Previously on the Ins and Outs of AEW Dark: Big Swole defeated a debuting Diamante, and Jurassic Express triumphed against Stronghearts.
If you’d like to keep up with our ongoing coverage of AEW’s YouTube series that showcases the dark matches from the previous week’s Dynamite, you can follow the tag here. You should also be keeping up Brandon Stroud’s Ins and Outs of AEW Dynamite for recaps of AEW’s flagship show.
First of all, you can watch AEW Dark here:
And now let’s talk about the Ins and Outs of AEW Dark for January 28, 2020:
All In: Table Trouble
Tables matches are always ridiculous but frequently fun, and the fact that Nyla got in trouble for putting people through tables and then is immediately given a tables match is the most pro wrestling nonsense. It works, though, and honestly I welcome any AEW women’s storyline that doesn’t involve the Nightmare Collective.
I’m not certain this is the first wrestling match I’ve ever seen between a woman dressed like Dragonball and a woman dressed like Mortal Kombat, but odds are good it’s the best one. Shanna has some trouble setting up the table, but that actually kind of turns into a fun little spot when the crowd starts rooting for her.
I feel like this is probably the end of this feud, since I don’t think Dark is equipped to escalate things further than “Tables Match.” I’d like to see Shanna get a solid win sometime soon to make up for her loss here, but I don’t need that win to be against Nyla. This program succeeded at making Nyla Rose seem like a dangerous badass, and she should take that energy up the card.
Sadie Gibbs runs in to save Shanna from a post-match re-tabling, and this unfortunate spot happens. I’m speculating here, but it looks to me like Sadie was expecting Nyla to catch her. In that very last split second, Sadie realizes Nyla’s not under her and tries to land on her feet, and Nyla realizes she’s not where she’s supposed to be and starts to move back, but it’s way too late for both of them.
This footage is from the Bash at the Beach show two weeks ago. That’s two weeks that AEW had to edit this video so that all of their talent looks the best they can’t. But they really thought we needs to see Sadie Gibbs awkwardly fall to the floor while Nyla Rose stands two feet away like “Oops.”
Sure: Bad/Apple
With the next match, we jump forward a week and to the Jericho Cruise for a match between Superbad Kip Sabian and QT Marshall, noted eater of apples. My initial instinct is to disparage Marshall and the time this show spends on him, because he’s just not very exciting, and I have a hard time seeing what they see in him. But then I realized that the match following this one features one of the wrestlers who I’ve been known to complain doesn’t get enough TV time in AEW, and I’m about to complain about him getting jobbed out.
So I guess you need a guy like QT Marshall, who can lose to literally anyone and everyone, and nobody’s going to be like “but that’s my favorite guy tho.”
Because ultimately Kip Sabian’s opponent here is irrelevant. This match is about building his dynamic with Penelope Ford, and showing how she can help him win matches. Focusing on their story here will make their feud with Joey Janela work that much better, and set them up for whatever comes after.
All Out: Sondown, You Better Take Care
Why you wanna do Sonny Kiss like that? It’s bad enough he’s never on TV, despite being one of the most unique and charismatic people on the roster. He finally shows up, in his fabulous Clueless gear no less, and he just gets steamrolled by the Dark Order, which somehow seems to be all about Brendan Cutler for some reason.
I mean, I get why the Dark Order would come for Cutler. They’re out there recruiting all sorts of nerds and losers, and here’s Brendan coming out for wrestling matches looking like Mordenkainen himself. It’s a natural fit. But why does this have to happen at the expense of Sonny Kiss, who Cutler’s never even worked with before?
We’ll see where the Dark Order stuff goes. I do hope they bring in Matt Hardy as the secret leader. I don’t hate the build, and I’m certainly more into it than the Nightmare Collective at this point. But sooner or later, I’d like to see Sonny Kiss get a story of his own, or at least a chance to look like a hero instead of a victim.
That’s all for this week. Join me next time, when AEW will be back in the middle of the country.
