7 Ups & 5 Downs From AEW Dark (Nov 24)

Last night was the longest episode of AEW Dark ever, as the promotion stretched their pseudo developmental web series to a runtime of 2 hours and 46 minutes featuring 17 matches, most of which were competitive squashes. A handful of more even contests broke this up, particularly towards the end, but Dark's 63rd episode was largely the same layout over and over.

As always, cherry-picking is the key to enjoy this show to the fullest. Only completionists and the hardest of the hardcore need watch the full thing every week - and that's fine. AEW isn't trying to produce a Dynamite-calibre product here. In the midst of an ongoing global health crisis, Dark is as much about giving paydays to out-of-pocket independent wrestlers who have seen their scene ravaged by an invisible enemy, while also getting AEW's developmental athletes valuable in-ring reps as they continue their progression.

None of this negates valid criticism, though it certainly tempers it.

Amongst the wrestlers highlighted in this week's squashes were Penelope Ford, Big Swole, The Hybrid 2, Brandon Cutler, and Jurassic Express. Sammy Guevara vs. Marko Stunt, The Dark Order vs. Chaos Project vs. Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss, and Matt Sydal vs. Alan '5' Angels were more competitive.

Let's light the fuse...