Posted in: AEW, Sports, TV | Tagged: aew, maki itoh, wrestling

Riho vs. Maki Itoh Will Main Event AEW Dark Elevation Premiere

Published Thu, 11 Mar 2021 14:35:45 -0600

Tony Khan revealed the card for the debut episode of AEW Dark Elevation, the new spinoff of AEW Dark hosted by Tony Schiavone and Paul Wight, starting this Monday on YouTube. Khan revealed that Maki Itoh vs. Riho will main event the show and named four additional matches set to take place that day.

Paul Wight and Tony Schiavone host AEW Dark Elevation, premiering on Monday with a main event of Riho vs. Maki Itoh

"The @AEW Dark: Elevation debut Monday on YouTube is a stacked card & should be a fantastic show," tweeted Tony Khan, having regained a little bit of his swagger after this week's episode of Dynamite addressed the botched explosion from AEW Revolution. "@riho_gtmv v. @maki_itoh is our 1st ever Elevation main event! After Elevation + a strong Dark card Tuesday, don't miss the highly anticipated St. Patrick's Day Slam on #AEWDynamite! In addition to the huge main event @Riho_gtmv v. @maki_itoh for the debut of Dark: Elevation, the card includes great matchups like Jungle Boy v. Danny Limelight, Dante Martin v. Max @CasterShow, @TayConti_ v. @ashley__vox, Brandon Cutler v. Powerhouse Hobbs, + much more action!"

In case you don't speak Twitter, here's what the card is in plain English:

Riho vs. Maki Itoh
Jungle Boy vs. Danny Limelight
Dante Martin vs. Max Caster
Tay Conti vs. Ashley Vox
Brandon Cutler vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
+ much more action

If you're wondering what, besides the presence of the beloved Maki Itoh, makes AEW Dark Evolution different than AEW Dark, you are probably not alone. But on a media call last week, Cody Rhodes did his best to explain it.

"I would want people to tune in for the first AEW Dark Elevation, and, you know, Paul Wight joining us on commentary, first time for him, really, in his career, as an analyst and broadcast journalist as [Bobby] Heenan used to put it," said Rhodes on the call. "I think, to give you a little spoiler, potentially, on AEW Dark Elevation, again, I want everyone to watch and see, but it's going to be similar to Dark, but there should be more of a focus on individuals who are part of our roster. Tony Schiavone is the one who is spearheading that. I think you're gonna see some one-to-one pieces, some sit down interviews. I think you're gonna see a little bit more of a character insight, not unlike you see with American Ninja Warrior or even my other show on TBS, Go Big Show, where we learn a lot more, hopefully, about why these wrestlers are stepping into the ring, why these men and women are competing, what this means to them and their place in AEW. So I think that, and a few other items, of course, the biggest item being Paul Wight, will separate AEW Dark Elevation from its predecessor, AEW Dark."

Does that make things clearer? No? Well, that's too bad, because we've exceeded our minimum word count and this article has to end now. Maybe we'll get to the bottom of it next time.

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