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AEW Dark Episode 181- 1/31/2023 Women's Matches

 By Mark Rodriguez

January wraps up as we see some more matches from Red Velvet, Skye Blue and Yuka Sakazaki.

Match 1- Sofia Castillo vs Red Velvet 


Both women start to grapple and Red Velvet armdrags Sofia to the mat. Red Velvet gets her in a headlock takedown and Sofia counters by putting her head in a leglock. Red Velvet kicks out of this and gets her in an armdrag. Sofia manages to pick her up and slam her to the mat. Sofia starts taunting Red's 'stir it up' gesture. Red Velvet grabs her waist but Sofia hits her with a back elbow to get loose. Red Velvet manages to knock her down with a dropkick. She goes for the cover but Sofia kicks out.

Sofia crawls up towards the ropes and Velvet starts throwing shots at her. Velvet gets her in a snapmare and then knocks her down with a single leg dropkick. She goes for another cover but Sofia shoves her off. Velvet runs at Sofia who keeps her back with a big boot. Sofia goes for the apron and uses the ropes to flip herself upside down and hit Velvet with her boots. Sofia ducks a punch from Velvet which leaves her hanging off the ropes. Sofia knees Velvet in the face and then grabs her for a guillotine off the ropes. Sofia gets back into the ring and goes for the cover but Velvet kicks out.

Sofia grabs Velvet and whips her towards the ropes, following her with a running elbow. With Velvet dazed, Sofia grabs her and knees her in the face. She then slams her face-first into the mat and goes for a cover. Red manages to kick out yet again.

Red Velvet starts throwing some strikes, but Sofia kicks out her knee. With Velvet down on her knees, Sofia knees her in the face. Velvet is still dazed and Sofia hits her with a running kick to the side of the head. Sofia tries to pin her twice and Velvet manages to kick out both times. Sofia grabs her in a full nelson and Velvet tries to fight her way out of it. 

Velvet breaks free and runs for the ropes but Sofia knocks her down with a Leg Lariat. Velvet is up against the ropes but she dodges before Sofia can kick her. With Sofia's leg caught on the ropes, Velvet grabs her with the lawnblower slam. With Sofia hanging off the middle ropes, Velvet runs at her with double knees between the shoulders. Velvet snaps the ropes back, knocking Sofia backwards towards the mat. Velvet then grabs her arm and gets her in a painful submission hold. Sofia screams and taps and Red Velvet wins the match. 


Match 2- Skye Blue vs Renee Michellé 


Both women grapple and Renee hits Skye with her knee and then slams her onto the mat. Renee runs towards Skye and eats a back elbow. She tries again and gets a boot to the face. As she tries to attack a third time, Skye hangs off the ropes and grabs her in a roll up pin. Renee kicks out. Skye waits until she gets up and kicks her in the midsection. Skye tried to grab her but Renee reverses their position and hits her in the face. She then slams Skye face-first into the top turnbuckle and starts throwing shots at her. Renee goes for the ropes and hits Skye with a Moonsault. She goes for the cover but Skye kicks out. 

Skye starts throwing some strikes to escape Renee's grasp. Skye hits her with a running knee strike, and then rolls her to the mat with a snapmare. As Renee tries to get back up, Skye kicks her knee out and then tries to kick her face. Renee catches her boot, but Skye spins and clocks her with her other leg. Renee manages to get Skye in a German Suplex pin but Skye kicks out at two.

Renee grabs Skye but she slips from her grasp and kicks her in the face. Skye grabs her in the SkyeFall and goes for the pin. Skye Blue wins the match.

Match 3- Yuka Sakazaki vs Avery Breaux


Yuka starts copying Avery's arm gestures, which Avery tells her to stop since that's her thing. Both women grapple and try to get control of each other. Avery manages to get Yuka in a snapmare but Yuka doesn't let go and gets her in a snapmare too. Yuka goes for three pin attempts in a row, with Avery barely being able to kick out each time. Avery rolls out of the ring for a quick time out. 

Yuka gets out of the ring and comes after her and Avery gets her with a knee to the midsection. Avery grabs her and slams her face into the ring apron. Yuka drops to the floor and Avery taunts her. Avery grabs her and shoves her back into the ring, but Yuka spins around and kicks her in the face. Yuka gets Avery back into the ring and hangs her over the ropes so she can elbow her across the back. Yuka walks around to greet the crowd and then runs back in to hit Avery with a dropkick on the ring apron.

Yuka goes for the pin but Avery kicks out. Yuka grabs her but Avery slams her in a suplex. With Yuka down and up against the ropes, Avery runs at her with a cannonball senton. She gees for the pin but Yuka kicks out. 

Avery goes for a flying kick and misses. Yuka goes for a spinning lariat and also misses, but she keeps spinning and hits her with the other arm. Yuka picks her up and starts spinning her around until she lets her drop. Yuka goes to the ropes and hits Avery with the Magical Girl Splash. She pins her and gets the win.


My thoughts- 

Pretty good matches tonight. Sofia was a tough opponent and was in control for most of the match. It's also cool to see that Red Velvet now has a new submission move added to her arsenal.

The Skye Blue match was also a lot of fun. The main confusing thing was that the announcement team said this was her AEW Dark debut. That's kind of weird seeing that she's been on Dark several times, even challenging Jade for the title once. Maybe they meant first time this year, but debut is a weird word to use.


Yuka Sakazaki is also fun to watch with all of her antics and overly cheerful and energetic personality. Avery Breaux is a cool competitor though and I do hope she gets more of a chance to sign. Hopefully we'll see her hit AEW Dynamite eventually. As for Yuka, she's amazingly quick and it's always surprising to her bodyslam women considering her small size. We'll see how her eventual match with Athena will go. 

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