Former Olympic and pro boxer, infrequent wrestler and current Shane Taylor Promotions member Anthony Ogogo says he was set to join Blackpool Combat Club and Inner Circle in AEW.
In an interview with ITR Wrestling, Ogogo revealed he was initially set to be a part of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle — an idea greenlit by Tony Khan who wanted Jericho to mentor him. However, Jericho had other plans with Jake Hager eventually stepping up given their time together in WWE.
“With Jericho, I was supposed to be Jericho’s bodyguard, part of his Inner Circle group. That was supposed to be me. I think Tony Khan’s idea was for me to work with Jericho and learn from Jericho,” he said, also giving the inaugural AEW World Champion credit for being a real life “Learning Tree.”
“Especially in the early years, he was the learning tree and I would always ask questions and he’d teach me stuff. He’d always watch my matches and give me critique and say ‘Do this, don’t do that. He’s the man who knows how to get over so Jericho is someone I definitely learned a lot from,” Ogogo said.
Ogogo, a former Olympic medalist and boxer officially made his in-ring AEW debut in 2021. He was trained by Cody Rhodes, QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes.
He then said at one point, he was working with both Bryan Danielson and William Regal who he said were training him to join the Blackpool Combat Club.
“At that point, I was being groomed to join the Blackpool Combat Club before it became the Blackpool Combat Club and it never really materialized. So, I trained all this time with Danielson and Regal and put in all those hard work in to learn,” he explained.
He then further elaborated on their guidance both with Danielson’s impact in wrestling and Regal teaching him old school British wrestling style.
“The whole thing about pro wrestling is you can be who you wanna be. Just because I wrestle like big and strong and do like power moves. Regal taught me this as well, Regal taught me this old school British wrestling big guy, tough styles. Just because you do the impact stuff doesn’t mean you can’t learn the intricate stuff. It just thus far hasn’t been called to use, doesn’t make sense for me to be using it.”
“He (Danielson) taught me so much, again, not just wrestling stuff, but how to get over. He got this thing [(he Yes chants) over. And when someone does a move, or a quote, and it transcends outside of wrestling, that guy knows what he’s talking about. Tremendous guy, wonderful man. Really really nice guy as well. Super nice guy.”
The 37-year-old last competed on this past weekend’s ROH TV tapings in Jacksonville, Florida — his first match since last November, also in ROH. That was his first action in a Khan-owned company since August 2024.
The Blackpool Combat Club was formed in 2022 with Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli with Regal as the group’s manager. By 2023, Regal departed AEW and returned to WWE in a backstage role.
Danielson’s dispute with Moxley after his betrayal at 2024’s All Out led to the pivot to the Death Riders.
The Death Riders didn’t get their name out of a well-curated plan — it actually stemmed from a surprisingly random discovery linked to Jon Moxley’s hardcore persona.
Speaking with Renee Paquette on AEW’s Close Up, Moxley revealed the origins and influence of the group’s name. He linked it to his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2019 and recalled how an unexpected find of the phrase ultimately grew into something far bigger than anticipated.
“I don’t think there’s anything I’ve ever done that I’m more proud of in my career than what we’ve built with the Death Riders,” Moxley said.
“Death Riders means nothing. It’s just words put together. I like it because it’s kind of that wrestling Japanglish, because there was some kind of commercial with a jacket from Goodwill that said ‘Death Riders’ that I think was like the motorcycle guys who ride around inside the big steel ball at the carnival, which I’ve never done.
“So, I have no idea what it means or where it comes from, but in Japan they started calling me The Death Rider, and started calling – it’s a word that means nothing. But to me, it means something now.”
The former AEW World Champion also touched on how important the other members of the Death Riders have been to the group’s success.
“I don’t think I would be here if not for these people. I don’t know what I would be doing. I might be in jail by this point if not for this group of people,” Moxley said.
“You know, like a couple years ago, I’m looking around and I still look around to this day and I’m like, I’m surrounded by clowns everywhere. And I listen to people talk and I’m like, do you even know what you’re talking about? Are we even talking about wrestling? I don’t think you even know what you’re talking about.”
The Death Riders have been a dominant faction ever since their inception in AEW. Despite the name change from Blackpool Combat Club after a few members’ exits and additions, the group remains strong, now consisting of Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Marina Shafir, Pac, and Daniel Garcia.
It’s another episode of We’re Live, Pal, which is also available for free on YouTube below, as Andrew Zarian and I talk about what’s going on in wrestling today.
We kicked off the show talking about the tribalism and goofiness between hardcore fans of AEW and WWE.
