5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dark (Aug 11)
Butcher and Blade's run continues, Rey Fenix gets nasty, and Penelope Ford shows out.
Recent movements at TNT raise interesting questions on AEW Dark's future.
WarnerMedia's Kevin Reilly, who brought wrestling back to the network last year, was fired over the weekend, replaced by Casey Bloys, who played a considerable role in removing combat sports content from HBO during his time there. Cody has told fans not to worry about this impacting AEW's staying power on TNT (Dynamite continues performing well above expectations), though it's hard to feel optimistic about the promotion's still-to-debut second network show now.
Dark had been rumoured for that slot. Perhaps the B-show's future now lies on YouTube, not TNT, where it can remain a revenue stream independent of AEW's TV operations.
Shawn Spears, Kip Sabian, Penelope Ford, Jurassic Express, and Rey Fenix were amongst the highlighted wrestlers this week. The main event saw SoCal Uncensored's Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian wrestle The Butcher and The Blade as AEW's stacked tag division continues to prove itself too big for Dynamite.
The usual Dark system applies here: an Up is worth watching, a Down may not be if you aren't a hardcore fan of those involved.
Let's light the fuse.