AEW Dark: Results, Grades, and Analysis for October 8th

The Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt, Jungle Boy, & Luchasaurus) (0-1-0 in Trios) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky) (2-0-0 in Trios)

Marko Stunt started the match with Christopher Daniels, and Daniels towered over him. He pat Stunt on the head, and there were several spots with Stunt being thrown around by Daniels. Stunt out moved him a hit a tornado into a pinfall. Stunt hit a few more moves and did the Floss, which turned him heel in my books. Daniels countered and then did the Floss, which made him a huge babyface in my books.

Kazarian and Jungle Boy tagged in and exchanged a series of pinfall attempts. Kazarian hit a scoop slam and hit a springboard legdrop, trying to overpower Jungle Boy. Sky tagged in and they hit a roll through attack, slamming Jungle Boy to the mat. Daniels tagged in, but Jungle Boy sent Daniels crashing into Sky and tagged in Luchasaurus.

Luchasaurus hit a huge hook kick on Christopher Daniels, as the crowd cheered him strongly. Jungle Boy tagged in and hit a suplex on Daniels. Stunt and Jungle Boy hit a ripcord splash on Daniels for a nearfall. Marko tagged out to Jungle Boy and he hit a backstabber while Luchasaurus hit a kick and Stunt hit a flipping senton.

Sky tagged in and took out Jungle Boy. Marko Stunt tried to hit a crossbody on Sky, but Sky just sat there and Marko bounced off him. Luchasarus tagged in and went for a chokeslam on Sky, but Sky hit a series of kicks and then a big stomp to the back of Luchasaurus. Sky sent Kazarian into a Tornado DDT on Luchasaurus, but Luchasaurus stood up and kicked the crap out of everyone before dragging Sky into the ring.

Luchasarus hit hard kicks on Kazarian and popped Sky into the sky. Luchasaurus hit a massive chokeslam on Kazarian before hitting a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Marko Stunt did a 619 that sent Kazarian into a German Suplex by Jungle Boy, who then sent Kaz into a kick from Luchasaurus. Marko Stunt hit a standing shooting star, but Kaz kicked out. We saw a series of attacks by SCU to clear the ring, then destroying Jungle Boy.

Daniels setup Stunt for the Best Meltzer Ever, but Luchasaurus pulled Daniels off the apron. Marko Stunt rolled up Kazarian and almost got a three. Stunt went for a hurricanrana, but Kazarian caught him, pulled him up into a powerbomb position, and powerbombed him onto Scorpio Sky’s knees for the pinfall.

Result: SCU (3-0-0)

Rating: ***3/4 (3.75 stars)

Overall Rating: *** (3 stars)

This was an excellent show with some good wrestling. It left me hungry for more, and perfectly led into the next episode of AEW Dynamite. If AEW Dark is going to be like this every week, this is a big win for AEW. I hope they keep it up. SCU going 3-0-0 makes me think they are at least going to the finals in the AEW tag title tournament. I think SCU is going to win the whole thing.

It was quite smart of AEW to record their dark matches like this, and it also means the crowd might be hotter for them now, knowing that all of them actually matter. This gives the secondary show purpose besides recapping the weekly show. AEW Dark served both purposes well – it advanced stories with wins and losses, and it recapped AEW Dynamite. If you miss an episode of Dynamite, you can get caught up on their free show while watching some great wrestling. This is a win for everyone. Bravo AEW.