We then hit on some key topics such as:
Bron Breakker beating Jey Uso for the WWE Intercontinental title and what it means for Jey Uso and the Bloodline war
Carlito’s irresponsible comment on WWE Raw
Samantha Irvin leaving WWE
The BCC and if it’s AEW’s version of the NWO
My thoughts on attending last week’s AEW Dynamite in San Jose
After a vicious attack on Wednesday’s Dynamite, the Blackpool Combat Club will put their AEW Trios titles on the line as part of this Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Claudio Castagnoli, PAC and Wheeler Yuta (seen above) will defend against Top Flight & Action Andretti after the Martin brothers and Andretti were part of a mid-Dynamite brawl where AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and the BCC members attacked several members of the roster.
That attack continued later on during the show and after the BCC made a getaway in a truck, both Dark Order and Top Flight/Andretti called them out for a fight with the latter getting the first crack.
After winning the gold at August’s All In, this will be the BCC’s second title defense. The Martins and Andretti are 0-2 in Trios title challenges with Top Flight 0-5 overall.
The show will also feature an open challenge from Ricochet following his loss to new-International Champion Konosuke Takeshita and now-former champion Will Ospreay at WrestleDream. AR Fox accepted the open challenge in a promo posted to social media late Wednesday night:
In tag team action, The Outrunners will look to continue their hot streak as they face Rush & The Beast Mortos of LFI.
In a rematch from the rings of CMLL featuring former ROH TV Champions, Kyle Fletcher will face Atlantis Jr.
Here’s the current lineup set to be taped Thursday in Stockton, California:
AEW Trios Champions Blackpool Combat Club (PAC, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) defend against Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) and Action Andretti
Ricochet vs. AR Fox
The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum) vs. LFI (Rush & The Beast Mortos)
Members of the Blackpool Combat Club and Los Ingobernables de Japon are squaring off on Dynamite.
Tony Khan announced on social media that Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and Claudio Castagnoli will face the LIJ team of Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, and Titan of CMLL on Dynamite. This comes just days before Moxley is set to defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against LIJ member Tetsuya Naito at Forbidden Door. Bryan Danielson, who will face Takagi at Forbidden Door, will be on commentary.
TOMORROW, Wed 6/26 Buffalo, NY TBS, 8pm ET/7pm CT Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite
The BCC in recent weeks have been scoring wins as a team, defeating opponents from both NJPW and CMLL. However, Castagnoli came up short against PAC in a Owen Hart Foundation tournament match on Dynamite last week. After the match, he yelled at Danielson at ringside before walking away.
Tony Khan also announced we’ll be hearing from Mercedes Mone on the program:
TOMORROW, Wed 6/26 Buffalo, NY TBS, 8pm ET/7pm CT Wednesday Night #AEWDynamite
We'll hear from @TBSNetwork Champion Mercedes Moné TOMORROW on her channel!
Wheeler Yuta’s return match is set for AEW Dynamite.
Tony Khan announced on Tuesday that Yuta had been cleared. In his first match since January, he will team with the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club to take on the CMLL team of Volador Jr., Magnus, Rugido, and Esfinge.
“Yes, the medical staff just officially cleared @WheelerYuta today after a 4 month absence + now the entire BCC are ready to jump right into it; teaming together as a 4 man team for the first time in @AEWonTV history vs their rivals from @CMLL_OFICIAL live on TBS tomorrow! LFG,” Khan wrote on social media.
Yuta had been dealing with an injury that has kept him sidelined for most of 2024. He was originally scheduled to team with his stablemates in a match for CMLL’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas event, but was replaced by Matt Sydal.
Here is the updated card for Wednesday’s Dynamite:
AEW World Championship: Swerve Strickland defends against Roderick Strong
Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, and Wheeler Yuta) vs. Volador Jr., Magnus, Rugido, and Esfinge
Just one day before AEW Dynasty, the Blackpool Combat Club will compete in a Bunkhouse Brawl match on tonight’s AEW Collision as Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli face Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher.
Both Danielson and Castagnoli have been targeted by the Don Callis Family with Takeshita giving Danielson a brain buster on the stage earlier this month.
The Elite (Kazuchika Okada & Young Bucks) will team up to take on PAC & FTR. On Sunday, Okada will defend his AEW Continental title against PAC while the Bucks and FTR will compete for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles.
In a clash of former AEW Tag Team Champions, The Acclaimed take on The Gunns.
TNT Champion Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston & Mark Briscoe go up against Top Flight & Action Andretti, Skye Blue will take on Leyla Hirsch, and Powerhouse Hobbs will be in action.
This week’s show will be immediately followed by a live Rampage on TNT.
**********
Sir Elton John played us into tonight’s Collision, one day before the Dynasty PPV tomorrow night. Tony Schiavone & Nigel McGuinness were on the call as the TNT Champion kicked off tonight’s show.
Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston defeated Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) & Action Andretti
A high-octane opener to kick off this three-hour block. It was fun seeing Copeland fit into the multi-man mix.
