Saturday night’s AEW Battle of the Belts II averaged 527,000 viewers on TNT, down 25.1 percent from the first Battle of the Belts that took place in January of this year.
The show finished 10th on the cable charts with a 0.18 rating in the 18-49 demo. The rating was down 33.3 percent from January’s Battle of the Belts. The first Battle of the Belts had finished 11th on the charts against tough competition, including the final week of the NFL regular season.
Battle of the Belts II had significant competition in the form of two NBA playoff games. A playoff game on ESPN averaged 3.6 million viewers overall and topped the cable charts with a 1.25 rating in 18-49. A separate game on ABC averaged 4.5 million viewers, also running directly opposite Battle of the Belts, and drew a 1.33 rating in the demo.
The UFC also had an event on ESPN, but only the first few minutes of the broadcast aired head-to-head with Battle of the Belts. The UFC show averaged 914,000 viewers and finished fifth on cable with a 0.31 rating in 18-49.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including partying on the BOARDWALK yesterday, RAW line-up for tonight, AEW line-up for Wednesday, Satnam Singh and Tony Khan’s response to his debut, Smackdown, New Japan and Battle of the Belts, UFC notes and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Bryan’s back from vacation, anniversary of Bruno Sammartino’s passing
4:38: Raw, Dynamite previews
9:09: ROH’s TV show finishes with Sinclair, Tony Khan talks Satnam Singh’s debut
17:00: Battle of the Belts 2 recap
25:27: SmackDown recap
33:59: NJPW Windy City Riot recap
42:03: MMA notes on Jones vs. Miocic, Jake Paul vs. Bisping
The Bryan & Vinny & Craig Show is back with tons to talk about in our look at both Rampage and AEW Battle of the Belts II! Tons of matches and angles and more, in Bryan’s first show back home. A fun time as always so check it out~!
AEW returns for its second edition of Battle of the Belts Saturday, a taped show that will be headlined by an AEW Women’s title bout.
Reigning champion Thunder Rosa will put her title on the line for the first time when she defends against former champion Nyla Rose.
This feud began when Rose interrupted Rosa’s first promo as champion on Dynamite and continued through this past Wednesday when the two battled with a cake involved.
For the first time on AEW TV, the Ring of Honor World title will be contested as current champion Jonathan Gresham defends against former champion Dalton Castle. It will be the AEW debut for both men.
In a rematch for the TNT title, current titleholder Scorpio Sky will defend against former champion Sammy Guevara. Sky is looking for the second defense of the gold while Guevara is aiming for his third reign as TNT Champion.
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We are back in Garland, Texas for the conclusion of Championship Week with “Saturday Fight Night,” Battle of the Belts 2.
Excalibur, Taz and Tony Schiavone were on commentary.
Sammy Guevara (w/ Tay Conti) defeated Scorpio Sky (w/Ethan Page & Dan Lambert) to regain the TNT Championship (12:44)
Guevara rushed Scorpio in the corner with elbows and was booed by the crowd. Uh-oh. Scorpio recovered quickly and mounted Guevara in the corner for punches. Guevara came out of the corner with a chop and mounted Scorpio and drove in some elbows. Guevara hit a back suplex and mounted Scorpio for more strikes. They were dueling “Let’s Go Sammy/Sammy Sucks!” chants while Guevara attempted a suplex. Guevara tried a leap frog but got caught in a TKO attempt, which he quickly escaped. Both guys exchanged chops, Guevara hit a dropkick and Guevara soaked in boos from the crowd.
The fight went to the floor and Guevara threw Sky into the ring barricade. Sky got the advantage dropping Guevara on the ring barricade and slamming him on the floor. Sky tried to whip Guevara into the stairs, but Guevara countered with a moonsault off the stairs. After the moonsault Sammy was getting some cheers that weren’t mixed with boos. Sky hit a TKO on the ring apron that sent both competitors to the floor and the show went to a split-screen break.
Sky worked over Guevara with punches and the crowd chanted for Scorpio. Sky hit a pair of devastating side backbreakers. The crowd chanted “One More TIme!” and Scorpio delivered a third backbreaker, and Sky bent Guevara over his knee to try and get a submission. Guevara escaped a fourth attempt at a backbreaker and hit an enziguri, and the crowd booed. Guevara made his comeback to more boos, although they popped for a Spanish Fly that got Guevara a near fall. Guevara caught Sky with a spring kick. Guevara set up the 450, but Ethan Page pulled Scoripo out of the ring. Conti got in an argument with Page, and this distraction allowed Guevara to hit the Men of the Year with a shooting star press to the floor.
Back in the ring, Sky got a quick nearfall with a small package. Guevara escaped a TKO attempt and hit the double jump cutter (slipping a bit) for a near fall. Lambert distracted the ref while Guevara went for an O’Connor Roll. Sky grabbed the ropes and Conti slapped Sky’s hands off the ropes so Guevara could get the roll up. This brought out Paige VanZant, and VanZant and Conti brawled on the floor. While all this was going on, Guevara hit a low blow on Sky and then nailed the GTH for the pin. New champion!
