AEW Dark Elevation recap (July 19, 2021): Will Hobbs threatens Brian Cage

Episode 19 of AEW Dark: Elevation featured Will Hobbs issuing threats to Brian Cage, Luke Gallows standing tall over the Elite Hunter, Luchasurus with an amazing chokeslam knee strike, Red Velvet showing off a new finisher, as well as Eddie Kingston and Pentagon in the main event making the fans rowdy.

There were two moments during Elevation that carry over directly to Dynamite. Will Hobbs threatened Brian Cage not to return to AEW, and a match was made between Frankie Kazarian and Luke Gallows for Wednesday night.

Last week on Dynamite, Will Hobbs had a hand in bashing Brian Cage in the head with the FTW title to assist Ricky Starks in victory. Powerhouse (at 30:30) is happy that Team Taz has a new FTW champ. Starks is a leader and a team player. Hobbs also had a message for Cage. When you don’t cooperate, things happen. Hobbs closed with a threat for the Machine. Stay home, and don’t come back. Because if Cage returns, the same thing will happen again.

AEW Dark: Elevation

Give me an H, O, S, S. Hoss fight! Hobbs versus Cage is a strong man battle I’m pumped to see. It’s too bad that the new Rampage show is still a few weeks away, because this would be a perfect opener for the debut. There’s no way Cage accepts those threats lightly. Hobbs and Cage are going to rampage all over each other sooner than later.

The other important moment for Dynamite came after Frankie Kazarian’s match. Brandon Cutler ran to the ring and stooged the entrance (at 28:00). Kaz pounded the Elite’s young boy then sprayed that aerosol gimmick in Cutler’s eyes. Kaz went back for one more clothesline. That’s when Luke Gallows pounced from behind. A pump kick and a sitdown chokeslam put Kaz on the mat in pain.

AEW Dark: Elevation

It was announced that Kaz and Gallows will have a match on Dynamite. Kazarian will get the chance to officially collect his first scalp in his war with the Elite. Since Gallows doesn’t have hair up top, Kaz may have to rip the beard off Gallows’ face instead.

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

• Zachariah vs. Lance Archer (squash)
• Chaos Project vs. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy (showcase)
• Hikaru Shida vs. Dulce Tormenta (showcase)
• Will Hobbs vs. Lucas Chase (squash)
• Baron Black vs. Frankie Kazarian (showcase)
• Angelico vs. Jungle Boy (competitive)
• Red Velvet vs. Julia Hart (competitive)
• Brock Anderson & Lee Johnson vs. Gunn Club (showcase)
• Luchasaurus vs. Fuego Del Sol (showcase)
• Dante Martin vs. Shawn Dean (competitive)
• Tay Conti & Serena Deeb vs. Vertvixen & Jazmin Allure (showcase)
• Pentagon & Eddie Kingston vs. JD Drake & Cezar Bononi (showcase)

Angelico and Jungle Boy had the match of the night. The fans were pumped for that back and forth bout. Martin and Dean strut their stuff as second best match of the show. Velvet and Hart was an interesting battle of flexibility and splits. Fans of Cassidy will enjoy his creatively comedic contest. Luchasaurus had a killer finish. Pentagon and Kingston worked well as a unit and rocked the house with a raucous crowd in their corner.

Watch the show here.

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

Eddie Kingston and Pentagon opened the show with a promo backstage. They are the only team to beat the Young Bucks in over a year, then they got screwed in the tag title bout. That’s in the past. Unfortunately for the Wingmen, they will be the ones to pay for the screwjob. Pentagon is going to give the Wingmen a makeover by clipping their wings.

Lance Archer defeated Zachariah. Jake Roberts was on commentary. Archer tossed his opponent down the ramp before the match. After a couple of heavy slams, Archer closed with the Blackout.

Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy defeated Chaos Project. Luther tried to stick his hands in Cassidy’s pockets, but OC stopped him. Comedy played a role in the finish. Luther caught his partner on a flying crossbody and swung around wildly, almost hitting referee Aubrey Edwards. When Cassidy landed a Superman punch, Luther fell forward slamming Serpentico. OC and Taylor sat on top of the pile for the pin.

