AEW Dark Elevation recap (Apr. 26, 2021): Nyla Rose powerbombed her partner

Episode 7 of AEW Dark: Elevation featured Nyla Rose going rogue, Big Swole with a new haircut, JD Drake strutting his sexy stuff, Leyla Hirsch in a mini feud for next week, as well as Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page settling on a tag team name.

The lesson from this edition of Elevation is not to get on the Native Beast’s bad side. Madi Wrenkowski learned that the hard way.

Vickie Guerrero handled the introduction for her client. She called Wrenkoswki an irrelevant partner for the Native Beast. During the match against Big Swole & Red Velvet, Rose used her power to take control. Wrenkowski shouted to be tagged in. Rose obliged by tossing Wrenkowski over the ropes into the ring. When Rose requested to be tagged back, Wrenkowski brushed her off. Bad move. Rose powerbombed her partner then exited the area. Velvet swooped in for the easy pin.

Let’s hit the promos before diving into the action.

The winner for the evening was the Wingmen crew of Ryan Nemeth, Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and JD Drake. They have been developing a fashion foursome on the Dark shows. Last week, Nemeth handed Drake new clothes to improve his sex appeal. This week, it was time for Drake to show off. He modeled a shiny shirt, did a spinski for Avalon, then Pretty Peter unbuttoned one more button. The pals closed with a pinky clink as their group salute.

Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page were deciding on their tag team name. It was basically their own names in different order. Sky reminded us that he is a wrestling savant and only surrounds himself with certified winners. Page ended up choosing the order of Sky and Page as their name.

The opponents for Sky and Page would be Alex Reynolds and 5 from the Dark Order. Reynolds and 5 had a message for those bozos. They complain and moan a lot, so the Dark Order will give them something to actually cry about. A loss. The promo also included Dark Order’s silly humor of 5 impersonating John Silver.

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

• Chuck Taylor vs. Fenix (Dynamite)
• Ryan Nemeth vs. Ryzin (showcase)
• Dean Alexander vs. Orange Cassidy (squash)
• The Acclaimed vs. Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis (showcase)
• Nick Comoroto vs. VSK (squash)
• Rising Star: Leyla Hirsch (Dynamite)
• Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami vs. Diamante & Amber Nova (showcase)
• Tesha Price vs. Kris Statlander (showcase)
• Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page vs. Alex Reynolds & 5 (competitive)
• Big Swole & Red Velvet vs. Nyla Rose & Madi Wrenkowski (showcase)
• Joey Janela vs. Matt Sydal (competitive)

The Dynamite feud between Best Friends and Death Triangle spilled over onto Elevation in the opener. The match was good for Elevation but not on the level of a Dynamite popper. The best bout belonged to Janela and Sydal in the main event. The Rising Star segment was well done, as always. The rest of the show is a pick ‘em. If you like the wrestler, then you’ll probably enjoy the match.

Watch the show here.

Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight handled commentary duties. Justin Roberts was the ring announcer.

Fenix defeated Chuck Taylor. Pentagon and Trent were ringside. Taylor was close to victory after Sole Food and a piledriver. That’s when Alex Abrahantes came out on stage running his mouth as a distraction. Orange Cassidy moseyed up, so Pentagon superkicked him. Referees broke up the skirmish. In the confusion, Fenix trapped Taylor in a crucifix pin with a smile to win.

AEW Dark: Elevation

Ryan Nemeth defeated Ryzin. Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and JD Drake were ringside. Ryzin thumbed Nemeth in the eye, so Bononi grabbed Ryzin’s foot when running the ropes. Ryzin had momentum climbing the turnbuckles, but Avalon slowed him down. Nemeth got his knees up on Ryzin’s swanton attempt. A gyrating neckbreaker earned victory for Nemeth.

Orange Cassidy defeated Dean Alexander. After hands-in-pockets trickery, OC exploded for a Superman punch.

The Acclaimed defeated Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis. Max Caster rapped with references to Ben Askren and Dr Fauci. When Caster turned his attention to their opponents, Anthony Bowens had to cut him off. “You young boys couldn’t touch my jock, get on your knees and suck...”

