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Venom Banks would cut a promo on the fallout episode of Dynamite and make it clear that by her estimation after seeing off Thunder Ros she had by her own estimation proven that she was the only person in the Women’s Division worthy of challenging for Priestley’s title and that if anyone disagreed with her on the matter - she would be cordially invite them to face in the ring in an open challenge on this week’s Rampage. The person who would answer Venom’s challenge would be Priestley, who would make it clear that she had beaten her once before when she had won the Winter Cup so was more than happy to claim another win over a federation reject. However, it was Venom Banks who would pick up a win in a match that had a big feel about it - with fans clearly pumped at the thought of Sasha challenging for the Women’s World Championship.
On the following episode of Dynamite, Priestley would come out to the ring and cut a promo flanked by her fellow Oedo Tai US Chapter members. Bea would make it clear that Venom Banks was not the new number one contender because she was had won a match against someone that had failed countless times to win back a belt, but would make it clear that Kylie unlike Venom was actually a former AEW Women’s World Champion and that a non-title win meant absolutely nothing. Bea would make it clear that Banks was nothing more than an overrated asshole who had confused being valued with the fact that she was leading sales in selling a few t-shirts and her collection of merchandise was just the shiniest new toy in the box and make it clear that this Friday on Rampage a Eight Woman Battle Royal would take place with the winner of the match earning the right to challenge her for the belt at Revolution.
The eight women that would be announced to take part in the Battle Royal would be Thunder Rosa, Venom Banks, Angelina Love, Hikaru Shida, Jamie Hayter, Kylie Rae, Britt Baker & Starlight Kid. The match would end up being quite the highlight reel, with Venom being targeted by Baker and Starlight Kid that would lead to her elimination being one of the major talking points. The match would eventually be won by Kylie Rae, who would continue to prove herself as one of the toughest women in the division. That same week on Atomic, Kylie and Bea would have an intense stare down with their feud going up another level now they were set to meet at Revolution.
The next week on Atomic, Kylie and Venom would team up in a bizarre pairing but manage to claim a tag team victory over Oedo Tai (Priestley & Baker). After the contest Kylie and Bea would have an all out brawl, whilst Venom would be blindsided from behind by Starlight Kid as she would suffer a two-on-one beatdown from Oedo Tai as Kylie and Bea would battle all around the ring and would seem to be doing so even as the episode came to an end.
On the final episode of Dynamite leading up Revolution, Kylie would make it clear that despite a desire to be the champion again there had to be no doubt in anyone’s mind who was the winner of their match and would suggest they do battle in a Ladder match. Priestley would agree to the terms, although would make it clear that once she retained her strap she would also expect Kylie to take the knee and fall in line otherwise there would be more serious consequences. Rae would make it clear that this would never come up because she would be leaving and become the second two-time AEW Women’s World Champion. On the final episode of Rampage before the PPV, Priestley would feature in a tune up match where she would claim a singles victory over Thunder Rosa.
The Briscoes would appear for the first time on AEW programming on the second episode of Rampage following New Year’s Smash. Jay Briscoe would make it clear that as the inaugural Openweight Tag Team Champions he and his brother had a responsibility not just to themselves, but to the AEW to be the very best inaugural champions they could be. Especially, because as a team they were renowned as being one of the very best tag teams in the world. Jay would make it clear that at Revolution they would continue to test themselves and so rather than facing one team they wanted to face two and that their maiden title defence would be a triple threat match with the challenging teams being Silver & Reynolds and The Butcher & The Blade. Not long after this announcement, the Dark Order and Iron Horns members would be filmed fighting each other backstage with it being evidently clear that neither team were happy with the other teams inclusion in the contest.
In the leadup to Revolution, making the match a triple threat seemed to have been a masterstroke by the Briscoes as their challengers seemed more focused on fighting each other than coming after the champions which meant that going into the pay per view Jay and Mark would actually be the freshest of the three teams going into battle.
Best On The Block (Mejor En El Bloque) - Act Six
The Wild Boyz would make it clear that now with TH4 very much behind the Bullet Club, there focus would return to being the best AEW World Tag Team Champions they could be, but would make it clear that there was only one thing more important than being the champions and that was claiming a victory over a team that if they any self respect, would be wearing the colours of the black and white rather than parading around like a bunch of losers calling themselves The Elite. El Phantasmo would make it clear that Matt and Nick Jackson had been nothing short off irrelevant ever since they had lost the title a year ago and were nothing more than glorified cheerleader who had been propping Omega up during his World Championship and that perhaps a match for the gold might actually wake them up before they became so irrelevant that they’d either have to become permanent fixtures backstage or jump ships and find some work in one of the lesser promotions like the NWA or Impact Wrestling.
