AEW Dark
Episode 18
#AEWDark
Original Air Date: February 4, 2020
Event Date: January 29, 2020
(uploaded to YouTube)
City: Cleveland, OH
Venue: Wolstein Center
Commentary: Excalibur, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Intro Video
Outside the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame
Tony Shiavone welcomes us to Dark and introduces tonight’s matches.
Match 1
“The Concrete Rose” Sonny Kiss & Brandon Cutler vs Marko Stunt & Jungle Boy w/ Luchasaurus
(referee: Mike Posey)
Result: Marko Stunt pins Brandon Cutler after an assisted rolling cutter
Time: 7:27
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Cutler and Kiss didn’t have a very good showing in their last match as a team (against Dark Order), but tonight was a good makeup for that. Cutler and Kiss both looked pretty aggressive at times, and they did well against Jurassic Express. Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt looked great tonight though, so even though Stunt did get isolated in the match, he and Jungle Boy did some exciting things on their own and as a tandem to keep their momentum up throughout the match.
Video
Brandi Rhodes talks to her therapist. Something is wrong, and she needs some help. Are negative internet comments getting to her?
Match 2
Mel w/ Awesome Kong, Luther vs Hikaru Shida
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Hikaru Shida wins via pinfall after a running knee strike
Time: 8:18
Match Thoughts
Good match. Shida was outnumbered three to one tonight. Luther and Kong repeatedly assisted Mel throughout the match, and that made things extremely difficult for Shida. The match felt like it sort of stopped and started a few times, but that was because of all the distractions and interference. One Shida finally found an opening, she was able to capitalize and bring about a nice finish. I enjoyed the match.
Ring Area
After the match, Kong and Luther are upset with Mel. Kong hits Mel, and Mel shoves Kong. Kong approaches Mel, but Luther holds Kong’s arms behind her back. Luther assists Mel as she destroys Kong at ringside.
Match 3 (from Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager)
Penelope Ford & “Superbad” Kip Sabian vs Riho (Women’s Champ) & Kenny Omega (Tag Champ)
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Kenny Omega pins Kip Sabian after the One Winged Angel
Time: 16:50 (clipped)
Match Thoughts
Very good match. This was recorded with a single handheld camera at ringside during the recent Jericho cruise, so it was kind of shaky and didn’t have any commentary, but that didn’t matter. This was a super fun match. Seeing Riho and Omega tag together was great, and this was a true intergender match. Omega started against Ford, then Riho went up against Sabian. Everyone mixed it up as the match went along, and that helped make an already exciting match even better. There was a minor clip in the match, but I don’t think we missed much if anything.
Backstage
Lexy Nair gets an update from Dr. Samson about Awesome Kong. He says Kong will be out indefinitely until they can look into her injuries more.
Match 4
“The Chairman” Shawn Spears w/ Tully Blanchard & Colin Delaney vs Best Friends w/ Orange Cassidy
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Trent pins Colin Delaney after Strong Zero
Time: 15:06
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Seeing Colin Delaney was fun, but seeing him do really well was great! He and Spears didn’t necessarily work well as a tandem, but they both worked well on their own. Delaney brought some unpredictability to the match, and that played out well against the Best Friends. Chuck and Trent were super fun as always. Plus, we got to see a standoff between Orange Cassidy and Tully Blanchard!
Show Impressions
This was a great bounce back for Dark from a not-so-great episode last week. I loved tonight’s show.
Match of the Night
Best Friends vs Spears & Delaney / Sabian & Ford vs Omega & Riho
I can’t decide between these two matches, so I won’t. They’re both great in their own ways.