Battle of the Belts IX will take place in less than two weeks.
The show is listed on the TNT schedule for Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 10 p.m. Eastern time immediately following AEW Collision. The promotion has yet to officially announce the news.
AEW has a show at the Chartway Arena in Norfolk, Virginia that night. It’s currently only advertised as a live episode of Collision.
AEW Collision Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm Chartway Arena, Norfolk, VA
Available Tickets => 1,443 Current Setup => 3,441 Tickets Distributed => 1,998
AEW has run two shows at Chartway Arena previously. The first took place on November 17, 2021, and drew an estimated 5400 fans to a show headlined by Sammy Guevara defending the TNT title against Jay Lethal. The second was an episode of Dynamite on October 22, 2022. It drew an estimated 3400 and was headlined by Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo.
The last Battle of the Belts event took place on October 21, 2023, at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the big news from Impact Bound for Glory and the rebranding back to TNA, a recap of Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view, the latest on Darby Allin, full recaps of AEW Collision, AEW Battle of the Belts and WWE Smackdown.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Impact rebranding to TNA name, Bound for Glory results
10:17: UFC 294 recap
26:23: British J Cup results, Darby Allin says his shoulder may be fractured
30:24: AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts VIII recap
John Silver is set to challenge Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship.
Silver defeated Brother Zay & Kip Sabian in a triple threat match on Friday’s Rampage episode to earn a shot at Cassidy’s International title on the Saturday, October 21 Battle of the Belts VIII special.
Sabian had Zay pinned in the Rampage contest, but Silver punted Sabian and stole the victory and the title shot.
Cassidy vs. Silver will be a rematch from the Full Gear 2020 pay-per-view in a match won by Cassidy. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer gave that Full Gear bout a ***1/2 rating.
Three title bouts are official for Battle of the Belts VIII, airing immediately following Collision on TNT at 10 p.m. Eastern time.
The TBS title will be on the line Saturday as Kris Statlander defends against Willow Nightingale, plus the World Trios titles will also be up for grabs.
The updated card:
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against John Silver
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Willow Nightingale
AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn defend against Matt Menard, Angelo Parker & Daniel Garcia
A TBS Championship match and an International Championship bout have been added to the card for AEW Battle of the Belts VIII.
TBS Champion Kris Statlander will defend her title against Willow Nightingale on the Saturday, October 21 special airing on TNT. Statlander defeated Skye Blue in a title defense on last week’s Collision, with Nightingale coming to the ring for a faceoff with the champion after the contest.
Also added to Saturday’s lineup, International Champion Orange Cassidy will defend his title against the winner of a triple threat match on this Friday’s Rampage episode. Cassidy will take on the winner of a John Silver vs. Kip Sabian vs. Brother Zay three-way.
Already announced for Battle of the Belts VIII is a World Trios Championship defense with The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn defending their titles against Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, & Angelo Parker.
Battle of the Belts VIII airs Saturday, October 21 at 10 p.m. Eastern time on TNT immediately following AEW Collision.
The lineup for Battle of the Belts VIII:
AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) & Billy Gunn defend against Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker
TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Willow Nightingale
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against John Silver, Kip Sabian, or Brother Zay
The Bryan & Shawn & Craig Show is back today with tons to talk about as we review two big AEW shows, the Collision from Saturday night with the Owen Hart Cup finals and an amazing FTR vs. Jay White & Juice Robinson tag match, and a Battle of the Belts which was, well, a Battle of the Belts. A fun show as always so check it out~!
The seventh edition of AEW Battle of the Belts VII now has an official date and time listed, albeit one not yet officially announced by the promotion.
According to TNT’s online schedule, the quarterly special will air on Saturday, July 15th at 10 PM Eastern following the live edition of AEW Collision from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It’s assumed Battle of the Belts will also be live as has been the case in recent edition which aired on Fridays at 11 PM Eastern following live editions of Rampage.
In June, AEW head Tony Khan confirmed the specials would remain even after the addition of the weekly two-hour Collision show to their schedule. In the first three weeks of Collision, matches for Ring of Honor’s weekly TV show have been filmed.
The one-hour specials were first announced in May 2021 as part of a deal that included the creation of Rampage as well as Dynamite’s move to TBS. The first Battle of the Belts bowed in January 2022.
AEW Battle of the Belts will live on despite the debut of the new weekly Collision show.
In an interview with Post Wrestling Wednesday, AEW head Tony Khan said the quarterly show will continue but was non-committal as to whether it will continue to air on TNT, saying more information will be coming soon.
