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AEW DARK TV REPORT
JUNE 2, 2020
AIRED LIVE ON YOUTUBE.COM
REPORT BY ZACH GRAHAM, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
Ring Announcer: Dasha Gonzalez
– Excalibur welcomed everyone to AEW Dark and introduced his partner Taz. Taz said tonight is going to be an excellent edition of AEW Dark. Taz then previewed the lineup including Billy vs. John Skyler, Butcher & Blade vs. Jon Cruz & Joe Alonzo, Santana & Ortiz vs. Big Game Leroy & EJ Lewis, and The Natural Nightmares vs. Brandon Cutler & Peter Avalon in the main event. Excalibur then introduced Dasha Gonzalez who announced the first match.
(1) BILLY (w/Austin Gunn) vs. JOHN SKYLER
Skyler and Billy circled each other to start the match as Austin Gunn cheered obnoxiously on the apron. Billy took control of Skyler’s arm and decided to slap him on the butt. Austin laughed and mocked Skyler, who went over and kicked the bottom rope to try and shut him up. It didn’t work. After Billy slapped Skyler on the butt a second time, Skyler rolled out of the ring to deal with Austin who was still laughing at him. Skyler walked towards Austin and yelled, but Billy got out of the ring between them to get Skyler back in the ring.
Skyler entered and cut Billy off as he also entered with a stomp to the back. Billy shoulder tackled Skyler to the mat. Skyler tried knocking Billy down, but Billy dropped him with a power bomb. Billy put Skyler’s head between his legs for a move, but Austin caught Billy’s attention on the outside and told him not to do that move, so Billy abandoned it. Billy ran the ropes and Skyler hit him with a super kick. Skyler went for another, but Billy caught his leg and hit him with a Famouser for the win.
WINNER: Billy in 4:00
(Graham’s Thoughts: Is the Gunn Club act supposed to be heels? I don’t think so, but Austin is annoying on a Vickie Guerrero yelling “Excuse Me” over and over level for me. He distracted his dad’s opponent, laughed at him, and spent the whole match being annoying. Put him back in the AEW Dynamite audience and leave this shtick there on the other side of the barricade.)
– Alex Marvez introduced himself and said he was with the Natural Nightmares tag team and their manager Brandi, but QT Marshall wasn’t with them. Dustin said he’s on his way and should be there in a minute. Marvez talked about Natural Nightmares being ranked second in the tag team division and Dustin winning at Double or Nothing. Marvez said Brandi has them on a roll and looked to her for a comment. Brandi said that the Nightmare Family truly believe in the motto “Do the work.” As she finished this sentence, a car horn interrupted her and QT Marshall pulled up in a blue Corvette with Allie in the passenger seat.
Marshall got out and Dustin asked where he’d been. Marshall said he was buying a car and pointed to his new ride. Dustin questioned why and Marshall said Allie told him that someone of his magnitude needs a nice car, so he bought it. Dustin asked why Allie was in the car and Marshall said she helped him pick it out. Marshall asked what the problem was as Dustin and Brandi looked frustrated. Brandi asked Marshall not to get defensive because they’re just looking out for him.
Brandi said his new hair has gone to his head and he seems to be going through some kind of mid-life crisis. Brandi asked Marshall to look her dead in the eyes and tell her if he thinks Allie is truly and honestly into him. Marshall laughed it off and said what’s there not to be in to? He has new hair and a new car now. Dustin and Brandi tried to get Marshall to come with them so they can get ready for their match, but Marshall said no he and Allie are going to go get some food and he got back in his car.
(2) BUTCHER & BLADE vs. JON CRUZ & JOE ALONZO
Before the bell rang, Butcher and Blade attacked Alonzo and Cruz. The official rang for the bell as the attack continued. Blade threw Cruz onto the top rope and Butcher overhead suplexed Alonzo. Alonzo rolled out under the bottom rope and Butcher exited to make Cruz and Blade the official competitors. Blade continued the attack on Cruz with a slow methodical attack of chops and stomping on his head before tagging in Butcher. Butcher hit Cruz with a leg drop then whipped him face first into the middle turn buckle. Butcher picked Cruz up three times over his head and dropped him stomach first over his knee. Butcher then carried Cruz into his corner and threw him across the ring to allow him to tag in Alonzo.
