This nine-match edition of AEW Dark: Elevation was recorded last Wednesday before Dynamite in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with Ian Riccaboni, Paul Wight and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard on the call.
The Butcher, The Blade & Rush defeated Brett Gosselin, Channing Thomas & Doug Love
Blade started the match against Thomas and just destroyed him. His partners also took turns getting squashed. Rush dominated Love and it was over after the Bull Horns exploder in the corner for a quick trios win.
Hikaru Shida & Willow Nightingale defeated Emi Sakura & Leva Bates
This was similar to last week when Nightingale took on Sakura -- just with different partners. Sakura and Bates started by trying to get a cheap shot on the babyfaces, but Shida and Nightingale turned it around quickly. Of course, Sakura used her nefarious ways to get back into things. Shida hit a hurricanrana that led to a Nightingale hot tag. After Nightingale hit a spinebuster and Shida came back into the match with a backbreaker, Sakura raked the eyes to regain the advantage.
Sakura and Bates tried to hit some kind of double-team move in the corner, but Nightingale fought her way back in and set up Shida's Katana finisher for the win. Nightingale is really over and should go up to the main shows any week now.
Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) defeated Brandon Cutler
Can you guess how this one went? Cage started with a shoulder tackle and when Cutler tried a chop, it was one of the worst you've ever seen. Cage hit his own chop which was deafening. Cage followed up with a full nelson slam and then Nana suggested that they use Cutler's own cold spray on him. That failed as he just ended up spraying it into Cage's face. Cutler got a roll up for a near fall, but Cage followed it up with a clothesline, power bomb and F5 for the win.
I couldn't tell if they were planting seeds between Cage and Nana or if it was just a comedy thing as part of a Cutler match.
Jericho Appreciation Society (Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia & Matt Menard) defeated Leon Ruffin, Tony Deppen & Tracy Williams
This team full of former ROH champions got a jobber entrance as they were taking on the JAS. It was still a good back-and-forth match as each one of the babyfaces got their moves in. But, the JAS stayed in it by cheating. Once Ruffin got in the match, he ran wild but got caught and worked over by the entire JAS team. Garcia locked in the dragon sleeper that made Ruffin pass out for the win.
ROH Women's Champion Mercedes Martinez defeated JC in a non-title match
This was the first match the recently injured Martinez has had on AEW TV since retaining the ROH Women's Title against Serena Deeb in July. Martinez held a vertical suplex for a good thirty seconds early in the match to show off some power. JC got some chops in, but Martinez countered with a spinebuster and locked in her Brass City Sleeper for the quick win.
Wheeler Yuta defeated Zack Clayton
Clayton has been getting a lot of wins recently, but he got stopped in his tracks here tonight. He still got a lot of offense in during the early going, but Yuta got back in the match with a forearm off the top rope. He started striking Clayton on the neck and then tied him in a pinning combination that he could not get out of for the win.
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & Matt Hardy defeated The Trustbusters (Ari Daivari & Sonny Kiss) & Encore
Before the match, Daivari offered $50,000 to Encore if he helped them beat Hardy and Private Party. He also emphasized how Hardy could not use the Twist of Fate.
They started out working over Kassidy. Each heel got their moves in until Quen got the hot tag and ran absolutely wild. He almost hit the roof on a cross body and then a tope suicida to the outside. After he connected on a shooting star press, Kiss broke up the pin and hit an impressive press slam. Hardy got the hot tag, hit the Side Effect, and then the assisted clothesline for the win. After the match, Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Daivari and took his money. Since this didn't happen in the match, he doesn't have to pay a Firm fine.
Alex Reynolds defeated Kip Sabian (w/ Penelope Ford)
Sabian attacked Reynolds early, but Reynolds got right back in it by biting Sabian's head. They started going back and forth, move for move. Sabian hit a twisting suplex and a double stomp off the top rope. When Sabian went for the pin, Reynolds rolled him over and got his own pin for the surprise win. Sabian started to attack him after the match, but the heels then left him alone.
Lexy Nair was in the back with Ethan Page who thought they were gonna talk about his teammates getting some big wins tonight, but she actually wanted to ask him about the Twist of Fate. It turns out that Hardy did have to pay, but he gave Page the money he stole from Daivari. Kassidy then whispered in his ear that the Twist of Fate was "orgasmic" and then he moaned. Interesting.
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) & AEW All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy defeated The Factory (Cole Karter, Lee Johnson & Aaron Solo)
The Best Friends were making their entrance first, but The Factory came out and attacked them from behind. They had the upper hand through the beginning of this match and even hit the hug in the middle of the ring. The camera, noticeably, did not zoom out though. Best Friends almost got back in, but Nick Comoroto attacked from the outside. After this, Cassidy got the hot tag and ran wild with some Orange Punches and a dive to the outside.
All the Best Friends set up in the ring with Taylor and Beretta hitting a piledriver while Cassidy connected on a neckbreaker to get the win. In storyline, this was their second victory over The Factory in three days counting Saturday's Zero Hour pre-show.