AEW Dark recap (Apr. 13, 2021): Red Velvet speared Jade Cargill

Episode 84 of AEW Dark featured Red Velvet spearing Jade Cargill, Ricky Starks helping Brian Cage get his moves in, and State Farm sponsoring the main event between Alex Reynolds and Ryan Nemeth.

The highlight of the show was Jade Cargill confronting Red Velvet, who responded with a spear through the ropes.

The Dark Order had a silly promo in regard to the State Farm sponsorship.

Here’s the Dark lineup with ratings (Dynamite, competitive, showcase, squash) on which matches are worth your time toward Dynamite:

• SCU vs. Jay Lyon & Midas Black (showcase)
• Matt Sydal vs. Luther (competitive)
• 5 & 10 vs. Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund (showcase)
• Colt Cabana vs. Jake Manning (showcase)
• Red Velvet & Big Swole vs. Amber Nova & Queen Aminata (showcase)
• Aaron Solow vs. Fuego Del Sol (showcase)
• Gunn Club vs. Andrew Palace, Stone Rockwell, & Mike Magnum (squash)
• Madi Wrenkowski vs. KiLynn King (showcase)
• Matt Hardy vs. Ken Broadway (squash)
• Evil Uno & Stu Grayson vs. Vary Morales & Spencer Slade (squash)
• Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Shawna Reed (showcase)
• Brian Cage & Ricky Starks vs. Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander (squash)
• Nyla Rose vs. Leila Grey (squash)
• Varsity Blondes vs. Prince Kai & Will Allday (squash)
• Lance Archer vs. Cole Karter (squash)
• Ryan Nemeth vs. Alex Reynolds (competitive)

Nothing really stood out on this episode. Sydal versus Luther was the best match. Wrenkowski versus King and Nemeth versus Reynolds had the allure of not being predictable. Team Taz’s match was amusing to see Ricky Starks assist Brian Cage in dishing out destruction.

Watch the show here.

Excalibur teamed with Taz to call the action. Jake “The Snake” Roberts joined the booth for Lance Archer’s match, and John Silver stopped by for the main event with Alex Reynolds. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer.

SCU defeated Jay Lyon & Midas Black. Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian handled business, even though, Lyons and Black were able to score a gimmick move. Black held out a lion tamer loop for Lyons to jump through on a senton. SCU prevailed with the Best Meltzer Ever on Lyons.

Matt Sydal defeated Luther. Sydal was rocking early with his speed, but Luther used his size to take control. The big man made it ugly to his advantage with an Irish whip and a slam into the guardrail. Luther aimed to finish it with a powerbomb, however, Sydal escaped. A roundhouse kick set up a Lightning Spiral for victory.

5 & 10 defeated Kit Sackett & Hayden Backlund. -1 was ringside. Hot tag to 10 for a spinebuster to Sackett. 10 was plotting something dangerous, but Backlund pulled him out of the ring. 5 took care of Backlund with a kick on the floor. 10 saved 5 from a Sackett surprise attack by nailing the goober with a big boot. Angels followed with a running crossbody into the ropes. 10 locked in the full nelson submission to win.

Colt Cabana defeated Jake Manning. -1 was ringside. Manning was a man scout (adult boy scout) from Troop 83. This was a comedy bout with Manning reading his scout manual trying to solve the riddle of Cabana. Boom Boom stole the book and hijinks ensued. Manning took control with a sunset flip powerbomb into the turnbuckles. Cabana rallied with his arsenal of signature maneuvers, but Manning stayed tough to hit a backbreaker to flatliner combo. Cabana had the last laugh by yanking Manning off the turnbuckles to secure a reverse Boston crab.

Red Velvet & Big Swole defeated Amber Nova & Queen Aminata. KiLynn King was ringside to support Velvet and Swole. The winners used cohesive teamwork leading to a spinning kick from Velvet to Nova for the three count.

After the match, Jade Cargill came out on stage to talk smack prior to her bout against Velvet on Dynamite. Velvet responded with a leaping spear through the ropes. Cargill took top position to land some punches. Referees intervened for the separation.

Aaron Solow defeated Fuego Del Sol. QT Marshall and Nick Comoroto were ringside. Solow attacked before the opening bell. Fuego rallied for a flying tornado DDT, but Solow ducked. Fuego tried a standing tornado DDT. That did not work either. Solow blasted Fuego with a screw kick. The Factory student won with a Pedigree variation.

