AEW Elevation Special recap (Sep. 3, 2022): Kissing, cowboy vests, and crotch punches

AEW swung by on Saturday night (Sep. 3, 2022) for a bonus episode of Elevation. The special featured kissing, cowboys vests, and crotch punches as stars warmed up for their PPV bouts at All Out.

Let’s break it on down.

Tony Schiavone and Daddy Magic were at the commentary table for this evening of showcase bouts.

Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo defeated GPA & Laynie Luck. Sammy and Tay kissed on stage, and Daddy Magic wanted more tongue. GPA and Laynie also shared a smooch. Mixed tag rules in effect. GPA had Sammy in trouble with a pair of jawbreakers and a stunner. Tag to Laynie, which meant Tay was legal too. Tay regained control of the bout with a German suplex and running kicks in the corner. The AAA mixed tag champs finished with tandem GTH from Guevara and Tay-KO from Melo. Tay had the legal move for victory.

Keith Lee & Shane Strickland defeated Storm Grayson & Jah-C. Needless to say, this was a non-title bout for the AEW tag champs. Swerve was slick with tricks, and Lee bulldozed with power. Jah-C tried an armbar on a standing Lee. Limitless swung Jah-C around still hanging on his arm, and Swerve entered for a single-leg dropkick to the moving target. Swerve in Our Glory finished with their meteora powerbomb combo.

Hangman Page, John Silver, & Alex Reynolds defeated Aaron Solo, Nick Comoroto, & Cole Karter. The Dark Order and Hangman wore matching cowboy vests. QT Marshall was ringside to assist with occasional physical interference. Tag to Hangman to clean house with style. The match broke down into chaos with moves all around. Silver ignited the spark toward victory with a German suplex on the much larger Comoroto. Reynolds and Silver ping ponged Solo with strikes, a stunner, and a German suplex. Hangman leaped in with a Buckshot Lariat to seal the deal on Solo.

The Acclaimed defeated Invictus Khash & JPH. Max Caster rapped about winning the AEW tag titles at All Out, Swerve’s dying rap career, and Lee’s promos.

As the Acclaimed were in control, JPH had the audacity to block a scissor party. He paid the price for his insolence. Anthony Bowens slammed JPH to the mat to set up Caster’s flying elbow drop for the win. Scissor party!

Ruby Soho & Ortiz defeated Emi Sakura & Baliyan Akki. Mixed tag rules. After teamwork offense, Soho and Ortiz boogied down with a swivel hip dance. Sakura and Akki gained control. Sakura landed a moonsault onto Ortiz, but he was able to get his knees up when Akki followed for a flying splash. Soho used a back heel trip to send Sakura out of the ring. Akki was ripe for the picking. Headscissors takeover from Soho, clothesline from Ortiz, boot from Soho, enziguri from Ortiz, and the No Future Kick from Soho laid Akki out cold. Ortiz made the pin.

Best Friends defeated Butcher, Blade, & Angelico. Danhausen was ringside. The bad guys attacked before the opening bell and focused on isolating Trent. Angelico landed a cheap shot punch to Danhausen, much to the vocal disapproval of the live crowd. Trent used a tornado DDT to open the window for a hot tag to Orange Cassidy. OC used his jacket to throw Angelico around the ring and trip Butcher. Cassidy continued with a suicide dive, flying crossbody, and a second suicide dive. Chuck Taylor tagged in for a Sole Food facebreaker combo with Trent executing a half-and-half suplex. The Best Friends were ready to give the people what they want, but Butcher and Blade pulled them out of the ring preventing the hug. Angelico wrapped Cassidy in a leg submission. Danhausen hopped onto the apron to curse Angelico. Angelico responded with pelvic gyrations toward Danhausen’s face. Danhausen reacted with a crotch punch. Angelico was in pain then turned around into a Superman punch. Best Friends finished with the trios teamwork pyramid splash.

This special episode of Elevation was standard fare. The stars looked like stars in victory. There was a funky groove of energy in the air with personality shining bright throughout providing a lot of little things to enjoy. If I have to pick two bouts to recommend, I’d go with Hangman and the Dark Order gelling as a trio and the comedic craziness of the Best Friends main event.

Share your thought on Elevation. Which was your favorite match and favorite moment? Who caught your eye to stand out?