Alonzo tagged in and charged at Butcher, who no sold the elbows Alonzo attempted. Butcher threw Alonzo into the ropes and hit him with a cross chop to ground him. Butcher slowly moved as he threw Alonzo across the ring with a pair of suplexes before tagging Blade back in. Butcher & Blade his an elevated spinning side slam combination and Blade went for the cover, but decided he wasn’t done yet and lifted Alonzo off the mat. Excalibur promoted the Kenny Omega & Hangman Page tag team title defense against Jimmy Havoc & Kip Sabian on Dynamite tomorrow while Blade moved slowly punishing Alonzo more.
Alonzo found an opening and hit Blade with a knee to the chin as he ran the ropes. Butcher and Cruz both tagged in for their partners. Butcher blind tagged in and Cruz went after Blade instead. Blade threw Cruz into Butcher for a spinning backbreaker. Butcher then suplexed Cruz over his head and Blade hit him with a back breaker as he landed. Excalibur called it the Full Death Dagger. Butcher then pinned Cruz for the win.
WINNERS: Butcher & Blade in 6:00
(Graham’s Thoughts: Can we please stop ringing the bell when wrestlers are being attacked before the bell even rings? In what world does that make any logical sense? You see someone getting attacked before the match, so ring the bell? A clear advantage was gained. Ringing the bell is completely unfair in the context of a real fight. This is a very easy fix. Back the attackers off, check on the opposing team to make sure they still want the match, and then ring the bell to start the match. That’s basic stuff.)
– An unnamed woman stood in front of Brandon Cutler, Peter Avalon, and Leva Bates. She said there has been a lot of controversy as to whose foot touched first during the battle royal last week, but the fact is both Cutler and Avalon lost. They both argued saying that it doesn’t matter and they argued over whose foot touched the floor first. They argued with each other as the woman walked off. Leva Bates took the microphone from her and stopped them from arguing. She said them yelling isn’t solving the problem, but she has a plan. She said Cutler has a negative winning streak and so does Avalon, but two negatives make a positive, so they should team up. Cutler said they tried that and Bates said last time she wasn’t there for them and she’s the missing piece. They both agreed, but Cutler said no cheating allowed. Bates said she doesn’t cheat, Avalon shamelessly admitted that he’s tried to.
(Graham’s Thoughts: Okay, so they didn’t know they had a match on the show? The top of the show announced that Cutler and Avalon were teaming together in the main event. Did this segment happen earlier in the day? I’d assume that’s what we’re to believe, but that wasn’t indicated in any way. Cutler and Avalon were both dressed to wrestle already, so this could’ve happened twenty minutes before their match too? This is just another example of some things for AEW to clean up, this isn’t a big deal, but it’s easily fixable, so put in the extra effort, even if it’s a simple graphic showing that this happened earlier in the day.)
(3) CHRISTI JAYNES vs. KILYNN KING
The two locked arms to start the match, but King controlled Jaynes’ head early on. Jaynes powered out and shoulder tackled King down before stopping to dance and show off. King responded with a shoulder tackle and dance of her own in response. The two exchanged one count pin fall attempts until King took hold of Jaynes’ left arm and powered her to the mat at Jaynes attempted to reach a rope to force a break. Jayne grabbed a handful of hair to finally get King to break the hold. Jayne stomped away at King in the corner using the entirety of the five count, but broke the hold before being disqualified. Jaynes then performed two more illegal moves, utilizing the five count, then stopped to do a little dance after each one as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
King finally fired back after Jaynes backed up to do her little dance. King clotheslined her then hit her with a running boot to the face followed by a suplex and a diving cutter. King went for the pin attempt, but Jaynes reversed it and stole the victory with a leverage pin attempt with a handful of tights.
