AEW Dark Elevation results: Konosuke Takeshita vs. JD Drake

This week’s edition of AEW Dark: Elevation was filmed before last week’s Dynamite in Duluth, Georgia. Excalibur, Mark Henry, and Caprice Coleman were on the call.

Angelico & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) defeated Adrian Alanis, AR Fox & Liam Gray

Angelico started with Gray, showing off his technical prowess. The team of Alanis, Fox & Gray got some offense in, but things changed when Kassidy hit a tope onto Alanis. Eventually, Fox and Angelico got the hot tags. Fox got some really impressive offense in with a standing moonsault off the apron onto Quen, but the veteran got caught in Angelico’s Navarro Death Roll that caused the tapout.

Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose defeated Angelica Risk & Shalonce Royal

The impressive team of Shafir & Rose were looking for their second straight win in AEW. 

They went to work early on Risk and kept her in their corner. Rose hit Risk with a torture rack slam and went for the pin, but before the referee could count, Royal ran in to break it up. Shafir threw her out of the ring and hit the assisted spinebuster with Rose for the win. 

Toni Storm defeated Emi Sakura (w/ Baliyan Akki)

Sakura made her way to the ring with Akki, a Choco Pro regular in Japan. This was his official debut on AEW TV of any kind, but I believe he had a match at the previous AEW Dark taping that has yet to air.

When Storm entered the ring, Sakura used her cape to attack her and get the early advantage. She hit some Mongolian chops and sent Storm flying by her hair. Sakura also gave Storm a spanking for some reason? Sakura got a little too cocky and engaged in a chop battle. She went for one more chop, but faked out Storm and used her nails to claw away at her chest. They moved to the outside where Storm missed on two wraparound DDTs but eventually hit it on a third attempt.

Back in the ring, Akki helped Sakura get out of tough spots in the corner. Sakura connected with a backbreaker for a near fall. Storm countered another backbreaker with an Alabama Slam. She then used a hip attack, another wraparound DDT, and another pendulum DDT for the win. This was a really good match. 

Kris Statlander defeated Brittany

Brittany Jade, as she is known on the indies, was in action for the second straight week — this time against the 49-18 third-ranked Statlander. Statlander showed out with a Randy Orton-like snapping powerslam. She showed great power and hit a piledriver variation for the win.

Hikaru Shida defeated Robyn Renegade (w/ Charlette Renegade)

The former AEW Women’s Champion made her way to the ring with the Eye of Agamotto around her neck. Her necklace looked shinier than Dr. Strange’s. Shida used her knees for some early offense, but was quickly cut off by the twins on the outside. She eventually rebounded, hitting some of the best looking punches I’ve seen in awhile. She got a near fall off a springboard with double knees.

Robyn Renegade gouged the eyes of Shida and rolled out of the ring. The Renegade twins went for the ol’ switcheroo like the Bella Twins, but they look very different and were, in fact, wearing two different outfits. Referee Mike Posey eventually called them out, setting up a Shida axe kick and falcon arrow for the win.

Dark Order (Evil Uno & 10) defeated The Factory (Aaron Solo & Nick Comoroto) (w/ QT Marshall)

Evil Uno was very grateful to the crowd to start this one out. He hit a delayed vertical suplex that stopped at 10, of course. This was followed by Excalibur saying, “That’s nine more seconds than (Solo) is accustomed to.” Mark Henry then followed with, “That’s what she said.”

Marshall continuously got involved on the outside. With his interference and different variations of Dark Order, I’m quickly getting tired of this small rivalry they have going. I feel like I have seen this match 1000 times. 10 got the hot tag, but the pin got broken up by Comoroto. A diving foot stomp by Solo got a quick two count. Not even two minutes after the previous hot tag, 10 got another but it didn’t work out so well this time. 

Solo went for a dirty Marshall-assisted pin, but the referee saw him and swiftly ejected him. The commentators sang Hit the Road Jack while 10 hit a discus lariat for the win.

Baron Black defeated Brandon Cutler

Cutler came out of the curtain with a mic and talked up his friendship with the Young Bucks. He called Black the biggest loser in AEW, but they both, in fact, have the same AEW record.

Black hit a quick spinning chop to shut Cutler up. They should have sent it home here, but Cutler had to get some offense in. After striking back and forth, Black hit a deadlift powerbomb for a near fall. Referee Rick Knox had to get involved, so Cutler used it as an opportunity to use the cold spray, but Black rolled up Cutler to get his first win in AEW.

Konosuke Takeshita defeated JD Drake

The two main event competitors had some great back and forth to start. The former DDT star really seemed over with the crowd. He hit a beautiful flying clothesline after some chops from Drake. A missed knee from Takeshita sent him flying to the outside. Drake took the advantage with a right hand on the outside for a near fall. 

Takeshita connected on a huge german suplex, but Drake was quick to hit the cannonball and moonsault off the top for another near fall. He also bit at Takeshita’s forehead which was just injured last week in his match with iJon Moxley. Takeshita turned it around into a blue thunder bomb and a high-flying knee for the win.

Final Thoughts:

AEW Dark: Elevation and AEW Dark used to be really easy to watch, but now it just highlights all the things that are wrong with AEW. You have wrestlers that are Dark “regulars” getting more screen time than most of the guys on the shows. Not only that, you have competitors like Takeshita and Sakura that have been in some really big matches in AEW history. Now they’re having nothing happening matches on YouTube. Hopefully, they figure out how to get things working again.