AEW Dark recap (Oct. 5, 2021): Yo. Listen. Yo.

Episode 111 of AEW Dark is in the books! If you missed the live broadcast click here for the Cageside Seats stream. Let’s talk about what went down on YouTube. Your commentary team for this edition was Excalibur and Taz.

Baron Black, Austin Green, Aaron Frye & Dean Alexander vs. FTR, Wardlow & Shawn Spears

The Pinnacle were making their eight man tag debut in the opening match, and the same could be said of their opponents, so in theory they were evenly matched... right? Hell no. The carpenters were already waiting in the ring, and I’m not talking about Karen and Richard. The only one among them who even stood a chance was Austin Green, who was slightly bigger than Wardlow, although not as well defined muscularly. Wardlow eventually got the better of him with a slam, but Baron Black tried to sneak in for a roll up while he and The Pinnacle were celebrating. Black hit a backstabber on Spears when he made the same mistake and tagged in Frye. Eventually after an assisted Casualty of War between Wardlow and FTR, Spears hit him with the C4. This was a prolonged but largely one sided match.

Abadon vs. Valentina Rossi

Following her win on Elevation last night, Abadon came in with a 21-2 record, while Rossi was waiting for her in the ring with a record of 0-3. One of our CCC (Cageside Commentary Crew) noted it can be Halloween all year long if you’re so inclined, and I think Abadon is the living proof of that. It’s not like she takes off the contacts or the face paint when October is over. Rossi ate a swinging neckbreaker before being hit with a Zombie-T for three.

The Acclaimed vs. Michael Martinez & Vary Morales

“Yo. Listen. Yo. Listen. Yo. The Acclaimed got ‘em coming apart. The only reason y’all watch AEW Dark. I saw the tall guy he was working at the park, helping all you fat women into motorized carts. The other guy’s so little to me, you look like a minion from Despicable Me. The Acclaimed, we beat you to a pulp. Me and Bowens look like we’re coming off The Hulk.” Excalibur noted we could have just had a rap concert instead of a match, and I would have been fine with that too. Morales was the “fun sized” wrestler Caster was rapping about while Martinez was his Lance Archer sized partner. Morales took a beating for a while until he hit a drop kick and made the hot tag. He didn’t last long though as Bowens kicked Martinez in the jaw and gave Morales a twisting DDT for good measure. Bowens tagged Caster in for the Mic Drop and it was over just, like, that.

Kal Herro vs. Sonny Kiss

Kiss was a dead even 10-10 following Elevation last night, while Herro came in winless to date in AEW at 0-4. Kiss hit an enzuigiri and a corkscrew kick to the head before finishing Herro with the split TKO. A totally one sided match... and I’m fine with that.

Zada Zhang vs. Kris Statlander (w/ Chuck Taylor and Wheeler YUTA)

Statlander came into this match 19-1. Zhang came in 0-1. Zhang tried and failed to avoid getting booped on the nose, but did avoid a senton and hit a dropkick to the head. Zhang briefly took over for a couple of suplexes, a kick to the face, and a near fall. Statlander kicked her in the jaw, ate the running elbow, the knee to the head, and got a glam slam before the spider crab submission. This was a squash but Zhang had a good showing.

Madi Wrenkowski vs. Skye Blue

Blue came in still winless in AEW at 0-6. Wrenkowski on the other hand was 3-6. Blue went for several quick near falls that didn’t work before Wrenkowski planted her with a scissor kick. Instead of going for the pin she started arguing with the crowd, giving Blue a chance to recover. Wrenkowski went for a sleeper hold but Blue fought back to her feet. Clotheslines by Blue. Leg lariat, Drop kick. Flying mare. Crossbody off the ropes for a near fall. Superkick. Fisherman suplex, 1-2-3. Skye Blue finally picks up her first win!

