AEW Dark Episode 153 (Women's Matches)

 By Mark Rodriguez

This time we get 4 matches, and not only do we get to see the Renegade Twins in action, we also get to see the RoH Champ, Mercedes Martinez and her challenger, Serena Deeb in action. Things are heating up as this is the final AEW Dark before the upcoming PPV where Mercedes and Serena will clash.

Match 1- Serena Deeb vs Viva Van

The match opens with both women locking up and Serena grabbing and slamming Viva's arm hard against her shoulder. Serena slams her down with an Overhook Armdrag and wrenches her fingers. Still holding onto her left wrist, Serena gets Viva on the mat and twists her arm behind her back. 

Viva Van manages to get Deeb off her and starts throwing punches and kicks at her, finishing with a roundhouse across the face. With Deeb up against the ropes, Viva runs towards her. Deeb gets out of the way and sits on Viva's back, grabbing both of her arms and pulling them back. Deeb gets her in a roll up pin, but Viva kicks out. Deeb still has her legs wrapped around her waist and switches positions so she is now sitting on Viva's head while wrenching her arms back.

This has got to be one of the most painful things I ever seen, Viva's face is all the way down on the mat. My back hurts just watching that.

Viva finally manages to shove Serena off her. Serena knocks her back with two uppercuts. When going for a third punch, Viva grabs her. Both women are back to back, fighting for control and Serena goes for the Crucifix Pin but Viva escapes. Viva gets back to her feet and throws a kick. Deeb dodges it, but Viva does a legsweep and trips her up. With Serena down, Viva hits her with a low running lariat. Viva goes for the pin but Serena kicks out. 

Viva runs over to Deeb, who is now against the ropes, but The Professor of Wrestling reverses it and swings her against the turnbuckle instead. Deeb runs in for an elbow to the face, and then trips her with her own legsweep. Deeb grabs Viva's legs and flips her up, where her throat bounces against the merciless ropes. With Viva trying to recover, her opponent stomps on her hands. Serena Deeb picks her up and slams her with the Detox, pinning her for the win.

Even after the match is done, Serena puts Viva in the Serenity Lock, sending a message to her upcoming opponent, Mercedes Martinez on what awaits her at Death Before Dishonor.

Match 2- Marina Shafir vs Amber Nova 

Both women come in to grapple and Marina shoves Amber back. After a second grapple, Amber tries to knock Marian over with a shoulder tackle to no avail. Marina throws her against the ropes and tries to kick her as she bounces back but Amber ducks. Amber goes for a flying crossbody but is caught. Amber manages to get out of her grasp and hit her with a few kicks. She grabs Marina with a side headlock. 

Marina grabs onto Amber's leg, picking her up and slamming her in a Knee Breaker. She then does a Hip Throw, slamming Marina into the mat. Marina grabs her leg and goes for the ankle lock. Amber fights her way to her feet and hits her with the enzuigiri but Marina actually takes the hit and maintains her grip on her ankle. 

Desperate to get away, Amber elbows Marina in the face. Marina says she wants more since it's not enough. Amber elbows her in the face 4 more times and tosses her over her shoulder. Amber gets back to her feet but is wobbly due to the damage to her ankle. Marina quickly grabs her in the Greedy submission hold and makes her tap. Marina Shafir scores another win.

Match 3- Avery Breaux & Valetina Rossi vs Charlotte & Robyn Renegade

Avery and Charlette start the match grappling and fighting for control over each other's arms. Charlette shoves Avery towards her corner of the room. Robyn is tagged in and kicks the hell out of Avery and then tags her sister back in. Charlette throws some kicks and then tags her twin. Both of the Renegade Twins put the boots to Avery. The ref tells them to break it up and one of them needs to go back to the apron. Charlette grabs and whips Avery towards the ropes and Valentina tags herself in.

Avery dodges Charlette's punch and kicks her down. Valentina comes in with a Split Legdrop and goes for the pin. Charlette kicks out. Valentina runs towards Charlette who tries to grab her in a fireman's carry. Valentina flips out of it and shoves Charlette towards the ropes but Robyn kicks her across the face. With Valentina rocked, Charlette grabs her and slams her onto her back. 

Charlette tags her sister in and then both grab onto Valentina's legs and flip her so she falls face-first into the mat. They both do elbow drops onto Valentina's back. Charlette goes for a pin but Avery comes in to save Valentina. Robyn is tagged back in and presses her boot up against Valentina's throat. The ref breaks it up and as Robyn argues with him, Charlette chokes Valentina. Valentina is able to raise her leg high enough to kick Charlette in the face. Robyn runs at her and gets elbowed in the face. Robyn charges again but crashes into the ringpost giving Valentina enough time to go over and tag Avery back in. 