The one-hour specials were first announced in May 2021 as part of a deal that included the creation of AEW Rampage as well as Dynamite’s move to TBS. The first Battle of the Belts bowed in January 2022.
AEW has held six Battle of the Belts shows with the most recent airing live on Fridays after Rampage as opposed to running a taped version on Saturdays.
If last year’s schedule holds, the next such Battle of the Belts would take place in August but nothing has been announced as of yet. AEW’s August schedule currently has two Dynamite/Rampage dates and two Collision dates in addition to All In. It’s also unclear when AEW would hold the show given their new weekly schedule with Collision.
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During the conversation, Khan was asked by Brandon Thurston whether AEW fans could expect AEW content to air on the WBD networks this January — a different way of asking whether WBD has picked up their one-year option to extend the current TV rights contract through the end of 2024.
Khan didn’t directly say whether WBD had done just that, but said that he would expect AEW to air on WBD in January and hopefully for many years to come.
Friday night’s episode of AEW Rampage averaged 503,000 viewers on TNT, up 47.9 percent from the previous week. It’s the highest audience total for the show since January 13 and the third highest of the year to date.
In the 18-49 demo, Rampage finished sixth on the cable charts with a 0.17 rating, up 70 percent from last week. It’s Rampage’s best rating in the key demo since December 23.
Rampage’s ratings were up in every demo with the biggest increase coming with females 12-34, which were up 150 percent from last week. The show also more than doubled its rating with males in that age group, as well as with people 18-34 and people 25-54.
As compared to the same week in 2022, Rampage was down 16.2 percent in overall viewers and down 32 percent in 18-49.
Battle of the Belts VI, which aired immediately following Rampage, averaged 415,000 viewers. That’s up 1.5 percent from the previous Battle of the Belts special in January. The show finished 12th for the night in the 18-49 demo with a 0.14 rating. That’s up 27.3 percent from the last Battle of the Belts.
As compared to the 10-week averages, Rampage was up 26.9 percent in overall viewers and up 41.7 percent in 18-49.
Three title matches will make up tonight’s live edition of AEW Battle of the Belts IV from Kingston, Rhode Island.
New Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers will defend their titles for the first time as they face TNT Champion Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall. The two won the titles at last Friday’s Supercard of Honor.
Hobbs picked up title defenses over Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix in recent weeks with Marshall assaulting Alex Abrahantes both times.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will look to continue his successful run of title defenses as he faces Dralistico. If he wins tonight, it will be number 17.
After her face-to-face sit-down with Taya Valkyrie on Rampage, TBS Champion Jade Cargill will defend against Billie Starkz. With a win, Cargill will remain undefeated in her two-year career and enjoy her 21st title defense. Starkz will be looking for her first AEW win (0-6).
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AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defeated Dralistico to retain
Dralistico was joined ringside by his brother, Rush, and others. Cassidy appeared with Best Friends at his side.
It took a few moments, but they broke into fast action until OC took a break to cool off on the floor. Cassidy walked the ropes and did an arm drag with one hand in his pocket.
Everyone who came to the ring with both Dralistico and OC, they all ended up brawling with each other to the back because Jose shoved Cassidy off the top rope at one point. It was down to one on one action between Dralistico and Cassidy. The program cut to a short commercial break from here.
When they were back from break, we saw OC hit Dralistico with cross body press and a Michinoku Driver II for two. The crowd started chanting for Cassidy a bit later. Jose was still at ringside, by the way. Dralistico used a springboard codebreaker on Cassidy for two.
OC reversed a suplex into jawbreaker to tip the match in his favor. The two would start fighting on the top ropes next. Dralistico nailed Cassidy with a big headbutt before taking him down with a wild hurracanrana from one rope to the other, launching Cassidy into the ring. He’d lock OC in La Mistica but couldn’t get Cassidy to tap. The crowd chanted more for Cassidy. Cassidy went for the Beach Break but Dralistico reversed it into a Canadian Destroyer for two.
On the floor, Cassidy did the Orange Punch to take out Jose. He’d do the same to Dralistico in the ring moments later, cracking him with a loud Orange Punch that laid Dralistico out for the win. Cassidy retains.
Malaki Black appeared on screen afterwards. He said he thought Cassidy quite talented, but he could tell that losing to House was eating him alive. He said that was good, because the House of Black wasn’t done with him just yet. Buddy Murphy appeared and said that if they put their titles on the line, why doesn’t Cassidy put his title on the line in a match.
A promo package for Jay White aired next. It covered what happened between him and Ricky Starks on the latest episode of Dynamite.
