AEW Dark Results: Former WWE Superstar debuts, Britt Baker gets attacked, repackaged tag team emerges victorious (23 August 2022)

AEW DARK kicked off its pre-Dynamite blockbuster show with 14 matches, consisting of some of the most talented stars in the industry. With a huge World Championship unification match set for tonight, just how well did AEW DARK fare?

As the road to All Out draws nearer and nearer, tensions between the stars have continuously risen. Keep reading as we break down and grade every match during last night's show in this week's AEW DARK Results.

AEW DARK Opener: The Renegade Twins vs. Rocky Radley and Allie Recks

The bout kicked off strongly with the team of Radley and Recks taking advantage early on.

Unfortunately, Recks quickly fell to an assault by the Renegade Twins, who secured the upper hand for themselves. The twins continued their attack after successfully hitting a delayed vertical suplex.

After the Renegade attempted a second suplex, Allie Recks managed to escape, allowing the now-fresh Rocky Radley to enter the bout.

Regardless of her efforts, The Renegade Twins still put down the star with an assisted Running Neckbreaker.

Winners: The Renegade Twins, (Pin).

Grade: B, the twins put on an entertaining opening AEW DARK bout, showcasing their potential

Anthony Ogogo vs. Meto

Anthony Ogogo quickly gained the upperhand over the debuting Meto, displaying some of his unseen wrestling technique.

The Guvnor seemingly opted for a slower bout, targeting his opponent's arm instead of an all-out brawl. Meto briefly attempted to gain the upperhand, but was met by an overhead throw from Ogogo.

The star continued his assault by hitting a brutal European Uppercut, leading into his Lifting Right Hand Strike and cleanly knocking Meto out.

Winner: Anthony Ogogo, (TKO).

Grade: C+, despite Ogogo employing some wrestling skills, he seemed to overmatch his opponent and wasn't given enough time to showcase his technique.

AEW DARK Tag Team Match: The Wingmen (Ryan Nemeth & Peter Avalon) vs. Adrian Alanis and Liam Gray

The Wingmen began the bout by ruthlessly attacking Alanis and Gray before the match could officially begin.

Ryan Nemeth then proceeded to aggressively attack Liam Gray before allowing Peter Avalon to step into the match. Gray somehow managed to regain momentum long enough to allow his bigger partner to enter the bout.

Unfortunately for Adrian Alanis, some pesky misdirection from The Wingmen allowed the team to steal back momentum and deliver their tag-team finisher to win the match.

Winners: The Wingmen, (Pin).

Grade: C+, the team put on quite an entertaining bout that featured underhanded tactics instead of cheating.

Blake Christian vs. Lucky Ali

The two athletes began the bout on equal footing, with both stars evenly going back and forth during a classic lockup. Blake Christian quickly gained the upperhand, hitting Blake Ali with his high flying offense.

Blake then continued his assault. Unfortunately for the star, Ali finally hit back hard and gained the upperhand for a moment.

Blake then hit a Superplex and Twisting Neckbreaker to Ali before he could deliver a diving attack. Christian then ended off the bout after a stomp, pinning his opponent for the win.

Winner: Blake Christian, (Pin).

Grade: B, quite an intense match from the Christian followed by an inspiring babyface promo by the star.

Jora Johl vs. Vary Morales

Despite Jora Johl's obvious strength advantage, the star initially struggled against Vary Morales' intense high flying assault.

The two then took the bout outside, where Morales hit a diving attack from the top rope to the outside, before Johl turned the bout into his favor.

As the two moved the bout back into the ring, Jora's strength continued to hand him the upperhand. Vary then attempted a diving attack before being met with Johl's foot, who performed a Pump Kick in the nick of time to gain the win.

Winner: Jora Johl, (Pin).

Grade: B+, quite an impressive match between two underutilized stars on AEW DARK.

Max Caster vs. Justin Cotto

Max Caster quickly took the upperhand against Justin Cotto, who made his AEW DARK debut. Caster maintained his momentum, gaining a brief two-count.

Cotto then managed to briefly get the upperhand, hitting an impressive rebound handstand attack.Unfortunately for the star, after a missed Shooting Star Press, Caster capitalized with his Mic Drop, gaining the win.

Winner: Max Caster, (Pin).

Grade: C+, despite being a squash match, Cotto held his own, resulting in some interesting offense from The Acclaimed star.

AEW DARK Tag Team Match: The Factory(Aaron Solow & Nick Comoroto) vs. Matt Sydal and Dante Martin

The Factory began the AEW DARK match by brutally attacking Matt Sydal and Dante Martin.

Despite this, Martin and Sydal managed to pull back, repelling the attacking and gaining the upperhand. As the bout continued, Nick Comoroto gained the upperhand over Martin, even attempting a standing diving attack that failed to hit.

Matt Sydal then finally reentered the bout, colliding with Aaron Solo as the two traded blows before the veteran gained the upperhand. Timely interference from The Factory yet again swung the upperhand into their favor, with Martin saving Sydal just in time to break a three count.

Dante Martin then entered the bout, hitting an explosive Nose Dive to capture the win.

