9 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Dark: Elevation

2. Flashes Of Feeling

At times, one doesn't so much enjoy Dark and Dark: Elevation as view it dispassionately as study material, almost. This wrestler is going to be really good in a few years' time, etc. The sheer length and repetitive format can prove exhausting when by design it doesn't function to thrill.

Certain moments on Elevation however proved that the future can be exciting, even if it isn't now.

Max Caster has grasped that it's better to whole-ass edgy material and not recite 4Chan message boards. The !*$% line he aimed at Dante Martin was quality, and his elaboration of the "your mother" joke was much funnier than the joke itself. The "Your mother told me that, Dante" deadpan was priceless because he essentially said "No, no, I actually had full sex with your mother". The match was of a decent standard, too. Martin's plancha feint is a great, between-spaces twist on an overused move.

Powerhouse Hobbs is getting it. He knows that every second holds the potential to tell a story and chased Brandon Cutler back into the ring with a sadistic grin. He didn't merely perform the spot knowing it was a cutoff.

As bad as the WWE trope-fest of a show-long angle was, you'd have to be dead inside, Andy Murray, not to raise a smile at Michael Nakazawa - who incidentally should be further integrated into the Kenny Omega act.