Cody would cut a promo making it clear that despite beating QT Marshall, what it meant to be part of the Nightmare Family left a foul taste in his mouth just thinking about it and that perhaps QT and Billy had been correct about leaving before the ship started to sink. Dustin and Brandi would both come out from the back to try and convince Cody off the shelf, but he would shock everyone as he would nail his retired brother Dustin with a kick to the balls before grabbing his wife and nailing her with the Cross Rhodes. With both of them fallen, Cody would pick up the microphone and make it clear that he was “Bullet Club 4 Life” before removing the shirt he was wearing and revealing a Bullet Club tee he had been wearing underneath it.
Later that same night - PAC & Darby would meet in the ring and shake hands and make it clear that they would be better together and would form a new team called Iron Blood. PAC would make it clear that this was just the first step, and that they would be looking for more soldiers with iron hearts. On Rampage, the pair would team up for the first time together and claim a tag team victory as Iron Bloods over the Young Bucks.
Prior to a singles contest between Jordan Oliver and Nick Jackson, Jordan Oliver would make it clear to Nick that everyone had a lot of respect the hard work that the EVPs had put in alongside Tony Khan in creating AEW, but that finally Cody Rhodes had understood why being part of the Bullet Club was better than being part of some ego-driven faction and that he would look forward to showing him exactly what he was missing tonight. This would all prove to be hot air though, as Nick would claim a rare singles victory over Oliver and silence the Wild Boyz at least for the rest of the night.
On the Dynamite go-home show the Young Bucks would team up with Jonathan Gresham where they would claim a Trios victory over the Wild Boyz and TJP. After the match, the Bucks would make it clear that the Bullet Club was part of their past, and not their future but that if ELP and Oliver wanted to act like a pair of fanboy nerds that were desperate for their autographs and hoping to rub shoulders with them in Bullet Club then that fantasy wasn’t going to come to be, but they had no problem in reintroducing the pair to the Super Kicky Party experience and even give them VIP access.
La Rebellion Amarilla (Rey Horus, Mecha Wolf & Bestia 666) would make their AEW debut, with Mecha Wolf taking the microphone and making it clear that unlike the Bullet Club, Dark Order or any other nonsense faction they meant business. The trio would go on to make their debut on the following episode of Rampage as they would pick up a victory over TH4’s Angelico, Evans & Sabian.
During the next week’s episode of Dynamite Rey Horus would announce that La Rebellion were not just a trio - but instead a super stable called ‘Mexcellence’ and were looking to the back to bring every wrestler with ties to Mexico into the group or be painted as a traitor and they were was only one punishment fitting of a Judas - total annihilation.
The next week Caza Salvaje would claim a win over La Rebellion - after the match all four men would embrace with it being apparent that Vikingo and Fenix were now the newest members of Mexcellence. After the match Fenix would take the microphone and say bygones should be bygones and that it was time for his brother to leave this nonsense that was Contra Unit and stand by his side once more.
This Kidd Ain’t Playing - Act Four
Silver & Reynolds def. WALTER & Kidd - after the contest WALTER would surprise everyone including Kidd and nail him with the Pumphandle Sitout Powerbomb wiping him out on the mat. WALTER would then grab the microphone and make it clear that every time that Kidd dropped the ball and showed weakness he was going to be forced to punish him until he learnt to respect himself and be a real man.
The next week, WALTER would be set to face the returning Batista in singles action. The Austrian would make it clear to Kidd to stay in the back and study the match as if he was preparing for an exam, because he would learn a whole plethora of tricks from this contest. Kidd would nod his head and agree to WALTER’s demands. Later that night Batista would make his anticipated return, having not been seen since his epic ‘Bastard or Bust’ match with PAC nine months ago. WALTER though though would show exactly why he was at the top of the game as he would claim the win over a very big name in the industry and wouldn’t even bat an eyelid after he had done so. Later that week Kidd would claim an impressive win over debuting Will Hobbs, who had recently been promoted from the development pool. After the contest, WALTER would look very pleased with Kidd only for the pair to be interrupted by Batista. Who would demand a rematch against WALTER at Revolution - only for Gabriel to take some initiative and tell Dave he was a pussy for not challenging him instead. This would lead to a triple threat match being booked between all three at the PPV.
TJP would cut a promo with the TNT Championship over his shoulder and make it clear that Jonathan Gresham had been plodding on with the Pumpkin Bowl in the same manner that Darby Allin had last year - but would make it clear that he intended to be the Tomohiro Ishii of 2021 by claiming the bowl at the last possible moment and crushing Gresham’s dreams in the process. The following week the camera would spot Josef Samael and TJP having a conversation in the back corners of backstage, but there would be no microphone in place able to pick up the conversation. Later that same night, TJP would team up Contra Unit member Jeff Cobb as he would compete in tag team action against Jonathan Gresham and debuting Josh Barnett. The match would be interesting, especially because it featured the newly signed Barnett who would claim the win by nail Cobb with the Captured Buster.
