AEW Dark Elevation recap (Apr. 5, 2021): Dr. Britt Baker DMD continues to elevate the women’s division

Episode 4 of AEW Dark: Elevation featured Dr. Britt Baker DMD elevating the women’s division, Lance Archer explaining his motives for interrupting Sting, Matt Hardy using his wealth of knowledge for a submission finisher, and the debut of Showcase with Paul Wight.

Let’s hit the story beats first.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD was the show-stealer for this episode. She came out flapping her gums on the mic prior to wrestling Alex Gracia. She claimed that we all know how this match is going to go. Baker is a big star, while Gracia is an enhancement talent. After Gracia’s impressive showing against Thunder Rosa last week, Baker is motivated to continue elevating the women’s division on Elevation.

To give Gracia a fair chance, Baker started out on her hands and knees in an amateur wrestling position.

Gracia was untrusting but went with it. As soon as the opening bell rang, Baker swiftly transitioned to the Lockjaw submission. Reba used her crutch to hand Baker the black glove from long distance. Submission and victory complete.

The saga of Dr. Baker versus Thunder Rosa carries on. When I first saw Baker listed on the Elevation lineup, I thought it conflicted with her previous promo on Dynamite belittling Thunder Rosa for appearances on the YouTube show. However, Baker covered well with delusional claims. The tricky positioning to start the match was actually pretty slick. Baker demonstrated the effectiveness of the Lockjaw as well as her scheming mind in the setup. Well played.

After Lance Archer did some murdering, Jake Roberts spoke on the mic. He started by slightly teasing Archer versus Paul Wight, then he addressed why they interrupted Sting and Darby Allin. AEW isn’t giving them time, so they are taking it themselves. Archer’s message was that it is his time. Since everybody will die by his hand, he might as well take the time of one of the biggest dogs. Archer has nothing but respect for Sting, but Sting’s time is Archer’s time.

I can respect Archer’s motives for interrupting Sting. Since he has yet to resort to violence against The Icon, his words ring true. Archer is just a simple man that wants to do some murdering. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Archer will inevitably get some action with no thanks to AEW.

Matt Hardy dusted off his old Ice Pick submission for fresh use in AEW. He secured a butterfly lock combined with a body lock to earn victory.

AEW Dark: Elevation

Hardy spoke after his win. We should always be watching Hardy, especially now that he is making 100% of his money. 5 was the first step of going through the Dark Order one by one to destroy them. In response to Darby Allin’s comments from Dynamite, Hardy claimed he didn’t sell out. He smartened up. Hardy will take the TNT title and the paycheck that comes with it.

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

• Hangman Page vs. Bill Collier (showcase)
• Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander vs. Varsity Blonds (showcase)
• Dr. Britt Baker DMD vs. Alex Gracia (squash but Dynamite relevant)
• Danny Limelight vs. 10 (competitive)
• Big Swole vs. Jazmin Allure (showcase)
• Vary Morales vs. Michael Nakazawa (showcase)
• Baron Black vs. Lance Archer (squash)
• Tesha Price vs. Ryo Mizunami (showcase)
• Max Caster vs. Colt Cabana (competitive)
• Adam Priest, Ryzin, D3, & Fuego del Sol vs. Butcher, Blade, & Private Party (squash)
• Showcase with Paul Wight: John Silver (Dynamite)
• Matt Hardy vs. 5 (Dynamite)
• Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page vs. Matt Sydal & Mike Sydal (Dynamite)

My personal favorite was Hangman knuckling up with Collier. It was a satisfying meat fight. Hardy’s match and that of Sky & Page are worth checking out to keep tabs on stories adjacent to Dynamite. Dr. Baker made quick work of her opponent, however, her full promo was spicy. The clip above omits the good parts.

Watch the show here.

Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight handled commentary duties. Jake “The Snake” Roberts joined the booth for Lance Archer’s match.

Hangman Page defeated Bill Collier. Chop fight to start with Collier coming out on top. Hangman rallied with a slingshot plancha, fallaway slam, standing moonsault, Frankensteiner, running lariats, and a buckshot lariat to win. Afterward, the cowboy shared a beer with his opponent.

Varsity Blonds defeated Carlie Bravo & Dean Alexander. The Nightmare Factory students received a full entrance with NF logo. They worked the leg of Griff Garrison. Hot tag to Brian Pillman Jr. for a powerslam and dropkick through the ropes. Quick tag back to Garrison for a teamwork missile dropkick to powerbomb combo on Bravo.

Dr. Britt Baker DMD defeated Alex Gracia. Lockjaw.

