Getting your pupils dilated sucks. Does it have anything to do with wrestling? No. But it has to be said. The world will never shine brighter. Multiple pairs of sunglasses is not enough. Lordy, bring back the darkness. AEW Dark, that is. Here’s the recap for July 20.
Last time on Dark…
Private Party found a bit of their mojo again. Diamante started a mini-feud with Big Swole. Wheeler Yuta and Angélico put on the best damn match ever. Catch up on the highlights in our July 13 recap.
Elsewhere in the AEW Arcadia…
I was disappointed in the first Dynamite back on the road, but last week’s episode was a big improvement. The main midcard storyline development was that Team Taz all turned on Brian Cage to net Ricky Starks the FTW title. Wheeler Yuta and Sammy Guevara smashed it, as we knew they would. Hopefully these fun matches continue into Fyter Fest Night 2.
Being The Elite episode 265 continued documenting the Young Bucks’ descent into the most obnoxiously dressed characters in all of wrestling. Ryan Nemeth’s Lynchian story continued. I didn’t even know modern TVs could tune to static channels! Funnels! Cream! It has everything. Meanwhile Peter Avalon and Leva Bates’ story got reimagined as a French dubbing of Casablanca. They must be having a blast making these homages.
Over on Sammy Guevara’s vlog (episode 329), Dark Order continued their invasion. There is something amusing about the fact they’re heels on this show and faces on BTE. Most of the show was shilling merch, but we got some neat behind the scenes from the Fuego del Sol/Luchasaurus dark match that aired on Monday Night Elevation. Not really a spoiler to say the dino took it.
Let’s cue up episode 98.
Dim the lights, it’s time for Dark.
REAL LIFE POP: Accept no substitutes
Our opening match has pyro! And fans! It feels weird to have a Dark filmed in front of a full audience. It’s The Blade versus Ryan “Moonshine” Mantell!
The Blade immediately takes control and enjoys the first “woo” chant so much, he tosses the actual local jobber into the opposite corner for another one. Taking advantage, The Bunny rakes Mantell’s back, then rolls him inside for The Blade to finish.
A traditional opening squash, and not one of the better ones, but it was nice to see an up-for-it crowd loudly react to a midcard guy for the first time in ages.
POP: THUNDER! ROSA!
Next up is KiLynn King versus local jobber Thunder Rosa! Wait, that’s not right. Next up it’s local hero Thunder Rosa versus traveling jobber KiLynn King!
A THUNDEROUS ovation for @thunderrosa22! She takes on @KiLynnKing NEXT.
Watch #AEWDark NOW: https://t.co/z2Y42307qS pic.twitter.com/3ig94q80Vz
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 20, 2021
The pop for Thunder Rosa is MASSIVE, but King doesn’t look intimidated. She hits a few armdrags, then mocks a disappointed look as the crowd boos her. Hey, it’s Texas, it’s opposite land! Rosa and King switch it around after that, with King playing monster heel and Rosa basking in the glory of having a home crowd behind her every move.
Rosa eventually takes it with a backstabber into a Peruvian Necktie submission. It’s probably not the best match these two could’ve had, but they didn’t have much time. What was cool – and I hope the bookers are taking notes – was seeing Thunder Rosa so totally over. I suspect she’s just as hot outside of Texas too.
POP: The Acclaimed are massive assholes
Varsity Blonds get a massive pop too! They’re accompanied by Dark Order’s Five and Dime – Alan “5” Angels and Preston “10” Vance. Their opponents are the 4-man of Private Party and The Acclaimed, who pick up some serious heat after Max Caster reveals his baguette to Julia Hart. This is ostensibly some kind of follow-up joke to an Eiffel Tower reference that happened on Elevation last week, but really it’s just some old-fashioned sexist heeling and I am kinda here for it.
Isiah Kassidy and 10 to open. Immediately the crowd starts “10” chants, apparently still missing Shawn Spears’ former gimmick from NXT. When Tye Dillinger doesn’t suddenly pop up from under the ring, the crowd starts chanting for Brian Pillman instead. Angels hits a crossbody on both of Private Party, then Griff Garrison lays Kassidy flat, then it’s Pillman in the ring to mop up.
Caster offers his tag partner a piece of baguette. He dances so perfectly on the edge of obnoxiously crude and innocently absurd that it works. Marc Quen interferes and sets up the Silly String on Pillman. Caster tags in (now that Pillman is safely beaten down), then invites Anthony Bowens to unload some more punishment.
Pillman fights his way out of the beatdown, to a massive pop, then Garrison gets the hot tag and cleans up. 10 hits the spinebuster, 5 hits a moonsault, and it’s 1.. 2.. no! It all disintegrates after the kick-out and it’s 5 and Bowens who are left standing when the dust settles. Bowens grabs his boombox to club 5, but Julia Hart interrupts, 5 hits a Spanish Fly, Bowens is down… he kicks out! After a bit more of a scuffle, Private Party hit Gin and Juice, then Max Caster Mic Drops his elbow for the win.