WINNER: Christi Jaynes in 4:00
– As Santana & Ortiz made their entrance, Excalibur plugged replays of Double or Nothing being available and used it to transition to the debut of Brian Cage and asked Taz about it. Taz said he won the Casino Ladder match and gets an AEW Championship match at Fyter Fest. Taz said Moxley annoyed the hell out of him on Dynamite last week because he was smiling at Taz as he spoke to him. Taz said he was trying to put Moxley on notice to what Cage is about. Taz said Moxley will find out soon enough.
(4) SANTANA & ORTIZ vs. BIG GAME LEROY & EJ LEWIS
Santana started the match against Leroy, who came to the ring with a Nintendo Switch and didn’t put it down when the bell rang. Santana walked over and kicked it out of his hands then kicked it out of the ring. Lewis tagged in and Santana stomped him in the corner and then threw him clear across the ring into his corner and tagged in Ortiz. Taz complimented Santana & Ortiz and commented that he’d love to have them with him, but doesn’t think Chris Jericho would allow it. Ortiz continued a slow and methodical attack on Lewis as Excalibur recapped the angle last week to end Dynamite where Mike Tyson came out to confront Jericho and the Inner Circle.
Ortiz put Lewis on his back with his arms restrained. Santana tagged in and hit Lewis with chops to his exposed chest as he yelled out in pain. Ortiz then stomped on Lewis’ fingers and hit him with a pump kick to the jaw, which Taz was very happy about as he cheered loudly in reaction. Taz laughed and said welcome to Dark kids. Santana demanded Lewis get up and fight like a man. Ortiz tagged back in and they tried a double suplex on Lewis. Lewis landed on his feet and tried to take them both on. He ran the ropes, but as he turned around he was met with a super kick by Santana. Santana hit Lewis with a moonsault then “covered” Lewis with a knee on his chest. Leroy entered to stop the pin attempt, but Santana stood up off Lewis and Ortiz also entered as they both challenged Leroy to do something.
Ortiz threw Lewis back to Leroy so he could enter legally. Santana powered him into the corner and Ortiz tagged in. Ortiz hit Leroy with a sit out power bomb, then lifted him back up into the waiting arms of Santana who suplexed him over his head face first into the middle turn buckle. Santana ran and jumped off Ortiz’s back for a buckle bomb followed by a street sweeper for the win.
WINNERS: Santana & Ortiz in 5:00
– Cutler and Avalon entered the ring from opposite entrance tunnels, which caught the attention of Taz and Excalibur. Taz noted that might be the first time they’ve had that happen in AEW. Cutler rolled his dice on the stage as he usually does, but Avalon kicked it, which seemed to upset Cutler.
– Marshall waved Allie out as they made their entrance, then escorted her over to the commentary table where she joined Taz and Excalibur for the match.
(5) THE NATURAL NIGHTMARES (w/ Brandi Rhodes) vs. BRANDON CUTLER & PETER AVALON (w/ Leva Bates)
Dustin and Cutler started the match. Taz asked Allie about her relationship with Marshall. Allie complimented Marshall and said he looks great, like he’s been working out more lately. Allie said she encouraged him to go vegan, which he now has. Excalibur asked her about her relationship with Butcher and Blade now and she just said she’s distracted by QT Marshall and Excalibur dropped it.
During this conversation Dustin and Cutler took each other down then stared off and fist bumped as a sign of respect. Avalon was disgusted by this and demanded Cutler tag him in, Dustin also tagged Marshall in. Marshall immediately took Cutler down with a hip toss. Avalon tried to go to the top rope for a cross body, but Marshall caught him mid-air then suplexed him over his head while he stared at Allie at the commentary table. Allie complimented Marshall’s physique again saying look at the way his tights fit him now. Without skipping a beat Taz responded “it looks like he went to Vegas and lost his ass.” (Graham’s Thoughts: Line of the night. I had to stop for a minute to compose myself. That was flawless execution by Taz.)
