Orange Cassidy was last to enter. Death Triangle exited through the crowd.

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After watching this episode, all I can think about is Abadon. That ghoul was so weird, in a good way. I love how Hikaru Shida sold the shock of the moment with such a strange opponent. I don’t know what kind of future Abadon has in AEW, but I’ll consider it a treat anytime she appears on Dark.

This episode also did a good job of building toward future matches. I’m curious to see if the concept of Dark will now shift in that vein rather than having random contests. Encounters were presented to set up Colt Cabana vs Peter Avalon, Penelope Ford vs Leva Bates, Jimmy Havoc vs Luther, and a tease for Dynamite as Death Triangle will wrestle Private Party and Joey Janela.

Last note is a shout out to Taz for his rudimentary telestrator skills.

AEW

I don’t know if it was supposed to be a joke, but it made me laugh. Seriously though, I’m all for the usage of a telestrator in AEW. It adds more to the sport personality of the promotion.

Who stood out most for episode 24 of AEW Dark? Which match was the best?

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