Week after week, I continue to enjoy watching AEW Dark and Dark Elevation. Although there are usually some issues that I have with the shows, the good tends to always outweigh the bad. Here are the parts of the show that I think were highlights this week.
The Good from AEW Dark Elevation
The larger crowd really added extra energy to Elevation this week. It was nice to see the crowd be really into matches and respond to wrestlers the way that I am sure AEW want them to respond to them.
The first match of the night between Brian Cage and Schaff was a fun opening match. I would’ve been cool to see Schaff win because he was over as heck with the crowd but the right man won.
I think that this was a very good match for both men. It made Cage look like a million bucks and for Schaff, its one of those matches that makes you say “sign that guy!”
Ethan Page continues to be a highlight for these Dark and Elevation shows. Whatever they got going on with Page, Hardy, and the Firm, I’m here for it.
The crowd was hot for the first tag team match of the night also. I think that it was a good match. I did not like the spot where Mike Bennett ran the ropes multiple times to finish with a poke in the eye.
It was fun for the live crowd but it made his opponent look completely incompetent. My other small problem with this match was how long it went. I don’t think that anyone see the Bollywood Boys as a threat. This match did not need to be seven minutes long.
If AEW ever figure out how to book big power wrestlers, Powerhouse Hobbs is going to turn into a diamond for them. He has the look and is solid in the ring. Hobbs should be somewhere in the All-Atlantic title picture or making his case to challenge for it.
The Claudio versus Josh Woods match was pretty good. I think that it could’ve used a little more time to it. There are defiantly matches on this show that could’ve been taken off to give these guys some more time.
Ethan Page is great. Every time he is on my television, I am entertained. This match went a little too long, but the crowd ate it up and the action was fast paced and solid. I really want to see where this goes.
Last week, I was kind of hard on the Elevation announce team. I think that it is what I thought it was last week. Paul Wright is fine, Daddy Magic is the issue. It was better than it was last week but still not very good.
I think that the issue is that there are two color commentators in the booth instead of a play by play and a color commentator.
The weekly Athena squash was fine but they are going to have to give her more of a challenge at some point or just take her off the shows until ROH start.
While Shafir was a strange person to come out to confront Athena because she is a heel, I am here for it. This could lead into the reason why Vickie is mad at her ladies.
I hope that they have a solid match and even though Shafir will most likely lose, I think that she can only go up from this matchup or storyline.
The Bandido versus Christopher Daniels match was the best match of the night. I think that Bandido is something special. It is possible that he might be on the ROH show when it debuts but if I was Tony, I would keep him for AEW.
I understand that everyone cannot get television time every week, so I think that something that Bandido could do and something that will give him very good weekly exposure would to make him the centerpiece for Dark and Dark Elevation.
Bandido is someone that these shows could build around and even start to run some low investment storylines on the shows to help the talent that wrestle for these shows every week get some momentum going.
