AEW Dark recap (Sep. 15, 2020): Brandi Rhodes steals Anna Jay’s finisher

Episode 52 of AEW Dark featured Brandi Rhodes sending a message to Anna Jay, Brian Cage being hit with a hot dog running elbow drop, and the Dark Order making moves in the main event.

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

• Red Velvet vs Brandi Rhodes (okay)
• Butcher & Blade vs Daniel Garcia & Kevin Blackwood (okay)
• Penelope Ford vs Dani Jordyn (okay)
• Brian Cage vs Megabyte Ronnie (okay)
• Santana & Ortiz vs Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr. (okay)
• Jessy Sorensen vs Will Hobbs (okay)
• Skyler Moore & Rache Chanel vs Diamante & Ivelisse (okay)
• Colt Cabana vs QT Marshall (okay)
• Brandon Cutler vs Peter Avalon (solid)
• Maxx Stardom & Dontae Smiley vs Best Friends (okay)
• Dark Order vs Private Party, Billy Gunn, & Austin Gunn (solid)

Cutler versus Avalon was the standout bout by far. The rest were entertaining but nothing memorable. If you like the star, then you should enjoy the match. Story points relevant to Dynamite were Anna Jay observing Brandi and the Dark Order assisting Cabana.

Watch the show here.

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Excalibur teamed with Taz and Veda Scott to call the action. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer. Ricky Starks joined commentary for Brian Cage’s match and remained for half the broadcast.

Red Velvet vs Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes and Lil Bran Bran were ringside. Brandi started off patronizing Red Velvet.

Velvet took it to Brandi to make her take the match seriously. Brandi responded by exploding with a pump kick. Brandi was in control when Ann Jay sauntered out onto the stage. Velvet used that distraction for a DDT. Brandi was able to overcome with a spear and a rear naked choke to send a message.

AEW Dark

Jay was not impressed with Brandi’s performance.

Butcher & Blade vs Daniel Garcia & Kevin Blackwood

Eddie Kingston was ringside. After an opening flurry from the underdogs, the meat men took over to tenderize their opponents. For the finish, Butcher suplexed Garcia onto Blade’s knees to win.

Penelope Ford vs Dani Jordyn

Kip Sabian was ringside wearing a crop top and flipping through Jordyn’s burn book. He found a page on his fiancee. Ford ripped it up and shoved it in Jorydn’s mouth. Referee Aubrey Edwards prevented Ford from smacking Jordyn with the book. Jordyn used that moment for a little bit of offense, but Ford seized control after a backward bend to duck a clothesline. A stunner, bulldog into the turnbuckles, shotgun dropkick, and fisherman’s suplex won the bout for Ford.

Ford may have injured her lower back on the dropkick. There was no reason to sell that pain in the story of the bout, so that leads me to believe the discomfort was real.

Brian Cage vs Megabyte Ronnie

Ronnie is ranked 18th in the world for competitive eating. Cage dominated until Ronnie surprised him with a sitdown spinebuster. Ronnie then took out a hot dog from his fanny pack and took a bite during a running elbow drop.

Cage came back with kicks and a Drill Claw for victory.

Santana & Ortiz vs Griff Garrison & Brian Pillman Jr.

Men vs boys. Santana and Ortiz were on another level. Ortiz pinned Pillman after their powerbomb kick combo.

Jessy Sorensen vs Will Hobbs

Squash. Hobbs won with a spinebuster and an Oklahoma Stampede powerslam. That makes two wins in a row for Hobbs.

Skyler Moore & Rache Chanel vs Diamante & Ivelisse

The Deadly Draw tournament winners handled their business. Moore had momentum then Ivelisse sent her ramming into Chanel. Diamante hit a backstabber and Ivelisse did a snapmare rollover kick to pin Moore.

Colt Cabana vs QT Marshall

Allie was ringside. Evil Uno coached Cabana as the rest of the Dark Order watched from the stage. Stu Grayson was angry at Colt’s lack of aggression. QT was the better man on this evening, but the Dark Order did their best to serve up a win for Colt. 5 and 10 caused a distraction as Marshall was on the turnbuckles. Later, Uno stepped onto the apron for a consultation session as the referee admonished his presence. That allowed Grayson to run around the side for a big knee to QT.

Uno instructed Colt to strike with a discus clothesline for the win.

Brandon Cutler vs Peter Avalon

Leva Bates was ringside. The Young Bucks were watching front row. These two brought the intensity. It was an evenly contested affair with each man hitting similar moves. Avalon tried to cheat with a very large book, but Bates snatched the foreign object away. Cutler attacked with a driving reverse DDT. Kick out. Avalon came back with a tiger driver. Kick out. The battle raged on with flashy maneuvers and close pinfalls.

The two were fighting on the turnbuckles then crashed down to the floor. They prevented each other from getting back in the ring, and the result was a double count-out. The segment closed with both men brushing off Bates’ pleas and leaving her alone near tears.

Maxx Stardom & Dontae Smiley vs Best Friends

Stardom wrestled as Ricky Martinez in MLW. Best Friends dominated. They crushed Smiley with a Soul Food/half and half suplex combo, then two piledrivers to win. The increased ferocity from Trent and Chuck Taylor was put over as preparation for their parking lot fight against Santana & Ortiz on Dynamite.

Dark Order vs Private Party, Billy Gunn, & Austin Gunn

Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver represented the Dark Order. Billy’s other son, Colten, was ringside. The bout had a hectic pace with so many combatants. The Dark Order worked better as a team by cutting off the ring. Billy ran wild with the hot tag treatment. The fight then broke down into a bunch of big moves. For the finish, Uno and Grayson hit Fatality on Austin to win.

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Double count-out? Double count-out! AEW is giving the people what they want with this feud between Peter Avalon and Brandon Cutler. I’m really crossing my fingers that this ends in a 60-minute Iron Man match. Their brief contest on this show was a splendid sprint of moves. I’m looking forward to the rematch. Hopefully, Leva Bates doesn’t put the kibosh on that. She’s a pleasant person, but I’m not interesting in seeing her become the focal point. I’d rather see the riddle be solved for who will be the losingest loser in all of AEW.

Nice job by Brandi Rhodes to steal Anna Jay’s rear naked choke. It shows Brandi’s bravado and not being scared of the Dark Order’s queen slayer. This feud has a nice mix of attitude for the fans. Brandi’s pack will love her getting revenge. On the flip side, Brandi’s haters will have tremendous satisfaction at seeing her be choked out by Jay.

Brian Cage’s spinning kicks were awesome. Will Hobbs continues to look good by making quick work of his opponent. Megabyte Ronnie was the most interesting of the enhancement talent. Part of these newcomers coming to Dark is getting a paycheck. The other part is increased exposure to help build hype for their indie dates. Ronnie is a perfect example of that with his food gimmick. If I see his name on a poster, it would be a positive tipping point to attend just to see what he does.

Share your thoughts on Dark. Who stood out most for episode 52?

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