Mark Briscoe backstage interview
Briscoe was asked about his match last week and he said that he wouldn’t be looking to the past but looking forward from now. Jay Lethal then appeared from off screen. He talked with Briscoe about how long they’ve known each other and how connected they’ve been over the years, so Lethal invited Briscoe to join up with him. It sounded like a good deal to Briscoe, so he shook on it with Lethal.
Then, suddenly, Sonjay Dutt, Jeff Jarret and Singh appeared alongside Lethal. They were happy about Briscoe joining them, but it seemed like Briscoe didn’t realize that was going to happen. Lethal used a bait-and-switch technique: Lethal presented the “team” as just he and Briscoe, not Lethal’s entire enterprise. To be continued.
TBS Champion Jade Cargill defeated Billie Starkz to retain
Starkz is just 18 years old, has been wrestling for four years but is also an honor roll student in high school. She wrestled Yuka Sakazaki last year at Korakuen Hall for Tokyo Joshi Pro.
Cargill did not seem impressed with Starkz and got in her face early on. Starkz wouldn’t back down. Cargill took charge and at one point bent Starkz over her knee and spanked her. The champion worked Starkz over as the show cut to commercials.
When the show came back, the crowd was chanting for Starkz as Cargill held her in a headlock. When Cargill went for Jaded, Starkz got up on her shoulders and turned around to do a frankensteiner. She’d then knock Cargill off the apron with a running boot.
Later, back in the ring, Starkz unloaded more offense on Cargill, including a flatliner for two. She went for a swanton bomb off the top but Cargill put her knees up. There was a bit of miscommunication on one of the final spots, but Cargill would clean it up and put Starkz away with Jaded for the win. Cargill retains.
Taya Valkyrie appeared after the match and went for Road to Valhalla (or Cargill’s Jaded), but Cargill escaped and rolled to the floor. Valkyrie taunted Cargill and co. from the ring as the opposite crew went to the back.
Michael Nakazawa & Brandon Cutler segment
Cutler posed a question: What do you do when the people who stood up for bullies aren’t there to stand up for you anymore? He said they have to stand up and be elite. Michael Nakazawa just said “No more!”
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When the show returned from commercial break, The Lucha Bros. and QT Marshall & Will Hobbes spoke with Mark Henry ahead of the match. Pentagon said the Lucha Bros were the best tag team in the world.
ROH’s Bobby Cruise came out to make formal introductions for this Ring of Honor-sanctioned title match.
ROH Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros. defeated Powerhouse Hobbs & QT Marshall
ROH’s Caprice Coleman joined the AEW commentary team for this match.
Fans chanted for Pentagon before action got underway. Penta did CIERO MIEDO in Marshall’s face a few times. The crowd chanted “Q-T SUCKS!” They sounded like they enjoyed booing him. The two had another wobbly exchange before Marshall tagged out to Hobbes, who quickly ate a foot in the face from Rey Fenix on the opposite side of the ring. When Hobbs went for a lariat, he missed and decked Marshall, knocking him to the floor. Fenix caught him with a suicide somersault senton through the ropes.
The crowd got behind the Lucha Bros. later in this, as Hobbs and Marshall took the upper hand and put the boots to Fenix. More chants of “Q-T SUCKS!” broke out.
Fenix nailed Marshall with a super kick and tagged out. Penta and Hobbs traded chops. Marshall and Hobbs then took Penta out with a double shoulder block before the match went to commercials.
Marshall and Hobbs were in control until the commercial break was over. Penta hit an enzuigiri kick but Marshall got involved and neutralized Penta for a moment. Later, Penta laid Marshall out with a sling blade before putting Hobbs down with a backstabber before finally tagging out to Fenix.
Fenix came in and cleaned house. Huge rolling savate kick in the corner before an assisted springboard hurracanrana. He and Penta worked in some double-team offense to try and put Marshall away. Fenix landed a splash onto Marshall but Hobbs broke up the count.
Marshall did a handspring kick and would later take Penta out with a Diamond Cutter. Fenix reappeared with a Code Red. Everyone was sold like they were KO’d for a few moments.
Penta and Hobbs got into it when the guys were back to their feet. They traded hard shots. The Lucha Bros would gang up on Hobbs and take him down before a super-assisted splash on Hobbs and a Canadian Destroyer on Marshall. Fenix only earned a two-count. Hobbs powered up and took the Lucha Bros out with huge lariats.
Fenix rebounded and caught Marshall with a ricochet kick to take Marshall out. The QTV people started jumping up and down, and took Alex Abrahantes out on the floor. Marshall misted Fenix and pinned him with his foot on the ropes but Fenix counted out again. He’d finally score the win with a hurracanrana on Marshall for the win. The Lucha Bros. retain their titles.
