10/7 AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS IV TV REPORT: Jade vs. Willow, Pac vs. Trent, FTR defend ROH titles

AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS IV TV REPORT
OCTOBER 7, 2022
RECORDED IN WASHINGTON, D.C. AT ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS ARENA
AIRED ON TNT
REPORT BY DANNY DOUCETTE, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, and Ricky Starks

Ring Announcer: Dasha Gonzalez

(1) PAC vs. TRENT BARETTA – All-Atlantic title match

Pac was still in the ring following the Trios match. Trent came to the ring and hit Pac with strikes. Pac was fatigued from the previous match, which Trent used to his advantage. Trent hit Pac with a spear on the ringside floor and Pac into the ring to score a two count. Pac rolled out of the ring and hit Trent with a superkick when he followed. Pac pulled out a table, but Trent hit Pac and laid him out on the table. Trent got onto the ramp and attempted to dive onto Pac, but Pac got up so Trent hit the brakes. Pac was able to pull out a superplex to put a hault to Trent’s offensive advantage. [c/ss]

Trent pulled out a Tornado DDT, which shot Pac up to his feet on the impact, for a nearfall. Trent flipped Pac out of the corner by his legs into a piledriver for another near fall. That was insane. Pac crawled out to the ramp. Trent tried to suplex him, but Pac reversed and suplexed Trent off the ramp and through the table set up earlier. The referee checked on Trent, but Pac’s back was bleeding from the fall.

Pac went for the Black Arrow, but Trent got his knees up to block it. Trent tried a spear, but Pac hit him with a knee him. Trent then surprised Pac with a roll up for a two count. Trent executed a half nelson suplex from the top rope for another nearfall. Pac surprised Trent with a Brutalizer, but Trent got his feet on the bottom rope. Pac grabbed the hammer for the last match and hit Trent for the win.

WINNER: Pac in 17:00.

(Doucette’s Analysis: Another really good match. This was a very different match then I am used to with AEW. A logical story was told with Pac using desperation tactics to win due to Trent being the fresher competitor.)

-Orange Cassidy ran out and attacked Pac. Some officials grabbed Cassidy as Pac snuck away with the title.

-Schiavone interviewed Chris Jericho, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker. Jericho, Menard, and Parker talked about how they were disappointed in Daniel Garcia for leaving the Jericho Appreciation Society. Schiavone accused Jericho of cheating, but Jericho brushed him off. Jericho talked about his upcoming match with Bryan Danielson and said he is the Ocho. [c]

-An interview with Claudio Castagnoli aired where he declared his intention to win the ROH title back from Jericho and have a match against his best friend Danielson.

(2) WILLOW NIGHTINGALE vs. JADE CARGILL (w/Kiera Hogan & Leila Grey) – TBS title match

Willow put up a good fight to start and threw Jade to the outside. Grey and Hogan took a dive from Willow, but Jade moved out of the way. Jade dropped Willow into the stairs. [c/ss]

Jade dominated during the commercial, but Willow surprised Jade with a clothesline after the break.

Willow tried a Doctor Bomb, but Jade elbowed out of it. Jade caught Willow off a charge with a powerslam and followed up with Jaded for the win.

WINNER: Jade in 6:00.

(Doucette’s Analysis: I thought this would be more of a squash. It went about three minutes longer than I thought it would. Willow looked good and showed some infectious fire. She has potential to be a popular midcard babyface. Jade looked dominant as usual and will be a superstar in time as she improves.)

-Vickie Guerrero came out screaming “excuse me” to distract Jade and The Baddies. Nyla Rose ran out and stole the TBS title.

-Backstage, Matt Hardy was interviewed along with Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway. Page and Hathaway accused Matt of contract tampering with Private Party. Matt denied this and got angry, but Hathaway showed a video on an iPad of Matt talking to Private Party. Matt admitted it was him, but said his intentions were pure. Page called him a liar. Matt threatened to delete them. Hathaway pulled Page off-screen and said Matt was a copy office because he was saying delete. [c]

Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona made their entrance accompanied by Prince Nana. FTR was out next to a nice ovation. Colten and Austin Gunn were in the crowd mocking FTR.

(3) GATES OF AGONY (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) (w/Prince Nana) vs. FTR (Dax Hardwood & Cash Wheeler) – ROH tag title match

Liona and Kaun controlled the match early by isolating Cash. Cash sidestepped a charge from Liona on the outside of the ring and Lion crashed into the guardrail. [c/ss]

Dax tried to intervene during the break, but the referee stopped it and Kaun choked a downed Cash. Cash ducked under Kaun to tag in Dax, but Liona hit Dax with a body check and a Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Liona went for a Samoan Spike, but Cash stopped him. Dax tried a crossbody, but Liona caught him. Cash dropkicked Dax to sent him crashing on top of Liona for a two count. Kaun came back in and hit Cash with a Gut Check for a near fall.

Cash tagged in Dax and they hit a double-team spike piledriver for a two count. Liona ran in and fought off Dax and Cash. FTR hit the Big Rig on Liona to take him out. Dax had Kaun rolled up, but Nana distracted the referee on the apron. Dax threw Kaun into Nana. Dax then caught Kaun in a backslide for the win.

WINNERS: FTR in 12:00.

Kaun and Lion attacked FTR after the match. Brian Cage ran in to join in on the beating. Wardlow ran out to help, but he was overpowered as well. Samoa Joe ran for the save and disposed of Cage, Kaun, and Liona. Excalibur ran down the Dynamite card again as Joe, Wardlow, and FTR stood tall to end the show.

(Doucette’s Analysis: FTR always brings the goods, but they had less time to work with to really get anything going with Gates of Agony. I’m still shocked at how well FTR plays babyfaces. I thought they would be a heel team forever, but man are they over.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: This was another fine hour of television. The Pac-Trent match was the clear standout, but I wasn’t expecting much from either of the other two matches. However, since the show is an hour long, things are kept tight. That means less wasted space and everything feels more purposeful and exciting. Of course, nothing on the show was very high-profile, but it was enjoyable.