AEW DARK Results: Tony Nese challenges ROH Champion after a brutal match, star scores his first victory since September 2021, Jay Lethal takes on a former WWE Superstar in the main event (22 June 2022)
AEW DARK Episode 149 kicked off with an 9-card-long card. With quite a number of big names competing in the episode, it was nearly AEW Rampage worthy.
Continue reading as we break down the results and grade last night's AEW DARK episode.
AEW DARK Opener: The Acclaimed’s Max Caster vs. Trever Aeon
The two stars opened AEW DARK with classic lock-ups before Caster took the upper hand. Aeon would eventually drop Max Caster with a quick suplex and a running cross-body.
The Acclaimed star would then regain momentum after a headlock and a devastating clothesline. The star then delivered a backdrop, setting up Trever Aeon for his finisher.
Caster delivered an explosive Mic Drop, scoring an impressive win in the first AEW DARK match.
And that’s a MIC DROP from @PlatinumMax scoring another win here on #AEWDark!
Tune in NOW: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/a3kGNoc7bj
Winner: Max Caster.
Grade: B+, a strong show of strength and ability from Caster.
Serpentico vs. Vary Morales
Vary Morales made his return to AEW DARK, and the two high-flyers got off to a quick start. After some back-and-forth, Morales took the upperhand with a jaw-dropping Huricarana.
Serpentico shockingly regained momentum after a devastating clothesline and went on to deliver a toss suplex. Morales then made a come-back after dodging Serpentico's diving Footstomp. Unfortunately, this wouldn't last too long as the star would run into a heavy thrust-kick from the masked star.
Serpentico then put Morales out with a Gotch-Style Neutralizer, scoring his first AEW DARK win since September 11th, 2021!
The opponent has been neutralized and @KingSerpentico grabs the W! Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/aGul2RbXaW
Winner: Serpentico.
Grade: B+, it's was surprising to see DARK's mascot pick up a win, while the bout could've been longer but still remained entertaining.
Kris Statlander vs Ava Everett
Kris Statlander began the bout extremely dominating, quickly knocking Everett down and relentlessly attacking her. She then lift the star up for a long, delayed vertical suplex.
Kris then hit Ava with a reverse bodyslam and end a dominating bout with her finisher, the Big Bang Theory.
The power and drive of @callmekrisstat leads to a dominant victory!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/TD7h8XvOSX
Winner: Kris Statlander.
Grade: B, the first squash match of AEW DARK, but effectively delivered on making Statlander look dominating.
AEW DARK Tag-Team Action: The Dark Order vs. The Wingmen
Alex Reynolds and Peter Avalon began the bout, with Avalon briefly dominating. However, Reynolds and John Silver manhandle the star before Cezar Benoni entered the bout. The two stars then traded feats of strength before Cezar dominated.
The Dark Order eventually regained momentum, with Reynolds and Avalon going at it yet again. While both Silver and Benoni were the illegal men, the two stars clashed yet again, with Johnny Hungee finally lifting the Brazilian star over his head for a massive suplex.
Avalon and Reynolds continued the bout, and The Wingmen nearly scored a victory with a roll-up before Alex reversed it and picked up the win. Unfortunately, the Dark Order ended up being ruthlessly attacked by the the rest of The Wingmen before they could celebrate their win.
Celebration cut short after #HollywoodHunk @ryrynemnem & @RealJDDrake take #TheWingmen loss hard!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/HVNOK6WSnk
Winners: The Dark Order.
Grade: B, the foundations of the feud were laid between two of AEW DARK's biggest factions.
AEW DARK Trios Tag Match: Brock Anderson and the Varsity Blonds vs. Larry Lazard, Terry Yaki, and Jay Lucas
The young trio made their AEW DARK debut against AEW's future stars. Brian Pillman Jr. took a point against Larry Lazard and began dominating within minutes. Garrison and Anderson then took turns on slamming the star before Terry Yaki regained momentum for his team.
However, Garrison quickly regained momentum and delivered numerous corner body attacks. Lazard and Jay Lucas would both try to re-enter the match but were taken out by Pillman Jr. and Anderson, who hit a deadly spinebuster to Lazard.
