AEW Battle Of The Belts VI : Status Quo

Not The Band

What’s the reason for AEW Battle Of The Belts? It’s surely that all the belts are on offer and therefore there’s an expectation that they could change hands.

Well, have we had big changes in recent AEW Battle Of The Belts? No. And so, as the Status Quo is maintained, the reason for the event has gone.

And so, AEW needs to convince us that a change might occur. Would that be from Orange defending the International belt against Dralistico? Nope; how can Dralistico be the No1 contender when we haven’t really heard much about him? He’s the former Mistico, related to Rush and Dragon Lee (or is he the former Dragon Lee? Answers in the comments…) and it’s great to see him, but did people believe he might beat a much-loved Orange? Surely not.

And then there was the contender to Jade Cargill’s belt. That would be Billie Starkz, who I’ve enjoyed seeing on Dark or Elevation, but surely a No1 contender would be Skye Blue or Willow Nightingale? A lot easier made of Starkz’s youth on commentary, JR saying he saw her in catering and thought she eas someone’s kid, Excalibur remining him that she is…

If perky Billie had won, that would have been seismic in AEW and so watchers would expect that not to happen.And the main event? ROH champs the Lucha Bros might be the ones to be overturned here and their opponents, Hobbs and QT Marshall, have been having a push lately.

But not together. It was a kind of Frankenteam and if they had won, ir would have affected their respective angles, so that wasn’t a real prospect.

So why else have Battle Of The Belts? Qw

Well, for good wrestling action.

The Card

First match, Orange v Dralistico, was pretty good, as Orange can go and Mistico can certainly go, so the usually enjoyable Orange hands-in-pockets shtick which is usually fun was here, Dralistico over the top onto everyone including his bother and Orange Michinoku Driver plus DDT were nicely done and so was the massive Dralistico Codebreaker for a long 2 count.

Credit; Pitchfork

In the middle of this we had a WRESTLING TROPE ALERT as La Facción and Best Friends battled to the back, all the way up the ramp……yawn…The ending was good though, Dralistico hit a Tilt A Whirl ‘rana into an Armbar, Orange returned with a Destroyer and delivered an Orange Punch to both Jose and Dralistico for the pin.

Enjoyable, but enjoyable enough?

Same question with Cargill v Starkz, Billie got some offence in, including Roundhouse kicks and a snap Flatliner, she even blocked the Jayded, but soon after fell to it for the pin.

Other Cargill action? Fallaway Slam, erm, erm…did I already mention Jayded?

"I have to prove I'm not a kid anymore; I'm a wrestler at the end of the day."@BillieStarkz gets ready for one of the biggest matches of her career, TONIGHT on #AEWBOTB6 when she faces undefeated TBS Champ Jade Cargill, LIVE at 11pm ET/10pm CT on @tntdrama! pic.twitter.com/WNUEnGQFAt

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) April 8, 2023

It all seemed like a setup for Taya Valkyrie to come out and make Cargill bail. And that doesn’t make a good Battle Of The Belts match, does it?

The main event was fun because the Lucha Bros were in it. They hit a Wheelbarrow Destroyer and Roll Through DDT, for goodness sake! QT and Hobbs were nefarious of course, tying Penta to the top ropes, not a new occurrence I know, QT hitting a Gutwrench Powerbomb and Diamond Cutter, with Harley hitting Hype Man Alex’s twig and berries, whilst Hobbs showed his strength with a slam, but this was really the champ’s camp.

They retained by a simpe roll up, but that came just after a Fenix Splash off Penta’s shoulders from the 2nd rope; the Luchas are so special.

And Then There Were Two

Only Cutler, Brandon and Nakazawa, Michael, remained in a very empty room and whilst Cutler said he would stand up for AEW’s Elite against the AEW team he called ‘bullies, the Blackpool Combat Club, Nakazawa seemed reluctant to agree.

Credit; The Smackdown Hotel

So the Elite aren’t as tough these days? That’s what this said to me – not sure that’s what AEW intended.

Mark Briscoe, AEW’s Andre The Giant?

Remember the WWF (as it was then) angle for Andre in the early ’90’s, when managers were vying for his signature? Don’t think about it too long, some of the images might make you feel nauseous, but this is similar to Mark Briscoe in AEW.

He’s turned down ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling, here he accepted Jay Lethal. Hang on, only Jay, not Sonjay Dutt, Jeff Jarrett or Satnam Singh, Jay raised their 20 year history and wanted to work with him – think Mark wanted a match, so his face when his mates surrounded him was a picture.

Surely he could have seen them behind the camera, though? Briscoe as Andre, interesting…

Credit; Wrestling Inc

Should Battle Of The Belts Continue?

I perhaps don’t feel as bad about it as Chad on Bleeding Cool who called it;

‘AEW Battle of the Belts VI: A Disgraceful Affront to Pro Wrestling’

But does it really have a reason to continue?OK, a basic reason is still there, belts are on the line, but the adjacent reason, the hook, for watching, is that belts might just change hands. Did that ever seem possible at Battle Of The Belts VI?

Nah.Status Quo, not always good…