Marshall ran the ropes and Leva Bates grabbed his ankle, which upset Marshall and Cutler who said no cheating. Avalon threw Marshall into the ropes and Marshall ducked under Avalon then slid out of the ring and slapped the book out of Bates’ hand. Avalon came flying through the ropes and took Marshall down outside the ring. Cutler got in Avalon’s face and yelled at him for cheating as Avalon threw Marshall back into the ring and scored a pair of one count pin falls. Cutler and Avalon isolated Marshall and scored some near falls, but were unable to put Marshall away. Cutler hit Marshall with a senton off the top rope, but Dustin entered to break up the pin attempt before immediately exiting the ring again. Marshall fought off Avalon and Cutler in their corner. Cutler backed up and charged at Marshall, but Avalon was going to punch Marshall and ended up punching Cutler instead as Marshall ducked the punch and splash attempt. Marshall crawled over and tagged in Dustin as Avalon also entered.
Dustin took out Cutler and Avalon. He grounded Avalon with an atomic drop and running bulldog. Cutler entered to stop Dustin’s momentum but was taken down with a scoop slam. Dustin scored a two count off a scoop slam on Avalon. Cutler blind tagged in as Avalon hit Dustin with a pair of knees to ihsd back. Cutler hit Dustin with a springboard elbow drop and went for a cover. Marshall entered and Avalon tried to hold him back, but Marshall shoved Avalon into Cutler to stop the pin. Cutler got upset with Avalon for his interference and as the two argued Marshall and Dustin knocked them both down with clotheslines. Dustin propped Avalon up in the corner then backed up to the opposite side to get a running start. Bates grabbed Dustin’s ankle and held on as Dustin dragged her into the ring. Brandi entered and hit Bates with a stunner then threw her into Avalon as he tried charging at Dustin. Cutler jumped off the top rope directly into an atomic bomb by Dustin. Marshall tagged in. Dustin hit Cutler with a Canadian Destroyer followed by a cutter by Marshall for the win.
WINNERS: The Natural Nightmares in 7:00
– Excalibur promoted what’s coming up on AEW Dynamite tomorrow including Cody vs. Jungle Boy for the TNT Championship, Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. Jimmy Havoc & Kip Sabian for the AEW Tag Team Championships, Chris Jericho vs. Colt Cabana, and Brian Cage in action.
– Alex Marvez was backstage with Dustin, Brandi, and QT Marshall. Marshall was looking at something off screen as Marvez said that they keep on rolling with another win tonight. He asked Dustin if they could’ve done it without Brandi and Dustin said no he couldn’t have and fist bumped Brandi. Marshall was looking off screen as Marvez asked for his comments. Marshall said he couldn’t have done it without her as he stared at Allie, who was shown just off camera. Marshall said she’s the apple of his eye, he handed Brandi his apple and said they’re going to go celebrate as he left with Allie.
FINAL THOUGHTS…
I was surprised this Allie and QT Marshall story popped up on Dynamite last week and was talked about as if it was something that’s been going on for some time, since it hasn’t been. They continued it on Dark this week with two segments dedicated to it, but there wasn’t much advancement in terms of where it may be headed. Obviously he’s distracted by her and she’s causing him to make some interesting decisions, like buying a new sports car, but it isn’t clear where it’s headed. Maybe a break up of Natural Nightmares is on the horizon, but there are many chapters between that and where this story is now. I appreciate Excalibur addressing her with Butcher and Blade, it makes him seem smart instead of ignoring something viewers have to be asking themselves as well. I didn’t appreciate him just backing off his question when she completely avoided it though. She didn’t even give some halfhearted answer, she flat out ignored it. Excalibur should’ve asked again if he wanted an answer because she didn’t even try to make something up.
Also, for those people who watch Being the Elite and AEW Dark, Big Game Leroy and EJ Lewis are the two people that have been involved with Private Party’s segments on Being the Elite. EJ is the person who’s constantly introducing himself to Private Party as EJ, and Big Game Leroy is the person who has been shown the last two weeks playing his Nintendo Switch.
Love the majority of what AEW does, and that it feels largely like old school wrestling. HATE the Switch gimmick. Stupid, beyond stupid; did you just materialize into a ring from your living room, wearing tights? Stupid. I agree that the Gunn kid is beyond annoying, and the Guerrero comparison is a great one. But Progressive, the insurance company, has built an entire 10-plus-year ad campaign on annoying (Flo, and now all the other characters). I hate it, but if they do it, I guess it could work for heat — just please, in small doses.