No shocks to anyone, but TNT Champion TJP would be introduced as the newest member of Contra Unit. Afterwards, Josef Samael would cut a promo and make it clear that Pentagon, Jr. was going nowhere and that he wasn’t going to come running to rejoin his brother after having been tossed away and discarded like a piece of trash.
On the Dynamite go-home show the Young Bucks would team up with Jonathan Gresham where they would claim a Trios victory over the Wild Boyz and TJP. Following the contest Gresham and TJP would run into each other backstage, where Gresham would make it clear that TJP might be challenging him for the Pumpkin Bowl but if he truly backed himself he would be willing to put the TNT title also on the line. Perkins would make it clear that there was no chance he was going to lose so was more than willing to throw the TNT Championship into the mix as a token gesture.
After Kylie Rae had won the Battle Royal and the Women’s World Title shot that came with it, it was clear that there was a large amount of unrest amongst the rest of the division with it clear that people were sick and tired of the same people getting the same opportunities at the belt - even if they were ignoring the fact that Kylie had won the match legally and so was in every right of challenging for the belt at Revolution.
It was announced that at Revolution a brand new match concept would take place, called the ‘Staircase to Heaven match’. The match would work in three stages. The first stage would start with eight women outside the ring. The first two women to be pinned or tapped out would be eliminated from the contest, with the remaining six then moving to the ring. In a similar manner to the first stage, the next two women pinned or submitted would be eliminated from the contest. The final four would then be eligible to climb a ladder and pull down the briefcase that would grant them an anytime shot for the AEW Women’s World Championship for a 12 month period.
Early entrants into the match would see two members of JPN-gun - Hikaru Shida and RIHO be announced to take part in the match, as well as Oedo Tai’s Starlight Kid & the Golden Girls Thunder Rosa. Later additions would be Angelina Love, Venom Banks and Jamie Hayter leaving just one final entrant into the contest - with the Angel Squad’s newest member the Pirate Princess KAIRI being confirmed as entry number. It was clear that there was a lot of interest in the contest that would be the first of its kind in AEW, although there had been matches of similar nature presented by other promotions throughout history.
I will run a Prediction Contest alongside this for any readers interested - The winner/s will get to decide six entrants into an up and coming tournament on the horizon. BUY IN
MJF vs. Dalton Castle
QT Marshall, Billy Gunn, Rey Horus, Bestia 666 & Jay Lethal vs. Pentagon, Jr., Josef Samael, nZo, CaZXL & Rush
Simon Gotch vs. Jacob Fatu
Five Way Elimination Match
Expendables (Paul London & PCO) vs. Caza Salvaje (Fenix & Vikingo) vs. TH2 vs. Dark Order vs. Iron Blood (PAC & Darby Allin)
MAIN SHOW
AEW Women's Tag Team Championships
(Deonna & Deeb) vs. Allure (Mandy Leon & Velvet Sky) vs. Tormenta Oscuara (Mercedes Martinez & Kellyanne) (c)
AEW Openweight Tag Team Championships
The Briscoe Brothers (c) vs. Silver & Reynolds vs. The Butcher & The Blade
Cody Rhodes vs. Jeff Cobb
Staircase To Heaven Match
Thunder Rosa vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Starlight Kid vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Angelina Love vs. KAIRI vs. RIHO vs. Venom Banks
'Hangman' Adam Page vs. Tyler Black
Gabriel Kidd vs. WALTER vs. Dave Batista
TNT Championship & Pumpkin Bowl
TJP (c) vs. Jonathan Gresham (PB)
AEW World Tag Team Championships
El Phantasmo & Jordan Oliver (c) vs. The Young Bucks
[The opening match would be a throwaway match between Dalton Castle & MJF, although despite it having no build up it certainly proved to be an entertaining match to open. Castle would match MJF in terms of clear heel arrogance, but his veteran experience would shine through as he would trick MJF into a situation where he was able to capitalise and hit the Fairy Tale (Double knee facebreaker) to claim the victory - 4.25 Star]
QT Marshall, Billy Gunn, Rey Horus, Bestia 666 & Jay Lethal vs. Pentagon, Jr., Josef Samael, nZo, CaZXL & Rush
[The second match of the nightwould prove to be an absolutely crazy 5-on-5 tag team match with a number of big names present on both teams which made for an explosive contest with all ten men getting a chance to display their signature styles as well as a number of unique double teams spots that the fans may never be treated to again. The match ending would come with Jay hitting nZo with the Lethal Injection before Rey Horus would leap off the turnbuckle to nail their target with the 450 Splash to bring an end to a fantastic contest - 4.75 Star]
