Tag: Aew Battle Of The Belts Ix

Three titles will be on the line at AEW Battle of the Belts IX. 

AEW Tag Team Champions Ricky Starks & Big Bill will defend against Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara in a street fight. Jericho & Kenny Omega earned a title shot by defeating no. 1 contenders The Young Bucks at November’s Full Gear. Jericho transferred Omega’s shot to Guevara after Omega was put on the shelf with diverticulitis.

TBS Champion Julia Hart will put her title up against Anna Jay. Jay pinned Hart in a tag team match on this week’s Dynamite to set this up. 

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Preston Vance. Cassidy and Vance were on the same team on Wednesday’s Dynamite where Cassidy, Vance, Adam Copeland & Dustin Rhodes defeated Lance Archer, Brian Cage & the Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona).

Battle of the Belts begins immediately following Collision on TNT.

Battle of the Belts IX started as Collision ended, with Big Bill & Ricky Starks brawling with Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara outside the building. There was a referee outside with them, so I’ll consider this the start of the match.

AEW World Tag Team Title Street Fight – Big Bill & Ricky Starks defeated Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara to retain

This was a wild brawl, mirroring more WWF Hardcore than the usual AEW brawls. It was a fun piece of business though, and the Callis Family continues to be thorns in Jericho’s side. Maybe the most memorable Battle of the Belts match yet, although that’s not clearing the highest of bars.

All four men brawled with each other and hit each other with plunder, with Bill sending Jericho into a production truck with a choke. After some more brawling, Bill chokeslammed Jericho off of a landing onto the grassy ground several feet below. Guevara appeared in a golf cart, calling back to a street fight from the pandemic era of Dynamite, running into both Bill and Starks. Starks looked to get his leg messed up but kicked out of the cover.

Jericho recovered to help Guevara fight Bill two on one, but Bill hit them with a bag full of bricks. Bill went to throw a brick at Guevara, but Guevara ducked it. Jericho and Guevara suplexed Bill onto the car, which turned out to be Rhett Titus’s rental car. He complained to Jericho, who gave him a Judas Effect for his troubles.

Jericho and Starks brawled into the building, using several janitorial items to hit each other. Starks threw Jericho into a bay door for a nearfall. Jericho pressed Starks’ face into a copier before getting a copy of Starks’ crushed face. More brawling led them to a catering area where Bill and Guevara reappeared.

After a commercial, Guevara did a wall walk into a superkick onto Bill before spraying both champions with a fire extinguisher. Jericho drilled Bill with a fire extinguisher as Starks and Guevara brawled down the hall. They finally fought out in front of the crowd as Jericho whipped Bill with a kendo stick. Jericho and Bill fought up a speaker box as Starks and Guevara fought to the back.

Jericho set up Bill on top of the speaker box, but Konosuke Takeshita drilled Jericho with a kendo stick. That allowed Bill to powerbomb Jericho through a table near the time keeper area. Guevara and Starks brawled toward the stage, where Guevara laid out Starks on the stage. Guevara climbed up a lighting truss, but when he went for his dive, Powerhouse Hobbs pulled Starks out of the way. Guevara broke through the stage, and Starks crawled over him to score the pin and the win.

TBS Title Match – Julia Hart defeated Anna Jay to retain

Fitting of the House of Black, this match was in the death spot. They didn’t do too much to overcome it.

Jay took the early advantage with a neckbreaker, but Hart turned things around with a back elbow in the corner. Hart went for a cartwheel into the corner, but Jay reversed it and sent her into the top turnbuckle. Jay hit a leg lariat, but Hart ducked a second one and pulled Jay into the post shoulder-first. Hart targeted the shoulder as we went to a commercial.

Jay made a one-armed comeback as we came back from the break, hitting the Dangerous Jay kick for a nearfall. Jay hit a backstabber for another nearfall. Hart countered a corner charge but ran into…something from Jay for a nearfall. Jay locked on the Queenslayer, but Hart quickly countered it into a choke of her own. Jay pulled her off and hit a flatliner for a nearfall. Hart countered another Dangerous Jay kick into the Hartless submission for the win.

Jeff & Karen Jarrett, Jay Lethal, & Sonjay Dutt were backstage. The team seems to be turning on Lethal, but Satnam Singh came in with homemade snacks his mother made to help Lethal get back on the winning track. Lethal wasn’t too enthusiastic about it.

AEW International Title Match – Orange Cassidy defeated Preston Vance to retain

This was the best Vance showing I’ve ever seen, as Cassidy gave him a ton of offense here. Cassidy gets another quality title defense as Roderick Strong and the Undisputed Kingdom loom large.

Before the bell rang, Roderick Strong & The Kingdom showed up with chairs, but they only sat down at ringside. Vance hammered Cassidy with the Discus Lariat as the bell rang, but Cassidy rolled to the floor. Vance rolled Cassidy back into the ring, but Cassidy hit the Orange Punch to knock him away. Cassidy fought out of the Full Nelson and an attempt by Vance to go to the top rope.

Vance hit a flying shoulder tackle off the middle rope and caught Cassidy with a wheelbarrow German suplex that sent him to the feet of the Kingdom. Vance pulled Cassidy from the apron into a stalling suplex for a nearfall. After a commercial, Cassidy put his hands in his pockets to evade a Full Nelson attempt to a raucous crowd. Cassidy went for the diving DDT, but Vance caught him and hit the main event spinebuster.

Vance clubbered on Cassidy, who countered with his soft strikes. Cassidy drilled Vance with a kick before stomping on him in the corner. Vance pulled Cassidy into a ripcord cutter before Cassidy hit the Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Vance rolled to the floor as Cassidy went to the top rope. Vance caught a diving Cassidy and flung him into the Kingdom at ringside.

Vance and Strong got into it before Vance got Cassidy into the full nelson in the ring. Cassidy stomped on Vance’s foot to escape. Cassidy then hit the Orange Punch and the Beach Break to score the win. The Kingdom got into the ring and menaced Cassidy. Strong drilled Jose The Assistant with a knee before cornering Cassidy. But all they did was applaud Cassidy as the show went off the air.