Winners: Matt Sydal and Dante Martin (Pin).

Grade: A, an impressive back and forth from both teams, showcasing Martin's skill and talent.

Daniel Garcia vs. Westin Blake

The two athletes kicked off the bout with a strong show of technical prowess and strength. Westin Blake (known as Wesley Blake in WWE) seemed to match Daniel Garcia early on with an explosive offense.

Despite this, The Dragon Slayer quickly gained the upperhand. As the bout continued, Blake gained the upperhand, kicking off a heavy assault in his AEW DARK debut.

Unfortunately, a failed diving attack put the star straight into Garcia's impressive Dragon Sleeper, immediately scoring a submission victory over the star.

Winner: Daniel Garcia, (Sub).

Grade: B+, quite an impressive back and forth from the two stars which will hopefully lead to more for Westin Blake.

The Trustbusters with Sonny Kiss vs Ryan Howe, Omar Amir, and Cash Flo

SlimJ kicked off the bout going up against Ryan Howe before quickly letting Ari Daivari into the match. Howe then managed to gain the upperhand, allowing both Omar Amir and Cash Flo to enter the bout and take turns attacking Daivari.

The veteran quickly regained the upperhand, allowing the massive Parker Boudreaux to enter the bout.

Parker then proceeded to take out the remaining two opponents, leaving only Cash Flo in the ring. The star then brought SlimJ into the match, finishing Cash Flo off with an assisted Sliced Bread.

Winners: The Trustbusters, (Pin).

Grade: B, an interesting bout between the two teams, building up The Trustbusters in the process.

AEW DARK Trios Match: The Dark Order (John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Preston Vance) vs. Tyshaun Perez, DK Vandu, and Joey Sweets

John Silver kicked off the AEW DARK match against Joey Sweets, who the star quickly overwhelmed.

Tyshaun Perez then entered the bout, gaining the upperhand for his team as both he and DK Vandu assaulted Alex Reynolds. The three continued to beat Reynolds down, before the star finally gained the upperhand.

Pres10 Vance then entered the bout, taking out both Perez and Vandu before hitting Sweets with a Spinebuster. The trio then finished Sweets off with their trio-tag finisher, gaining yet another victory for The Dark Order on AEW DARK.

Winners: The Dark Order.

Grade: B, Dark Order continues to dominate in AEW DARK.

AEW DARK Tag Match: Tony Nese and Josh Woods vs. GKM and Oliver Sawyer

Josh Woods kicked off the bout against Oliver Sawyer with his signature technical prowess. Woods proceeded to deliver a number of impressive Suplexes and Slams onto Sawyer before attempting a pin.

GKM broke up the pin, only for Tony Nese to brutally attack the star and take him out before he could enter the bout.

Woods then hit Sawyer with a devastating running knee, followed by an Olympic Slam + Neckbreaker finisher with the assistance of Nese to end the match.

Winners: Tony Nese and Josh Woods, (Pin).

Grade: B, despite being a squash match, the interesting yet successful pairing of Tony Nese and Josh Woods works out very well.

AEW DARK Tag Match: The Iron Savages vs. Sean Maluta and Manny Lo

Boulder kicked off the match powerfully, taking out Manny Lo before he could make a single move.

The Iron Savages then continued their ruthless assault against Sean Maluta, before both stars ran through their opponents. Maluta shockingly escaped, fending off the two giants before being caught in a Fireman's Carry.

The Iron Savages then hit their infamous Double Cannon Ball finisher to take out both Maluta and Lo indefinitely. After their triumphant win, the team cut a scathing promo alongside their manager, JT Davidson.

Winners: The Iron Savages.

Grade: B, quite an impressive show of talent by the repackaged Iron Savages, with a surprisingly good promo by Bronsen.

AEW DARK Tag Match: The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) vs. Rosario Grillo and Dean Alexander

JD Drake kicked off the bout dominating Rosario Grillo before Anthony Henry entered the match to continue their assault. Henry proceeded to play around with the stunned Grillo, taking his time to taunt his opponent and hurt him.

Grillo quickly reversed Henry's offense, attempting a pin before finally tagging Dean Alexander into the match.

Unfortunately for Alexander, despite his fire, JD interefered and swung the momentum back into The Workhorsemen's favor. Drake then performed a shocking Moonsault, allowing Henry to score the victory in the end.

Winners: JD Drake and Anthony Henry, (Pin).

Grade: B, after 5 losses The Workhorsemen finally picked up a win against a powerful duo.

AEW DARK Main Event: KiLynn King vs. Valentina Rossi

KiLynn King started the bout strongly, and quickly overwhelmed Valentina Rossi. Despite the strong start, Rossi turned the tide and briefly gained the upperhand over King. The star then regained momentum, hitting Rossi with an impressive finisher.

After cutting a promo, the star was interrupted by Dr. Britt Baker who shared a few heated words of her own. King ended the exchange and attacked the former Women's Champion, ending off AEW DARK.

Winner: KiLynn King.

Grade: B, a short bout that seemingly only set up Britt Baker's AEW DARK appearance.