The PG Era Recap for AEW Elevation Episode 84 — October 10, 2022

The PG Era Rant for AEW Elevation, Episode 84 (“All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night!”), October 10, 2022.

Taped from Washington, DC.

Your hosts are Ian Riccaboni, Mike Menard, and Paul Wight.

TONIGHT! Brandon Cutler and Serpentico each try to not lose in our main event! DC’s finest indie talent are all over the card as Erica Leigh faces Hikaru Shida; Jordan Blade tackles Nyla Rose (herself a DC native); Trish Adora battles Emi Sakura; and Logan LaRoux joins two others against Dalton Castle and the Boys! Plus, Nese and Woods team up, and Lance Archer is out for blood!

(Note to everyone: don’t expect me to make a habit of this, but it is in DC and people I know on a first-name basis from the indies are on it, so I feel obligated.)

Full Gear comes to New Jersey this November.

Opening match: Hikaru Shida (49-9) vs. Erica Leigh (0-1). Shida has two belts with her – the WAVE title and the Ice Ribbon tag belts, I believe. Leigh is big in the East Coast, holding the ECWA title, and we’re on a first-name basis. Which reminds me, I still owe her a cheeseburger pizza. (Inside joke.) Riccaboni does know a lot about her, and she gets some good shine from the mic guys.

Big pop for this match when the bell rings. Lockup goes nowhere. A second lockup also leads to neutral break, and Leigh psyches herself up for Round 3 as Wight puts over her physique. They slug it out, won by Shida with a big forearm to the chin, and she gets the ten-punch countalong. Shida shoves Leigh away, but a missile dropkick misses and Leigh gets a back suplex try. Shida elbows out, but a big boot from Leigh rattles Shida (Menard: “Cover, cover!”). Running senton misses and Shida gets a sliding forearm. To the middle of the ropes, and the Meteora gets two. Kitana Kick ends it at 2:42. Leigh got a few spots, which is awesome. 3/4*

AEW Heels ad.

Lance Archer (52-10) vs. Papadon (no chyron).

No intro for this one as Papadon charges Archer and gets flattened. He dodges a blind charge and kicks away on Archer, who reverses a corner whip but walks into an elbow. Big forearm on the ropes, and the Blackout is set up, but Papdon escapes and gets a Torpedo Moscow. Running kick, but a second try is met with a lariat by Archer. Archer corners Papadon and asks to rip his head off, but settles for a loud chop instead. Locomotion corner elbows follow as Menard is giddy over this.

Short-arm lariat is ducked, and Papadon gets uppercuts that Archer no-sells. Big boot by Archer (which may or may not have hit), and the Hellevator follows as Papadon rolls out of the ring. He sunset flips back in, but Archer stands up. Papadon avoids the punch only to walk into a chokeslam. Blackout ends it at 3:13. Menard and Wight were a hoot on commentary. *

Emi Sakura (20-10) vs. Trish Adora (0-2). Hey, Ian, it’s SAH-ku-rah, not suh-KOO-ruh. Riccaboni puts over the Pan-African Diaspora championship Adora holds.

Test of strength to start, and after some shoulders, Adora gets the better of it. They run into each other, with Adora knocking Sakura down to a pop. Sakura gets the hair and rakes the eyes, then knocks Adora down and preens. Sakura uses a modified Paradise Lock, then sits on Adora like she’s a throne to pose. Adora tries to fight back, but a LOUD chop… doesn’t floor her! They slug it out, with Sakura MAULING Adora with chops, but Adora refuses a whip and gets a judo throw.

Senton follows, then a Northern Lights suplex for two. Sakura blocks a suplex into a swinging neckbreaker, and it’s the We Will Rock You splash in the corner. Queen’s Gambit is countered into that funky submission arm trap from last week, but Sakura gets out of it and lands two butterfly backbreakers in a row to end it at 3:38. When Ring of Honor starts back up, they need to sign Adora. *1/2

Hispanic Heritage Month spot, with Dasha Gonzalez, Vickie Guerrero, Daniel Garcia, Eddie Kingston (I did not know that), and more.

The Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese and Josh Woods) (w/Smart Mark Sterling) (9-2) vs. Action Andretti and Myles Hawkins (0-1). Sterling, showing dedication to his craft, still has a neck brace. Technically speaking, this was recorded before they coined their team name.

Nese and Andretti start as we find out Tony sucks. Man, this Elevation crowd is hot. Nese stops Andretti so he can pose, and on Round 2, Nese gets a waistlock takedown and ride. Nese is reversed, but he gets a drop toe hold into a front chancery. Andretti with a chickenwing to counter, but Nese elbows out and gets a wristlock. Andretti flips out and tries to roll away, but Nese hangs on and keeps the wristlock. Andretti handsprings and cartwheels to reverse, then gets a snapmare and crucifix for one before he goes to the arm wringer. Now Nese rolls through, but Andretti knows that and hangs on, forcing Nese to back Andretti into the corner. WRESTLING!

Whip is reversed by Andretti, but a blind charge misses. Nese backflips over a charging Andretti (!!) and does some jumping jacks, then a criss-cross leads to an O’Connor Roll try by Andretti. Andretti with a tijerres, then a handspring before he sticks the Ospreay landing to a big pop. Even Nese is impressed, but not enough to shake his hand – enough to sucker him in with a spin kick. Woods in, and he throws forearms. Smash into the turnbuckle, then Andretti goes up and over in the corner, before being caught in a leapfrog and dumped hard. Woods with a Karelin suplex to Andretti, and Nese returns. Andretti flips out of a back suplex, and hot tag Hawkins, who gets a crossbody and spinning forearm.

Sunset flip try, but Nese rolls through and gets a spinning kick for two. It’s BREAKING LOOSE IN TULSA, with Andretti dumped outside and Woods in. Hawkins blocks a double-whip, but Nese with a trip and Woods clocks him with a running knee for two. Nese back in as Hawkins is isolated, and the Olympic Slam and neckbreaker wins at 5:56 after Nese knocks Andretti off the apron. This was a heck of a match for Andretti. **

Nyla Rose (10-2 in 2022) (w/Vickie Guerrero and Marina Shafir) vs. Jordan Blade (0-1). Blade has been a regular, beginning in Virginia and working her way around. She’s one-half of Kings of the District with another great young talent, Eel O’Neal. I had the honor of seeing Blade’s first ever match back in 2017. She has improved leaps and bounds ever since. This is also a homecoming for Nyla, of course.

Rose knocks down Blade by the knee and gets a suplex into a front suplex. Senton misses, though, and Blade boxes away. Gut kick and she keeps striking, but Nyla gets the better of that and sends Blade into the corner before hitting an avalanche. Hammer Throw, but a second avalanche misses and Blade fires back. Clothesline wobbles Rose, but Vickie grabs Blade’s leg. Blade yells at Vickie, so Shafir grabs Blade and Vickie slaps her. Back in, Rose goes for a chokeslam, but Blade escapes only for a back elbow and Samoan Drop to floor her. She hangs Blade on the top rope, and the guillotine kneedrop wins at 2:14. Just about everything got a pop for the DC native. 1/4*

Non-title: ROH Six-Man Tag Champions Dalton Castle and His Boys (7-0) vs. Logan LaRoux, Goldy, and Brett Waters (first time teaming). Logan was one of the first guys to learn my name on the indie scene when I began working it. He made his name up and down the Eastern seaboard as a poor man’s MJF, and he’s able to get big heat within his matches, having had great ones with Allie Katch and Arik Royal in Northern Virginia. Meanwhile, Castle and the Boys’ entrance may be the most flamboyant entrance ever invented, and I mean that in the best way humanly possible. LaRoux gets a bit of a pop. Or so I claim.

Waters and Castle start. Castle with a waistlock, but Waters slithers out (so he does Nakazawa’s gimmick, got it) and Castle exits the ring to be cleaned off by the Boys in a funny bit. Back in, Castle with a back elbow and Goldy is in, but Castle with a waistlock takedown and ride. Elbows to the back follow, then a Karelin lift into a series of gutwrench fakeouts. Goldy escapes and slugs away, elbowing out of the corner, but an axhandle is caught and Castle drops him with a standing Northern Lights. Castle glares at LaRoux as he tags in both Boys, who send him into Goldy and nail a double hiptoss coming back. Double clothesline gets Brandon one. (I think it’s Brandon.)

