AEW Dark results: Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Shawn Spears
By Landon Pipkin for F4WOnline.com
From Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL, w/Excalibur and Taz as announcers
Match Recommendations:
- Scorpio Sky vs. Serpentico (10:00)
- Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. (5:11)
Show Recap:
Shawn Spears (w/Tully Blanchard) defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
Before the match, the referee once again checked Spears’ glove for a foreign object. We got a collar and elbow tie-up to start with Spears getting the better of Pillman. In the corner, Spears landed big chops, which Pillman returned for a brief flurry of offense in which he hit a nice dropkick which sent Spears to the outside.
Spears dropkicked Pillman to the outside and then stomped on his head while it was propped against the ramp stairs. The onslaught continued as Spears started choking Pillman right in front of the ref. Pillman recovered and landed multiple chops and forearms on Spears.
Spears countered Pillman’s crossbody attempt off the top rope and hit C4 for the victory. After the match, Blanchard handed Spears a metal slug for his glove which he used to knock out Pillman.
Big Swole defeated Rache Chanel
The commentary team subtly mocked Chanel’s ring attire before the match as it was different to say the least. Chanel backed Swole into the corner, but Swole recovered and locked on a tight side headlock.
Chanel propped Swole in between the ropes and hit a swinging neckbreaker for a one count. As Taz mentioned on commentary, Chanel used some very unorthodox submission moves, but Swole fought out after what felt like twenty minutes of submission attempts.
Swole hit numerous lariats and a headbutt to regain control. She hit Dirty Dancing and a pump kick to end this madness.
– Backstage, Alex Marvez interviewed Brandi Rhodes and Allie. Marvez brought up last year’s Fight For The Fallen event when Brandi brought out Awesome Kong to help her defeat Allie. Dustin Rhodes appeared and said he knows what Allie’s doing. Dustin urged Allie to stay with QT Marshall and keep the Nightmare Sisters together. Marvez asked if the Nightmare Sisters are still a family to which Brandi replied she wouldn’t go that far, but would still like to team with Allie. Allie said it wasn’t a terrible idea.
Frankie Kazarian (w/Christopher Daniels & Scorpio Sky) defeated Luther
We had a collar and elbow tie-up to start with Kazarian getting the better of Luther. Kazarian maintained wrist control, but Luther landed heavy knees to break it up. Luther countered an Irish whip and hit a running leg lariat to take control. “The Original Death Dealer” then went to work. Luther hit a butterfly suplex for a one count, but he wasn’t happy with the count and continued to scream at the referee.
Kazarian began his heroic comeback with multiple chops and forearms, executing a victory roll on Luther for the win. With the victory, Kazarian joined the AEW 20 win club.
The Butcher & The Blade and The Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) defeated Brady Pierce, Faboo Andre, Joe Alonzo & Tony Donati
Pentagon Jr and Donati opened the match. Donati stopped Pentagon as he did his zero fear gimmick which led to Pentagon landing a superkick on him. Pentagon tagged in Fenix and the two landed multiple tag team maneuvers.
Blade and Alonzo both tagged in and Blade continued to dominate the match for his team. Butcher tagged in and hit a lifting side slam for a two count. Then, all the wrestlers hit the ring and chaos ensued.
Butcher tagged in Pentagon and they hit a powerbomb/lung blower combo into a double stomp on Alonzo for the win.
Orange Cassidy defeated Will Hobbs
Cassidy had his hands in his pockets when Hobbs attempted a lariat, but Cassidy evaded and hit superman punch for the win.
Michael Nakazawa defeated Shawn Dean
Dean refused a handshake before the match. A collar and elbow tie-up ended with Nakazawa bringing out oil from his trunks and escaping. Dean later hit a diving lariat for a near fall. Nakazawa went back to his trunks for the oil, but referee Aubrey Edwards intercepted hin and threw the oil out of the ring. Edwards could definitely crack the Baltimore Orioles starting rotation with that arm.
Dean landed a snap suplex for a two count. Nakazawa countered and hit a spear to regain control. Nakazawa hit a diving shoulder tackle for a near fall. He attempted to use the thong claw, but Dean countered and hit a TKO into a backstabber for a two count.
Nakazawa locked in the abdominal stretch and successfully used the thong claw, but Dean escaped. Nakazawa took Dean down and applied the thong claw again for a three count. This was a great example of a match you don’t want anyone walking in the room while you’re watching it. Is it possible to explain this stuff to a non-wrestling fan?
Scorpio Sky defeated Serpentico
Serpentico attempted a takedown early on, but Sky evaded. This was a technical masterpiece early on between these two. Serpentico and Sky exchanged chops against the ropes and Sky hit a Russian leg sweep for a two count.
Sky hit a backbreaker for another two count. Serpentico hit a nice superkick on the outside and then threw Sky into the barricade. Back in the ring, Serpentico pinned Sky for a two count and then a single leg dropkick for a near fall.
Serpentico laid in multiple forearms and attempted a suplex, but Sky countered and landed a brainbuster. He hit a hanging neckbreaker for a two count. Serpentico rallied back and hit a slingshot double stomp for a two count, continuing his offense with a DDT for another near fall. Sky countered a double stomp and hit the TKO for the victory.
Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) defeated Brandon Cutler & Peter Avalon (w/Leva Bates)
Uno and Avalon started out. Avalon laid down in the middle of the ring, and when Uno went for the pin, Avalon rolled him up for a near fall. Dark Order landed numerous tag team maneuvers on Avalon. Cutler tagged in and had a flurry of offense before Dark Order regained control.
Grayson hit a spear on Cutler for a near fall. Uno tagged in and hit a brainbuster on Cutler for another two count. Grayson tagged back in and Dark Order continued their assault on Cutler.
Cutler slipped away, hit a diving crossbody on Grayson, and made the hot tag to Avalon. Avalon hit dropkicks on both members of Dark Order, and then landed a split leg moonsault for a two count. Grayson tagged in, but Bates grabbed his leg. Grayson confronted Bates, but Avalon hit a dive to the outside, taking Grayson out.
After a masked member of Dark Order confronted Bates, Cutler hit a springboard senton onto all of the masked members that were at ringside. Avalon hit a swinging DDT, and Cutler hit a springboard elbow drop on Grayson, but Uno broke up the pinfall attempt.
Grayson looked for a tag, but Uno was on the outside being evaluated by an AEW doctor. Grayson hit a liger bomb for a near fall and then hit Knightfall for the victory.
Closing Thoughts:
This week’s episode of Dark was one of the worst in recent memory with Swole and Chanel having maybe the worst match I have seen in any major promotion. I think Swole has a bright future in the AEW women’s division, but Chanel wasn’t the right opponent for her at this time. Then, we had Luther and Kazarian which wasn’t much better. The coolest thing about Luther is his nickname as it doesn’t get better than “The Original Death Dealer”.
Without Taz and Excalibur on commentary, this show could have felt way longer than it actually was. By far, the best match was Scorpio Sky versus Serpentico. Obviously, AEW has big plans for Sky and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s in the title picture within a few months. Also, Serpentico has been one of the few jobbers brought in that can go 10+ minutes and look good.