Originally published at AEW DARK REPORT: Ten matches from Daily's Place
Photo courtesy: AEW
AEW Dark Episode 35
May 26th, 2020
Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
By: Davie Portman
Commentary by: Excalibur and Taz
This week’s Dark opens with highlights of Brian Cage winning the Casino Ladder Match. Taz says that he wants to make it clear that on this week’s episode of Dark he will not be getting into his business relationship with Brian Cage and Cage’s victory and actions at Double or Nothing
The Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) vs The Natural Nightmares (Dustin Rhodes & QT Marshall w/ Brandi Rhodes)
During the match, Allie came out eating at apple and isn’t dressed in her Bunny gimmick. QT Marshall seems distracted by Allie and John Silver capitalizes by hitting a Running Forearm off the apron. Back in the ring Silver showcases some impressive speed by hitting a great looking running Back Elbow. Dustin makes the tag and hits a beautiful Powerslam to Silver. He follows up with a Canadian Destroyer to Reynolds and Marshall hits the Diamond Cutter for the win.
The Natural Nightmares defeat The Dark Order via Pinfall in 5 mins
After the match, Allie blows a kiss to QT Marshall and walks off as Marshall looks on distracted.
Davie’s thoughts: Very quick match however John Silver looked impressive in the little he had to do. The main focus of the match was Allie who was not dressed as The Bunny. Recently we have seen The Butcher and The Blade in the crowd not dressed in their usual attire so maybe the whole team is going to have a gimmick change and start feuding with the Natural Nightmares.
Michael Nakazawa vs Brandon Cutler
Before the match starts both the referee and Cutler find Turkish Oil on Nakazawa and throw it out. Both attempt roll ups early on. Nakazawa tries to find some more Turkish Oil but doesn’t have any and gets hit by a Vertical Suplex from Cutler for a two count. At some point in the match Cutler busted his head open as he is bleeding. Cutler has a Swanton Bomb for a two count. He Slams Nakazawa onto the ramp and follows up with a Springboard Elbow. Nakazawa shoves Cutler into the barricade and makes it back in the ring. Cutler doesn’t make it back to the ring on time and is counted out.
Michael Nakazawa defeats Brandon Cutler via Countout in 6 mins 20 secs
Davie’s thoughts: This is the first count out in AEW history and Cutler is yet to win a match. The match was fine for what it was but I really can’t see either competitor doing much more than this. Every company does need enhancement talent though.
After the match Peter Avalon and Leva Bates come out and mock Cutler for losing again, calling him the “worst wrestler in AEW”. Cutler says that he can read Avalon like a book and is afraid of losing to Cutler and being the worst wrestler in AEW. Cutler then joins commentary for the next match.
Peter Avalon vs Jungle Boy
Early in the match both trade Wrist Locks and Hammerlocks until Jungle Boy hits a beautiful Springboard Twisting Arm Drag. Avalon bails to the outside and walks into Luchasaurus, he then shoves Marko Stunt causing Jungle Boy to shove him back. Leva Bates separates the two and then Avalon slams Jungle Boy’s head into the ring post. In the ring Avalon misses a Moonsault and Jungle Boy hits a Springboard DDT for a two count. Avalon gets a near fall after a TKO and Marti-Knees. Leva Bates tries to get involved and Luchasaurus puts her on his shoulders as Marko Stunt forcefully kisses her. Jungle Boy then locks in the SGS for the win.
Jungle Boy defeats Peter Avalon via Submission in 7 mins 30 secs
Davie’s thoughts: I don’t really think a “Who is the worst wrestler in AEW” storyline is something I’m particularly interested in seeing however, it is nice to see some sort of storyline on this show for the characters who aren’t featured on Dynamite. The match itself was pretty entertaining. Although I don’t like Avalon’s character, he is a very capable wrestler and had a solid match with Jungle Boy. I really don’t want to see anyone forcefully kiss anyone again. It’s 2020 now and some jokes should just be left in the past.
Serpentico vs Christopher Daniels
Daniels hits a few deep Arm Drags early to Serpentico and follows up with an Exploder. Serpentico gets a little bit of offense as he hits a Pullover foot stomp for a two count. Daniels then hits an STO, series of jabs and an Uranage to set up for the Best Moonsault Ever to pick up the win.
Christopher Daniels defeats Serpentico via Pinfall in 4 mins 23 secs
Davie’s thought: This was a very quick one-sided squash match with not a great deal to comment on.
John Skyler & Brady Pierce vs Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela
Sonny Kiss impresses early by hitting a Running Boot into the splits. Janela seems to have a little bit of trouble with his bandana, which is stuck in his hair. Kiss hit a great looking Front Handspring into an Axe Kick to the abdomen of Pierce. Kiss fires up with a Dropkick, top rope Hurricanrana, and a Leg Drop to the back of the neck for a two count. He then holds the ropes open for Janela to hit a Tope Suicida to Pierce on the outside. Janela wins with the top rope Elbow Drop.
