4 Ups & 3 Downs From AEW Dark (Jan 21)

by Andy H Murray

1. Hot Trios Action

Jungle Boy dive
AEW

#STRONGHEARTS are a group of wrestlers that should really be utilised more in AEW as they're always fun as hell between the ropes and guarantee energy whenever they're on the card. It's a shame that T-Hawk, CIMA, and El Lindaman aren't featured more often, but we're glad for bouts like last night's versus Jurassic Express nonetheless.

This was an absolute hoot. A fun, kinetic bout, it had plenty of house show-style crowd-popping stuff, but wasn't lacking in personality and athleticism either.

Marko Stunt was deployed realistically and intelligently, using his tiny frame and speed to craft openings when possible, before absorbing #STRONGHEARTS' control sequence. Across from him was El Lindaman, who's roughly the same height but far bulkier. Linda is a pint-sized powerhouse with real-life credibility thanks to his judo experience. He's also got one of the most slappable faces in wrestling, giving him real heel potential should AEW utilise him and his teammates more.

Sound psychology saw the Japanese wrestlers isolate Marko, but Marko is hard to kill. They couldn't put him down, felt the full brunt of Jungle Boy's propulsion and Luchasaurus' brutish striking, and were eventually felled by a nuts new Jurassic Express finisher as Luchasaurus flipped Lindaman over his head and straight into a sitout Powerbomb from Jack Perry. Crazy stuff to end a very watchable match.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.