Andretti used his speed to beat Briscoe to start, but Briscoe dropped him with an elbow out of the corner. Copeland helped Briscoe drop Andretti with double shoulder blocks, but Top Flight teamed up to keep Copeland off balance. Kingston held control of Dante through the commercial, but Darius got the hot tag after the commercial and ran wild.
Andretti and Dante hit dives to the floor, but Briscoe hit a pair of suplexes to cut them off. Andretti hit a standing shooting star press to Kingston for a nearfall that Copeland broke up. All six men dropped each other with clotheslines as the crowd chanted This Is Awesome. Kingston dropped Andretti with a lariat, kicking off a move train that ended with a series of finishers on Andretti. Briscoe hit the Froggy Bow on Andretti to cap off this match, with Kingston scoring the fall.
After the match, the House of Black appeared on the screen. They menaced their opponents for tomorrow night, with Malakai Black saying that they would drag Copeland to the edge of hell.
We got a video package hyping the AEW World Title match between Swerve Strickland & Samoa Joe at Dynasty.
Powerhouse Hobbs defeated CJ Esparza
Esparza was the unfortunate ham-and-egger in Hobbs’s way ahead of his showdown with IWGP World Champion Jon Moxley this Wednesday. Hobbs crushed Esparza with multiple slams on the apron before winning with the Human Torture Rack.
After the match, Don Callis took to the mic and said that his Family was the talk of the wrestling world. He hyped the Bunkhouse match later on, saying he wouldn’t be ringside for his own safety. He took credit for Kenny Omega’s IWGP World Title reign, saying that he had a favor to cash in with New Japan officials. He cashed in his favor, announcing that the Hobbs/Moxley match on Dynamite would now be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
We got a video package hyping the dream match between Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson for Dynasty.
We got a recap of the Hook, Chris Jericho, & Taz angle from Dynamite before we heard from Chris Jericho in the back. He said that “the learning tree” would teach him the mistake he made by not accepting his advice, but it would make Hook a better person in the end. It would hurt him more than it hurt Hook to take the FTW Title from him.
The Gunns (Austin & Colten) (w/ Jay White) defeated The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) (w/ Billy Gunn)
This was a fine TV match, but I’m beyond ready to get the trios titles onto other things.
For the first time in months, Caster got his rap off with no issue. Tony Schiavone got on the mic and said that if the Gunns bailed on this match, the title match tomorrow night would be canceled. We got a Pier Six brawl that took us to the break. After the break, the Gunns traded single-leg crabs to keep control of Caster.
Bowens got the hot tag and ran wild. The Gunns sent the Acclaimed into each other, only for the referee to catch Colten’s trying to leverage his pin with the ropes. Bowens hit a big knee for a nearfall, then hit a Fameasser for another two count. Bowens avoided the 3:10 To Yuma, allowing Caster to get a blind tag. Caster scored with the Death Valley Driver, but Austin cut off the Mic Drop. The Gunns hit the 3:10 To Yuma on Bowens, but Caster came down with the Mic Drop. Colten and Caster were left in the ring, with White helping Colten score the win with the bat.
Bryan Danielson was backstage with Lexy Nair. He said that Don Callis didn’t have confidence in Will Ospreay, which is why Callis sent the Family after him. Danielson felt alive and was excited for the Bunkhouse match tonight and the match against Ospreay tomorrow night. Ospreay entered the frame, noting that he saw Danielson slated for interview time, and told Danielson that he had nothing to do with the attacks. Ospreay didn’t want Danielson to have any excuses for Dynasty. Danielson left unconvinced.
We got video from Toni Storm from after Dynamite. She wanted the video in full color so people could see how Thunder Rosa smeared lipstick all over her face. Storm said that Rosa didn’t want the title back because she never lost it, she wanted the title back because of how important Storm made it. Rosa couldn’t drag her to hell because Storm made love to her demons every night.
Bunkhouse Brawl – Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli) defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher)
A great piece of business here. The Callis Family becoming a more frequent part of AEW shows this year has been a great addition to these shows. Danielson gets his revenge on the Family before cutting a hell of a promo to sell the Ospreay match afterward.
The Callis Family got the jump on the BCC during the introductions, leading to a Pier Six brawl through the crowd. The fight came to ringside, where Danielson choked Fletcher with a cable while Takeshita hammered Castagnoli with the ring bell hammer. Castagnoli and Takeshita brawled into the ring, where Castagnoli hit the Giant Swing. Danielson dropkicked Takeshita out of the swing, but Fletcher flung a chair into Danielson’s head to cut off a dive. Fletcher threw powder in Castagnoli’s face before hitting a Last Ride powerbomb for a nearfall.