Avery dashes in and knocks Robyn down twice with running lariats. Robyn tries to pick her up but Avery shoves her into her sister, knocking Charlette off the apron. Avery grabs Robyn and scoop slams her. She goes for the pin but Charlette breaks it up. Charlette rushes over to punch Valentina, and the ref holds her back as she tries to climb into the ring for some payback. With the ref distracted, Charlette rolls Robyn out of the ring and takes her place. Robyn takes Valentina down outside of the ring. 

Avery picks up her Charlette and gets socked in the face. Charlette tags her sister in. Robyn picks up Avery and Charlette jumps in for an assisted neckbreaker. Charlette pins Avery and gets the win.

Tony Schiavone comes in to interview the twins and calls them out on their switcheroo. Despite the crowd booing them, the sister deny that they cheated. They also say they plan to leave a mark in AEW and leave a warning for all the women in the locker room. 

Match 4- Mercedes Martinez vs J-Rod 

Mercedes and J-Rod grapple and try to gain the upperhand on each other. J-Rod grabs onto Mercedes' arm and manages to sock her in the face. Mercedes fires back with several shots to the face, finishing with an uppercut. She then bounces off the ropes and knocks her down with a clothesline. Mercedes runs in, knocking her down twice, and then goes for a running knee to J-Rod's face. 

Mercedes goes for the fireman's carry but J-Rod slips out of her grasp. J-Rod manages to pick up Mercedes and drops her face onto the top turnbuckle. With Mercedes up against the ropes, J-Rod does a hand-spring elbow to the face. She then grabs the RoH Women's Champ with a Running Bulldog. She goes for the pin but the champ kicks out. J-Rod picks up Mercedes by the hair and slams her on her back.

J-Rod grabs and whips Mercedes up against the ropes, hard enough for her fall over. J-Rod goes for the middle rope and drops herself onto Mercedes and going for the pin. The champ kicks out. J-Rod picks her up and delivers a nasty chop across the chest. Mercedes slaps her across the face and gets her against the ropes. Mercedes hits her with three heavy and loud chops to the chest. Mercedes flings her to the mat with the snapmare and then goes to pick her up. Mercedes drops her in the Death Valley Driver and goes for the pin. J-Rod is able to kick out.

Mercedes grabs J-Rod and smashes her face into the top turnbuckle. She then starts to punch her repeatedly until the ref breaks it up. Mercedes gets some space and hits her with a running dropkick. Mercedes grabs J-Rod and slams her with 2 Snap Suplexes in a row. Rather than do a third, she sets her legs upon the ropes and drops her with a Twisting Neckbreaker. Mercedes punches her across the back several times and then bends her backwards with the Brass City Sleeper making her tap out. Mercedes won the match.

As Mercedes obtains victory, Serena Deeb shows up and starts talking trash. Mercedes holds her Ring of Honor Women's Title up high as both women will clash this weekend at Death Before Dishonor.

My Opinions- 

We got a couple of good matches with some interesting moves and painful looking submissions. Serena Deeb gets Viva Van in that sick looking hold as she sits on her head and wrenches her arms back. How would you even tap out of a move like that?

Then Amber Nova draws the short straw as not only did she face Deeb on Dark Elevation, now she had to contend with Marina Shafir. Just the entire sequence where Marina would not let go of the ankle-lock, even absorbing a kick to the face, and shaking it off. 

Things get funny with the Renegade Twins as the commentary has difficulty telling them apart. I found it funny when they mention that they were having better luck against Avery and Valentina than they did against Athena and Kris Statlander on AEW Rampage.... but yeah guys, I mean.. they're Athena and Kris Statlander. The twins did a series of high fives and whatnot, the type of secret handshake siblings would use and the commentary asked if those counted as tags. Then the whole segment with Tony to come in and call them out on doing the Twin Magic, something another set of twins in that other company would use to win matches. It's weird to see people actually call that out. Sure we see it and the commentary see it, but I don't remember interviewers calling them out.

Finally J-Rod did put the champ through her paces. Mercedes always has a mixture between vicious offense and varied wrestling holds and slams, but J-Rod got some good moves in. I was wondering if Deeb would show up, given they both were in the building, and she didn't disappoint. I love how this story actually started in Dark and Dark Elevation and we'll soon see how it all goes down on Death Before Dishonor.