5 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dark (Feb 4)

A successful mixed tag experiment, The Nightmare Collective split, and more.

by Andy H Murray
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AEW

AEW Dark is back, baby.

Well, it's as "back" as Dark can be. This wasn't a perfect pro-wrestling show, but it was an enjoyable one and while not without flaws, it can only be seen as a step forward from recent examples. Props to the promotion for endeavouring to make this thing worth watching again and for bringing the runtime back to its old standard (the upload came in at 1:19 - more than double last week's).

Much of Dark was marketed around AEW's first mixed-gender tag match, with Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford teaming to face Riho and Kenny Omega. It was always going to be interesting to see how this would go down. AEW had previously distanced themselves from intergender wrestling, but a mixed tag featuring an established heel act and two of the most explosive and decorated wrestlers in the company could work, provided the quality levels were there. Spoiler alert: they were.

Elsewhere, Jungle Boy and Marko Stunt of the Jurassic Express faced Sonny Kiss and Brandon Cutler, Hikaru Shida wrestled The Nightmare Collective's Mel, Best Friends met Shawn Spears and the debuting Colin Delaney, and there was a major split in one of AEW's most maligned stables.

Let's get stuck in...

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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.