By Mark Rodriguez
Well this was a surprising edition of AEW Elevation. We actually get five women's matches this time. It was pretty much a women's wrestling episode. We get to see a lot of familiar faces this week such as Ruby Soho, Julia Hart and Nyla Rose. We also get to see a little more of Vertvixen and Madi Wrenkowski. Let's check it out.
Match 1- Leva Bates and Karizma VS Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose
The match opens with the commentary noting that Vickie Guerrero isn't joining Nyla and Marina this time. Nyla starts the match and Karizma runs in to hit her while she's distracted. This doesn't work and Nyla kicks her back. Nyla kicks her down to her knees, then grabs onto her arm. Nyla kicks her on the back of the head, and then swings the same leg back, kicking her in the face and knocking her down. Nyla then hits her with a legdrop. Nyla grabs and runs with Karizma, bouncing her face off the top turnbuckle. She then slams her into the turnbuckle over on her corner of the ring and tags in Marina.
As Marina comes over, Karizma smacks Nyla and manages to slip from her grasp and tag in Leva. The Librarian comes in with her book, acting as if she is going to hit Marina with it. She tosses the book away and takes the moment of distraction to lay in some shots, which Marina blocks. Leva goes for the ropes and kicks Marina in the midsection. She then follows up with a running high boot to the face. Leva then tries to pick her up, but Marina reverses it and body slams her.
Marina goes over and hits Karizma with a chop to the midsection and then goes over to grab Leva in a submission hold. Leva shoves her off and Marina goes over, hitting Karizma with a swift kick. Marina knocks Leva down with a high front kick and goes over to tag in Nyla. Nyla goes for the body splash but Leva had her knees up. Leva rolls over to tag in Karizma who runs and starts attacking Nyla with chops and strikes. Nyla just shoves her back, making her fall backwards to the mat.
Nyla grabs Karizma for a choke slam and goes for the pin. Leva rushes in to break it up. Nyla shoves Leva up against her corner and Marina tags herself in. Nyla then shoves Leva up against Karizma. The Native Beat runs up and slams Karizma down with a Cutter taking Leva along for the ride. Marina gets into the ring and grabs onto Karizma's leg while Nyla shoves Leva out. Marina gets Karizma in a submission hold and she has no choice but to tap out. Marina and Nyla win the match.
Match 2- Promise Braxton VS Julia Hart (with Brody King)
Julia circles the ring and avoids Braxton's attempt at a lock up. She then grabs Braxton from behind and then turns her around to slap her in the face, hard enough to send her to her knees. Julia poses for the crowd and gets out of the way of her opponent's charge, allowing Braxton to miss and crash into the middle turnbuckle. Julia hits her with a running knee strike to the back of the head. She then does a cartwheel and hits Braxton with a forearm shot. Julia gets her in a snapmare and then locks her in a submission hold. With both arms trapped, Braxton has to tap out by stomping her foot. Julia Harts scores another win for the House of Black.
Minor segment with Vickie Guerrero and the Vicious Vixens
We have a short interview section as Lexi mentioned they haven't talked since Full Gear. Vickie is angry that Nyla Rose is no longer the TBS Champion (even though she never officially was, she just stole the belt from Jade) and says she is supposed to be managing a team of champions. Vickie says she feels disrespected and nothing is working anymore. She storms off and Nyla goes after her. Lexi asks Marina for any words. For the comfort of many, Marina didn't take the mic and leaves the scene.
Match 3- The Bunny (with Penelope Ford) VS Madison Rayne
The Bunny tries to attack Madison before she can finish posing for the crowd and take her coat off. Madison hits her with a few shots and winds up for a big swing. Bunny braces herself, but Madison faked her out and clocks her with an enzuigiri. As Bunny stumbles to the mat, Madison can now properly take off her coat and get ready to wrestle.
Bunny whips Madison towards the ropes and runs towards her. Madison avoids her by getting on the other side of the ropes. Bunny takes a swing at her but Madison ducks under it and hits her in the arm. Bunny over-sells the arm injury, distracting the ref while Penelope Ford grabs onto Madison's leg and violently pulls her off the apron. The Bunny, is of course, just fine once Madison rolls back into the ring and stomps on her. The Bunny takes her time posing for the crowd.
