AEW Dark recap (Sept. 7, 2021): The Swole World’s in Her Hands

Episode 107 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 on YouTube. Your commentary team for the latest edition was Excalibur and Taz.

Lance Archer vs. Jason Hotch

Archer intercepted his opponent and gave him a slam on the ring apron before the opening bell. Hotch tried a couple of chops and may as well have been chopping a giant sequoia. Release German suplex launched Hotch across the ring. Three straight running elbows devastated him, and the Blackout demolished him. Another short and brutal Archer win.

The Bunny (w/ Penelope Ford) vs. Laynie Luck

The inaccurately named Luck was still in search of her first AEW win, 0-3 thus far in singles competition. The Bunny wasted no time stomping her opponent into the canvas and chopping her in the chest. Luck tried to steal a win with a couple of quick roll ups and nearly got her hair yanked out by the roots in response. Bunny hit a running knee, skipped around the ring, and drove her Down the Rabbit Hole for the pin. Penelope Ford lent her a hand by rolling her Luck-less opponent’s carcass out of the ring.

Evil Uno (w/ Stu Grayson & Colt Cabana) vs. Alan “5” Angels (w/ John Silver & Preston “10” Vance)

We had a match here that was booked thanks to events on Elevation, which is the kind of storyline continuity that you don’t find (cough cough) on other shows. A handshake at the open led to a quick roll up attempt by Uno that didn’t work. The confused crowd didn’t know who to cheer for so they chanted “please don’t fight” instead. Angels double legged Uno to the ground for a pounding and kipped up to his feet on fire, hitting a DDT for two. Flatliner into a Koji Clutch, but Uno got his boot on the ropes for a break. Angels did a springboard to the outside to wipe Uno out. Angels tried to throw him back in, but he rolled back out. Angels was distracted by Cabana, which led Uno to take advantage before throwing him into the steel steps, then throwing him back in the ring for Something Evil. Uno seemed less happy to pick up a win than just about anybody you’ve ever seen.

The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) vs. Shawn Dean & Robert Anthony

Max Caster came out with his rap written down on paper and implied it was “approved by management.” Bowens took the mic in disgust. “Are they scripting our promos now Max? What the hell is this?” Caster promptly tore up the paper and started freestyling. “We’re swinging for the fences/This time I’ll try not to be too offensive.” He implied Shawn Dean had a “small peen” which on the Max Caster scale is definitely less offensive than usual. The skit to open the match was far longer than the match itself. The Acclaimed dominated their opponents and Caster finished Anthony off with the Mic Drop.

Joey Janela vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty’s AEW record coming in was 0-1, so he tried wearing a tiger mask to the ring to gain some fighting spirit. Janela’s protege Kayla Rossi looked on as Janela beat him up all around the ringside area and applied a body triangle back in the ring. Moriarty escaped it with reverse elbows, and Janela responded by chopping him right in the neck. Moriarty tripped Janela when he charged in the corner, then spiked Janela right on his head and shoulder, teasing a possible upset when he hit the dropkick and got a near fall. This led to dueling chants until Janela hit a superplex that sent Moriarty rolling out of the ring. Janela hit a suicide dive and threw him back in, but Moriarty returned the favor by doing the same thing. They traded “boo/yay” strikes in the middle until Janela hit a release German suplex. Moriarty responded with a European uppercut but Janela hit a lariat and a piledriver right back for a near fall. Moriarty did a leg sweep into a near fall into a crossface, but Rossi put Janela’s boot on the ropes to force a ref break by Aubrey Edwards. Janela tried a roll up with a handful of trunks, and when that didn’t work he hit the Death Valley Driver for the win. Before Janela could celebrate the win Sonny Kiss hit the ring and laid into Janela! He bailed as fast as possible with Rossi and Kiss staring darts into each other. A really fun match that showcased just how much Moriarty is capable of.

The Dark Order (Colt Cabana & Stu Grayson) vs. Travis Titan & RSP

Titan and Rickey Shane Page had never teamed together so they were “making their tag team debut” but that’s just as well since their singles record wouldn’t be too impressive. The Chicago crowd was begging for Colt Cabana to get the tag, so Titan & RSP worked over Grayson to get the heat. Grayson finally escaped with a backflip double kick to the head and they erupted for Cabana, chanting “boom” for every strike landed. Grayson tagged back in for the double team guillotine elbow. Cabana tagged in, hit the Chicago Skyline with an assist from Grayson putting him in Cabana’s clutches, and made sure there was no interference by doing Nightfall at the same time. Basically this was a squash.

Three Strikes Match: Big Swole vs. Diamante

“The only way to win is to score two strikes by either pinfall, submission, or knockout.” So despite Justin Roberts’ explaining the stipulation, “Three Strikes” is essentially “two out of three falls.” Their records before the match: Diamante was 16-9, Swole was 14-4, and somebody would be moving one rung up the ladder toward Britt Baker when all was said and done. Diamante got the first fall with a handful of trunks. Swole tied things up with an ankle lock submission. “Di-ah-ma-tay” and “let’s go Swole” dueling chants broke out as the two began violently brawling outside the ring. Back inside Diamante wrapped the chain around her hand and punched Swole in the gut, then whipped her in the back repeatedly. Swole finally reached her breaking point and kicked the chain out of her hands, then had a tug of war for the chain, which Swole won with a head butt. Diamante rolled out, Swole gave chase with the chain on her own hand, but Swole got rammed into the ring post head first. Diamante sent Swole into the ring and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, but this was her undoing as Swole countered, spun her way into Dirty Dancing and knocked her out with her own chain! Fun match, great finish, Swole is a star in the making.

What to watch/skip

Moriarty and Janela was the second best match of the night, while Swole and Diamante really turned up their feud in the main event to get the number one spot. There was nothing technically wrong with Bunny vs. Luck but also nothing about it you needed to see, and the same could be said of Archer vs. Hotch. From match three on the show kept getting better.

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