Episode 182 of AEW Dark is in the books! If you missed the live broadcast, click here to stream via Cageside Seating. Excalibur and Taz called procedure as usual. Let’s go!

Blake Christian vs. Serpentico

Serpentico has a record of 1-0 with its SAP bros and new SAP single. Christian also brought a record of 1-0. Serb led the crowd in Orlando in a “SAP” chant. Christian took an arm and Serp reversed it to throw the seal. Christian brought it back again. The arm swings. Serb went outside, and Christian ran up the ropes to make a suicide dive but Serb cut him off with a kick. Serp flat head and scissors for two. More pieces from Christian. Push kick, DDT and “self-assisted” headbutting from Serp for two. Serp Christian hung on the ropes to cut them. The crowd called out another and Christian locked him in and drove from corner to corner, then ran into a quick suplex and trimmed him down. The crowd turned around and chanted “whole hearted” to Blake. The back key kick sent a swarm to the ground. Christian went diving again and this time he didn’t break. Diving knee strikes with ropes and Spanish fly. Springboard 450 for the pin. This was a fun start and I always enjoy seeing Whole Heart come out on top!

Rush vs Aiden Park

“El Toro Blanco” has a record of 4-0 in 2023 along with assistant Jose. Park was waiting in the ring for him to make his AEW debut. It didn’t take long for the match to spill out of the ring as Rush started using whatever he wasn’t named in some dirty tactics. Aubrey Edwards didn’t seem worried about it when Park was brought back in, which I think is an old “if I didn’t see it didn’t happen” wrestling trope. Park attempted a shot and was cut down with a chop and a hard right. Rush jumped him in the corner and ran on his head – and +that+ Edwards was worried about him. He would tease as he hit the horns and then lay down in Tetsuya Naito’s classic “tranquilo” pose, mirroring his Ingobernable status. Finally he hit the bull’s horns and pulled Park’s carcass into the center for a pin. This was squash, but it was wicked squash, which is also fun.

Megan Myers vs. Keira Hogan

Hogan brought a 2023 record of 2-0 to Orlando outright Ota Hotellanta, while rival Myers waited in the ring for her first match in 2023. She hit a sideways headbutt, got shot and knocked Hogan down with a shoulder tackle. Hogan responded with a jump and kick. Myers did a bunch of athletic moves she wasn’t expecting from a jobber, including hanging herself upside down and using her legs, but Hogan eventually caught her in the ropes and performed a hip attack on the back, but Myers was still knocked out by a leg drop. It appeared that Myers had lost part of her clothes in the middle of the ring and the referee did nothing to knock him out of the way. The slide kick and round kick from Hogan, then a suplex for the pin. The crowd must have been late registering because the response was muted at best.

Dante Casanova vs Dalton Castle

The boys came to the aid of Dalton Castle in his usual style, which was fitting since this was his first official game of 2023. This intro really needs a Bobby Cruz not to mention a mention of Ian Riccaponi on commentary, but I’ll take what I can get. Casanova was waiting for him with a singles record of 0-1, and seemed annoyed at having to wait until the entrance to the castle, where he taunted Peacock when he was introduced. The crowd was awake for this person and was cheering for the castle immediately.

Excalibur couldn’t resist pointing out the similarity of the Dalton Castle entrance music to “Ga Ga RadioQueen. I’m a little surprised Tony Khan hasn’t tried to buy the rights to the song forever as he has in the past for Robbie Soho and Jungle Boy, but maybe even Freddie Mercury’s estate won’t accept offers – or the price might be too high even for the son of a billionaire. Casanova tried Castle shook a shoe as he responded with a chain reflex.Knee run, Lariat discus, Bangarang, Pin.This was a bit more competitive than full squash, but on a scale of 1 to 10 that only makes it a 2. Castle’s victory was never in doubt.