Anthony Bowens grabs the mic after the match and scores some cheap heat by continuing to be a big ol’ sexist heel, which gets the crowd even more behind Varsity Blonds. This feud has potential!
BOTCH: Not quite the monster
Abadon is here! The ramp is so long she actually has to walk down most of it instead of eerily crawling to the ring like she did at Daily’s Place. She’s gonna have to work on that. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but zombies don’t seem quite as intimidating when they’re striding toward you at normal speed. Her opponent is Promise Braxton, a young talent who has been working the Texas indies.
Braxton hits a few strikes, but Abadon throws her face-first into the mat and wins. It’s not the greatest. Abadon probably works better in cinematic matches at this stage, since so much of what makes her menacing is the visual presentation, and that falls away a bit in a brightly-lit arena full of ordinary people.
POP: Bucket hats-r-us
In some more women’s action, we have The Bunny versus Big Swole.
Allie is a character who immediately works in front of a live audience again. She’s so comfortable with both the cameras and the crowds. Even still, the fans are a bit confused, not sure if they’re supposed to cheer or boo. Swole tries to clarify the situation by earning a pop as she flexes. (Wait, isn’t that a heel move?)
What's this? @DiamanteLAX wants a front-row seat to get a closer look at this match.
Watch #AEWDark NOW: https://t.co/z2Y423hIiq pic.twitter.com/XEO2OBn5eG
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 20, 2021
But then Diamante arrives to save the day! She gets on the mic and does a run-in wearing a bucket hat. You guys. She’s wearing an Arizona ice green tea bucket hat. Instant heel. Bunny uses the distraction to wrest back control. Swole fights valiantly, but then The Blade runs distraction, then Diamante kicks Swole in the head, and it’s a win for the heels.
“We can do it any place, any time.” – @SwoleWorld lays down the challenge to @DiamanteLAX after her interference earlier tonight.
Watch #AEWDark NOW: https://t.co/z2Y423hIiq pic.twitter.com/ScPBfoi8ul
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 20, 2021
This was an admittedly mediocre match with a fun story attached. Diamante earns the pop for me, thanks to her commitment to new AEW gimmick of all heels wearing garish headwear.
POP: A real squash
Our next actual-dark match is Rhodes Wrestling Academy alumnus Chad Lennex versus WARDLOW. The crowd is hot for Wardlow. He’s big. He’s a man. He is a face trapped in a heel’s gimmick.
Lennex gets killed. In about 2 seconds. Ref Rick Knox stops the match. This would’ve made a better opening squash than the actual opening squash.
POP: The Natural comes home
We cold-opened the show with a great Dustin Rhodes promo on Aaron Solow. Correction: Aaron Solo. He has dropped his W. Which ties in to a bit during the Sammy Guevara vlog where Solo gave Fuego del Sol his “first W”. It seems like a clever bit of storytelling, except Fuego’s first AEW win was in a tag match with Marko Stunt versus Baron Black and Occult Pro Wrestling Star RYZIN. Fuego helpfully pointed that out during the vlog. But maybe this is foreshadowing for a singles bout?
Anywho, back to Dark. QT Marshall walks in and cuts a heel promo. He’s pretty good at this. Solo’s effort is more of a reminder to the live crowd that this is the Dark main event so they better pop hard for their hometown hero.
The Dustin Rhodes pop almost matches the Thunder Rosa pop.
Solo interrupts the entrance music, but Rhodes is so much more of a badass that he immediately bounces back and takes the kid outside for a thrashing. Once they’re back in the ring, Solo distracts ref Paul Turner to give QT an opening to hit a cheap shot on The Natural.
Code Red from @dustinrhodes!
Watch #AEWDark NOW: https://t.co/z2Y42307qS pic.twitter.com/IQKrehbvDz
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) July 20, 2021
Rhodes comes back with an uppercut and powerslam to great applause. Solo kicks out of the Code Red, but he doesn’t kick out of successive bulldogs. 1, 2, 3 and that’s a wrap.
This was a tight episode of Dark. There were no wasted moments. Every jobber got squashed. Every midcarder got a chance to show their greatest hits. I miss giving the indie talents time to shine, but I can understand not wanting to have the Dynamite crowd sit through hours of developmental. It was a nice change-up, and a useful opportunity to get a bit more insight into which of the midcard is over with the fans outside of YouTube.
Coming up on Dynamite we have have Fyter Fest Night Two! Wheeler Yuta will be getting another shot in front of a TV audience with Darby Allin. Just sign the guy already! Also possibly a dark horse for MOTN – The Blade versus Orange Cassidy. Whatever happens, the crowd should be hot. Take care, wrestlefans, and I’ll see you back here next week for the 99th Dark.