Madison lands some shots to the ribs but The Bunny hits her in the midsection. With Madison doubled-over, The Bunny knocks her down with a running high knee strike to the face. With Madison down and up against the ringpost, The Bunny runs into her with a low clothesline and then starts hitting her with elbow shots. The Bunny goes for the pin but Madison kicks out. She angrily grabs Madison and starts slamming the back of her head against the mat. The Bunny taunts Madison and The Queen Bee flings her towards the ropes. As Madison runs towards her, The Bunny keeps her back with a shoulder tackle.
The Bunny wraps her legs around Madison's neck and hangs backwards off the ropes, strangling her. With Madison trying to recover, The Bunny grabs her for a Fireman's Carry. Madison slips from her grasp and hits her with a Cutter. Madison goes for the pin but the ref is distracted by Penelope. Madison gets in her face and The Bunny runs in from behind. Madison gets out of the way as The Bunny stops just short of hitting her friend by mistake. Madison grabs her for a roll up pin but The Bunny kicks out at two and then kicks her in the midsection. The Bunny sends Madison 'Down The Rabbit Hole' and pins her for the win.
The girls aren't done yet as The Bunny and Penelope Ford get ready to continue the beat down on Madison. Just then Skye Blue comes in to help out as The Bunny and Penelope slip away. The Bunny taunts Madison and thanks her for the win as both women head out.
Match 4- Willow Nightingale and Ruby Soho VS Vertvixen and Madi Wrenkowski
The match opens with Ruby and Madi squaring up. Ruby gets her in a side headlock and Madi shoves her towards the ropes. Ruby bounces back and knocks her down with a shoulder tackle. Madi tries to grab Ruby with an Armdrag, but Ruby tightens her grip on her hand and gets her in a wristlock. Ruby slams Madi's face into the top turnbuckle of her corner of the ring and tags in Willow.
Willow turns into Madi with a Hip Attack. Madi tries to shove her away but Willow does a cartwheel. Willow grabs and slams Madi with a back breaker, leaving her to roll over and tag in Vertvixen. Willow grabs Vertvixen's arm and knocks her back with an enzuigiri. Vertvixen is dazed and Willow picks her up and body slams her. Willow tags in Ruby, and then picks her up and slams her on top of Vertvixen. Ruby uses this as a cover, but Madi comes in to shove her off.
Vertvixen gets Ruby in a jawbreaker and shoves her backwards towards the ropes. Madi kicks her in the back. landing a cheap shot. Ruby tries to take a swing at Madi, but she hops off the apron and out of reach. This leaves her open for Vertvixen to hit her with a running knee lift across the back that hits Ruby so hard she rolls out of the ring. With the ref distracted, Madi grabs Ruby and slams her face into the apron before rolling her back into the ring. Vertvixen goes for the Ground and Pound while Willow tries to reach for her partner.
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| Vertvixen taking control of the ring |
Vertvixen whips Ruby towards her corner of the ring and hits her with a running elbow. She tags in Madi who also hits her with a running elbow. Madi presses her boot up against Ruby's neck, and while the ref is distracted, Vertvixen uses this chance to choke her. Madi grabs Ruby and whips her towards the other side of the ring but pulls her back before she can tag her partner. She gets her back on her side of the ring but Ruby hits her with a shoulder tackle. Ruby goes a for a kick but Madi catches her foot and tags Vertvixen in. Madi pulls Ruby's leg making her fall onto the mat. Vertvixen then rolls in and hits her with a cutter and goes for the pin. Ruby kicks out.
Vertvixen tries to whip Ruby back towards her corner, but The Runaway reverses it into a pin. Vertvixen kicks out and tries to hit her. Ruby ducks and rolls under her swing and tags in Willow. Willow runs in and knocks down Vertvixen with clotheslines twice in a row. She then grabs her and hits her with a rough chop across the chest. Willow hits her with a second chop and gets her up against the ropes where she hits her with a Hip Attack. Willow gets her in a snapmare, but Vertvixen rolls to her feet. Unfortunately, Vertvixen turns around just in time to see Willow leap off the ropes with a flying dropkick, knocking her down. Willow goes for the pin but Madi breaks it up by accidentally doing an elbow drop on Vertvixen herself rather than Willow.