Simon Gotch vs. Jacob Fatu
[Gotch & Fatu were no stranger to each other, having had history in MLW being part of the earlier incarnation of Contra together - and it seemed as if Fatu seemed to be extra motivated in the contest perhaps because Gotch had decided to team up with Matt Morris instead of continuing under the tutelage of Josef Samael. The Samoan Werewolf would seemingly take his revenge on Gotch, as he would break the deadlock in what had been an interesting contest as he would nail Simon with the Pop-up Samoan Drop before taking to the ropes and landing on top with the Might Moonsault to claim the victory. - 3.75 Star]
Five Way Elimination Match
Expendables (Paul London & PCO) vs. Caza Salvaje (Fenix & Vikingo) vs. TH2 vs. Dark Order vs. Iron Blood (PAC & Darby Allin)
[With some of the best tag teams in the division competing - although nothing had been promised it was expected that the winning team would be a shoe in to challenge for the World Tag Teams titles at some point following Revolution. With four teams having to be eliminated for a winner to be found, it was no surprise that the match would be fast paced and heavy hitting which would result in final two teams in the final moments of the match being Caza Salvaje (Fenix & Vikingo) & Iron Blood (PAC & Darby). It would be the former champion though that would falter, with one of the newest teams in the division Iron Blood claiming a massive victory with foes turned allies PAC and Darby looking very pleased with themselves in the aftermath. - 4.25 Star]
AEW Women's Tag Team Championships
(Deonna & Deeb) vs. Allure (Mandy Leon & Velvet Sky) vs. Tormenta Oscuara (Mercedes Martinez & Kellyanne) (c)
[Since working as a pairing Martinez and Kellyanne were undefeated as a tag team, and had continued to look just as dangerous since claiming the belts and despite having to defend the belts against two teams Tormenta Oscuara would continue to lead the division with Kellyanne claiming the win by hitting Mandy Leon with a Spinning Back Fist! The pair would be joined by Aviso de Muerte member Guilia, with the faction continuing to look as dangerous as ever. - 4.0 Star]
AEW Openweight Tag Team Championships
The Briscoe Brothers (c) vs. Silver & Reynolds vs. The Butcher & The Blade
[The Openweight Tag Team Championships were the newest titles in AEW - but that didn’t stop them from being sought out by some really strong teams in the divisions with The Briscoes being pushed to their limit as they were keen to make a legitimate name for themselves in AEW. The Butcher & The Blade would come close to win the belts after nailing Reynolds with a Dudley Death Drop only for Mark Briscoe to break the cover - with moment later the Briscoes tossing Butcher and Blade out of the ring and taking advantage of an already hurting Reynolds as Jay would hit the Jay Driller and the two brothers would retain the straps.
After the bell, Jay Briscoe would make it clear that they intended on blast their way through ever tag team in the division before stepping up their game and challenging for the world titles at some point down the line. - 4.0 Star]
Cody Rhodes vs. Jeff Cobb
[Cody Rhodes and Jeff Cobb had some major history with both men having been part of The Nightmare Family, although Cobb had made it clear that Cody had never had his own interest at heart. Now that Cobb was a member of Contra and Cody now part of Bullet Club - this wasn’t just about about personal beef though, this was about representation and the fans would be treated to a truly excellent match with both men pushing the other to their utmost limit in a five star classic that was back and forth but at its core a technical masterclass that would end with Cobb nailing Cody with the Tour of the Islands to bring an end to the contest and the first night of Revolution - 5.0 Star]
[Night Two would begin with two of the most talented technical wrestlers on the roster and absolute skill moneys battling it out in a winners take all contest with the pair not only fighting for the TNT Championship, but also knowing that whoever left with the Pumpkin Bowl would challenge for AEW World Championship at Blood & Guts. The match would be rough around the edges, as neither man was willing to take any risks which actually caused the match to suffer slightly. Eventually though, Gresham would manage to trap TJP in the Figure Four leglock to successfully defend the Pumpkin Bowl, but also become the new TNT Champion at the same night - 3.75 Star
After the match, Gresham would make it clear that it was his destiny to win the AEW World Championship and as a man who had only faltered once during the second year of the Pumpkin Bowl and that despite what anyone may say on the matter he wasn’t at all worried about facing Omega or Nakamura because either way the Octopus would wrap its arms around the belts.]