Ryan Nemeth has proven himself as a dominant force in AEW by winning nearly half the time. He is not scared of Alex Reynolds or his Dark Order cronies. Reynolds may be a technically sound winner, but he is no hunk.

Gunn Club defeated Andrew Palace, Stone Rockwell, & Mike Magnum. Billy and his boys had little difficulty. Colten closed the bout with a double underhook neckbreaker.

KiLynn King defeated Madi Wrenkowski. Wrenkowski had momentum on an X-Factor. King ducked an axe kick to fire away with clotheslines, a roundhouse kick, a release German suplex, and a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Wrenkowski dodged a charging attack, but King countered a monkey flip into a King of Falls front swinging facebuster finisher.

Dark Order celebrated the State Farm sponsorship for the match between Reynolds and Nemeth. It will be Hollywood Hunk versus Handsome Devil. Reynolds won’t be taking the challenge lightly. He worked on new moves to use against Nemeth. Dark Order then sang the State Farm jingle.

Matt Hardy defeated Ken Broadway. The full HFO crew was ringside. Darby Allin was shown observing high above from the cheap seats to study Hardy for the TNT title match on Dynamite. Broadway had a tad a momentum, so he made it rain with cash before launching for a moonsault. Hardy evaded the maneuver then pounced for a Side Effect. Hardy pointed up toward Allin to make a statement with a Twist of Fate then a Leech butterfly body lock submission.

After the match, Hardy warned Allin that he will show how extreme he can be as he wins the TNT Championship.

Evil Uno & Stu Grayson defeated Vary Morales & Spencer Slade. -1 was ringside. Quick work for a Fatality victory on Slade. Grayson celebrated by holding -1 upside down by the feet.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD defeated Shawna Reed. The underdog was aggressive but no match for Baker. A swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker, two thrust kicks, and the Lockjaw submission earned the W.

Brian Cage & Ricky Starks defeated Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander. Will Hobbs and Hook were ringside and put a pounding on Bravo. Starks was a swell teammate by lifting up battered bodies in position to set up Cage’s heavy slams. The winning move was a Drill Claw. Taz was upset on commentary that Starks was going overboard in micromanaging. Cage didn’t seem to mind, since he got his shit in.

Nyla Rose defeated Leila Grey. Vickie Guerrero was ringside. She ridiculed Justin Roberts’ paltry introduction and took over to properly announce the presence of the Native Beast. Rose pummeled Grey with a clothesline before the bell. Grey tried to offer offense, but it was all absorbed by Rose as she tossed Grey around the ring. A spear and Beast Bomb sealed the deal.

Varsity Blondes defeated Prince Kai & Will Allday. A rolling elbow from Griff Garrison was followed by a flying clothesline from Brian Pillman Jr. to win.

Lance Archer defeated Cole Karter. Big boot before the bell from the Murderhawk Monster led to a beatdown. Karter tried a running crossbody but bounced off Archer’s chest. A chokeslam and ripcord swinging uranage completed the contest.

Alex Reynolds defeated Ryan Nemeth. -1, 10, and JD Drake were ringside. Reynolds’ fancy new moves were a cloverleaf submission, powerbomb followed by a leg drop, and the climatic finisher. Reynolds escaped Nemeth’s gyrating neckbreaker to shove him into the turnbuckles. Nemeth bounced back right into a Honk Honk swinging slam for Reynolds to win.

---

The brief interaction between Jade Cargill and Red Velvet was fire. I was already pumped to see their match on Dynamite, so Velvet’s spear put a smile on my face. You have to love the plucky underdog standing up to a powerful force.

Ricky Starks’ sass was comical. I don’t know how Brian Cage kept a straight face when Starks kept picking up their opponents and handing them over to Cage. The Machine was pleased on this evening, but I’m curious which member of Team Taz will lose their cool first.

A couple of things that caught my eye were 5 taking his intensity to the next level, Private Party pocketing Ken Broadway’s cash when making it rain, KiLynn King accompanying Velvet and Big Swole, and the State Farm sponsorship. King might be in line to rise up in status. She’s teamed in trios action with Velvet and Swole before, however, being in their corner gives her the rub of approval from bigger stars. In regard to State Farm, I’ll be darned. Dark is the little show that could. Receiving a sponsorship is quite commendable.

Share your thoughts on Dark. Who stood out most for episode 84? Which was your favorite match?

---