With recent reports coming out that there may have been a COVID outbreak within AEW’s roster, the company has once again looked to get creative with putting together a card for tonight’s AEW DARK. This means some new matchups, fresh faces in action, and some interesting pairings we’ve not seen before. This isn’t a card filled with the biggest names but it’s a nice-looking set of matches that should provide a worthwhile viewing experience. Let’s take a look at tonight’s show.
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Best Friends vs M’Badu and Bshp King
When not plotting to kill Brandon Cutler on Being the Elite, Best Friends have been finding success both on AEW Dynamite and DARK. One of the AEW’s top tag teams ever since Dynamite first launched almost one year ago, the team of Trent and Chuck Taylor have had some pretty memorable moments. Recently coming off a win on DARK and a victory in the brutal parking lot street fight from Dynamite a few weeks ago, Best Friends are looking to continue their roll here. While Trent and Taylor are well-known veterans with huge popularity in AEW, their opponents are more towards the newer side of things. M’Badu is returning for just his third DARK match, and his partner, Bshp King, will be making his debut. In fact, this week marks King’s first match of 2020, having last wrestled in November of last year.
Tay Conti vs Red Velvet
Now a rostered member of AEW, Tay Conti will have her first chance at an AEW DARK singles win when she takes on the returning Red Velvet. One half of Tay/Jay, the 25-year-old Conti joined AEW’s women’s division a few weeks ago. This week marks her DARK debut. She’ll take on the four-year veteran Red Velvet, who will be wrestling her eighth match in AEW and seventh on DARK. In her last time on the program, Velvet was defeated by Brandi Rhodes. Now, Conti will have her shot in what marks just her second singles match in AEW.
Shawn Dean and Cezar Bononi vs Billy and Austin Gunn
The Gunn Club continue to be undefeated on AEW DARK in traditional tag team matches, where Billy and Austin Gunn have spent much of their time wrestling. The father/son duo is 7-1 overall, with their lone loss coming in an eight-man tag where they teamed with Private Paty in a loss to the Dark Order. The Gunns are certainly making their case to bring their tag team act to Dynamite soon enough and another win tonight will only aid that cause. Their opponents combine the AEW DARK veteran Shawn Dean with the debuting Cezar Bononi. The 34-year-old Bononi last wrestled in March, finishing up with NXT after a four-plus year run with the promotion. Largely a WWE developmental product, Bononi debuted in 2014 with the Brazilian Wrestling Federation before joining the Performance Center in 2016. His partner is well-known to DARK audiences as the Captain is returning for his 18th match in an AEW ring. A current trainee at the Nightmare Factory, Dean is just a four-year pro but is already on AEW’s radar. He’s yet to get a win in AEW, but Tuesday is another opportunity for the Chicago native to make a strong impression.
Alex Gracia vs Penelope Ford
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Speaking of AEW debuts, the 27-year-old Texas native, Alex Gracia, who was trained by Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling, is set to wrestle her first AEW match when she takes on Penelope Ford. Now in her third year as a wrestler, Gracia has already become a name to watch as she’s wrestled for IMPACT Wrestling, Rise, Shine, SHIMMER, Evolve, Stardom, and much more. The 28-year-old Ford has been in wrestling a little longer, since 2014, and is set to wrestle her 18th match in AEW this year. Ford has emerged as a major piece in the women’s division having wrestled for the women’s title this summer, so this will certainly be a good opportunity for Gracia as she makes her debut.
Jurassic Express vs 5 and 10
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One of AEW’s fan-favorite stables, Luchasuaurs and Jungle Boy are set for action as they take on the strong Dark Order team of Five and Ten. This will be the 30th match for Jurassic Express this year, which has included Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and the injured Marko Stunt. With Stunt still on the shelf, Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus have held down the fort for the team, even recently getting close to the AEW tag team title picture yet again. Jurassic Express first fought for the titles in August and recently had a non-title match with FTR. This is their first match back on DARK in over a month but Jurassic Express has picked up some big wins in the interim, and will look to do the same Tuesday night. Five and Ten haven’t had many opportunities to work as a team this year due to Ten’s injury, but when they have, they’ve been solid. In their last DARK appearance, the Dark Order duo picked up a win over Ryzin and Xander Gold. Tuesday’s matchup will be tougher but with how the Dark Order is rolling along, this could be the opportunity for Five and Ten to pick up their biggest win in AEW.