Gabriel Kidd vs. WALTER vs. Dave Batista
[This was very much a coming of age match, with Gabriel Kidd still very much being WALTER’s student but had made it clear that Kidd was going to have to win big matches before he was allowed to challenge for title gold - which meant in some strange world the Austrian actually wanted Kidd to not only overcome him, but also a legend in Dave Batista in the very same contest. And the fans would be treated to an insane contest with Kidd being on the back foot for most of the contest, but would survive because WALTER and Batista’s massive egos meant they seemed obsessed about trying to pin the other almost as if pinning Kidd wasn’t a result they were after.
Batista clearly felt he had done enough to bring the contest to finish when he would take up WALTER and hammer him down to the mat with Batista Bomb looking to end the match there and the - only for Gabriel to pound Dave in the back of the head with two running knees before taking up a wounded and dazed Batista and nailed him with a Double Arm Suplex to claim a historic career win taking his singles record to 23-1. - 4.25 Star]
Staircase To Heaven Match
Thunder Rosa vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Starlight Kid vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Angelina Love vs. KAIRI vs. RIHO vs. Venom Banks
[The ‘Staircase to Heaven match’ would work in three stages -The first stage would start with eight women outside the ring. The first two women to be pinned or tapped out would be eliminated from the contest, with the remaining six then moving to the ring. In a similar manner to the first stage, the next two women pinned or submitted would be eliminated from the contest. The final four would then be eligible to climb a ladder and pull down the briefcase that would grant them an anytime shot for the AEW Women’s World Championship for a 12 month period.
The first two women that would find themselves to be eliminated at ringside would be Jamie Hayter who would be the first eliminated as she would be laid out by SLK, with it clear that there was clearly some anger felt towards her former Oedo Tai chapter member. Hikaru Shida would be the other elimination, as she would be laid out via a Thunder Driver from Rosa. With the action in the ring, it would be SLK and RIHO eliminated from the contest resulting in a final four of KAIRI, Venom Banks, Thunder Rosa & Angelina Love who were now eligible to climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ (ladder) in the hopes of winning the anytime title shot.
The match would continue to be violent throughout, with Venom Banks coming so close to win the contract only for Thunder Rosa to leap off an opposite ladder and cut Banks in half with a brutal spear that would create a window of opportunity for Angelina Love to pull down the contract and become the first ever winner of the ‘Staircase to Heaven’ match - 5.0 Star]
'Hangman' Adam Page vs. Tyler Black
[The match would be more of a setup than actually a fair contest, with both men having agreed to battle under No DQ rules. With the Young Bucks/Omega preoccupied in preparing for their titles match later on tonight and Ospreay still on the medically injured list. After ten minutes or so of action, Black would click his fingers as he would look towards the back as Karl Anderson, Doc Anderson and Hikuleo would emerge from the back and proceed to beat the crap out of Page before The Good Brothers would lay ‘Hangman’ out with the Magic Killer only for Black to mockingly laugh before dropping down on top of Page to claim the victory. - 4.25 Star
Following the contest, footage would emerge of The Elite’s locker-room being blocked shut by a large metal locker that was on its side that backstage official were doing their best to clear out of the way, much to the frustration of Kenny and The Jacksons when the doorway finally clear and Page had long since suffered a loss and a memorable beatdown from The BC.]
AEW World Tag Team Championships
El Phantasmo & Jordan Oliver (c) vs. The Young Bucks
[If one thing was clear going into this contest and that was that The Young Bucks seemed more motivated than before going into the contest, especially now their close friend Page had suffered at the hands of ELP and Oliver’s stablemates and putting it frank Matt and Nick would fight with absolute fire in their bellies in a match was quite simply the best of the entire night with spot after spot after spot with the fans left salivating at just how awesome the match was proving to be another reason why AEW had very much become the pinnacle for tag team wrestling with the Bucks ending the match and becoming the new champions by nailing Oliver with the Meltzer Driver to become the first two time champions in AEW history - 5.5 Star]
AEW Women's World Championship - Ladder Match
Bea Priestley (c) vs. Kylie Rae
[Priestley’s reign as the Women’s Champion had turned into something far more impressive than anyone had been expecting, and so it was no surprise to anyone when she would manage to beat down Kylie long enough to climb up the ladder and wrench down her championship strap in what would be her 21st successful defence of the belt in a ten month period as being the champion. Following the victory, Bea would demand a microphone and make it clear that she was the GOAT of women’s wrestling and it was going to take a living legend to end her reign and she would openly laugh at Angelina Love for having earned the shot for the title and make it clear that she knew Angelina would never cash the shot on her - because Love was just one of many names that had fallen at her feet before name dropping KAIRI, Venom Banks and Shida as just three women she had yet to face for the title and that if the trio had any balls perhaps they would shoot their shot in the weeks or months to come. - 4.5 Star]
