AEW Dark Elevation recap (Oct. 11, 2021): Ruby, don’t take your love to town (or Emi)

Episode 32 of AEW Dark: Elevation is in the books! If you missed the live broadcast click here for the Cageside Seats stream. Let’s go over what went down on Elevation this week. The announce team was Paul Wight, Eddie Kingston and Tony Schiavone — except Schiavone was absent for the first match covered below.

Penelope Ford (w/ The Bunny) vs. Notorious Mimi

Ford brought a record of 14-4 to this match along with her friend The Bunny. Notorious Mimi was “already in the ring” with no previous AEW record. Ford wasted no time beating on her while Kingston wasted no time making Christopher Wallace references. “Brooklyn stand up!” He also insisted on calling Ford “Peony-lope.” Mimi tried to work her way back into the match with right hands, but Ford immediately gave her a face buster and a Muta lock to get a quick submission. The Bunny joined her in the ring to celebrate.

Adrien Soriano & Matthew Omen vs. Santana & Ortiz

The Proud & Powerful team of Santana & Ortiz came in 10-3 in 2021. Their opponents were (say it with me now) “already in the ring” and “making their AEW debut.” They had a manager with them, not that it improved their chances of picking up a victory. About 60 seconds after it started it ended with a Street Sweeper and the pin. Squash-a-rooni.

Lee Moriarty & LSG vs. FTR (w/ Wardlow)

Moriarty and LSG were already waiting in the ring for FTR’s arrival — both with previous AEW experience but making their “debut” as a team. This FTR match lasted longer than a second, which may have come as a surprise to some of you. Cash Wheeler even let LSG get a little shine before Moriarty was tagged in. They exchanged one move before Dax Harwood came in and ran over Moriarty with a pair of shoulder tackles. Moriarty got one arm drag in return. Harwood offered him a handshake and slapped him in the face to go with it! He rolled out to avoid a receipt and came back in, Moriarty got another arm drag, then LSG got the tag. Harwood dragged LSG to the corner and tagged Wheeler in for some stomps and a European uppercut. FTR did a rope assisted stretch. LSG went for a school boy cradle but referee Paul Turner was distracted by an argument about whether or not there was a tag. Moriarty got tagged back in hit a DDT but was unable to make a cover. LSG got wiped out on the outside but Moriarty stayed in the fight in the ring. He finally got nailed in the face on the outside and got the brain buster on the inside for the pin. Moriarty is pretty damn good.

Tay Conti (w/ Anna Jay) vs. Dani Mo

Tay Conti brought a record of 33-5 to the ring while Tony Schiavone brought Mark Henry to the commentary position. Pennsylvania native Dani Mo was making her AEW debut in this match, and she had a look that immediately makes her stand out — pink and blue streaks in her hair with matching top, trunks and knee pads. Unfortunately for her the role tonight was to be a victim of the D-D-Tay and get pinned quick, I mean REAL quick. I’d like to know mo’ about Dani Mo so I hope they’ll bring her back.

Joey Janela (w/ Kayla Rossi) vs. Crowbar

Janela brought a record of 9-4 along with a microphone so he could get heat by calling the crowd in Philadelphia “a bunch of idiots” and say “the only smart man here is Ben Simmons because he wants to get out.” Even though Crowbar was making his AEW debut, long time wrestling fans should know who Mr. Ford is. I think they may have been counting on the crowd to know as well, but they didn’t seem to respond despite Janela trying to heat up the crowd. They DID respond when The Blue Meanie came out to prevent Janela and Rossi from bailing on the match. At that point Crowbar took over and started tearing apart the ringside barricade, doing a Vader Bomb off it for good measure. Janela hid behind Rossi to recover and then socked Crowbar in the jaw. He sent Crowbar over the barricade, set up a steel chair, and launched himself over the barricade to wipe Crowbar out on the cement. Back in the ring Crowbar recovered and did a delayed suplex into a Gordbuster. Janela set him on the top rope for a chop, Crowbar shoved him off, Janela faked a knee injury and Rossi ran in for a hurricanrana on Crowbar while the ref was busy. Janela hit a brainbuster but Crowbar kicked out at two with Meanie still watching at ringside. Janela went top rope and mocked RVD’s signature frog splash but MISSED. Rossi fed a steel chair to Janela but he missed. After a northern lights suplex, Janela connected with a death valley driver to end it, but before he could celebrate Sonny Kiss hit the ring. Rossi grabbed ahold of Kiss so Janela could hit a thrust kick, then went up to the top rope for a twisting corkscrew moonsault. They left Kiss in a heap with Crowbar and Meanie both nowhere in sight.

Ruby Soho vs. Emi Sakura (w/ Lulu Pencil)

Sakura brought a record of 7-1 along with her second Lulu Pencil. Soho brought a record of 2-1 and was an immediate crowd favorite from the moment her entrance music hit. Sakura booted her in the gut and whipped her around the ring to get the heat, and the crowd started a “Ru-by So-ho” chant in response. Sakura swept her legs on the apron to send her down face first, Pencil tried to beat on her, and Soho laughed it off. Sakura hit a back breaker and pulled her up before the three count, then paint brushed her with a boot. Sakura hit a neck breaker and tried to get the “we, will, rock you” chant going while Pencil mugged for the camera. Soho caught a charging Sakura with a boot and the Philly fans chanted “let’s go Ru-by.” Soho started firing up with kicks and hit a flatliner for two. They traded chops and Sakura got the better of it, hitting a back drop driver but having the Queen’s Gambit blocked. Soho kicked out of a magistral cradle. Sakura hit a chop and a lariat but Soho kicked out of the pin there too. Soho immediately responded with Riott Kick and got the pin, throwing almost immediately to a backstage interview with Crowbar and Meanie. “Thank you Tony Khan, thank you AEW, it’s awesome.” Meanie: “Thank you to all the fans who come out and support professional wrestling.”

The Butcher, The Blade & Private Party (w/ The Bunny) vs. Lee Johnson, Brock Anderson, Chuck Taylor & Wheeler YUTA (w/ Kris Statlander)

Butcher & Blade were 7-1 in 2021 while Private Party were 11-2. Anderson & Johnson had a tag team record of 3-1, while Best Friends members Taylor & YUTA had no tag team record coming into this fight. Bryce Remsburg did his best to present the illusion of maintaining control, but an eight man would be a cluster whether a shoot or a work, and this one had plenty of double teaming and illegal interference. Double dives over the top rope by Taylor and Johnson wiped out the heels. Blade got a spinebuster from Brock and a frog splash from Johnson before Private Party broke up the pin. Butcher tagged in and turned Johnson inside out with a lariat for the pin.

What to watch/skip

Tonight’s “what to watch/skip” is brought to you by Kenny Rogers. I know Ruby is a Rancid fan but we all know her entrance song by now so I decided to dig a little deeper. You absolutely need to watch Soho’s match — it was her Elevation debut and sets her up for a big match with The Bunny later this week on Rampage. The FTR vs. Moriarty & LSG match was a pleasant surprise, and you should keep an eye on Moriarty as a potential AEW star of the future. The eight man tag main event was fine but not as much fun as those two. If you skip anything skip Ford and Conti’s matches. They gave their opponents almost nothing and as a result they did almost nothing. Blink and you could miss both.

Cageside commentary crew! Get up off your seats and leave your feedback in the comments section below. See you tomorrow night for AEW Dark!