Sonny Kiss & Joey Janela win via Pinfall in 4 mins 37 secs
Davie’s thoughts: I thought this was a good showcase match. Sonny Kiss and Joey Janella are a fun team to watch and could see them starting to appear on Dynamite regularly soon. I feel they would be a great team to have once crowds are back as they are very fan-friendly to watch. They are now 2-0 as a team. Pierce and Skyler both looked good and were able to show some of what they were capable of in what was essentially a squash match.
Tony Donati & Faboo Andre vs Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc w/ Penelope Ford
Jimmy Havoc bites the face of Faboo Andre early on in the match. Sabian and Havoc continue to make quick tags and isolate Andre in their corner. At one point Penelope Ford even gets involved to attack Andre. Havoc sets up Sabian for a Rugby Conversion Kick to the face and referee Rick Knox jokingly says that the ball went wide. Andre ducks the Acid Rainmaker from Havoc and finally manages to make a tag to his partner. Donati hits a beautiful looking German Suplex with a bridge to Sabian, followed by a Vertical Suplex with the arm hooked behind his back. Sabian manages to come back with a Draping Twisting Neckbreaker. Havoc hits the Running Death Valley Driver followed by Sabian hitting the Double Foot Stomp off the top rope. Havoc and Sabian then hit a Dropkick into the Michinoku Driver for the three count.
Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc win via Pinfall in 5 mins 59 secs
Davie’s thoughts: Considering that I am not really a fan of Havoc and Sabian and they were up against two enhancement talents, I didn’t think this was a bad match. They told a good story with isolating Andre for the whole match and Donati actually looked really impressive when he finally got the tag. It has to be said that Tony Donati’s entrance music was also really catchy. Excalibur points out that the finisher Kip Sabian & Jimmy Havoc used was the former tag team finisher of two fellow Brits – Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr.
Grim vs Wardlow w/ MJF
Wardlow picks up Grim into a Powerslam right away and continuously drives shoulders into him in the corner. Grim manages to land a Splash into the corner on Wardlow but got caught in a German Suplex when he attempted a springboard off the second rope. Wardlow sets Grim up for the F10 but Grim slips out. Wardlow comes back with a Spear into the corner, sets him up on the top rope and knees him in the face knocking him out for the win.
Wardlow defeats Grim via Knockout in 2 mins 58 secs
After the match Wardlow hits the F10 on Grim.
Davie’s thoughts: This was impressive considering that Grim was a rather large competitor and Wardlow picked him up with ease. I like that they have added a Knockout blow to Wardlow’s arsenal as it gives him more devastating moves he can win by.
Lee Johnson vs Colt Cabana
Most of this match is Colt Cabana toying with Lee Johnson and making him look silly. Cabana keeps offering his leg and then traps Johnson in pin attempts. At one point Johnson manages to get a Chop and a Dropkick in on Cabana and Colt actually looks a little impressed. Colt Cabana wins after hitting a Bionic Elbow followed by the Billy Goat’s Curse submission.
Colt Cabana wins via Submission in 3mins40
Davie’s thoughts: At this point in the show the constant sub-six-minute squash matches are starting to get a bit tiring. I feel I have seen Colt Cabana’s routine so much now that it is pretty boring especially when there are zero stakes and up against someone you know won’t win.
KiLynn King vs Penelope Ford w/ Kip Sabian
Penelope Ford shows off her engagement ring and hands it to Kip Sabian before the match starts. King shows off her power by hitting a Shoulder Tackle and a Delayed Vertical Suplex for a two count. Ford chokes King in the ropes whilst she kisses Kip Sabian. Ford hits the Back Handspring Elbow followed by the Handspring Cutter for the win.
Penelope Ford defeats KiLynn King via Pinfall in 4 mins 49 secs
Davie’s thoughts: Another squash match however, Penelope Ford did look a lot more polished than she has in recent weeks. I think she really has star potential and working regularly on Dark should help her in-ring work.
Shawn Dean and Alan Angels vs Best Friends w/ Orange Cassidy
Trent mocks Angels with some slaps to the back of the head. This fires up Alan Angels who comes back with a slap of his own followed by a series of kicks. Angels hit a Dropkick to Trent and push him into his own corner to prevent him from making the tag. On the outside Taylor throws Angels into Dean causing him to Spear his own partner. In the ring Chuck catches Angels in a Powerbomb, the Best Friends hug and they hit the Strong Zero for the win.
Best Friends defeat Shawn Dean & Alan Angels via Pinfall in 5 mins 23 secs
Best friends: Another squash match to end the show. They tried to make Dean and Angels seem credible for about thirty seconds but it was a very basic win for the Best Friends.
I feel like a lot of these matches don’t need to be shown. As much as I find a story about “who is the worst wrestler” silly, I did find it one of the most engaging parts of the show as these are two characters with a story that we don’t see on Dynamite. Similarly, I really enjoyed seeing Sonny Kiss and Janela work as a tag team as I don’t see them pair up on Wednesday nights. I would much rather this show focuses on some of their lesser-used main roster talent and built some mini-stories for them rather than just feed guys we see every week on Dynamite some enhancement talent. Also, for a wrestling show to run for ninety minutes I feel I need at least one match to be substantial and run for more than eight minutes.