9 Ups & 2 Downs For AEW Dark: Elevation
5. Solid If Functional Storytelling ELEVATED
Incredibly basic but necessary nuts and bolts, the idea is to further QT Marshall's heel turn and strengthen him on paper ahead of Lee Johnson's breakout singles match. This was accomplished after he defeated Marko Stunt, who is the ideal opponent with which to get over as a prick.
This basic, logical storytelling shed every bored pejorative when it unfolded in the ring, because this was a tremendous amount of fun. A wrestler must adore getting in there with Marko. He is the perfect loser; anybody who dwarfs him looks like a nine foot tall monster, and QT was blackly hilarious playing the bully capable of holding Marko in midair at his whim. It's when the bully eats sh*t that Marko reveals his true brilliance on the comeback: QT was game to sell it, taking a ridiculously great Canadian Destroyer.
QT throws a vastly underrated working punch, and he annihilated Stunt with a perfectly-timed midair hoof of one deep into the match.