10 defeated Danny Limelight. 10 used power to overcome Limelight’s speed. After a hefty spinebuster, 10 went for the full nelson submission. Limelight countered with a judo throw. 10 put Limelight down with a pump kick. On a powerbomb attempt, Limelight countered with a triangle choke. On the separation, Limelight hopped on 10’s back but slipped off. 10 pounced to successfully lock in the full nelson for victory.

Big Swole defeated Jazmin Allure. Swole worked the back, but Allure rallied with quickness. Swole took control with a heavy slam out of the corner.

A double underhook slam and a powerbomb softened up Allure for a Texas Cloverleaf submission.

The Sydal brothers spoke with Dasha Gonzalez. They bend but do not break. They are ready to fight Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page. Payback is coming.

Michael Nakazawa defeated Vary Morales. Nak took a call on his headset during the start, so Morales charged in to take advantage. Nakazawa slowed down the pace by sliding Morales’ huevos across the top rope. Nak used a referee distraction to smash his laptop into Morales’ head. A tombstone piledriver with a 69 pin earned the win.

Lance Archer defeated Baron Black. The Murderhawk Monster murdered Black backstage and carried him to the ring. Archer took his time dishing out punishment and finished with a chokeslam then Blackout.

Ryo Mizunami defeated Tesha Price. Good effort by Price, but she succumbed to a spear in the end.

Max Caster defeated Colt Cabana. Caster dissed Cabana as once a legend and now a novelty.

Anthony Bowens was ringside, so Cabana retrieved Evil Uno to watch his back. Caster focused on tenderizing Cabana’s shoulder. That strategy paid dividends in preventing proper execution of maneuvers. Boom Boom had momentum on his side, so Bowens hopped onto the apron for a ploy. He tossed Caster’s chain too high and into the hands of Uno, then he set up a boombox in the ring. Caster used a drop toehold to smash Cabana’s head into the foreign object and secure a roll-up win

Butcher, Blade, & Private Party defeated Adam Priest, Ryzin, D3, & Fuego del Sol. Matt Hardy and Bunny were ringside. Domination by the Hardy Family Office. Fuego showed fire then promptly met his demise via Full Death neckbreaker powerbomb from Butcher and Blade.

Showcase with Paul Wight: John Silver. Silver spoke about his early beginnings. He clicked with Alex Reynolds to become the Beaver Boys tag team. Silver was approached by Evil Uno and Stu Grayson to be recruits for the Dark Order. Accepting that proposition was the best decision the Beaver Boys made. Silver also shared benefits of teaming with Mr. Brodie Lee. Silver’s personal goal for the future is earning a championship in 2021.

Matt Hardy defeated 5. Hardy used a German suplex into the turnbuckles for early control. 5 rebounded with kicks and sliced bread. He also countered a hold into the wingsnapper. Hardy smartly rolled out of the ring to avoid a pinfall. He played possum by sandbagging as 5 rolled him back into the ring. When 5 went through the ropes, Hardy kicked them up into 5’s groin. That led to Hardy using a butterfly body lock submission for victory.

Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page defeated Matt Sydal & Mike Sydal. The ego men worked over Mike’s knee. Hot tag to Matt to clean house. Page bulldozed Matt, who then answered with a kick to the head. The Sydal brothers had teamwork momentum when referee Bryce Remsburg was insistent on enforcing the rules in the first time in his AEW career. Matt was ordered to exit the ring. Sky took advantage by clipping Mike’s knee behind the ref’s back. Page finished with the Ego’s Edge crucifix toss for the win. Sky and Page basked in the glow of victory as the best of pals.

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Hangman Page was the standout in the ring. That was an effective enhancement bout. The cowboy had a hard-fought victory over a larger man. Even though the result was never in doubt, Hangman still had to earn the win. He did so in an exciting and emphatic manner.

Danny Limelight was sharp with nifty escapes from 10’s signature holds. I enjoyed Tesha Price’s attitude in using biting and eye raking as underhanded tactics. She is someone that should stick around in AEW. Price has been consistently solid in the role she has been given. Vary Morales finally had a chance to strut his stuff, and he looked good in doing so. I wonder if MT Nakazawa with the office outfit and apple will lead to a beatdown from QT Marshall. MT is clearly mocking QT, so QT should be on the prowl about not getting respect. If that doesn’t happen, then this MT turn stinks. I’d be more interested in seeing Nakazawa wrestle for real rather than clowning around.

Share your thoughts on Dark: Elevation. Who stood out most for episode 4? Which was your favorite match?

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