Danielson avoided another brainbuster on the apron, but Fletcher laid him out again. Castagnoli took Fletcher into the stairs and repeatedly threw his head into them. Danielson was bleeding from the chair shot but laid the middle kicks into Takeshita as the crowd fired up. Danielson set up the Busaiku Knee, but a now bloody Fletcher cut him off. Fletcher and Takeshita booted the BCC before hitting stereo brainbusters for a nearfall.
Takeshita went for a chain-assisted forearm but Danielson cut him off. The BCC caught them both with the hammer-and-anvil elbows before locking on submissions. Powerhouse Hobbs laid out the BCC with main event spinebusters, but Jon Moxley made the save and brawled with him to the back. The Family set up Danielson for a super powerbomb into a chair, but Danielson sent Takeshita into the chair instead. Castagnoli drilled both men with chain-assisted uppercuts before Danielson laid out Fletcher with the Busaiku Knee. Danielson took the chain and wrapped it around Fletcher’s face before locking on the LeBell Lock for the quick win.
Danielson took the mic and said that he knew people wondered why he took this match. Being in a pro wrestling ring was Danielson’s version of heaven, and having guys try to break his neck before one of the biggest matches of his career made him feel alive. He told Will Ospreay that he was going to beat his ass at Dynasty.
We got a recap of the attack on Willow Nightingale from Dynamite. Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, & Stokely Hathaway were backstage afterward, and they were fired up. Nightingale said that confident champions don’t attack their challengers with chains before title matches. She said she would beat Julia Hart for the TBS Title tomorrow night.
Skye Blue defeated Leyla Hirsch
Blue got a jump start, dropping Hirsch with a boot before dropping Hirsch with a neckbreaker off the apron. Hirsch came back with a wheelbarrow German suplex, but Blue cut her off on the top rope. Hirsch took Blue off the top rope with a German suplex for a nearfall. Hirsch couldn’t complete a springboard move, leading to Blue winning with a Dragon Sleeper.
PAC & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defeated The Elite (Kazuchika Okada, Nicholas & Matthew Jackson)
This felt like a New Japan Road To match, where you got a substantial preview of the bigger matches coming up. Awesome stuff, and a nice win for PAC leading into his PPV title match.
The Elite tried the same start to the match that they used on Dynamite, but PAC saw it coming and was able to lay in some shots to Okada. The Bucks pulled Okada to the floor, but a trio of baseball slides kicked off a brawl on the floor. Matthew was able to tag in, but FTR and PAC used quick tags to hold him up. We got a tease of triple submissions on the Elite before the Bucks broke them all up. The Elite went for baseball slides of their own, but they were avoided and the tecnicos took control as we went to picture-in-picture.
After the break, The Elite worked over Harwood after crotching him on the ringpost during the break. PAC got the tag in and ran wild on all three of the Elite, hitting a stuff piledriver on Okada with Harwood for a nearfall. Okada took the referee’s attention as the Bucks took PAC into the ring steps. After another break, PAC fought to make the hot tag to Harwood. Things broke down until it came down to Okada and Harwood in the ring, where Harwood countered the Rainmaker into a Sharpshooter.
The Bucks broke up the Sharpshooter with dual superkicks, then ran trios offense on Harwood, ending with a Matthew top-rope elbow for a nearfall. FTR got Matthew isolated, hitting a Powerplex before setting up PAC for a 450 splash for a nearfall. Things broke down, leading to The Bucks hitting PAC with a Shatter Machine for a nearfall. The Bucks hit the EVP Trigger, but Wheeler broke up the pin. FTR hit Matthew with a Shatter Machine, then cleared the ring for PAC to hit the Black Arrow for the win.
After the match, the Elite jumped them before Daniel Garcia came in to make the save. PAC caught Okada in the Brutalizer, but the Bucks dragged Okada to safety.
Two members of the Blackpool Combat Club will team with Katsuyori Shibata in trios action on this Saturday’s AEW Collision.
Shibata will tag up with Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli to take on The Righteous & Lance Archer as part of the action in London, Ontario, Canada.
This comes after the events of the March 16th Collision when Dutch and Vincent attacked Castagnoli during his match with Archer. Shibata, who had faced Danielson earlier in the night, ran out to make the save with a chair.
In another new addition, former AEW Tag Team Champions Big Bill & Ricky Starks will take on Top Flight in the quarterfinals of the AEW Tag Team title tournament. The winners will face the winners of FTR vs. The Infantry which is also taking place Saturday.
Kyle O’Reilly will look to make it 2-0 in his return to action as he faces an opponent that was not named.
The additions join the previously-announced “Cope Open” challenge from new TNT Champion Adam Copeland.