AEW World Championship - Steel Cage Match
Kenny Omega (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The final match of the event was by all measures a dream match with two men who had built their names in Japan now going toe-to-toe in a Steel Cage in the main-event of one of the biggest shows of the year. Kenny came into the contest as the champion with a belt he had been defending for the last nine months going against Nakamura who was going into the contest with a record of 24-0 and not having lost in singles action since signing with AEW. Both men would fight tooth and nail and would be bloody faced, bruised and battered when all was said and done with a real potency to all the blows and shots that took place during the contest. The fans would be left open-mouthed and in absolute awe as Omega would nail Nakamura with the One-Winged Angel only for Nakamura to kick out at the last possible moment that would leave Omega staring with crazy and in total disbelief. Surviving the OWA would chance the whole trajectory of the contest, and when Shinsuke would rally into Omega with the Kinshasa the entire arena would take to their feet as the referee would count to three and just like Nakamura was declared the new AEW World Champion as the show would come to a finish - 5.25 Star]
For both Nakamura and Gresham the month following Revolution would certainly prove to be an interesting one. Both men had claimed championship gold and at the same time their two separate paths had become one as with Gresham being the final holder of the Pumpkin Bowl he had sealed himself as the first man who would challenge for Nakamura’s newly won World Championship at Blood & Guts. Both men would encounter each other for the first time on the Dynamite show, with Nakamura making it clear that unlike Tomohiro Ishii last year - Gresham would have to settle with finishing second best when the two men faced off at Blood & Guts although there was a clear level of respect present between both men.
The following week on Rampage the pair would actually pair up in tag team action, to claim a victory over Contra Unit (Pentagon, Jr. & Jeff Cobb) with the pair looking as if they were cut from the same cloth. After the match Gresham would cut a promo with Shinsuke in the ring, and would make it known that after the two men had settled their business in the ring and he had his hand raised in the air and the AEW World Championship in his possession that perhaps Shinsuke considered what it meant to be part of The Foundation. Nakamura though would make it clear that he was in no need for friends in this business and that everything he had achieved he had done on his own merit.
Gresham the following week on Dynamite would perform his duties as the TNT Champion, where he would defend the belt for the first time and do so successfully against Chris Hero. Gresham would make it clear that the belt was a distraction, and that when he became the World Champion he would do what was best for business and vacate his current strap. Meanwhile, Nakamura would have a face to face with PAC. The Englishman would make it clear that he really hoped that Shinsuke retained the belt at Blood & Guts, because he intended on becoming the champion again - but more importantly bringing an end to this undefeated streak that had clearly inflated Nakamura’s ego. In the final build up to Blood & Guts, Nakamura would clam an impressive win over WALTER - that would be followed by Shinsuke and Jonathan shaking hands ahead of their big match.
Bea Priestley would cut a short promo on the fallout show following Revolution, in which she would make her feelings known that she had no worries whatsoever regarding Angelina Love having won the ‘Staircase to Heaven Contract’ as she would remind the fans that she had successfully defeated Angelina on two occasions already including the memorable match at All Out - and would make the point that The Allure’s leader was not stupid and therefore she would most likely waiting on the sidelines because she didn’t have the stones to challenge her a third time only to fail once again. Love unsurprisingly, wouldn’t directly respond to these particular comments directly.
Instead, the following week on Rampage she would emerge from the back with the full complement of The Allure (Velvet Sky, Mandy Leon & Kamille) following her to the ring. Angelina would be carrying a crimson briefcase in her hands and would cut a promo that the shot for the Women’s Championship was as valuable as the actual belt and that she intended to defend the case against legitimate contenders - rather than engaging in the nonsense that Priestley was doing in which she would defend the belt against those simply not worthy of ever challenging for the title.
Love would go on to make a point that The Allure considered JPN-gun as the only faction worthy of their time - and despite both groups previously having been battling it was a lie to think the war would ever truly end. Love would lay down an open challenge to any member of JPN-gun to face her for her contract at Blood & Guts.
The following week on Dynamite JPN-gun would cut a promo backstage, in which Hikaru Shida would make it clear that she was more than happy to take the contract out of Angelina’s hands and deliver it to JPN-gun. During the same promo the leader of the faction Riho would proceed to challenge Venom Banks to a match at Blood & Guts as well - before making it clear that although Sakazaki and Hayashishita were both very much the future of Japanese wrestling the group were looking for a fifth member of the group to team up with Sakazaki to eventually challenge for the Women’s Tag Titles. Riho would make it clear that Hayashishita was first and foremost a singles wrestler and had no intention of standing in her way to achieve her goals.
