The SmarK Rant for AEW Battle of the Belts II – 04.16.22
Not exactly a scorching hot take to say this show feels inessential and not particularly well built, to say the least. Especially being a taped show, and the fourth AEW show I’m watching in a week.
Weird fact of the week: I can watch this show in Australia but not in my usual Belgium for some reason.
Taped from Dallas, TX
Your hosts are Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone
TNT title: Scorpio Sky v. Sammy Guevara
Case in point: Who has Sammy even beaten since dropping the title in order to earn a rematch? I also continue to mourn the “Reach For the Sky” theme that Ethan Page could dance to on the way to the ring. Sammy beats on Sky in the corner to start and draws boos, then follows with a backdrop suplex and slugs away on the mat. Again, it blows my mind that you could have someone opposing Dan Lambert, a manager wearing the TNT belt for himself, and somehow have him get BOOED. Sammy dropkicks Sky to the floor and runs him into the railing, but Sky drops him on the railing in response and there’s a really weird vibe to this match. Sammy is apparently trying to be a babyface and it’s falling completely flat now, but people don’t particularly want to cheer Scorpio either. Sammy moonsaults off the stairs, but they head to the apron and Sky gives him a TKO on the apron, THE HARDEST PART OF THE RING. That looked really awkward, with Sammy’s legs catching on the ropes and dropping him headfirst. Sky runs him into the stairs to take over, and back in the ring Sky pounds him with knees in the corner. This is supposed to generate sympathy for Sammy but instead draws cheers for Scorpio. Backbreaker not once, not twice, but THRICE, but Sammy makes a comeback with a Spanish Fly for two. Sammy kicks him out of the corner and goes up for the 450, but Ethan Page pulls Sky out of the ring to save him and Sammy hits him with a shooting star press to the floor. Back in, Scorpio gets a small package for two, but Sammy tries his double springboard cutter and botches it for two. Lambert takes the ref and Sammy rolls up Sky for two, and this brings out Paige VanZant for a brawl with Tay on the floor. And then Sammy goes low on Sky, hits the GTH, and regains the TNT title at 12:44 to end Sky’s pointless title reign to the groans of the audience. If they had committed to Sammy going heel WAY earlier this match might have been saved, but this was a complete mess in the form it was presented. The match had no heat and they couldn’t get any kind of momentum going. ** I still don’t get why Scorpio needed to win that title in the first place.
ROH World title: Jonathan Gresham v. Dalton Castle
I’m glad Dalton is getting his mojo back after all the injury problems, but this could have used, I dunno, some explanation or buildup or something? Dalton kind of comes off as Leaping Lanny Poffo if you don’t already know who he is, I’d imagine. I really like Castle, and his alleged alter ego Smooth Sailin’ Ashley Remington, but throwing guys out there cold isn’t an ideal way to make stars out of them. They trade wristlocks and Gresham chases him to the floor, where the Boys offer some cooling fans. Back in, Castle takes him down with gutwrenches, but Gresham pops up and Castle is intimidated. Gresham takes him down with a rana and puts him down with a dropkick before going to work on the arm. Dalton bails after a break and gets more attention from the Boys, but Gresham chases him out and Castle hits a rana on the floor. Back in the ring, Dalton evades all of Gresham’s strikes and takes him down with a suplex. Castle tries an Alabama Slam, but Gresham grabs the ropes to escape. Castle tries again for the Bangarang, but Castle reverses to a rollup for two off that. Castle misses a charge and Gresham gets the Octopus to finish at 10:33. This was fine but they were essentially sent out there to die on national TV and it was just two fellas having a wrestling match. **1/2 This brings out Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh, and Great Value Khali destroys everyone, including Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal for good measure, until Samoa Joe makes the save. This was at least a more effective introduction for Singh than Dynamite was, but much like the ROH PPV, made the ROH World champion and his challenger look like complete afterthought geeks. Gresham can hang in the ring but he doesn’t stand out at all in a promotion full of stars. Which again brings up the question of what Tony Khan is trying to accomplish with the ROH brand? Clearly they’re positioned as midcarders not worthy of even a week of buildup to their World title match, so why bother? Put the footage on an AEW streaming service and just let it die.
AEW Women’s title: Thunder Rosa v. Nyla Rose
Nyla attacks and chases Rosa to the floor to start and beats on her out there, but Rosa bulldogs her off the post. Back in, Rosa gets a missile dropkick for two and a sliding lariat for two. Nyla fights back with a headbutt and chokes her out on the ropes to take over. Rosa takes her to the floor and tries a rana from the apron, but Nyla powerbombs her on the apron and continues beating on her. Back in the ring, Nyla holds an armbar while working on the ribs, but Rosa sweeps the leg and tries for a crossface. Nyla powers out of that with a death valley driver for two. They slug it out with forearms and Rosa fights back with a stunner and shotgun dropkick in the corner. Nyla bails to the floor and Rosa tries a spinning dive and falls WAY short with it, with Nyla luckily catching her on the way down. Back in, Rosa with a crossbody, but Nyla rolls through and kicks her down. Nyla tries the guillotine and misses, and Rosa tries a rana and it’s blocked, so she turns it into a Code Red for two instead. Nyla clotheslines her for two and gets a chokseslam before going up to the top, but she lands on Rosa’s boot in a horribly awkward spot, and then recovers with a lariat for two. I don’t know if someone’s hurt but this thing is falling apart at the seams. Nyla with a suplex for two as they continue to be all over the place, and Nyla misses a senton on the apron as Rosa gets two from that. Nyla slams her for two, but Rosa gets a rana for the pin at 14:14. That was pretty rough at the end but mostly OK. **1/2
And that pretty much sums up the show, mostly OK, not needing to exist, just content to fill time on TNT for contractual reasons.