AEW Dark Elevation recap (Dec. 27, 2021): Dani Mo, Dani Mo, Dani Mo

Episode 43 of AEW Dark: Elevation is in the books! If you missed the live broadcast click here for the Cageside Seats stream. The announce team was Eddie Kingston, Mark Henry and Tony Schiavone. I hope everyone enjoyed a lovely holiday weekend and is ready to return for some All Elite Wrestling action! Let’s talk about what happened.

John Silver, Alex Reynolds & Preston “10” Vance vs. Fodder, JR Miller & Brandon Scott

Is there a better name for a dark match wrestler than “Fodder?” Yes — if that was his last name and his first name was “Cannon.” You won’t be surprised to know that all three of The Dark Order’s opponents were making their trios division let alone their AEW debut. Usually these kind of matches end with Vance applying the full nelson but instead we had Vance and Reynolds holding one of their opponents in the air for Silver to give him (forgive me for this description) a flip by the groin for the pin, which Kingston dubbed “MDK style!”

Thunder Rosa vs. Dani Mo

Rosa brought a record of 43-6 in AEW to the ring. Dani Mo was waiting for her with a singles record of 0-1. The announce team was joined by “Smart” Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill, and Rosa got out of the ring to yell at both of them before giving Mo a clothesline. She threw Mo back into the ring, laid her on the ropes for the dropkick from behind, flipped her over for another from the front, then picked her up for the Thunder Rosa Driver and the pin.

Cargill ran down to the ring immediately to get in her face and Sterling cut her off as Schiavone screamed “Save it! Save it!” They were referring to the two facing each other in the semi-finals of the TBS Title Tournament on Dynamite this Wednesday.

Anthony Ogogo (w/ The Factory) vs. Duncan Mitchell

Ogogo brought a singles record of 6-1. Mitchell brought the same number of losses... and no wins. Oh well. This didn’t last long as Ogogo hit the Tower of London (a Diamond Cutter draped off the top rope) to debut a new finishing move. On to the next match!

Santana and Ortiz vs. Movie Myk & Alexander Moss

The Proud and Powerful were 16-3 in 2021 coming in. Their opponents Myk & Moss were making their tag team AEW debut. Kingston was stunned that they got off to a hot start but it didn’t last. Ortiz got the tag for lariats and dropkicks all around as Kingston screamed that his nickname was “Monkey” now, and said “when P&P work as a team there’s nobody better.” Ortiz hit a powerbomb, Santana kicked him in the face, and Ortiz made the pin.

Lee Moriarty vs. Shawn Spears

“The Chairman” Shawn Spears brought a singles record of 17-4. In the old days Lee Moriarty would have been waiting for him in the ring, but thankfully we’ve reached the point now where Moriarty gets his own introduction before a match. His singles record in 2021 is 3-7. Mark Henry: “His entrance is undeniable. There’s nobody else in the wrestling world doing that!” That’s because nobody else is Taiga Style. Spears avoided a leg sweep and mocked Moriarty’s entrance, and even Lee had to laugh. Spears grounded him with an arm wringer , he got back to his feet, but Spears took him back down with a side headlock. Moriarty popped backward out of it and mocked Spears in return. Spears gave him a hard chop in the corner for that. Henry: “He just reminded him — you may be more skilled, but I’m tougher than you.” Moriarty returned the favor with his own chops and Greensboro Coliseum was happy about it. Moriarty gave Spears the Pepsi Twist, a forearm smash, put him on the top rope, Spears fought him off, Moriarty gave him a kick to the head, but Spears countered his next move into the Death Valley Driver. A fun competitive match.

The Gunn Club vs. Evil Uno, Stu Grayson & Alan “V” Angels

The Gunns brought a trios team record of 21-0. Uno came in 29-17, Grayson 28-9, Angels 15-25. Angels nearly got the pin with a roll up, hit an enzuigiri, but Colton picked up a bridging pin on him with his boots on the ropes. Henry: “Is there instant replay?” Schiavone: “No this is pro wrestling.”

Diamante & Emi Sakura vs. Tay Conti and Anna Jay

Sakura & Diamante were 11-2 and 13-8 respectively. Conti was 42-7 and Jay was 9-5 heading into the match. Conti gave Diamante a Gotch piledriver but Sakura broke up the pin attempt. Jay put the Queen Slayer on Diamante and she tapped out. Kingston: “Boo!!!”

Matt Hardy vs. Darius Lockhart

Hardy brought a record of 31-14 and got a large face pop from the Greensboro Coliseum when he made his entrance. He had a hard time hiding the smile on his face. Lockhart was waiting for him in the ring with a record of 0-1 to date. Hardy immediately slashed his throat and the crowd chanted “Delete! Delete! Delete!” in response. Hardy sold for quite a bit to get the crowd even more behind him, and he made a comeback with forearm smashes and back elbows before doing “deletes” into the turnbuckle with Lockhart’s head. He hit the Side Effect, went to the second rope, did an elbow drop, and signaled for more deletions. Twist of Fate, good night. Henry: “Take that little dirt nap and call me tomorrow.”

What to watch/skip

This week’s “what to watch/skip” is brought to you by Deadeye Dick, because whenever I hear the name Dani Mo I automatically think “She’s a vegetarian.” Deadeye got their name from a Kurt Vonnegut novel but their lone alternative rock hit may be better known than the book. Anyway I may be full of a lot of things, but bad puns are definitely one of them, so Dani Mo wins the day even though she lost her match. At least AEW thought enough of her to bring her back a second time before 2021 came to an end, so better things may be in store for her in 2022. If they’ve been watching OVW they know she can work. The best match by far was Spears vs. Moriarty but everything else was good enough to not skip. Then again I’m probably in a good mood because I’m full of holiday cheer (and cookies). All I want for Christmas in 2022 is for Mo to finally get her first AEW win.

Cageside commentary crew! Share your feedback and thoughts on the show in the comments section below. You can hit me up on social media too. See you tomorrow night for another episode of AEW Dark!