Angelina Love would accept Shida as her opponent, whilst Venom Banks would make it clear that she wasn't scared of facing anyone and that Riho would just be another victim in the pile of bodies she was building on route to becoming the AEW Women's World Champion which was her only reason for being part of the AEW roster.
Chapter Nine - Part Three
Following the Five Way Elimination match at Revolution, which had seen the combination of PAC & Darby Allin (known as Iron Blood) claim the victory. On the fallout episode of Rampage, Darby would make it clear that he and PAC were not to be confused for friends and that even though they had proven themselves as capable of teams they wouldn’t be hugging each other around the campfire and be singing kumbaya anytime soon. However, Darby would make it clear that he and PAC very much had their eyes set on title gold and intended to become world tag champions alongside PAC at the first opportunity that presented itself.
During the same episode of Dynamite, following the Good Brothers claiming a tag team victory over the Dark Order the full force of Bullet Club would come out to the ring. Tyler Black would make it clear that he had been disappointed in The Wild Boyz having lost their title belt at Revolution and that such a loss was simply not acceptable and that someone was going to have to pay the price and that just like Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens someone was going to have to pay the price. Suddenly, Hikuleo would charge forward and nail Jordan Oliver with a Running Big Boot before the Good Brothers would nail Oliver with the Magic Killer. Tyler Black would make it clear that Oliver had always been a risk and that he had proven himself not being worthy as being Bullet Club 4-life!.
With two different championship belts in play within AEW, it was clear that the tag division had become a much more intense and complicated battle ground for all involved. Iron Blood would make it clear that they wanted to get their hands on the Jacksons as soon as possible, only for The Young Bucks to remind the pairing that they were the decision makers around here and that they would put their belts against whom they wanted to face and no one else and announce that they would defend their belt on Rampage against Cryme Tyme. During that episode, Dynamite would see Iron Blood defeat The Gunn Club and The Expendables claim a victory over nZo & CaZ.
On Rampage, The Young Bucks would quite easily retain their belt making very light work of Shad and JTG with their opponents never having really been a real challenge for their belts. After the match, Darby and PAC would slide into the ring and with kendo sticks in hands would proceed to lay out the Bucks and make their intentions known as the champions would retreat towards the back. Later that night The Bucks would make it clear that if Iron Blood were serious about challenging them - then so be it bring it on come on at Blood & Guts.
WALTER would make it clear that Gabriel Kidd had no proven himself as being worthy of challenging for title gold and that after speaking with AEW management he had booked himself and Kidd a shot at the Openweight Tag Team Titles against Blood & Guts with WALTER making it clear that Kidd journey to greatness had truly begun when he had managed to claim a pin-fall victory over a legend Batista at Revolution.
In other tag team news The Expendables and Caza Salvaje would feud, with PCO & London claiming a key victory over the former champions whilst Jordan Oliver would end up bringing Young Dumb & Broke to AEW with Charlie Tiger, Ellis Taylor & Griffin McCoy all becoming members of the AEW roster. A third tag team match would be booked for Blood & Guts with six teams battling in a Gauntlet Match.
Chapter Nine - Part Four
Bea Priestley would cut a short promo on the fallout show following Revolution, in which she would make her feelings known that she had no worries whatsoever regarding Angelina Love having won the ‘Staircase to Heaven Contract’ as she would remind the fans that she had successfully defeated Angelina on two occasions already including the memorable match at All Out - and would make the point that The Allure’s leader was not stupid and therefore she would most likely waiting on the sidelines because she didn’t have the stones to challenge her a third time only to fail once again.
Later on during the same show, whilst in the company of Britt Baker and Starlight Kid - Priestley would cut a promo in which she would make it clear that she intended to be part of history and she had already established herself as the greatest champion (Men & Women) in AEW - but now she intended on being instrumental in putting together the greatest and most brutal match in the history of the Women’s Division and the first match of its kind that women had competed in with AEW - Blood & Guts II. Priestley would make it clear though that Oedo Tai’s US Chapter couldn’t do this alone though and that she would be looking to recruit a like minded faction to fight alongside her and her girls in what would become one of the most landmark moments in AEW history.
Two days later on Rampage, Jamie Hayter would recite lyrics from Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood “Now we got problems, And I don't think we can solve them, You made a really deep cut, And, baby, now we got bad blood” before making it clear that she was far from finished with Oedo Tai and that she would have the full support of the Angel Squad that would follow her into battle. Hayter would make it clear that her motivations however, were not Priestley’s championship, but instead this was all about Love & Hayte and intended to end her personal feud with SLK once and for all.
