Chaos Project vs. Bear Country on AEW Dark
Bear Boulder returned to AEW action following a brief injury layoff. Bronson kicked off the match against Serpentico. The Luchador found himself in the wrong corner in the early goings. He walked into a gutwrench but managed to escape the corner attack.
Bronson took Serpentico out with a massive powerslam before tagging in Boulder. The returning star shook off the ring rust with a gigantic splash followed by a side slam on Luther. Bear Boulder came in with a significant elbow drop on Luther.
Bear Country focused on Serpentico as he got laid out with a double back body drop. Bronson continued to punish Serpentico, this time on the outside.
Luther regained control for his team by sweeping Bronson off his feet on the apron. He then threw Serpentico at Bronson as Chaos Project seemed proud of their handiwork.
The Original Death Dealer finally got into the match and drove Bronson face-first into the barricade. Luther kicked his opponent in the back before making a quick tag out to an exhausted Serpentico.
The masked man looked more banged up than Bronson, which said a lot about Chaos Project's offensive style. Luther used Serpentico as a weapon throughout the match as Bronson fought to make it to his corner.
Chaos Project got near fall with an assisted splash. Bronson finally strung together a few kicks before delivering a double senton drop. He eventually made the tag to Boulder, who came in hot with big boots and slams on Luther and Serpentico.
Boulder showed freakish strength with a double powerbomb on Chaos Project! Bear Country finished the AEW Dark match with an assisted splash on Luther.
Result: Bear Country def. Chaos Project on AEW Dark
Grade: B+
Bear Country is back!
Darby Allin vs. Invictus Khash (AEW Debut) on AEW Dark
Invictus Khash was the first Iranian wrestler to perform in AEW, and he was trained by Buddy Wayne, the same man who groomed Darby Allin.
Both men began the match with strong lock-ups, and Allin looked better with his arm control. Khash showed off his technical skills by executing a smooth arm drag takedown.
Khash maintained wrist control and drove Allin down to the mat. Darby's innovative offense came to the fore as he built up some speed with phenomenal arm drags.
Invictus stopped Allin near the ropes and dropped the former TNT champion with a brutal backbreaker. Khash got a one-count with a snap suplex before getting in a chin lock.
Darby broke free and pulled off a series of roll-ups. Khash reversed a few but couldn't find a way out of the Last Supper pinfall on AEW Dark.
Result: Darby Allin def. Invictus Khash (AEW Debut) on AEW Dark
Grade: B
The AEW Dark match's unique finish highlighted Darby Allin's mat sense and sound fundamentals in the ring.
Dark Order's Alan "5" Angels vs. QT Marshall (w/ The Factory) on AEW Dark
QT started the match with an impressive mat return. The Factory leader mocked the Dark Order, and the gesture fired up Angels.
5 unleashed a barrage of kicks, but QT used his body to knock him down. Marshall avoided a dropkick and connected with a big chop.
Angels then got back with southpaw strikes in the corner. He stopped at five and invited QT into the drop toehold. Marshall rolled out of the ring to escape a double knee strike. However, he still ate a dropkick and a tope suicida on the outside.
A brief distraction from other Factory members helped Marshall pull Angels towards the barricade. QT then deployed a systematic approach and broke down Angels with concentrated attacks.
He got a near fall after a hellacious tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a crossface punch. The Dark Order member stayed alive in the match and escaped a back body drop. He caught him with an enziguri, followed by the "this is going to suck" rope move.
Angels picked up the pace and kicked QT in the midsection. Marshall caught Angels and dropped him with a backbreaker-flatliner combo. Alan kicked out at two, much to the surprise of QT.
Marshall placed Angels on the top turnbuckle before joining him at the perch. The Dark Order member fought through a suplex using his punches and upper body strength before knocking QT to the mat.
Angels executed a diving crossbody followed by the Tiaras and a few forearm shimmers. QT missed the German suplex and absorbed a kick and a running knee strike.
Alan positioned QT for the moonsault press, which got him a near fall. Marshall was on rollerskates after taking a commonguri, but he dug deep to block a lungblower.
Marshall showed off tremendous power to drop Angels with a massive Liger bomb. Angels kicked out of the pinfall, and QT was shellshocked for the second time in the match.
Angels blocked the Cutter before going for another top-rope move. Aaron Solow distracted Angels from the apron as hell broke loose near the ringside area between the Factory and Dark Order.
Back to the match, QT had Angels in a powerbomb position on the top rope. Angels fought through with a few headbutts before delivering a magical Spanish Fly. Marshall kicked out at two and a half! Holy s***!
We passed the halfway point of the time limit as Angels looked for the Wingsnapper finisher. Marshall executed a back elbow and ripped off Angels' mask.
Alan rolled QT up and bought some time to get his mask back on. However, QT used that time to catch Angels with the Cutter, and it was enough to get him a hard-fought win on AEW Dark. What a match!
Result: QT Marshall def. Alan Angels on AEW Dark
Grade: A+
QT and Angels put on a pay-per-view quality AEW match for free on YouTube. Incredible!