Slim J vs. Mascara Dorada

Dorada brought a 2-0 record to this contest. Slim J was attacked by Jeeves Kay and Sonny Kiss, earning 2023 a record of 1-0. I briefly considered the “Will the Real Slim J Please Stand Up” prank for this week’s recap title, but these days Eminem’s AI fake videos are so good that it’s getting hard to tell who the real Slim Shady is! Taz: Please call Match. Alright Taz, I’ll be more focused too. Dorada attempted a J-board but his weight came off the top for a near fall and Dorada had to reset it. Taz: “If you have some kind of background in judo, maybe you could use that.” Subtle taz, finesse I don’t mean at all. He missed a double hit and both men resulting in a showdown. Slim J finally bails and Dorada gives chase, Ari Daivari’s crew of scoundrels beats him up while Stephon Smith catches the same flu as Aubrey Edwards earlier – one that blinds anything not right in front of you. Back in the ring, a reverse diving DDT by Slim J resulted in a near-fall. Even Excalibur got angry Mr. Smith lost all the dirty tactics and yelled at him to turn around. Dorada dodged a charge and bumped his toe, then gave Slim J a backbreaker, but J also got his back for a rear naked choke. Dorada wrestled with his elbows and elbowed him back. J rolled again as Dorada adjusted his mask and did a twister on the floor to finish everyone off, getting a “lu-cha, lu-cha” chant from Orlando. They fought the outside a bit and Dorada made a slightly awkward splash for a near fall. Putting J on his shoulders, J batted and hit bellows for 2.9. Dorada’s nose was broken somewhere in all of this. J missed moonsaulting from the ropes, but Dorada didn’t, and was awarded the pin.

Outrunners vs. Logan Cruz & Tyshaun Perez

The Outrunners have been in Elevation before but this was considered their first match in Dark. Excalibur quickly noticed that it had been seen on both Elevation and Dynamite. Cruz and Perez brought a record of 0-1 to this contest. Stephon Smith actually decided to enforce the law in this match, demanding that The Outrunners tag legally. They pulled off a powerful neckbreaking combo for the quick win and Lexi was promptly interviewed in the ring. “They’ve got the best tag teams now!” “AEW, you look at the Smallest Men Alive, Speedboats, Hustles, Muscles, Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd, Outrunners. Torp told them!” “Now, the Outrunners are in the biggest company in the world, All Elite Wrestling, to show everyone here Exactly who we are. If you haven’t seen Outrunners…””…you haven’t seen anything yet!”

Balian Aki vs Rico Gonzalez

He accompanied Aki Mi Suruga and this was his first appearance in 2023. It was also likely to be a successful start because González was waiting for him in the ring with a 0-1 record. Gonzalez took a deep arm pull and ate a back rag in response. Akki did a shin kick, extended his arm, hit a knockdown and came out to the top rope. Dropkick to the top of Gonzalez’s head. I was going to do that pin – until Taz said the same thing. However, the two threw chops at each other and Gonzalez was slightly outmatched. Akki responded by starting a round house run in an impressive set for a near fall. Gonzalez hit an Rana loop and a springboard on the moon for two. Akki with a dome back, a back heel kick, and another near-fall. Akki with a brain on his knee, to the top rope, and a giant frog splashing more than halfway across the ring for the pin. I enjoyed it a lot!

Konosuke Takeshita vs. EJ Ndoka

Takeshita achieved a 3-0 record in Dark to main event. You may know his opponent EJ Nduka from Major League Wrestling, or you may know him as Ezra Judge from NXT, but either way he was making his AEW debut here. The two men circled and tuned each other at the opening bell. Takeshita nodded and they walked over and stared at each other before finally locking hands.

Nduka overpowered him in the ropes, and tried to swing at the break, but Takeshita dodged it and hit him with a chop. They dealt blow after blow until Nduka caught a forearm and a pair of spears in the corner. Excalibur places him as a former Toronto Argonaut football player. Takeshita recovered and knocked Ndoka off his feet, but he ate several blows to the face. Takeshita responded with a big forearm. Nduka hit a kick when Takeshita attacked him in the corner. Nduka could have gone for a pin from the middle of the spear ring but he had other plans. He decided to go forearm to forearm. Tazz described this as “inexperience” on Nduka’s part. “Maybe it was the way he trained. I’m not sure.” Takeshita hit the Blue Thunder Bomb and knocked Ndoka out. Takeshita missed a blow to the knee the first time but hit it the second time and followed it up with a blow to the brain. He begged Nduka to come back and hit the lead knee “just down the middle” as Excalibur puts it to close out the main event. Excalibur asked if he could do the same thing with MJF tomorrow night. You’ll have to tune in to find out!

What to watch / skip

What to watch/skip Tonight in the Dark is brought to you How do you cook it. I recently discovered this channel but the host is a lovely Australian lady named who spends as much time debunking viral “life tales” as she does cooking, which I think is awesome. Konosuke Takeshita is also great. You’re guaranteed a good match on any show he’s on, but he’s certainly been a standout reel of Elevation and Dark since his debut. Honestly though my “must watch” would have to include Akki vs. You can skip The Outrunners (except for their promo), and I guess you can skip Hogan vs. Meyers, but I enjoyed that more than the audience. Everything else was a fun hour of professional wrestling action.

Cageside Commentary Crew – Share your feedback below in the comments section. If you love pro wrestling Find me on Twitter also. I’d like to talk to some of you instead of the bots following me around. See you next week for new episodes of Elevation and Dark!