Eddie Kingston vs. Anthony Henry

Kingston came in 25-7 in 2021. Say it with me now — Anthony Henry was “already in the ring” and “making his AEW debut.” To be fair though Henry is far from a rookie in the squared circle. He’s been a wrestler for at least a decade and was most recently in WWE as Asher Hale. As a result Kingston got wiped out on the barricade early and Henry stomped on a leg and kicked Kingston right in the spine when he got back in. Kingston was face in peril for a while as Henry continued to work the leg to set up a figure four. No matter how hard he tried though, Kingston would keep brawling his way back into the match, and finally put him down for a good by blocking a spear and hitting a DDT. If this was a tryout for Henry I’d sign him on the basis of this match. Unfortunately though my last name isn’t Khan.

Hunter Knott, Rosario Grillo & Cameron Stewart vs. Gunn Club

The Gunn Club came in a perfect 14-0 in trios action. Their opponents were not making their AEW debut but were making their trios match debut. It’s not as though they had winning records outside of that anyway. This took longer than necessary for a match that ended with a roll up victory for the Gunn Club. Meh.

Diamante vs. Santana Garrett

Diamante came in 27-16 while Santana Garrett was making her AEW debut in this match. I would have been fine with these women having ten more minutes to work. Diamante hit sliced bread for the finish. It was a fun match but I already want the rematch.

Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth (w/ The Wingmen) vs. Varsity Blonds (w/ Julia Hart)

Avalon and Nemeth were 0-2 as a team. Varsity Blonds were 18-5 as a team. That should tell you all you really need to know, but for the record the losing crew tried to get a hot start by jumping the Blonds before the bell. It didn’t help, nor did The Wingmen being at ringside. Garrison hit a rolling elbow, Flying Brian hit Air Pillman, and Garrison covered Avalon for 3.

Erik Lockhart vs. Daniel Garcia (w/ 2point0)

Garcia ate Lockhart like a starving fat man at a Vegas buffet. He could have finished him at any time and punished Lockhart for so long he finally made a two second comeback with a running knee before Garcia cranked the Scorpion Death Lock with all his might for the tap. AEW captioned this one “no mercy” on social media and they were right.

Serpentico (w/ Luther) vs. Marko Stunt

Serpentico brought a record of 11-46 to this contest. Stunt brought a record of 18-28. Serpentico was the latest man to try a hot start before the bell only to have it backfire. Dr. Luther’s screaming made it hard to watch when Serpentico got the heat on Stunt. I also didn’t need to see Luther taking Serpentico up on the ramp in a failed attempt to throw him on Stunt. Unfortunately Luther’s interference finally worked for once as a distraction was enough to roll up Stunt for three. The wrong man won here.

Nick Comoroto (w/ The Factory) vs. Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor, Kris Statlander & Wheeler YUTA)

The beastly Comoroto brought a record of 14-8 to this match, while the sleepy Cassidy brought a record of 17-1-1. With that kind of record why isn’t he in the world title picture right now? After seven minutes of Comoroto showing off his size and strength to draw the ire of the Universal Studios crowd, both sides interfered in the match and it turned into a cluster. Comoroto started choking out YUTA, while Statlander threw a knee brace to QT Marshall and made referee Aubrey Edwards think he used it as a weapon on Cassidy. Cassidy “recovered” for a series of Orange Punches and a Beach Break for three! At least the show ended on the right note even as Taz complained about the “sketchy sketchy tomfoolery” of Kris Statlander.

What to watch/skip

Tonight’s “what to watch/skip” is brought to you by Mikey Rukus. I thought about using The Acclaimed’s entrance music, but there isn’t one version on YouTube that hasn’t been spliced together from 12 different Max Caster raps. Anyway go out of your way to see Henry vs. Kingston and Garrett vs. Diamante. The rest was average, but as is typical for the Dark brands, there was nothing so bad it would make you think of Sharmell vs. Jenna Morasca.

Cageside commentary crew! Get up off your seats and leave your feedback in the comments section below. See you for Elevation next Monday!