After the match, Blade came out with brass knuckles and Bunny for a long-distance staredown with Cassidy prior to their singles match on Dynamite.

Hikaru Shida defeated Dulce Tormenta. Shida handled business to close with a running knee, slam, and Katana knee strike.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling met with a big cheese laying out the path for Hollywood success as an action star.

Will Hobbs defeated Lucas Chase. Ricky Starks and Hook were ringside. Chase ran the ropes into the brick wall known as Hobbs. Powerhouse promptly ended the match with a spinebuster.

Frankie Kazarian defeated Baron Black. The underdog showed off some slick moves, but Kaz rallied with a powerful lariat and a crossface chickenwing submission.

Jungle Boy defeated Angelico. Luchasaurus and Private Party were ringside. Angelico worked submissions to ground Jungle Boy, but JB’s fighting spirit fired up in the end. Angelico was trapped in the Tree of Woe, so Jungle Boy unloaded a low dropkick to the face. JB slapped on the Snare Trap submission to win.

Red Velvet defeated Julia Hart. Varsity Blonds were ringside, and poor Brian Pillman Jr. ate a suicide dive from Velvet. Hart was close to victory on a side-rotating flying splash, but Velvet kicked out on the cover. Lil Cupcake exploded for a discus forearm and a unique finisher. She landed an axe kick swinging into a neckbreaker using her leg.

Gunn Club defeated Brock Anderson & Lee Johnson. This bout had an essence of friendly competitiveness as Nightmare Family associates. Johnson exploded for offense. Colten Gunn tried his Colt 45 finisher, but Johnson countered with a roll-up. Colten reversed for top position and grabbed the tights for victory.

Luchasaurus defeated Fuego Del Sol. Jungle Boy was ringside. The dino shed off a tornado DDT and powered though with a chokeslam lift flipping Fuego into a knee strike.

A replay was shown of QT Marshall dumping a beverage on Schiavone’s head last week on Dynamite. On commentary, Wight was angered by QT’s actions.

Dante Martin defeated Shawn Dean. The Captain was looking good on offense, then Martin turned the tide with a sort of package DVD. Martin closed with a flipping stunner.

Tay Conti & Serena Deeb defeated Vertvixen & Jazmin Allure. Hot tag to Deeb who used a leglock on one opponent while suplexing the other opponent. Deeb applied the Serenity Lock for victory.

Pentagon & Eddie Kingston defeated JD Drake & Cezar Bononi. The Brazilian came out raging for a promo about how the airport wouldn’t let Ryan Nemeth and Peter Avalon arrive. Without the full Wingmen crew, how are they going to do makeovers? Drake cut in to say they may not be able to make others pretty, but they sure can make them ugly. In the match, Penta received the hot tag for slingblades and a forward roll on Bononi for momentum to launch at Drake for a DDT. Later, Drake was in control with a roll-up, although, the referee noticed his feet on the ropes. Drake attacked with a single-leg dropkick, but he missed the ensuing moonsault. Penta struck a thrust kick, and King followed with a spinning backfist. Pentagon clipped Drake’s wing by snapping his arm to pick up the winning pin.

Pentagon, Alex Abrahantes, and Kingston closed the show with promos to pump up the crowd.

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My takeaways for this episode of Elevation are finishers and crowd reactions. Luchasaurus completely obliterated Fuego del Sol with that knee strike. I’d love to see that more often, but I’m not sure how many opponents have the skills to take the hit. Red Velvet’s new finisher was cool as well. I like how she is mixing up her game and evolving over time. My favorite finishing moment was Jungle Boy submitting Angelico with the Snare Trap. The facial expressions from JB and Angelico really sell it well.

With full crowds now in attendance for AEW tapings, it is interesting to note who stands out from the pack. There are the obvious ones like Orange Cassidy’s gimmick in the ring, Jungle Boy’s theme song, Pentagon’s ‘Zero Miedo’ chant, and Eddie Kingston being himself. Many of the talent from Elevation and Dark often don’t get a spot on Dynamite, so some surprises popped. Fuego del Sol does nothing for me, but apparently he’s building quite the following. Also, I was not expecting Angelico’s dance to receive one of the louder cheers.

Share your thoughts on Dark: Elevation. Who stood out most for episode 19? Which was your favorite match?

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