Here’s the current card:
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli & Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) & Lance Archer
AEW Tag Team title tournament quarterfinal: Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) vs. Ricky Starks & Big Bill
AEW Tag Team title tournament quarterfinal: FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) vs. The Infantry (Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo)
TNT Champion Adam Copeland defends the title in a Cope Open challenge
A trios match has been added to this coming Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Eddie Kingston will team with FTR to take on the Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and Jon Moxley) following events that took place on Collision. After Danielson defeated Jun Akiyama, he mockingly shook Akiyama’s hand to taunt Kingston, who was at ringside. Akiyama noticed what was happening and slapped Danielson, who attempted to make amends, but then low blowed Akiyama. Kingston stormed the ring but was taken down by the other Blackpool Combat Club members until FTR ran down for the save.
Danielson and Kingston will meet at AEW Revolution on March 3. The stipulation Kingston gave Danielson was that if he should win the match, Danielson would have to shake his hand, despite Danielson making it clear he has no respect for Kingston.
Here is the updated card for Wednesday’s Dynamite in Huntsville, Alabama:
AEW Dynamite (Wednesday, February 28) —
Sting makes his final Dynamite appearance before retirement
Members of the Blackpool Combat Club are heading to Mexico.
CMLL announced on Wednesday that Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson, and Wheeler Yuta will be heading to Mexico for CMLL’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas event on March 29. They will take on the team of Mistico, Volador Jr., Blue Panther, and Ultimo Guerrero.
🌎⌛ CMLL VS AEW EN LA ARENA MÉXICO El CMLL y el Blackpool Combat Club de AEW se medirán en el encuentro estelar de Homenaje a #2LeyendasCMLL, con un choque de Místico, Volador Jr., Blue Panther y Último Guerrero ante Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Bryan Danielson y Wheeler Yuta pic.twitter.com/vsOYDfTaHn
More CMLL stars have started to appear in recent weeks on AEW television thanks to a new working agreement between the two companies. Stars like Mistico, Hechicero, and Volador Jr. have butted heads with members of the Blackpool Combat Club. On the February 7 edition of Dynamite, Castagnoli, Danielson, and Moxley defeated Hechicero, Volador Jr., and Mascara Dorada. Since their encounter, Moxley and others have teased the idea of appearing on CMLL shows to confront their stars on their home turf.
CMLL also announced that Willow Nightingale will be making her debut at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, teaming with Tessa Blanchard and La Catalina against Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis, and Lluvia.
🌎⌛ SE PRESENTA WILLOW NIGHTINGALE EN EL CMLL La poderosa gladiadora llegará a La Catedral de la Lucha Libre en Homenaje a #2LeyendasCMLL haciendo equipo con Tessa Blanchard y La Catalina enfrentándose a la increíble alianza de Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis y Lluvia… pic.twitter.com/UsayvLH3Eu
Members of the Blackpool Combat Club will once again take on stars from CMLL on this week’s AEW Collision.
In a new match announced for the Saturday, February 10 Collision episode, Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli will face CMLL’s Star Jr. & Esfinge in a tag team bout.
The contest was set up in the aftermath of a trios match with BCC’s Moxley, Castagnoli & Bryan Danielson against CMLL’s Mascara Dorada, Volador Jr. & Hechicero on Wednesday’s Dynamite. Castagnoli pinned Hechicero after a low blow in the trios bout, leading to Star Jr., Esfinge & Mistico jumping the rail and facing off with BCC in the ring. AEW’s Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker also ran in as the CMLL vs. AEW feud continues to unfold.
Danielson scored a win over Hechicero in singles action on last week’s Collision episode.
Already announced for Saturday’s Collision are an International title match with Orange Cassidy defending against Tomohiro Ishii, plus a live promo from Adam Copeland.
The updated card for Saturday’s Collision set for Henderson, Nevada:
International Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Tomohiro Ishii
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Star Jr. & Esfinge
On ROH TV this week, Danielson and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta issued a challenge to FTR and Briscoe. It does not appear Yuta will be in the match, however.
In issuing the challenge, Danielson noted that his only singles match against Jay Briscoe took place at Final Battle 2003. He also mentioned Jay Briscoe’s last match in ROH was at Final Battle 2022 when he and his brother wrestled FTR in a dog collar match.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor
I Quit match: Ethan Page vs. Tony Nese
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, & Bryan Danielson vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) & Mark Briscoe
Bryan Danielson has issued a special challenge to FTR & Mark Briscoe for Final Battle.
Appearing on Thursday’s Ring of Honor TV episode, Danielson & Wheeler Yuta of the Blackpool Combat Club laid out a challenge to FTR & Briscoe for a trios match at the Friday, December 15 event.
