8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dark (Nov 19)
The Young Bucks vs. Strong Hearts highlight a night of fun tag team action.
Shows like this necessitate reiterating a common caveat relating to the Ups and Downs format.
8 Ups and 2 Downs suggests an excellent show, but that's not what last night's Dark was. It was a solid show, no doubt, but not the blow-away broadcast the numbers hint at. Most of the plus points were good rather than great, meaning they have to be marked down as positives even if it means the title giving a false impression of the night's true quality. This all fine, just don't mistake this fun little 60-minuter for a Show of the Month contender.
Last night's Dark was built around tag team action in both the men's and women's divisions. Private Party looked for a record-padding victory over Best Friends ahead of their big Dynamite clash with Pride N Powerful, while The Young Bucks showed up to face the returning El Lindaman and T-Hawk of Strong Hearts in the main event. Sandwiched in between was Riho and Britt Baker against the debuting Kris Statlander and new signing Big Swole, with the babyfaces now seemingly on the same page after previously clashing for the World Women's Championship.
Next week promises at least one banger with Kenny Omega defending his AAA Mega Championship against Jack Evans. That's something to look forward to, but for now, let's break this fun, breezy watch down...