5 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dark (Dec 1)

Jurassic Express, The Dark Order, and Joey Janela & Sonny Kiss raise the bar in Dark bomb-fest.

Matt sydal
AEW

"Hello everyone and welcome to a frankly ridiculous edition of AEW Dark," said Excalibur as he introduced last night's show, which, if you remove USA Network ad breaks, ran about the same length as the average episode of Monday Night Raw.

This has been the case for a while now. Dark is a serious time sink for those dedicated enough to watch from start to finish every week, though Tony Khan's comments during yesterday's pre-Winter Is Coming media call may comfort those who've grown weary by the format.

The AEW President claimed he is considering splitting Dark into two shows: one for developmental talent, and another for established wrestlers. This comes following swathes of new additions to the roster through the ongoing global health crisis, many of whom found their earnings tanked by the indie scene's dormancy, as well as AEW's stance on not releasing unavailable talents not named Sadie Gibbs and Bea Priestley during a pandemic. It'll likely be a while before we see any changes, though many would welcome a switch-up.

The Acclaimed, Ricky Starks, Leva Bates, Brandon Cutler, Matt Sydal, and more were highlighted last night, with a three-way tag team main event providing closer competition.

Let's light the fuse...

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. 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.