AEW Dark Elevation Episode 89- 11/14/2022 (Women's Matches)

 By Mark Rodriguez

We got some cool matches today as Tay gets more in-ring action and we got Emi Sakura and Mei Suruga going up against Riho and Willow Nightingale. 

Match - Jericho Appreciation Society Tay Melo vs Paris Val Dale 

Both girls go for the test of strength, but Tay kicks Paris in the midsection, and then flips her over and goes for a quick pin. Paris kicks out of it. As both women get back to their feet, Tay kicks Paris again. Tay holds onto her arm and Judo Flips her to the mat three times in a row, while still not letting go of her. Tay goes for a kick to the face that Paris ducks under, but Tay then uses the same leg to kick her in the back, knocking her down.

With Paris up against the ropes, Tay runs at her with a flying knee. Tay grabs her by the hair and hits her face with several high knees. Tay tries to grab her for a finisher, but Paris gets out of the way and tries to kick her. Tay catches her foot and says 'you're done!'. Tay gets her in the Tay-K-O and gets the pin. Tay wins another match.

Match 2- Athena vs Kayla Sparks 

Both women get into a grapple and Kayla gets Athena in a headlock. Kayla shoves Athena towards the ropes, but she hold onto them to prevent from bouncing back. Athena then rolls out of the ring. Kayla runs and slides under the bottom ropes to kick Athena from behind and knock her down. Kayla steps out of the ring and grabs Athena, but Athena reverses the hold and shoves her into the ring apron. Athena then picks up Kayla and slams her into the unforgiving floor.

While Kayla was recovering, Athena runs into her, slamming her knee into her and rocking her into the steel steps. Athena waits for the count out but Kayla crawls back into the ring in time. Athena tries to grab her in an armbar takedown but Kayla tried to reverse this into a pin. Athena gets up and Kayla grabs her for another pin. Athena gets out of it and angrily kicks Kayla in the face. 

Athena grabs Kayla, but her opponent socks her in the face. Kayla then grabs Athena in a neckbreaker and goes for the pin. Athena kicks out. Kayla bounces off the ropes and runs towards her but Athena kicks her so hard she's knocked backwards in the air. Athena loses her temper and goes for the Ground and Pound. The ref tries to break it up and Athena shoves him back. 

Athena grabs Kayla and rolls her across the ring. The Fallen Goddess then grabs her and puts her in a choke hold that knocks her out. Even with the bell ringing, Athena took her time to let go. As Athena wins the match, she's not done yet. She gets Kayla back up, who is still pretty wobbly. Athena jumps off the top turnbuckle and knocks Kayla out with the O-Face. She finally leaves the ring. 

Match 3- Mei Suruga & Emi Sakura w/ Baliyan Akki vs Riho & Willow Nightingale

The match opens with Emi and Willow trying to run each other over, with no one getting any headway over the other. Then Emi and Willow argue about how they're both wearing purple. They both pose back-to-back to show off who looks better in purple, and Emi takes this chance to elbow her in the back. 

Both women try to run into each other again several times until finally Willow is the first to knock Emi down. While Willow poses and flexes to the crowd, Emi grabs her the hair and pulls her back. She then takes this change to knock Willow down with a shoulder-tackle. Mei runs in and tries to help Emi flip Willow over, but Willow is able to use her strength to flip both Emi and Mei over. 

With Emi hanging off the ropes, Willow tags Riho in, who runs in and hits her former mentor with a 619. Baliyan goes over to grab Riho by the hair but the former AEW Women's Champ elbows him off of her. When Riho gets back into the ring, Emi gets her with a Mongolian Chop and then picks her up in a delayed vertical position. She then slams Riho's stomach into her knee. With Riho bent over Emi's knee, Mei goes over to sit on her. Emi and Mei enjoy some tea at Riho's expense.

Emi taunts Willow and hair-whips Riho across the ring. Mei gets tagged in and she grabs Riho's arm. She chomps into Riho's arm and runs around the ring, still holding on. Mei lets go of Riho and shoves Willow back, almost knocking her off the ring apron. Mei gets Riho in a full nelson and starts smashing her face against the mat. Mei kicks her back and takes to the ropes. Riho runs after her and gets her in a cazadora roll up, but instead of pinning her, she leaps up and stomps on her. Riho takes this chance to tag Willow back in.