Conti and Guevara made out with the belt after the match. I think between that and the low blow, Conti and Guevara are turning heel.
Pretaped Dalton Castle and Johnathan Grisham promos aired to introduce new fans to. The Dalton Castle promo should make him an immediate star.
Johnathan Gresham defeated Dalton Castle (w/ The Boys) to retain the ROH World Championship (9:34 aired)
It seemed like there were slightly different graphics for the ROH competitors compared to the AEW ones. Gresham is representing “The Foundation.”
Lots of mat work early on. Castle gutrenched Gresham in several directions before tossing him to the mat with a suplex. This got the crowd behind Castle. Castle hit a back elbow and a clothesline. Castle hit a high boot, but Gresham came back with a hurricanrana off the ropes. Gresham hit a dropkcik before the show took another split-screen break.
Back from break, both guys ducked each others strikes in the corner for a full minute. Castle hit a pair of suplex on Gresham, then got a near fall after an overhead throw. Castle worked over Gresham with elbows. Castle tried for his finisher, the Bangarang, but Greesham got the ropes. Gresham dove off the middle ropes and into a Bangarang attempt, but Gresham countered with a cradle, which Castle reversed, and then they both exchanged cradle attempts. Gresham caught Castle with the Octopus hold and dropped to the mat, and Castle had to tap out.
There was lots of very good mat wrestling here and overall the match felt distinctly different than most other AEW matches.
After the match, Jay Lethal, Satham Singh and Sanjay Dutt came out. Singh chokeslammed two of the boys on the floor. Singh took out Castle as well. Singh challenged Gresham, but that was a ruse for Lethal to hit Gresham with the Lethal Injection. Lee Moriarty and Matt Sydal (still on crutches) tried to run off Dutt’s group, but they were beaten down as well. Finally, new ROH Television champion Samoa Joe was able to chase off the heels with a lead pipe. Joe and Gresham held up their belts to pop the crowd. Joe’s ROH TV title looks much better than Gresham’s ROH World title (which is the older style belt with the “ROH” in red block letters).
Thunder Rosa defeated Nyla Rose to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship (14:04)
This is Rosa’s first title defense.
The fight went to the floor early. Rosa took Nyla down with a springboard bulldog on the floor (springing off the ringpost in an innovative spot). Rosa took the fight in the ring and hit a shotgun dropkick off the top for a near fall. Nyla Rose came back with a headbutt and choked Thunder Rosa in the corner. Rosa low-bridged Nyla to send her to the floor. Rosa came off the ropes with a hurricanrana attempt, but Rose caught her and powerbombed her on the apron.
The fight continued on the floor through the split-screen break. Rose suplexed Thunder Rosa on the floor and whipped her into the steel steps. Nyla Rose continued to dominate through the break.
Rosa and Nyla exchanged forearms, and Rosa got the advantage with a dropkick and a stunner. Rosa hit a shotgun dropkick in the corner, and another dropkick sent Rose to the floor. Rosa hit a diving dropkick through the ropes to take Nyla down, then followed up with a torino off the top.
Rosa threw Nyla back into the ring, and came in with a top rope crossbody. But Nyla caught her. Nyla suplexed Rosa into the ropes, hanging her prone on the top rope. Rose went for the guillotine knee drop, but Thunder Rosa avoided it. Thunder Rosa hit a monster code red for a near fall. Nyla hit a pair of clotheslines for a near fall. Nyla chokeslammed Rosa, then went for a splash off the middle rope. Rosa tried to countered with a boot, but Nyla caught Rosa’s foot. Nyla hit a lariat for a near fall. Nyla hit an inverted jackhammer for another near fall. Rosa avoided a senton attempt and got a cradle for a near fall. Both women exchanged near falls, and it feels like the match missed its peak. Rosa finally got the win with a hurricanrana into a cradle. Rosa went out into the crowd to celebrate with the fans to end the show.
Final Thoughts:
Title change aside, these shows don’t feel that important. Which is fine. It’s the fourth hour of AEW programming this week. It seems like they’re leaning into Conti and Guevara as heels, but Conti still has the feud with VanZant too. Dalton Castle put in a good performance tonight; I hope we get to see more of him either in AEW or the new ROH.
Dave Meltzer and I are back on Wrestling Observer Radio talking all the latest news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter including Dave’s story on the Warner Media/Discovery merger, Tony Khan’s announcement, and Vince McMahon’s memo to talent about wrestling names.
We were also at the SAP Center for Bellator 277 and go over that show in heavy detail.
We talk about Friday Night’s AEW Rampage featuring the title match between Adam Page and Adam Cole as well as the Battle of the Belt spoilers.
Lastly, we talk about an article about TV ratings and viewership fraud by Ethan Strauss.