In issuing the challenge, Danielson spoke about facing the late Jay Briscoe for the only time at Final Battle 2023, and how Jay had his final ROH match at last year’s event in a dog collar bout with Mark against FTR. Danielson said that in honor of Jay, he was laying out the challenge for Final Battle for three members of the BCC to face FTR’s Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler, and Mark on next Friday’s show.
ROH has yet to officially announce the bout, or which of BCC’s four members (Danielson, Yuta, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli) will take part in the contest.
Here is the current official lineup for Final Battle which airs at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, December 15 on Honor Club:
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena defends against Billie Starkz
Survival of the Fittest six-way elimination match to crown a new ROH World Television Champion: Dalton Castle vs. Komander vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Lee Johnson vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. TBD
The biggest wrestling show of the year has to be just that. Sunday’s All In (1 PM Eastern from London’s Wembley Stadium), the most important show since AEW became a proper company, needs to be can’t miss (sports) entertainment. This should be a card full of massive feuds, dream matches, and worthwhile conclusions to long-simmering stories.
Not having Kenny Omega in a singles match or CM Punk trying to regain the title he never lost are just some of the more egregious misses.
The lead-up to what should be AEW’s magnum opus has unfolded with a lamentable lack of finesse, leaving even their most ardent supporters with shrugged shoulders. This is a haphazardly constructed card, devoid of any narrative finesse that defines the truly historic shows.
But what am I even saying? When the bell rings, all of this will probably be forgotten, and the performers will deliver like they always do. Consistently relying on high-quality in-ring performances to make up for subpar builds is a dangerous rope to walk and it’s become a rope AEW increasingly finds themselves crossing.
These misses won’t be felt in this particular box office, but you only get one chance to run “the biggest wrestling show of all time.” You can’t just slap a “part 2’ or an ‘Again’ at the end of that moniker and expect folks to buy in. By running a second major show the following week, they put themselves in an unwinnable position. They have to try and book for two shows at the same time when the focus should be entirely on All In.
Fans will forgive a subpar All Out card and Chicago will get over it if they run a B-show. Book for the show that people could remember forever, not the one they will forget by the following Dynamite. The lineup for All Out somehow being better than All In will be my Joker origin story.
AEW is in desperate need of good news and solid momentum. This is the biggest two-week stretch in the short promotion’s history. Sunday in sunny London town will, for better or worse, define the future of AEW.
Now, as always, let’s preview the action.
AEW Trios Champions House of Black (Buddy Matthews, Brody King & Malakai Black) defend against The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) and Billy Gunn
I don’t even care that this got announced four days before the show. I was smiling like a goon when Gunn came out on Wednesday night. Getting The Acclaimed on the Wembley card is a great call. They aren’t as popular as they were at their peak, but the crowd still loves them and is really going to love Gunn being back. The number one thing a wrestling show should do is make the crowd happy and few things make a crowd happier than an Acclaimed live entrance.
I love The House of Black. They have been workhorses on Collision and the individual styles of King, Matthews and Black fit so well together. Their presentation is top-notch and they never disappoint in the ring. But this is really about giving the fans what they want and Daddy Ass/Bad Ass getting some gold will do exactly that.
Prediction: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn win the titles
Darby Allin & Sting vs. Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland
I had a wonderful preview written about this match. The booking wasn’t complicated; it was straightforward and simple. Strickland and Allin are rivals from the same area, Fox and Allin have a long history, and Sting is Sting. Throw in some Nick Wayne-related assault, and folks, that was a story worth telling. No winks and nods to the internet, no meta commentary about the state of wrestling just paint-by-numbers storytelling. It was the best-booked match on the card.
For reasons that remain unclear, Fox was replaced with Christian Cage. (At least it wasn’t Brian Cage!) Even if this was done because Fox had visa issues, is injured, or whatever, this is such a confusing mess. At best, it’s another example of sloppy decision-making with little foresight. If there was even a risk that he might not be able to make the trip, why have him there in the first place? It’s a shame, because Fox was a great fit with Swerve, and someone who grinded on the indies as long as he did deserved a spot on the card.
If nothing else, All In will do one thing that fans should remember forever: give Sting a massive, well-deserved platform. 80,000+ people going absolute nuts for the 64-year-old Stinger is going to be incredible. He spent much of the internet age of wrestling in TNA before his far too brief WWE run. His one WrestleMania moment was nowhere near good enough for a performer of his caliber. Few things are worse booking decisions than having HHH beat Sting at WrestleMania. On Saturday, The Icon will get to cap his career on the biggest stage, a stage he so deeply deserves.
Prediction: Sting & Allin
The Golden Elite (Hangman Page, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Juice Robinson & Jay White) and Konosuke Takeshita
Again, if this is truly the biggest wrestling show in history, having Omega in a multi-man match is a huge miss. No slight to anyone in the match, but there are levels to this. Omega is a man who broke and rebroke the star rating system that this site popularized. This is also a man held together by KT tape and positive thoughts. He doesn’t have a ton of big matches left in him. If this isn’t the place to use one of the bullets left in that chamber, what is? Maybe they are saving the big singles match with Takeshita for All Out, but that should happen in London, not Chicago.
