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Today's AEW Dark: Elevation had an unusually brief match card that focussed on quality rather than quantity.
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AEW still stacked the lineup with some big names, and, as always, Paul Wight and Tony Schiavone got the show rolling with the usual pleasantries.
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Thunder Rosa vs. Leila Grey on AEW Dark: Elevation
Thunder Rosa got a loud pop, and the match got underway with a lockup. Fans were firmly behind Rosa as she chopped away in the corner, followed by a few back-elbow and forearm strikes.
Rosa swept Grey off her feet before running through for a downward-angle dropkick in the corner.
La Mera Mera executed a snapmare on Grey in the middle of the ring before kicking her in the back. The former NWA Women's Champion delivered the Fire Thunder Driver to pick up a very one-sided victory to kick off AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Thunder Rosa def. Leila Grey on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: C
Scorpio Sky (w/ Ethan Page) vs. Marcus Kross (AEW Debut) on AEW Dark: Elevation
Marcus Kross had the wackiest hairstyle out of all the recent AEW debutants. Ethan Page was in the commentary booth to support his partner, who started on the backfoot in Kross' headlock.
Sky dropped his opponent with a shoulder tackle, followed by a leaping knee drop. He punched Kross in the gut before seamlessly executing a Russian leg sweep.
Marcus Kross fired back with a few overhand rights, but Sky put together a series of punches. He grabbed Kross by the hair and tossed him around the ring, much to the audience's disdain. Ethan Page loved every second of the vicious hair pull.
Kross almost pulled off an upset with a roll-up, followed by a leg lariat and double stomp-elbow drop combination. Sky recuperated, evaded a kick and delivered a brutal TKO out of nowhere for the win.
Result: Scorpio Sky def. Marcus Kross on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B+
Hikaru Shida vs. Dani Jordyn on AEW Dark: Elevation
The former AEW Women's World Champion was quite amused by Dani Jordyn's antics before they engaged in a collar and elbow tie-up. They exchanged headlocks before gaining some momentum for a few shoulder blocks.
Dani Jordyn cracked Hikaru Shida in the jaw with a right, followed by a shoulder tackle and a running uppercut in the corner.
Shida responded with a brilliant dropkick before rolling Dani on the apron. The action spilled over to the outside as Shida weirdly grabbed a chair. The referee stopped her, and Jordyn took advantage of the distraction to attack Shida with The Burn Book.
Dani rolled Shida back into the ring for a two-count. The heel kept up the pressure with a vertical suplex and another flying uppercut. Shida reacted with a right cross back on her feet, but she continued to absorb a lot of punishment.
Hikaru missed a running knee strike as Dani moved out of the way. Shida countered a rope-assisted DDT before going to the top. She missed her dive but rolled through for two rising knee strikes on Dani, followed by a huge suplex.
Shida evaded a thrust kick and pounded away on Jordyn before getting caught in two roll-ups. Shida barely got out of the pinfall attempts and ended up getting rocked with a forward-roll dropkick. Jordyn was giving Shida a run for her money as fans chanted for the Japanese superstar.
The ladies exchanged punches in the center, but Shida hit a standing enziguri, followed by a bridged German Suplex for a near fall. Shida then cracked Dani with a knee to the back of the head, followed by a diving forearm.
The former AEW Women's Champ finished the match with the Katana.
Result: Hikaru Shida def. Dani Jordyn on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: A
The AEW Dark: Elevation contest was a surprisingly good match that gave Dani Jordyn some valuable minutes to showcase her potential.
Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor & Kris Statlander) vs. Angelico (w/ Jack Evans) on AEW Dark: Elevation
Orange Cassidy and Angelico were amongst the 'coolest' dudes in AEW, but who was better? The crowd was certainly in favor of Cassidy, who got a predictably solid reaction during his entrance.
Angelico was also quite well-liked as there were a few members in the crowd replicating his goofy dance. Angelico took Cassidy's shades right off the referee's hands and put them on like a true heel.