Willow runs in and slams into Mei with a hip attack. Willow whips Mei into the middle of the ring and and runs for the ropes. She uses The Pounce to shove Mei halfway across the ring, almost off the ring apron as both Emi and Baliyan are shocked. 

Willow grabs Mei in a fireman's carry but before she can do anything, Mei rakes her across the eyes. The ref breaks it up and Mei hops off of Willow who is now temporarily blinded. Mei takes this chance to knock Willow back against the ropes with a running dropkick. Mei tags Emi in who runs over and kicks Riho off the apron. She then starts hitting Willow with the Freddie Mercury Chops. Emi then hits Willow with the Running Crossbody Splash. 

Emi pulls Willow to the middle of the ring, but when she runs towards her, Willow catches her and slams her with a spinebuster. Willow tags in Riho who takes to the ropes and knocks Emi down with a Flying Crossbody Splash. Riho runs towards the ropes and bounces back, getting Emi in a crucifix roll through pin. Emi manages to escape the three count. Riho runs for the ropes and bounces back towards Emi again, but this time her teacher catches her in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. 

Willow runs into the ring and Emi does a Drop Toe Hold to trip her onto Riho. Mei takes this chance to run in and jump onto Emi's back. Both women pose and fall onto their opponents with a steamroller senton. Emi takes this chance to finish Riho off with a Moonsault off the top turnbuckle while Mei keeps Willow pinned. Riho moves off the way and Emi misses and hits the mat.

Riho quickly climbs to the ropes and lands on Emi with a flying stomp to the stomach. She goes for the pin but Emi kicks out. Riho gets ready to runs towards Emi again, but this time Emi grabs the referee and puts him in front of her. Riho stops herself before she can accidentally run into the ref. Emi and the ref argue while Riho gets ready to run at her again. This time Baliyan grabs her foot from outside the ring and trips her up. Emi grabs her in a pin but Willow rushes in to stop it in time. 

Willow grabs onto Emi but Mei runs in and clocks Willow with a superman punch. Emi and Mei whip Willow towards the ropes but she is able to knock them both down with a Double Lariat. Willow picks up Emi in a fireman's carry and slams her down. Riho runs into Emi with a flying double knee that knocks her down. Riho pins her former mentor and wins the match!

My Thoughts- 

Looks like we got two quick squashes and one hell of an entertaining main event. Tay made super short work of her opponent. Athena's match was slightly longer as she continues to show off this new savage side of hers. I like how she keeps using new and different submission holds to win her matches. Even though she still used the O-Face, it was to add insult to injury since she already made Kayla pass out from the choke hold. Imagine getting choked out, then woken back up and then laid out with a diving cutter type move. I do hope we see more of Kayla Sparks though.

The main event was a lot of fun with everyone involved. Willow was a great addition to the mix, as we rarely see Emi deal with opponents that are bigger than her. In fact a lot of times, Emi is the relatively 'larger woman' in these matches. I liked the little argument over who wears purple best between Emi and Willow, and of course gotta love the tea time and the Steamroller Senton spot with Mei.

Things got hectic neat the end with Emi pulling the ref in front of her and Baliyan tripping up Riho. It was a real close call but Riho got the winning pinfall. I know Emi is mostly there to help the next generation out, but I do wish she's get some wins some times, especially now that she has Mei Suruga as her partner. 

As for upcoming women's matches, The Bunny gets some TV Time again as she will be facing Toni Storm for the AEW Women's Interim Title. Of course, The Bunny doesn't have a chance in hell, but it will still be fun to see some of her antics back on TV as she puts Toni through her paces. 

It's also a rematch of sorts. I believe one of, if not the first match Toni Storm had when she made her AEW debut was against The Bunny. We'll also be hearing more from Saraya and Britt Baker as they are set to clash at this weekend's AEW Full Gear.