The Varsity Blonds would then hit a Rolling Eblow Strike to Thrust Kick, followed by a Pendulum Facebuster to score the win for their team.
Easy as 1-2-3! Impressive performance by @BAndersonAEW/#VarsityBlonds (@griffgarrison1/@FlyinBrianJr)!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/7rvnB8HuyI
Winners: Brock Anderson and the Varsity Blonds.
Grade: A, quite an impressive bout with all stars displaying immense talent. Brock seems to have found his place beside the Varsity Blonds.
Diamante vs. Devlyn Macabre
The LAX star began the bout by dominating Macabre despite her Home Town advantage. Devlyn would then make a comeback, locking Diamante in a headlock before she reversed and proceeded to attack the star in the corner.
The two athletes would then share blow after blow before Macabre hit Diamante with a thrust kick and got a near-fall. The hometown girl was then unfortunately hit with a trio of German suplexes followed by a half-straight jacket submission, ending the bout in Diamante's favor.
A rough end for @itsdevlyn and an incredible victory for @DiamanteLAX by way of submission!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/MW9NkkaZ2V
Winner: Diamante.
Grade: C+, a messy bout that was ultimately saved by entertaining moves from both athletes.
ROH Pure Rules Bout: Tony Nese vs JDX
Tony Nese would begin the AEW DARK bout dominating JDX before reaching the ropes and using one of his 3 rope breaks for the bout. The Premier Athlete then moved to the floor of JDX with an explosive running attack.
JDX then began his offense, laying Nese out with numerous knife-edge chops and a big kick to the star's head. Nese then bounce back with an ear-ringing kick before finishing JDX with a Sit-Out Piledriver to score the win.
Moments after the bout, Tony Nese called out ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta and challenged the star for his belt.
.@TonyNese throws down the gauntlet to #ROH Pure Champion @WheelerYuta!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/MUPACVbAzX
Winner: Tony Nese.
Grade: A, while the bout was short, the two stars were impressive. Truly a match that was upper-midcard worthy.
AEW DARK Tag Team Action: Serena Deeb and Mercedes Martinez vs. Yaide and Anna Diaz
Serena Deeb began the AEW DARK bout quickly attacking Yaide, who was on the outside of the match. The star then ruthlessly attacked Anna Diaz and Yaide at the same time.
Deeb then relently tagged Mercedes Martinez into the bout, who used her strength to dominate their two opponents. The two athletes would both lock in the Brass City Sleeper and Texas Cloverleaf, resulting in both stars submitting.
And that's all she wrote! Successful as a tag team but @SerenaDeeb seems to be eyeing that #ROH Women’s World Championship belt!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDark: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/kMvK46hZdh
Winners: Serena Deeb and Mercedes Martinez.
Grade: A+, a squash match that could easily have been on television. Both stars seemed to be one-upping each other instead of teaming up, laying down the foundation for a feud.
AEW DARK Main Event: Jay Lethal w/Sanjay Dutt and Satnam Singh vs. Blake Christian
Jay Lethal began the bout by ruthlessly dominating the young Blake Christian. The star then began some explosive high-flying moves in an attempt to turn the tide. While Lethal tried to regain domination, Christian continued to overwhelm the veteran star.
Due to some timely interference from Dutt and Singh, the bout returned to favor Lethal instead. The former ROH World Champion continued dominating, hitting Blake with a running stomp to the back of his head. The young star then unleashed a flurry of strikes and a Standing Sliced-Bread, turning the tide of the bout.
In the end, Blake nearly got a victory by hitting a standing Spanish Fly, nearly scoring a victory. Veteran Jay Lethal then timely reversed a 450 and hit Christian with the Lethal Combination, finishing the star with an explosive Elbow Drop.
A
WHAT👏A👏FIGHT👏! A big Elbow Drop scores the win for @TheLethalJay against @_BlakeChristian!
Missed #AEWDark? Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/BspcXPxf0SM https://t.co/ef4fRR4hWa
Winner: Jay Lethal.
Grade: A, a surprisingly entertaining AEW DARK Main Event.