The following are spoilers for both Saturday’s AEW Battle of the Belts II and Dark, taped Friday in Garland, Texas, before and after Rampage.
Dark (taped prior to Rampage):
Red Velvet defeated Dulce Tormenta
Lee Moriarty defeated Serpentico
Anna Jay & Skye Blue defeated The Bunny & Raychell Rose
Dark matches taped between Rampage and Battle of the Belts:
Toni Storm defeated Gigi Rey. Jamie Hayter was on commentary.
Danielle Kamela defeated Rache Chanel
Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs defeated Dark Order’s Stu Grayson & Evil Uno
Tony Nese (w/ Mark Sterling) defeated JD Griffey
Marina Shafir defeated Alejandra Lion. TBS Champion Jade Cargill came out afterward and stood on the ramp. She had a staredown with Shafir, building to their match on Rampage next Friday.
Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee defeated The Factory’s Nick Comoroto & Aaron Solo (w/ QT Marshall & Anthony Ogogo)
Battle of the Belts II:
Sammy Guevara defeated Scorpio Sky to win the AEW TNT Championship
Guevara and Tay Conti were heavily booed while Sky got a lot of cheers. There were dueling ‘Let’s Go Sammy’/’Sammy sucks’ chants but the ‘Sammy sucks’ chants were louder. It was probably 70/30 boos/chants and Sky was getting cheered doing heel tactics.
Guevara was doing some subtle heel stuff, but not fully leaning into it. There was a countout spot where he got in right before 10 and the crowd booed that. Sky got loud chants as the match went on. Ethan Page got involved at one point and was cheered and Guevara was booed after doing a move on him. Paige VanZant ended up coming out near the end and had a brawl with Conti. Guevara and Conti made out after the match to heavy boos and teased going back through the heel tunnel until going through the face tunnel.
ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defeated Dalton Castle to retain
Castle did his full entrance like he usually goes, completed with The Boys doing their normal schtick during the match. Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh came out afterward. Singh took out The Boys and Castle. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection on Gresham. Lee Moriarty ran in, but Singh took him out. Lethal attacked Matt Sydal afterward and beat him down until Samoa Joe came out with a pipe, running the heels off.
AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa defeated Nyla Rose to retain the title. Rosa was super over with the crowd as expected.
Dark matches taped after Battle of the Belts:
Penta Oscuro (w/ Alex Abrahantes) defeated QT Marshall (w/ Aaron Solo). Nick Comoroto interfered and speared Penta in a near fall spot.
Abadon defeated Charlette Renegade.
The Hardys, Top Flight & Frankie Kazarian defeated Private Party, The Blade, Angelico & Max Caster.
During downtime, they recorded the crowd doing chants for the AEW video game. The crowd was hot all night.
Both a TNT and Ring of Honor World title match have been added to Saturday’s AEW Battle of the Belts II.
ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham will defend against Dalton Castle in what will be the AEW debut for both men. Gresham defeated Bandido to unify the ROH titles at this month’s Supercard of Honor show with AEW/ROH owner Tony Khan saying ROH titles could be defended on AEW TV.
Gresham has been the titleholder since last December’s Final Battle. Castle, a former ROH World Champion, appeared on the Supercard pre-show and picked up a win.
TNT Champion Scorpio Sky will defend against former champion Sammy Guevara in a rematch. Guevara and Tay Conti have been pursuing the rematch since Sky won the title on an early-March Dynamite, busting up Dan Lambert’s car and interrupting promos.
This will be Sky’s second defense while Guevara will be looking for his third TNT title reign.
The two matches join the already announced AEW Women’s title match between champion Thunder Rosa and former champion Nyla Rose.
In a change from the first Battle show, Saturday’s event will be taped, filmed Friday in Garland, Texas, after a live edition of Rampage.
Here’s the card for the one-hour TNT special, airing at 8 PM Eastern:
AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa defends against Nyla Rose
ROH World Champion Jonathan Gresham defends against Dalton Castle
TNT Champion Scorpio Sky defends against Sammy Guevara
The second-ever AEW Battle of the Belts will not be live as the company announced a dual taping with Rampage for April.
The show will be taped for Saturday, April 16th after a live edition of Rampage on Friday, April 15th as AEW returns to the Metroplex in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas — less than two weeks after WWE WrestleMania week concludes in the city.
It’s unknown why the Belts event is being taped instead of airing live as was the case for their January 8th debut show. The first one drew north of 700,000 viewers and a .27 rating in the 18-49 demo.
That debut from Charlotte, NC, saw Sammy Guevara win the interim TNT title in a match with Dustin Rhodes; AEW Women’s Champion Britt Baker defeat Riho; and FTW Champion Ricky Starks defeat Matt Sydal.
With last year’s announcement that AEW Dynamite was moving to TBS, it was also announced that TNT would air four one-hour quarterly specials that became the Battle of the Belts.