Orange got hold of his sunglasses, got them on, and began his routine offense. The hands were in the pocket, and the King of Sloth Style was in prime form as he connected with a perfect dropkick and a tope suicida.
Kris Statlander stopped Jack Evans' attempts to interfere in the match, but Angelico still messed up Cassidy's rhythm with a Pele kick off his back.
Angelico stamped his authority in the match with a combination of strikes in the corner. The TH2 member had Cassidy in a weird surfboard-style submission for a few seconds before going back to the striking game.
Orange began his comeback with a swift evasive sequence that ended in a tornado DDT. He called for the Orange Punch, but Angelico reversed it into a pinning predicament. Angelico blocked the Beach Break before going for the Navarro Death Roll. Cassidy fought out of the move but ate a kick.
Angelico trapped Cassidy on the turnbuckle for a dropkick to the thighs. Orange, however, outsmarted Angelico with a mousetrap pinfall move for the win on AEW Dark: Elevation.
Result: Orange Cassidy def. Angelico on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B+
The Blade and The Bunny came out after the AEW match and had a face-off with Cassidy and Statlander.
The stars are scheduled for a mixed tag team match this Wednesday on TNT.
Serena Deeb vs. Tesha Price on AEW Dark: Elevation
It's always a treat to have Serena Deeb wrestle on AEW Dark, and "The Woman of a Thousand Holds" got a great reception from the audience.
Price called for a handshake, but Deeb responded with a slap. The veteran was there for a fight, and Price tried to keep up with the clothesline. However, Deeb was aggressive as she yanked Price down with a dragonscrew leg whip, followed by a catapult strike off the bottom rope.
Deeb cranked Price's shoulder in an abdominal stretch before moving to a side headlock. Tesha created some space with a back elbow, but Deeb executed another dragonscrew leg whip from the corner.
Deeb delivered the 'Detox' before trapping Price in the 'Serenity Lock' (high angle calf hold) for her tenth AEW win.
Result: Serena Deeb def. Tesha Price on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B
Joey Janela is frustrated!
Alex Marvez interviewed Joey Janela and asked the star about his in-ring status. Marvez even probed Janela's recent issues with Sonny Kiss, and we didn't get any answers. In fact, Janela didn't utter a word as the 'We want Sonny' chant broke out.
Janela finally broke his silence by saying, "I'm just frustrated," before walking away to the back.
Main Event: Dante Martin vs. Serpentico (w/ Luther) on AEW Dark: Elevation
The high-flyers got the final match of AEW Dark: Elevation underway with a quickfire exchange of hammerlocks.
Luther's squeaky voice echoed in the background as Dante used all his speed to outfox Serpentico. A dropkick sent the Chaos Project member outside, and Martin fell for the bait.
Serpentico drew Aubrey Edwards' attention as Luther trapped Dante on the apron. The masked wrestler was in control as he dumped Martin outside, which enabled Luther to deal some damage to the babyface.
Luther barked orders, and Serpentico obliged with some unforgiving offense on Martin. Dante finally created separation by escaping an incoming attack, sending Serpenrico face-first into the steel ring post.
The action moved into the ring as Dante Martin floored Serpentico with a series of dropkicks. He executed an insane springboard moonsault for a two-count.
Martin missed a round kick and paid for it by getting stunned with a thrust kick and low-angle DDT. Serpentico got a two-count for his efforts as Martin was slow to get back up.
Martin used his quickness to evade several moves before placing Serpentico on the top turnbuckle. He delivered a modified brainbuster for a near fall.
Luther tried to get involved yet again, but Martin wiped him out with a dive over the ropes.
Back in the ring, Dante finished the main event with a front-flip stunner.
Result: Dante Martin def. Serpentico on AEW Dark: Elevation
Grade: B
Luther attacked Dante after the match before former WWE Superstar Matt Sydal ran out to make the save.
Sydal will take on Andrade El Idolo this coming Wednesday on TNT.
You can check out the full AEW Dark: Elevation episode above.