Madi checks to see if her partner is alright and runs towards Willow and Ruby, getting bowled over by both. Madi rolls out of the ring. Willow grabs Vertvixen in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Ruby comes in to faceplant her and goes for the pin. Ruby scores the win. Willow comes in for the fist-bump and after some hesitation, Ruby goes for it. C'mon Ruby, you never leave a girl hanging.
Match 5- Athena VS Kiera Hogan- RoH Women's Championship Match
Athena offers a handshake to Kiera and pulls her in for a fake out punch. Kiera knocks her back with a dropkick. Athena gets Kiera up against the ropes and runs towards her. Kiera kicks her back and then leaps off the ropes, sending her flying across the ring with a Tijeras. Athena hangs off the ropes and Kiera runs and hits her on the back of the head with a Hip Attack. Kiera then kicks her out of the ring. Athena lands on her feet but Kiera knocks her to the floor with a sliding dropkick to the face.
Kiera follows after Athena and hits her in the face. Athena grabs her and sends her crashing into the barricade. Athena picks up Kiera and hangs her over the barricade, hitting her repeatedly across the back. She then runs towards Kiera and knocks her into the front row with a dropkick.
Athena goes back to the ring and chills as Kiera struggles to climb over the barricade and make her way back before she's counted out. As soon as she rolls back into the ring, Athena grabs her and starts hitting her. Athena gets her against the ropes and hits her with an elbow strike. She then rolls Kiera with a snapmare and kicks her right between the shoulder blades. Athena grabs her face with the fishhooks and then faceplants her twice in a row. Athena goes for a senton to further the punishment. Athena goes for the pin but Kiera kicks out.
Kiera tries to hit Athena, but this gets her to violently kick her back and start to choke her. She then slams the back of her head against the mat. Athena gets Kiera in another hold but she refuses to tap. She hits the Ring of Honor Women's champ with her elbow and Athena slams her onto her back. Athena goes for another senton but Kiera gets out of the way. Finally seeing an opening, Kiera gets Athena in a Tilt-A-Whirl DDT, and both women are down.
Kiera knocks Athena down twice. Athena grabs her arm but Kiera hits her twice in the face and then flips her into the corner of the ring. Kiera runs at her and hits with a sliding dropkick. She then hits Athena with a roundhouse kick followed by a thrust kick, making the goddess fall. Kiera goes for the pin but Athena kicks out.
Kiera is furious but goes for the top rope. Athena goes over and grabs her by the hair and hairwhips her off the turnbuckle and onto the mat. Athena goes for the ropes and Kiera runs over to clock her in the jaw. Kiera climbs onto the ropes with her and starts throwing shots at her. Athena thumbs her in the eye and gets her with a Power Bomb off the top rope. Athena picks her up and slams her in a codebreaker. She goes for the pin and wins the match, retaining her title
Athena sets her title down and goes over to hit Kiera in the face. Shen then faceplants her onto the Ring of Honor Women's Championship Title. The crowd boos and Athena mouths off the crowd as she leaves.
My Thoughts-
I'm surprised we got this many matches, but they were all fun to see. I'm curious to see where the story with Nyla and Marina is going to go now that Vickie is upset at them. I'm surprised The Bunny took down Madison Rayne. The match with Ruby and Willow was a lot of fun and Vertvixen and Madi got to show some of their skills. Kiera gave Athena some trouble, though I'm surprised she was defending the title on an episode of Dark Elevation. I guess this is the best they can do until they finally get a new Ring of Honor show.
Julia Hart, as short as her matches are, is always run to watch just for her character and mannerisms alone. She now has a completely new look from before continuing the dark theme. I hope we see her get some matches on TV. The most she does is accompany the House of Black during their promos and sometimes spray mist on the opponents to help give Brody or Alistair the win, but let's her get an actual in-ring match. If they're not ready to have her go against some of the top names, maybe have her have a match against some of the women lower on the card but are still names, like Skye Blue or Red Velvet.
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