Natural Nightmares vs John Silver and Colt Cabana
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As far as the Dark Order, Tuesday offers a double dose of the faction as everyone’s favorite punching bag, John Silver, teams up with Colt Cabana to take on the Natural Nightmares, who are back in AEW DARK action for the first time in several weeks. Cabana’s role in the Dark Order has been hilarious as the comedic wrestler claims he’s just hanging around the group and not actually joining it. But he’s wrestling matches alongside them and has even received their assistance on numerous occasions. So it seems Cabana is the only one who doesn’t know he’s in a cult. Teaming with Silver isn’t likely to be a successful one though as Silver has just a handful of wins in his AEW career. The Natural Nightmares have more of an established tag team dynamic and when it comes to AEW DARK, this duo has had tremendous success, going an undefeated 7-0 this year.
Nyla Rose vs Rache Chanel
After defeating Tay Conti on Dynamite a few weeks ago, Nyla Rose is back in action for the first time in over a month on AEW DARK. Rose became the first woman to hold the AEW women’s championship, carrying it until May of this year when she lost to Hikaru Shida. But for Rose, it’s been one of very few losses on the year. In fact, since losing the title, Rose has only lost one of her six matches. She”s working her way back to the title picture and will seek another DARK win against the returning Rache Chanel. Chanel has appeared on AEW five times this year, four of which came on DARK.
Brian Pillman Jr. and Griff Garrison vs Chaos Project
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Griff Garrison is definitely not dead and his team with Brian Pillman Jr. isn’t either as the New Hollywood Blondes will be back in tag team action against the recently named duo of Serpentico and LUTHER AKA Chaos Project. Just four years a pro, Garrison made his name in AEW thanks to a meme and a catchphrase. It’s led to nine matches and countless appearances on BTE and Sammy Guevara’s vlog. But it wasn’t until Garrison started teaming with Pillman that many took notice of the two young stars. Pillman of course brought his MLW fame and last name to the team, which carries star power. Also relatively new to wrestling, Pillman made his AEW DARK debut this summer and has largely teamed with Garrison (four times) ever since. Their opponents are pretty well known on DARK as Serpentico and LUTHER are back in action for the third time as a team. They are undefeated in their prior two appearances. With a team name and merch, it’s only a matter of time until one of DARK’s biggest staples, Serpentico, finds himself as All Elite. Perhaps a win on Tuesday will get him one step closer to that designation.
Ray Rosas and Ryzin vs SCU
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Ryzin is back on AEW DARK for the fifth time tonight and he’ll be doing so with yet another new partner. After failing to find success with Faboo Andre, Angel Perez, and most recently, Xander Gold, Ryzin turns to the So Cal veteran and one-half of PPRay, to take on SCU. With Scorpio Sky largely taking the singles route of late, this week marks the first time he and Kazarian are pairing up since May. At that time, SCU was still gunning for the tag titles. But with a crowded tag team division, both Sky and Kazarian have wrestled more singles matches lately, though the two do have a shot at the titles on Wednesday so this should be a nice tune-up for the former tag team champs. As they return to action, they’ll face Ryzin and Ray Rosas. As mentioned above, Rosas is one-half of a So Cal team with Peter Avalon, one that has been much more successful than Avalon’s AEW run. A 12-year veteran, Rosas is set to wrestle just his fifth match since April when he teams with Ryzin tonight. He is known largely for his time in the NWA, Millenium Pro Wrestling, and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood, where he is the current heritage champion. With these guys all coming from the So Cal scene, Rosas and Sky in particular are no stranger to each other.
Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube.
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