AEW Dark
Episode 49
#AEWDark
Original Air Date: September 1, 2020
Event Date: August 27, 2020
(uploaded to YouTube)
City: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: Daily’s Place
Commentary: Excalibur, Taz
Ring Announcer: Justin Roberts
Match 1
Eddie Taurus vs “The Chairman” Shawn Spears w/ Tully Blanchard
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Time: 3:50
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Match Thoughts
Good match. Taurus is big and wide, but he’s pretty agile for his size. Spears didn’t have much trouble with him, but Taurus did get in a small bit of offense. Spears seems like he’s in a holding pattern while he waits for a story line to bring him up to Dynamite.
Ring Area
After the bell, Shawn Spears loads his glove with a metal slug and smashes it into Taurus’s forehead. Spears and Blanchard are satisfied with their performances tonight.
Match 2
Faboo Andre & Ryzin vs Santana & Ortiz
(referee: Mike Posey)
Result: Otiz pins Faboo Andre after a sit-out powerbomb (Ortiz) and a kick to the head (Santana)
Time: 3:29
Match Thoughts
Good match. Santana and Ortiz squashed Andre and Ryzin, and they looked very strong doing it. s Excalibur pointed, there were no antics from Santana and Ortiz tonight. They were very serious.
Ring Area
After the match, Santana says he appreciates the fight he’s seen from Best Friends lately. Best Friends being aggressive will make it that much better when Santana and Ortiz send them home crying to Trent’s mom. Ortiz has a message for Trent. Ortiz says for Trent to tell his mom to stop calling him, and the drawers he left will be a little gift from him to her.
Match 3
Cassandra Golden vs Allie w/ QT Marshall
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Allie wins via pinfall after an inverted facelock into an elbow drop
Time: 4:14
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Allie didn’t seem to pay much attention to Golden. She seemed more concerned with what Marshall was and wasn’t doing. But late in the match, Allie was able to get one big move for the win. This was good for Allie’s character, though it remains to be seen how she’s going to fit in with the Nightmare Family kind of in shambles right now.
Outside the Venue
Dasha Gonzalez tries to get a word from Santana and Ortiz. As Santana and Ortiz walk past Dasha, Best Friends attack. The two teams brawl as Dasha calls for help.
Match 4
Angelico vs Frankie Kazarian
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Frankie Kazarian wins via pinfall with a reverse DDT
Time: 7:49
Match Thoughts
Very good match. We don’t often get to see Angelico wrestle on his own in AEW, so I got pretty excited for this. Angelico has a really interesting style of submission wrestling, and he’s very laid-back in his approach. At times he was too laid back, and Kazarian took advantage of that. Kazarian looked good throughout the match. I enjoyed this a lot, and I’m sure I’ll be watching it again at some point.
Ring Area
On the stage, Tony Schiavone welcomes Brandi Rhodes. Brandi has a problem with Anna Jay. Rhodes says Jay is bold, but she’s also dumb. Rhodes challenges Jay to a match in some very strong and threatening tones.
Match 5
Donnie Primetime & Ryan Rembrandt vs The Gunn Club
(referee: Mike Posey)
Result: Austin Gunn pins Donnie Primetime after Quick Draw
Time: 3:48
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. The Gunns squashed their opponents.
Match 6
Dani Jordyn vs Abadon
(referee: Mike Posey)
Result: Abadon wins via submission by hitting Jordyn’s knee while in a leg lace
Time: 5:02
Match Thoughts
Good match. Abadon saw that Dani Jordyn was wearing a knee brace, so she focused on attacking Jordy’s knee for almost the entire match. The attacks weren’t very elegant, but they were effective. I pretty much always enjoy some good submission psychology, so yeah, I enjoyed this match.
Match 7
Tony Donati vs “Absolute” Ricky Starks
(referee: Rick Knox)
Result: Ricky Starks wins via pinfall after the Roshambo
Time: 3:29
Match Thoughts
Good match. Starks looked good beating up Donati.
Match 8
Jon Cruz & David Ali vs Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus w/ Marko Stunt
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Jungle Boy pins Jon Cruz after an assisted cutter
Time: 5:01
Match Thoughts
Good match. Luchasaurus dominated this match for almost the entire time. The times he didn’t dominate were when Jungle Boy was legal. At those times, Jungle Boy dominated. The interactions between Cruz and Luchasaurus throughout the entire match were great. Cruz kept getting caught by Luchasaurus, and after a while Cruz didn’t want to have anything to do with him. This was fun.
Match 9
Red Velvet vs Anna Jay
(referee: Bryce Remsburg)
Result: Anna Jay wins via submission with a rear naked choke
Time: 4:59
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Red Velvet managed to get some early offense because Anna Jay seemed a bit overconfident, but Jay quickly came back to take control of the match. Joining Dark Order was definitely a good move for Jay.
Match 10
“The Captain” Shawn Dean vs “Superbad” Kip Sabian w/ Penelope Ford
(referee: Paul Turner)
Result: Kip Sabian wins via pinfall after a hanging twisting neckbreaker
Time: 4:15
Match Thoughts
Good match. Dean had some nice offense early in the match, and he made Sabian pay for not taking him seriously. Sabian of course came back with some strong offense of his own, but I liked that Dean looked strong throughout much of the match.
Match 11
The Initiative w/ Leva Bates vs Private Party
(referee: Aubrey Edwards)
Result: Isaiah Kassidy pins Brandon Cutler with an Oklahoma roll
Time: 4:25
Match Thoughts
Very good match. The Initiative started strong with some nice tag team cohesion, but Private Party out-moved and outsmarted Avalon and Cutler by the end of the match. This was a lot of fun.
Ring Area
After the match, Peter Avalon is pissed. Avalon hits Brandon Cutler with a lariat before punching him and hitting Cuter in the head with his own giant 20-sided die.
Show Impressions
I liked the show. It felt like they had some more story-ish segments this week, and I appreciate that. Also, it was great having Excalibur back at the commentary table. He’s definitely been missed.
Match of the Night
Angelico vs Frankie Kazarian
This was the longest match of the night, and it was easily the most interesting match to watch for me. I think we need to see more of both of these guys in singles matches.