Wrestle Review by Andy Sullivan: Battle of the Belts
Before AEW’s Battle Of The Belts III tonight, settle in for another Wrestle Review! I’ll preview tonight’s show in a bit.
I love that Ricochet appears to be back on track under the Triple H regime. Under Vince, he would’ve gotten crushed by Corbin Friday on Smackdown. Instead, Ricochet surprisingly won. I really hope this is a step in the right direction for him. It’s also great that Michael Cole mentioned that Ludwig Kaiser is a former NXT tag champion. It’s great that NXT can be mentioned again. I never understood why it became taboo under Vince’s reign. I mean, it’s part of your company. Why wouldn’t you want to mention it?
I also love that the word “wrestling” can be said again. That sounds silly to say about a wrestling show but, for whatever reason, Vince forbade the word. Also Friday, what is with the fans booing Liv Morgan? Fans cheer you until you win a title? I guess their thinking is her character is a little stale. We could be seeing a Rock situation-where the fans boo her so loudly and often, she does eventually turn heel.
The announcement last night of the women’s tag team championship tournament is certainly welcome. I’m curious to see what the teams will be. Will Sasha Banks return? I think yes. I’m curious to see what the teams will be and if Sasha Banks and Naomi return. I would think Bayley’s new unit will be in. And what about Bayley herself? Lots of unanswered questions. I’m going to say something I haven’t said in a long time: I can’t wait until Raw!
Karrion Kross debuts under Vince McMahon: comes to the ring in what I can only describe as centurion soldier gear and loses to Jeff Hardy in about a minute. Karrion Kross debuts under Triple H: confronts WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and takes out #1 contender Drew McIntyre. I think we know which version is stronger.
Over to AEW, it looks like Best Friends and Orange Cassidy are looking to become the inaugural trios champions-which will be crowned at All Out. Also Wednesday, we saw the Young Bucks get kicked out of the Undisputed Era. I assume Cole, Fish and KOR are going after the trios belts as well. As might be the Bucks and…..Hangman Page?! That’s right, the Bucks got saved by “Hangman” Adam Page Wednesday. That’s a pretty unlikely save unless you remember that he and the Bucks have been talking again lately. All Out also looks to be the second ppv in a row without Bryan Danielson and CM Punk.
Battle of the Belts III tonight sees Warlow defend the TNT Championship against Jay Lethal, Thunder Rosa defend the AEW women’s championship against Jamie Hayter, and Claudio Castagnoli defend the ROH World Championship against Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita has been phenomenal the last few months, taking Eddie Kingston and interim AEW Champion Jon Moxley to their limits. Taking them to the limit and winning are two separate things, though. I expect Claudio to retain in a fantastic match! I don’t see Jamie Hayter beating Thunder Rosa for the women’s title and I don’t see Lethal defeating Wardlow.
Wednesday sees Brody King and Darby Allin in a coffin match as well as the Lucha Brother vs Andrade and Rush. Jade Cargill will defend the TBS Championship against Madison Rayne and Jon Moxley will defend the interim AEW Championship against Chris Jericho. It’s hard to say Jericho loses here but I really think the endgame is Mox vs Punk whenever he returns to crown the true AEW World Champion. Jericho could win and Mox win it right back but what would be the point? I say Jon takes it. Cargill will obviously defeat Rayne and Andrade and Rush will defeat the Lucha’s. Brody and Darby is a toss-up. You never know how a coffin match will shake out.
Enjoy wrestling and check out my podcast Belndertainment at one of the links below:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/61yTPt9wXdz37DZTbPUs16?si=Uecgn9fvQ8-PM1anUpfQzA
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blendertainment/id1541097172
I love that Ricochet appears to be back on track under the Triple H regime. Under Vince, he would’ve gotten crushed by Corbin Friday on Smackdown. Instead, Ricochet surprisingly won. I really hope this is a step in the right direction for him. It’s also great that Michael Cole mentioned that Ludwig Kaiser is a former NXT tag champion. It’s great that NXT can be mentioned again. I never understood why it became taboo under Vince’s reign. I mean, it’s part of your company. Why wouldn’t you want to mention it?
I also love that the word “wrestling” can be said again. That sounds silly to say about a wrestling show but, for whatever reason, Vince forbade the word. Also Friday, what is with the fans booing Liv Morgan? Fans cheer you until you win a title? I guess their thinking is her character is a little stale. We could be seeing a Rock situation-where the fans boo her so loudly and often, she does eventually turn heel.
The announcement last night of the women’s tag team championship tournament is certainly welcome. I’m curious to see what the teams will be. Will Sasha Banks return? I think yes. I’m curious to see what the teams will be and if Sasha Banks and Naomi return. I would think Bayley’s new unit will be in. And what about Bayley herself? Lots of unanswered questions. I’m going to say something I haven’t said in a long time: I can’t wait until Raw!
Karrion Kross debuts under Vince McMahon: comes to the ring in what I can only describe as centurion soldier gear and loses to Jeff Hardy in about a minute. Karrion Kross debuts under Triple H: confronts WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and takes out #1 contender Drew McIntyre. I think we know which version is stronger.
Over to AEW, it looks like Best Friends and Orange Cassidy are looking to become the inaugural trios champions-which will be crowned at All Out. Also Wednesday, we saw the Young Bucks get kicked out of the Undisputed Era. I assume Cole, Fish and KOR are going after the trios belts as well. As might be the Bucks and…..Hangman Page?! That’s right, the Bucks got saved by “Hangman” Adam Page Wednesday. That’s a pretty unlikely save unless you remember that he and the Bucks have been talking again lately. All Out also looks to be the second ppv in a row without Bryan Danielson and CM Punk.
Battle of the Belts III tonight sees Warlow defend the TNT Championship against Jay Lethal, Thunder Rosa defend the AEW women’s championship against Jamie Hayter, and Claudio Castagnoli defend the ROH World Championship against Konosuke Takeshita. Takeshita has been phenomenal the last few months, taking Eddie Kingston and interim AEW Champion Jon Moxley to their limits. Taking them to the limit and winning are two separate things, though. I expect Claudio to retain in a fantastic match! I don’t see Jamie Hayter beating Thunder Rosa for the women’s title and I don’t see Lethal defeating Wardlow.
Wednesday sees Brody King and Darby Allin in a coffin match as well as the Lucha Brother vs Andrade and Rush. Jade Cargill will defend the TBS Championship against Madison Rayne and Jon Moxley will defend the interim AEW Championship against Chris Jericho. It’s hard to say Jericho loses here but I really think the endgame is Mox vs Punk whenever he returns to crown the true AEW World Champion. Jericho could win and Mox win it right back but what would be the point? I say Jon takes it. Cargill will obviously defeat Rayne and Andrade and Rush will defeat the Lucha’s. Brody and Darby is a toss-up. You never know how a coffin match will shake out.
Enjoy wrestling and check out my podcast Belndertainment at one of the links below:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/61yTPt9wXdz37DZTbPUs16?si=Uecgn9fvQ8-PM1anUpfQzA
Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blendertainment/id1541097172