Collision has become the best weekly wrestling show due in large part to Bullet Club Gold aka The Bang Bang Gang which is one of the silliest and best monikers in wrestling. They should lose the Bullet Club part completely and just go by that. White’s sense of humor and timing has been a revelation. Collision puts all of its talents in positions to succeed and gives them time do to so. It is consistently the best weekly wrestling show.
Prediction: The Golden Elite
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & Santana and Ortiz vs. Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy & Best Friends (Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor) in a Stadium Stampede match
It broke my heart to delete “and Rey Fenix” rom the match listing. Fenix is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and there are very few people who can replace him and what he is capable of doing in the ring. It’s a huge bummer he’s missing the show, but it is a delight seeing Santana and Ortiz back together in AEW. Santana, with his hair looking straight-up delicious, is the goods. Look for him to show out on Sunday. Hopefully he and Ortiz put any issues they had to bed because they are such a good team.
I’m never going to turn my nose up at a Stadium Stampede match, but this is not a feud that warrants a spectacle like this. More than most matches on the card, this seems like a way to clearly set up matches at All Out like Moxley vs. Cassidy and Kingston vs. Castagnoli. Both will be great, but using one of AEW’s signature spectacles to get there is backward. This should be the blow-off to a program, not a transition into the next stage.
Prediction: Blackpool Combat Club & Santana and Ortiz
Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho
Another match that came out of nowhere and a match that would have been better served by more than one week of build. Can Jericho even work a Ospreay match now? I’m a bit worried that he will try to keep up with one of the more insane people in modern wrestling who wrestles such a physical, taxing style. Not only that, he has to wrestle Ospreay after a live performance of Judas. Brother is going to be gasping for air before the bell even rings.
Who are we supposed to root for here? Is Jericho supposed to be the sympathetic babyface after being so terrible to his friends that they all left him? How is the audience supposed to root for him when he just tried to link up with someone well-established as the most loathsome character on AEW programming? Not only that, but Ospreay is the hometown boy. There is a zero percent chance he’s getting booed no matter how hard he tries.
Ospreay beat Omega in a match that’s on the shortlist for match of the year. He finally beat Okada. There is no chance he loses in a home game.
Prediction: Will Ospreay
AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida defends against Toni Storm, Saraya and Britt Baker in a four-way
Each wrestler brings something unique to this match and AEW in general. Shida is a well-deserving, wholesome champion. Storm is the best overall talent in the division and is doing incredible work with her failed Hollywood glamour character who throws footwear at backstage interviewers. Saraya brings, by far, the most notoriety, name recognition, and Britishness. Baker is the homegrown talent conspicuously absent from the main stage and premier spotlight. Four great talents who should be able to create something lasting and meaningful on Saturday.
Rather than put together a cohesive story, AEW fell back on hastily spinning up a tournament to get the Women’s title match on the card: a crutch they too often lean on. The song remains the same, no matter how many times the record gets spun. There had been such little interaction between the four of them that I had to double-check this match was happening. Dynamite had an Adam Cole and MJF sit-down but this only got a 60 second pretape, a Ruby Soho singles match, and a tag team main event on Rampage.
Shida just won the title three weeks ago and AEW rarely hot potatoes their World championships. I’ve seen some talk of crowning Saraya because of where the show is, but I can’t see that happening
Prediction: Shida retains
AEW Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) defend against the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
As is federally mandated (attention FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, etc.), no major wrestling show can exist without someone, somewhere claiming to be the greatest of all time.
Exhausting in a vacuum, the claims and subsequent discussions are completely warranted here. I don’t write much about WWE on this site, nor do I have any real desire to, but it’s these two teams along with The Usos that make up the conversation for the greatest tag team of the modern generation and perhaps all-time. The main difference between The Usos, who are legitimately great, and these two teams, is that both the brothers Jackson and FTR have had enough memorable, historic matches that I don’t even need to list them here. Naming a memorable Usos match? That’s a much bigger challenge. They have had countless matches with The New Day, but how many stand out? How many compare to The Bucks Ladder Wars with The Briscoes or FTR’s trilogy with those same Briscoes? The answer is they don’t. That’s why these are the two best tag teams of the modern era and two of the best in history.
Both teams have proven themselves across multiple companies and wildly different match types. A complaint directed towards a lot of Young Bucks matches is they all follow the same formula with the same moves, and sure, I’ll somewhat allow for that. You can’t say that about FTR. They have proven (actually, beyond proven) that they can wrestle any style, against any opponent, in any match type. That’s true greatness, and that’s why they are the best to ever do it. They had people in a full lather about a tag team match on a Saturday night in the middle of the summer. If that’s not greatness, I don’t know what is.
