AEW Dark: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Colt Cabana, Sammy Guevara vs. Ho Ho Lun

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means: the first AEW Dark episode of the new year with a twelve-match card, taped last Wednesday at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

Tony Nese defeated Alan “5” Angels

At first, Nese underestimated Angels which was his biggest mistake in this match. Nese’s strategy was to ground Angels but was not successful on certain occasions with Angels landing several dropkicks and enziguris. Nese had a great near fall with a pump handle piledriver. Nese secured the win after a combination of a German suplex into the turnbuckle and a running knee strike to improve his record to 7-1.

A very interesting note: Taz mentioned Nese’s scouting of Hook on the latest episode of Rampage, so a match between those two could happen very soon.

Anna Jay (w/ Tay Conti & -1) defeated Dream Girl Ellie

Jay (21-10) won this short match by submission with the Queenslayer.

Gunn Club defeated Austin Green, Donnie Primetime & Rolando Perez

This was the AEW debut for the trios of Green, Primetime and Perez. Colten and Austin tried to outpower Green, but were unsuccessful, Billy tried as well, but even he was unsuccessful in taking down Green. Austin hit the Quick Draw on Primetime (aka Kung Fu Janela) to pick up the win as the Gunn Club remains undefeated in trios action at 23-0.

Marina Shafir defeated Valentina Rossi

This was Moldova (Shafir) vs. Italy (Rossi) if we’re looking at country vs. country. Shafir showcased her MMA experience with several body shots. Shafir won by submission with a leg capture triangle, picking up her first win in two outings. I think we are definitely seeing more of her in AEW down the line after this outing.

Bobby Fish defeated Ryzin

Fish dominated, ending this with a roundhouse kick to improve his record to 5-4.

Leyla Hirsch, Red Velvet & Kris Statlander defeated Marina Tucker, Renee Michelle & Sofia Castillo

Hirsch and Statlander seem to have some beef between each other every time they tagged the other. Statlander eventually got a hot tag and cleaned house on her opponents. However, it was Hirsch and the jujigatami on Michelle that picked up the win for her team.

The Acclaimed defeated Axton Ray & Blanco Loco

This was the AEW debut for Ray and Blanco. Max Caster’s entrance rap was very funny as expected. The Acclaimed focused their efforts on Loco and the Caster Mic Drop picked up the victory for the aspiring Tag Team title challengers.

Jamie Hayter defeated Madi Wrenkowski

Hayter destroyed Wrenkowski with several powerful chops which marked the beginning of the end. Hayter (5-4) hit a brainbuster to pick up the win.

Dante Martin defeated Chandler Hopkins

Martin (22-8) won this short match with the Nose Dive.

Sammy Guevara defeated Ho Ho Lun

This match was the AEW debut for Lun. Guevara started things by alienating Lun who ended up resorting to cheap tricks like attacking Guevara’s eyes to get things in his favor. The former TNT Champion (11-2) won after landing both a GTH and a Cross Rhodes. This was a very important win for Guevara ahead of his TNT title rematch at Saturday’s Battle of the Belts.

Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Colt Cabana

Hobbs showcased his strength while Cabana was trying to avoid his power moves with speed and smarts. Hobbs got a near fall on Cabana with a spinebuster. Cabana tried to go for a moonsault, but Hobbs dodged it. He then picked up the win with the torture rack, his 20th against just four losses.

Brian Pillman Jr. defeated JD Drake (w/ Cezar Bononi)

Bononi helped Drake throughout the match, distracting Pillman Jr. and attacking him whenever possible. Pillman Jr. overcame it and picked up the victory after hitting the Air Pillman. This was a big confidence booster for Pillman Jr. (31-11) because of his current feud with Malakai Black and their upcoming match on Wednesday.

Final Thoughts:

Hobbs vs. Cabana, Nese vs. Angels, and Guevara vs. Lun were the best matches of the night, highlighted by Taz and Excalibur on commentary.