Tony Khan cracked a joke on social media while promoting tonight’s AEW Rampage and Battle of the Belts.
In the wake of news that Vince McMahon has elected himself back to WWE’s board of directors and is looking to be named executive chairman of the company, the AEW President wrote on Twitter:
Everyone at work is being so nice to me these past 24 hours! I wonder why… It must be belated holiday spirit.
Everyone at work is being so nice to me these past 24 hours! I wonder why…
It must be belated holiday spirit.
See you tonight on TNT for TWO hours of @AEWonTV live, Friday Night #AEWRampage + #BattleOfTheBelts, back-to-back LIVE Starting at 10pm ET/9pm CT TONIGHT
AEW will be presenting two hours of live wrestling on January 6.
The TNT schedule lists that AEW Battle of the Belts V will air after the Friday, January 6 episode of Rampage. Rampage will air in its regular 10-11 p.m. Eastern time slot, with Battle of the Belts then airing from 11 p.m. to midnight.
That’s also the same format that Battle of the Belts IV followed when it took place this October.
The January 6 Rampage and Battle of the Belts V will be AEW’s Portland, Oregon debut. The Veterans Memorial Coliseum is hosting the show.
Battle of the Belts debuted as a quarterly special in January of this year. The specials were held in January, April, August, and October.
The most recent Battle of the Belts event featured three title matches. The AEW All-Atlantic Championship, TBS Championship, and ROH Tag Team titles were all on the line.
There haven’t been any matches announced for Battle of the Belts V yet.
AEW saw ratings drops for its live two-hour programming block on Friday night.
– Friday’s episode of Rampage averaged 404,000 viewers on TNT, down 14.4 percent from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience for the show since July 29.
Rampage had strong competition from an MLB wildcard round playoff game on ESPN as well as the usual college football on FS1.
The show finished 20th on the cable charts with a 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 18.8 percent from the previous week and is Rampage’s lowest rating in that category since August 26.
Rampage’s ratings were even or down in every single demo. The biggest decline came with women 18-49, which dropped 33.3 percent to a 0.08 rating. That’s Rampage’s lowest number in that category since June 17.
As compared with the same week in 2021, Rampage was down 19.5 percent in overall viewers and down 23.5 percent in 18-49.
– Battle of the Belts IV, which immediately followed Rampage on TNT, averaged 317,000 viewers. It finished 37th on the cable charts with a 0.10 rating in 18-49. The viewership total and 18-49 rating are both the lowest numbers AEW has drawn of the four Battle of the Belts specials that have aired thus far. Two weeks ago, Rampage in the same time slot averaged 486,000 viewers and did a 0.16 in the demo for a taped show.
The charts below show the last 11 weeks of Rampage ratings and the ratings for AEW’s four Battle of the Belts specials. It’s notable the previous Battle of the Belts aired in prime time on Saturday as opposed to late night on Friday.
AEW Battle of the Belts IV will air live immediately following next Friday’s Rampage, according to Dave Meltzer.
The goal is to make both Rampage and Battle of the Belts IV feel like a major two-hour show. According to TNT’s schedule, Rampage will begin at 10 PM Eastern per usual with Battle of the Belts IV airing afterward.
The previous three Battle of the Belts shows aired on Saturdays with the first event broadcast live and the following two taped the night before.
The event will emanate from the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., and will be the first of several Rampage events in October to be filmed separately from that week’s edition of Dynamite.
The October 14 edition of Rampage will be taped on Thursday, August 13 from Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum. On October 21, Rampage will air live from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Rampage on October 28 will then air live from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Saturday night’s AEW Battle of the Belts III averaged 437,000 viewers on TNT, down 17.1 percent from the previous edition of the special back in April. It’s the lowest viewership of the three Battle of the Belts events to date.
In the 18-49 demo, Battle of the Belts finished 12th in the cable rankings on Saturday with a 0.12 rating. That’s down 33.3 percent from Battle of the Belts II and is less than half the rating the first Battle of the Belts show in January did.
The previous chart rankings were 10th for the first Battle of the Belts and 11th for the second, so — relative to the competition — these numbers are relatively stable.
The audience retention from the previous night’s AEW Rampage, which aired on the same station, was 93.4 percent of total viewers and 80 percent in the key demo.
As with other Battle of the Belts shows, Saturday’s edition featured three title matches, headlined by an ROH World Championship match between Claudio Castagnoli and Konosuke Takeshita.
Listed below are the overall viewership, 18-49 demo ratings, and chart placings for all three Battle of the Belts specials on TNT to date.