Bell-to-bell, this should be the best match on the card as no one does high-stakes tag team wrestling like AEW. Before Cash Wheeler’s legal situation, I thought it was Top Guys, over. The last thing AEW needs right now is more uncertainty and putting the title on The Bucks is the safer, more stable move
Prediction: The Young Bucks win the titles
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Punk’s gravitational pull is unlike anything else in this industry. Like him or not, he is the sun that everything in AEW orbits around. When he’s on screen, he commands our eyes and ears. He demands we put down our phones and pay attention. When he’s not on screen, we’re wondering where he is. In a world increasingly full of NPCs – non-playable characters if you’re nasty – he is the Main Character, the star attraction. Of course, drama and intrigue follow him wherever he goes; it’s what makes him special. It made him special in WWE, it made him special in his unfortunate attempt at MMA, and keeps him special today in AEW. Historical greatness is frequently divisive, so why should he be any different?
At risk of being lost in this gravity, is Joe from Samoa. The only reason he hasn’t been swallowed by it completely is through his sheer force of will and talent. The true king of television is exactly that. He is appointment viewing no matter how long (or short) the match may be. Bar for bar, he is the most consistently excellent promo in the company (full apologies to Eddie Kingston, Jon Moxley, etc.) and remains their most believable mic artist. Like so many of our favorites, he’s closer to the end than the beginning and his current run is as good as anything he’s ever done. Long may he reign.
Even though I’d love to see Joe take this, there are so many other stories to be told and money to be made with Punk as the uncrowned champion. He keeps his belt.
Prediction: CM Punk
AEW World Champion MJF defends against Adam Cole
Even though this is not for me, I’ll still admit this pairing has been a shocking delight. Even though this is the most WWE thing AEW has ever done, the charisma and chemistry between the two carries the day. From the pre-taped vignettes to the live promos and everything in between, it all works far better than an enemy-turned-friend program should which is a testament to the singular talents of Cole and MJF.
The major issue with all of this is that it isn’t big enough for the main event of the biggest show in company history. It lacks the gravitas. Like everything else on the card, it needed more time — more time to establish them as a team and more time to make the inevitable turn that much more powerful.
The easy booking here is in the Cole turn, not MJF. MJF getting screwed over by Cole (and maybe big Rod Strong) sets MJF up for the chance to work as a true face for the first time. And it’s not like the audience can hate him more than they usually do. His turning on Cole won’t add to his character; it would just be more of the same. But Cole — fresh off a long absence and joyous return — turning on MJF would give this program legs and establish a new top-of-the-card heel for the babyfaces to feud with. Allowing MJF to have the crowd fully behind him would be something new and exciting. However, there is a huge Punk-related ‘BUT’ here.
Regardless of who wins, it would be inexcusable for the show to end without Punk coming out to confront the winner. If that’s the case, it makes more sense for him to confront MJF than Cole. Closing the show with the two biggest stars in the company setting up the next big title program will give AEW some needed momentum heading into 2024.
Bryan Danielson believes the Blackpool Combat Club should never break up.
The faction formed at Revolution 2022 when William Regal made his AEW debut. Following Moxley’s defeat of Danielson on the show, Regal broke up a post-match brawl between the two. Wheeler Yuta was added to the group the following month and Claudio Castagnoli joined that June. Since then, the BCC have played a major role in AEW storylines, including a lengthy program with The Elite.
Danielson recently told Sports Illustrated that there is a real connection within the group, and he feels they make each other better performers.
“Our connection as a group feels real,” says Danielson. “That’s because it is. The story is we train together and we make each other better. The reality is that wrestling together, we do make each other better.”
“Even when Regal left, we didn’t break. And he’s still on our BCC group chat.”
Danielson continued to say he doesn’t want the BCC to ever break up.
“I love this group,” says Danielson. “This should be a group that never breaks up. Mox and I have wrestled since the BCC started, we wrestled in the championship tournament [last fall]. That didn’t cause any disturbances in the BCC. That’s the story of the BCC. When the BCC loses, we’ll shake hands and go back to training the next day.”
Danielson is currently out of action with a broken arm suffered during his match with Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door. Our own Dave Meltzer reported in last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Danielson is expected back in October but could potentially return in time for AEW Grand Slam in September.
BCC members Moxley and Castagnoli will be in action on tonight’s Dynamite from Columbus. They’ll face The Lucha Bros in tag action. Moxley and Castagnoli are coming off a defeat of The Best Friends in a Parking Lot Brawl on Friday’s Rampage.