LaRoux with a knee to Brandon’s back, and Goldy smashes him down. LaRoux in, and he kicks away in the corner and adds knees. Brent with a blind tag, and he dives onto LaRoux after a misdirection for two. LaRoux with a massive enzuigiri, flipping Brent, and he sends Brent into the corner to bring in Waters. Double suplex follows, but Brent escapes a double clothesline and it’s hot tag Castle. House is cleaned on all three guys, with a spinning suplex on LaRoux and fallaway slam on Goldy. Big knee on Waters leads to the Bangarang for the pin at 3:57. Hey, they have a formula, and it works. *1/4 Riccaboni points out that he wants to see this trio against teams that aren’t thrown together, but Wight says that it’s all by design to build the Boys’ confidence.

Main Event: Serpentico (w/Luther) (13-94) vs. Brandon Cutler (1-5 in 2022). I believe this falls under “somebody has to win”. Paul Wight Fact about Luther: he’s a champion European bodybuilder. Bit of a pop for Cutler because of the BTE music. Yes, this crowd has been amazing.

Lockup, and Serpentico works the arm. Cutler reverses, Serpentico reverses, Cutler reverses, back and forth, forth and back, into waistlocks, those get reversed, and Serpentico leaps over a back suplex and tries a regular suplex. It becomes a fight over it, with neither man succeeding (Menard: “Has anyone hit anything yet??”), and both men’s backs hurt. Cutler FINALLY hits the suplex on Serpentico, then an elbowdrop and Big Wiggle into a Dapping Elbow.

Is… is Cutler doing the Charleston?

Elbowdrop misses, but Serpentico’s senton also misses. Bottom rope splash by Cutler gets two. Commentary treats this like a comedy match. Cutler with forearms, but Serpentico reverses and boxes away. Running headbutt in the corner misses, but Serpentico ducks a bodypress and Cutler flies out of the ring. Serpentico looks to dive onto him, but Luther has an idea: he can throw Serpentico onto Cutler. He misses.

Luther wakes up Serpentico by spanking him and throwing him in, and both men slowly get to their knees in this gruelling battle. They slug it out from there, almost knocking each other over multiple times, but Cutler no-sells a chop and opens his jacket to ask for another. He immediately regrets that decision.

Cutler crawls to the ropes, so Serpentico gets a rope straddle and KICK WHAM STUNNER for two. Serpentico is fired up and goes up top, but the double stomp misses and Cutler gets the AIRPLANE SPIN OF DOOM. Of course, they’re both dizzy from it, and Cutler collapses onto Serpentico for two.

Luther distracts the referee as Serpentico gets the COLD SPRAY OF DEATH and the crowd, totally in on the joke, says this is Awesome. Unfortunately, Cutler gets his own spray bottle and UNLOADS it into Serpentico’s eyes, then into Luther’s for good measure. Cutler senses he has it and goes up, and the frog elbow gets the win at 6:42. Wight and Menard oversell the heck out of the match just to make it even better. This gets *3/4 as a match and ****1/2 as a comedy experience.

Fun matches + a hot crowd + a fun main event = a perfectly great B show. My friends could’ve gotten more, although Andretti and Adora were allowed to show off a bit. You probably wouldn’t think much of Cutler and Serpentico as a match, and both guys knew it, so they went all-out with the comedy and the crowd caught on and ate it up. I’m not saying I could get back on this as a habit, but I’m glad I didn’t miss this one.

STATISTICS:

RING TIME – 28:21 over seven matches (average match time 4:03)

MATCH OF THE NIGHT – Depending on your tastes, either Nese/Woods vs Andretti/Hawkins or Cutler vs Serpentico

THREE STARS:

1. Brandon Cutler
2. Action Andretti
3. Serpentico

Thanks for reading!