AEW Dark recap (Aug. 31, 2021): Facing PAC is sui-Sydal

Episode 105 of AEW Dark is in the books! If you missed the live broadcast click here for the Cageside Seats stream. Let’s talk about what went down Tuesday night on YouTube. As always your commentary team for the broadcast was Excalibur and Taz.

Kris Statlander vs. Selene Grey

Statlander’s opponent Selene Grey was already in the ring and making her AEW debut in this match. Statlander put her in a very long delayed vertical suplex just to show off her strength before facing Britt Baker on Sunday, and emphasized it with a fisherman buster to get the pin. She was fast and intense for the duration, but still booped Bryce Remsburg on the nose afterward per usual.

Robert Anthony vs. Joey Janela

Janela brought a 6-3 record in 2021 into this match along with his new attitude. Anthony’s 2021 record was 0-5. Janela wasted no time smashing him in the face and putting the boots to him in the corner. Anthony made a comeback with a flip to the outside, hit Janela with a chop, and back in the ring he decided to imitate Statlander with his own delayed vertical suplex. Janela decided to make Anthony’s chest as red as his own with the chop. His top rope elbow missed though as Anthony got his knees up. Anthony gave Janela a Romero Special but didn’t get the pin. Janela hit a brainbuster, a kick to the head and a Death Valley Driver to finish his foe off. Honestly this was a more of a showcase for the victim than the winner, right up until he fed Janela to a mystery woman who gave Anthony a power bomb. Social media users identified her as Kayla Rossi and her retweets seemed to confirm it.

Laynie Luck vs. Emi Sakura

Luck was already waiting for Sakura in the ring. Their respective records in 2021 were 3-1 and 0-1, and while we were watching Sakura work Luck over Excalibur slipped in a ChocoPro reference. Once again a match imitated its predecessor as Sakura put Luck in the Romero Special. Luck fired up with uppercuts, elbows and a running double knee, but Sakura responded with a flatliner and her “we will rock you chant” before finishing Luck with a backbreaker and a senton. A total squash save for a few seconds of Luck on offense.

GPA & Mat Fitchett vs. Men of the Year (Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky)

Page & Sky came in 8-1 as a tag team in 2021. Fitchett & GPA were making their AEW tag team debut on this edition of Dark and were “already in the ring” so just like Wednesday nights you know what that means. GPA got a double team mud hole stomped into him but he recovered just long enough to make a hot tag. Page dropped him with a shoulder tackle and tagged Sky in for a cutter. Sky tagged Page back in for the Razor’s Edge and the pin. Taz called this one “smooth like Greek yogurt” and he wasn’t wrong.

Serpentico vs. Frankie Kazarian

Serpentico’s singles record was listed as 11-42. That’s not great, but at least he wasn’t accompanied by the loud, obnoxious and abusive Luther for this match. Still facing “The Elite Hunter” Frankie Kazarian and his 23-4 record, his chances in this match weren’t good.

Body slam, middle rope leg drop, and a round of applause for Kazarian from the United Center. Serpentico tried and misses with Sliced Bread No. 2 and ate a massive clothesline before the crossface chicken wing made Serpentico tap. This was a foregone conclusion.

Blair Onyx vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch came in 17-4 in 2021 while Onyx was yet another “making their AEW debut” opponent. Hirsch put her in a cross arm breaker for the tap. This was barely a minute.

Travis Titan & Jason Hotch vs. 2point0

Jeff Parker and Matt Lee are so much better off here than in their previous career. They are actually booked like serious competitors instead of as a couple of comedy dorks who get their talk show set destroyed on pre-shows. 2 for the Show finished this total squash and if it was longer than Leyla Hirsch’s match it was only by a couple of seconds.

Sierra vs. The Bunny (w/ The Blade)

The Bunny’s record coming in was 19-11, while Sierra’s record was non-existent in AEW, and would quickly change to 0-1 when Cherry Bomb took her opponent Down the Rabbit Hole. The fastest match of Dark to this point.

Heather Reckless vs. Tay Conti

Reckless jumped Conti before the bell could even ring to start the match. It didn’t help. Conti punted her in the face repeatedly and hit the DD-Tay for the pin. The finishes were coming machine gun fast on this episode!

QT Marshall (w/ The Factory) vs. Evil Uno

Marshall’s 2021 record before this match was an impressive 21-4. Uno’s record was equally impressive though at 20-6, so this was an occasion where it wasn’t immediately obvious who would prevail. Uno laid into Marshall early with a series of chops and used referee Paul Turner to help him get a neck breaker. Aaron Solo grabbed the leg to slow Uno down and Marshall took over, mocking Uno to draw the ire of the crowd. They took the bait and chanted “QT sucks!” Uno got back on offense and tossed Marshall with a German suplex. Flatliner for a near fall. Marshall with a top rope suplex for a near fall, which Uno nearly countered into a cradle. Liger bomb by Marshall for two. Marshall called for a Diamond Cutter but Uno blocked it. Uno did a dive to the floor to wipe out The Factory and gave Solo a flatliner for good measure. Nick Comoroto nailed him from behind and threw him back in, Marshall’s first cutter was blocked, but the second put Uno away. A fun competitive match.

Matt Sydal vs. PAC (w/ Death Triangle)

Before the match could even get underway Andrade El Idolo and his crew came out to remind us he’s facing PAC on Sunday, and they joined the commentary booth to boot. Sydal’s AEW singles record going in was 21-8. PAC’s 2021 singles record was 8-1-1. Even though Penta and Fenix accompanied PAC to the ring, he really didn’t need their help. In the middle of the match Andrade left commentary to throw a drink in his face, and that was the moment both sides squared off on the entrance ramp. They returned to commentary and falsely claimed the Lucha Bros “backed down.”

Sydal took advantage of the distractions and got on offense, landing on his feet on a German and taking PAC down with a leg scissor. Sydal hit a Meteora for a near fall and was pissed it wasn’t a three count. Sydal spiked PAC on his head for another near fall but started selling his right shoulder. PAC hit him with the moonsault to the floor and began selling his neck. Back in the ring PAC hit a Liger bomb for two. He dragged Sydal’s corpse to the corner but Sydal got up before the Black Arrow and got the Poisonrana and a roundhouse kick. PAC responded with a Brutalizer for the sudden and violent submission. Superb match! A great build to PAC vs. Andrade on Sunday.

What to watch/skip

This week’s AEW Dark recap was brought to you by the Gravediggaz. If you were going to skip anything from this edition it could be the four straight one minute squashes in the middle of the show, but since they are only a minute long why bother? The rest of the show was good, Marshall vs. Uno was really good, and PAC vs. Sydal was fantastico.

Cageside commentary crew! Get up off your seats and leave your feedback in the comments section below. See you next Monday night for Elevation!