This was Bowens in-ring return from injury. The Acclaimed handled business to finish with a slam by Bowens followed by a flying elbow drop from Caster.

Nick Comoroto defeated VSK. QT Marshall, Aaron Solow, and Anthony Ogogo were ringside. Comoroto lifted up the ring steps onto the stage, so QT could have a seat and observe his student. Comoroto put on a pummeling. QT did a throat slash to signify the end. Comoroto lifted VSK for a military press powerslam to win. Comoroto delivered one more military press powerslam after the bell at the request of QT.

Rising Star: Leyla Hirsch. Legit was adopted at the age of 8 with her twin sister. Coming to the USA from Moscow was a big adjustment. Hirsch excelled at sports. She saw professional wrestling for the first time at age 14 and was hooked. Hirsch went into amateur wrestling thinking that was the way into pro wrestling. Hirsch is in AEW to win. She has no problem breaking arms to make a statement. Nothing is going to keep her down.

Leyla Hirsch & Ryo Mizunami defeated Diamante & Amber Nova. Hot tag to Mizunami leading to an assisted flying senton from Hirsch. Diamante broke the pin. Diamante hit sliced bread on Hirsch, but Legit kicked out on the cover from Nova. Hirsch ended it with an armbar to Nova.

After the match, Diamante put the boots to Hirsch. It was announced that Hirsch versus Diamante will take place next week.

Kris Statlander defeated Tesha Price. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy were ringside. Statlander controlled the action to win with the Big Bang Theory piledriver. She celebrated with Trent by doing trust falls.

Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page defeated Alex Reynolds & 5. Hot tag to Reynolds running wild with a suicide dive to Sky and a swinging neckbreaker to Page. The match broke down with 5 escaping an Ego’s Edge and Page escaping a wingsnapper. Sky turned the tide by shoving 5 off the turnbuckles. Page connected on the Ego’s Edge for victory.

Big Swole & Red Velvet defeated Nyla Rose & Madi Wrenkowski. Swole sported a new short haircut.

AEW

As mentioned at the top, Rose powerbombed her own partner for Velvet to pin.

Matt Sydal defeated Joey Janela. Mike Sydal and Sonny Kiss were ringside. Double lariats put both competitors on their backs. Janela scored a DVD after catching Sydal in the air. Sydal used his mind’s eye to anticipate knees up for Janela’s flying elbow drop. A high kick and Lightning Spiral slam gave the W to Sydal.

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Allow me time for two quick rants. First, it is pure poppycock that Chuck Taylor was going to pin Fenix clean with his piledriver finisher. And Fenix needs a distraction to win? Give me a break. Get out of here with that malarkey. Fenix and Taylor are not even on the same level as singles competitors. Fenix should have cleaned Chuck’s clock. At least Fenix clowning Chuck on the winning pin was worth a hearty chuckle.

Also, referee Bryce Remsburg should be fined and suspended for aggressively touching Fenix after the match. Sure, Fenix held the pin a little long after the bell. Once he let go though without intent for extra damage, Remsburg shoved the luchador. Remsburg continued persistently pestering Fenix. Inappropriate conduct from a sanctioned official.

My second beef is to be taken up with Paul Wight. He had the audacity to say Orange Cassidy was cooler than the Fonzie. Hold up. Aside from that being a ludicrous assertion, the proper name is Fonzie or the Fonz. Referring to Arthur Fonzarelli as the Fonzie invalidates Wight’s opinion on this matter. As for the claim at hand, no freaking way. The Fonz is the coolest. He is a chick magnet, while Cassidy is a limp putz.

On the positive side, Wight is doing solid work on commentary. I enjoy how he relates wrestling knowledge, personal stories, and references to his own career. Elevation is a perfect platform for the Wingmen experiment. They get a chance to develop with funny business to see what sticks. I hope we are treated to a club montage next week. Nyla Rose powerbombing Madi Wrenkowski was unexpected and very amusing. I’m pumped for the little build to Leyla Hirsch versus Diamante. I hope AEW gives those women some time to throw down. They both have intense attitudes to do damage.

Share your thoughts on Dark: Elevation. Who stood out most for episode 7? Which was your favorite match?

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