AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS
OCTOBER, 21, 2024
STOCKTON, CALIF. AT ADVENTIST HEALTH ARENA
AIRED ON TNT (Taped 10/17)
REPORT BY BRIAN ZILEM PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

Ring Announcers: Arkady Aura

WrestleTix reported tonight’s Collision 2,360 tickets distributed with a setup of 2,614

-The show opened as a carryover from AEW Collision, as BCC was beating down Top Flight. John Silver ran the ramp with a steel chair to hit Castagnoli. The rest of the Dark Order came down, but they were quickly disposed of. Jon Moxley grabbed a mic, told an official to get in the ring, and offered Dark Order a shot at the Trios Tag Team Title match.

(1) BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB (Claudio Castagnoli & Pac & Wheeler Yuta w/Jon Moxley & Marina Shafir) vs. THE DARK ORDER (Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno & John Silver) – AEW World Trios Title Match

The bell rang, and Castagnoli stomped away at Silver. The fans chanted, “Johnny Hungee.” Silver tried to fight back but to no avail. Yuta hit the Rocket Launcher, and Uno broke up the cover. Silver got one last gasp lariat. Silver tagged in Reynolds, but he had no chance with injured ribs. Castagnoli lifted Reynolds for a gut-buster in the match’s closing moments and locked in a Sharpshooter. Pac followed up with a stomp to the back of their head of Reynolds, and BCC won the match via submission.

WINNERS: Blackpool Combat Club retain the Trios titles in 5:07

(Brian’s Thoughts: I thought the overlapping from the ending of Collision to the start of Battle of the Belts was very clever. The BCC’s presentation as killers continues.)

-Post-match, BCC beat down Dark Order Private Party, and Daniel Garcia made the save. Orange Cassidy was shown at the ramp and walked away.

(2) KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. KYLE O’REILLY – AEW Continental Title Match

As soon as the bell rang, the fan chanted, “AEW.” Both men did great grappling and mat work throughout. O’Reilly locked in an ankle lock and released the hold after a one count once Okada reached the ropes. [C]

After the break, both men exchanged forearm shots in the middle of the ring. Okada eventually won the exchange with a European uppercut. Okada went for a slingshot, but O’Reilly countered with a kitchen sink knee to Okada’s gut. The fans had dueling chants for both men. O’Reilly hit a hammerlock driver and followed up with a dragon screw leg whip while using the ropes. O’Reilly climbed to the top rope to hit two diving knees onto Okada, which allowed O’Reilly to lock in a knee bar. Okada was screaming in pain, and he racked the eyes of O’Reilly and broke the submission hold. O’Reilly charged Okada in the corner, and Okada used O’Reilly’s momentum to hit a neckbreaker. [C}

After the final break, both men were laid out in the middle of the ring. The ring announcer confirmed five minutes were remaining. Okada went for a Tombstone power driver, but O’Reilly reversed it into an ankle lock. Okada, desperate to break the submission hold, finally reached out to grab the ropes so O’Reilly could release the hold. Okada attempted to stale on the outside and hit DDT onto O’Reilly on the floor. Okada climbed the ropes to hit an elbow drop. Okada hit a short arm clothesline and drop kick. Okada went for the RainMaker, but O’Reilly countered with a glutathione submission. In the match’s closing moments, Okada powered out of the submission to hit a Michinoku Driver and followed up with RainMaker to retain the title and secure the pinfall victory.

WINNER: Kazuchika Okada retains the AEW Continental Title in 18:25

(Brian’s Thoughts: Awesome match. O’Reilly Fighting Underneath as a babyface is a great television. He has the best facials for it. Okada looks and feels like a star in this company.)

-A hype video was shown for Mariah May vs Anna Jay.

-Rush cut a promo backstage. The Beast Mortos was shown holding down Hologram.

(3) THE DON CALLIS FAMILY (Brian Cage & Lance Archer) vs. JACK CARTWHEEL & JON CRUZ

WINNERS: The Don Callis Family in 2:37

(Brian’s Thoughts: A quick squash match to feature these new members of the Don Callis family.)

-Lexy Nair was backstage with The Undisputed Kingdom and the Beast Mortos. Undisputed Kingdom wanted to know what had changed and why he joined LFI.

Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

(4) ANNA JAY vs. MARIAH MAY – AEW Women’s World Title Eliminator Match

The match started with a collar elbow tie-up and headlock takeovers. Jay focused on working over May’s right arm throughout. May hit a jawbreaker and dropkick only to get a near fall. May threw Jay to the bottom ropes and landed a ground-and-pound attack. After throwing Jay around by the hair, May put Jay in the corner to hit hard chops across the chest. Mariah picked up Jay to hit the Mariah go-round for a near fall. [C]

After the break, May was working over Jay’s left arm. Both women exchanged slaps and forearms. Jay threw May from the top rope and followed up with a dropkick but only got a near fall. Jay went for the Queen Slayer, but May bit Jay to break the submission hold. May hit a running knee and went for Storm Zero, but Jay countered for a near fall. In the match’s closing moments, May landed a headbutt and went for MayDay, but Jay countered using a unique roll-up to secure the pinfall victory.

WINNER: Anna Jay in (12:06)

(Brian’s Thoughts: Pending your preference, I believe this match was Jay’s best match in AEW. Some may lean towards Jay vs Jade Cargill from 1-21-22 for the TBS title. Jay showed great fire working underneath as a baby face against May.

-Post-match, it was announced Jay will face May for the AEW Women’s championship in two weeks in Philadelphia on AEW Collision.

FINAL THOUGHTS: This is easily one of the top three Battle of Belts in AEW’s history. Generally, these are just throw-away shows, but I greatly appreciated the amount of thought AEW put into this show. AEW has an excellent opportunity to build up Mariah May and Anna Jay for the next two weeks. Give the fans videos and highlight packages that show how far Jay has come since she started and why she should beat May to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion.

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW COLLISION REPORT (10/19): Ricochet and AR Fox rekindle their rivalry, Statlander and Hayter in action, AEW World Trios Title Match, more

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: AEW Battle of the Belts XII results (10/19): Powell’s review of Kazuchika Okada vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the AEW Continental Title, AEW Women’s Champion Mariah May vs. Anna Jay in an eliminator match

(You can always reach PWTorch editor Wade Keller at kellerwade@gmail.com.)