1 Up & 5 Downs From AEW Dark (Jan 28)
Botches aplenty on this hard-to-watch half-hour of wrestling.
Last night's episode of AEW Dark came in at a neat 32 minutes and 35 seconds.
One might look at that runtime and think this was an easy watch, but alas. The show somehow made that half-hour feel like at least triple its actual duration as AEW unleashed a disappointing broadcast that undermined most of the performers involved, despite endeavour to push a couple of undercard stories along.
The first of those stories was Shanna vs. Nyla Rose. The duo's feud has been rolling along for a few weeks now, with 'The Native Beast' putting the babyface through a table before Christmas. Now, on Dark, they'd settle their beef in a tables match. Also highlighted as The Dark Order's ongoing recruitment drive, with Evil Uno and Grayson meeting their latest target, Brandon Cutler, and Sonny Kiss in the main event. These contests were split by a QT Marshall vs. Kip Sabian exhibition match.
Much of the footage came from the 15 January Bash at the Beach taping, with only one bout going down on the Jericho Cruise. Tony Schiavone looked sharp in his presenting role, addressing his audience from the high seas, though co-host Dash Gonzalez wasn't around.
Let's break this thing down.