A week later on Dynamite, Oedo Tai and Aviso de Muerte would sit on opposite sides of a conference table with it very clear this was an official business meeting. Martinez and Priestley would hash out terms in which Mercedes would agree that Aviso de Muerte would stand alongside Oedo Ta in battle - on two conditions. The first that no version of Oedo Tai would challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Championships during any point of her and Kellyanne’s reign and the second that if they won the match - then she would face Priestley for the championship at Beach Break. Terms would be agreed and Priestley would have an army of six entering into Blood & Guts with the opposite side of the Angel Squad at this moment in time only having four.
A week later on Dynamite, Hayter would offer Thunder Rosa and The Golden Girls the opportunity to stand in their corner - but there would be no battering involved with Rosa, Statlander and Gibbs making it clear that they simply relished the chance to be involved in the match and would be very thankful to be part of the team. Deonna would even suggest that perhaps after they had done battle as a group - perhaps the Golden Girls would put memories of Cassandra in the past and become full fledged angels, although this suggestion would be met with no real response.
With two weeks to go, the Angel Squad & The Golden Girls were bringing seven to the table, whilst Oedo Tai & Aviso de Muerte only had six. This number imbalance would be addressed with Martinez offering Ivelisse the chance to join her faction by being the seventh member of her team. Martinez would make it clear though, that if Ivelisse let her down then there would be serious consequences. On Rampage that week Priestley offered a title match to one member of the opposing team in Statlander, and would successfully defend the belt in what would be her 22nd successful defence in an eleven month period as being the champion. After the match, Priestley would suggest that only KAIRI and Thunder Rosa were worthy of being in the same ring as her, and even if by some miracle if she was on the losing side at Blood & Guts - there was no way that either KAIRI or Rosa were ever going to be capable of being friends as long as they both had their eyes on HER championship belt.
During both the Dynamite and Rampage go-home shows all fourteen women would be involved in scattered brawls around the arena with it clear that there was no love lost between either side. On the final episode of Rampage, in a fight where all fourteen men were fighting in the ring and at ringside, Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee would make their AEW debut with Cassie taking to the microphone and making it clear that once this nonsense in the ring was all said and done - the Iconic Duo would make the AEW Women’s Division THEIR HOME.
Oedo Tai (Baker, SLK & Priestley), Aviso Muerte (Martinez, Kellyanne & Giulia) & Ivelisse
vs.
Angel Squad (Hayter, Deonna, Deeb & KAIRI) & Golden Girls (Thunder Rosa, Gibbs & Statlander)
An incredibly frustrated and sulky Kenny Omega would cut a promo backstage (on the fallout episode of Rampage) in which he would make it clear that Shinsuke had robbed his identity by stealing the AEW World Championship from him and would vow to do everything in his power to reclaim the belt and promised that he would become the first three time champion. It was hard to tell if Kenny was having some sort of psychotic break - but the level of uncertainty of his greatness really helped sell the idea that he was grieving his championship reign.
A week later on Dynamite with The Elite all standing in the ring, Will Ospreay would make his AEW return with the young star not having been since his car had exploded at Full Gear (November). Ospreay though wouldn’t make his way down to the ring as he would announce that one of the four men in the ring (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Kenny Omega & Adam Page) was in fact Judas - as he had hired a PI to uncover who had been behind the attempt on his life. Will would make it clear that he would give the perpetrator one week to out themselves and admit the truth or face lethal consequences.
A week later Ospreay would be in the ring and would announce his frustration that he knew his attacker and that he had long considered that person a friend - so it was even more unfortunate that this same person didn’t have the stones to come out from the back and show their face. The light in the arena would dim - only to come back on as Kenny Omega would stand in the middle of the ring behind Ospreay and spin him on his axis before nailing Will with the One-Winged Angel. Later that night Omega would cut a promo, where he would make it clear that Ospreay had been growing too big for his boots and that he had devised the car bomb in a way to clip Ospreay wings and teach him about humility before making the point that Ospreay was ungrateful and if anything should be thanking him for the lesson in respect he had taught him. Kenny would make it clear that Ospreay should fall in line and recognise him as his senior and respect him as such.
On the go-home show of Dynamite - Ospreay and Omega would have a heated moment backstage with ‘Hangman’ Adam Page standing between both men in a desperate attempt to stop both men from fighting. When he would request the Bucks to help out, the Jacksons though would make it clear that Omega and Ospreay had muddied the waters and that for the time being they were no longer willing to be part of The Elite. This announcement would shock Page, that would allow Ospreay to pounce and nail Kenny in the jaw with a forearm smash. With Omega with a busted lip and lying on the floor, Ospreay would make it clear that despite their clear hatred for each other - neither of them were anything less than Elite and so wasn’t going to make demands that a winner of a match leaves the group - but rather become the official leader of the group. Omega would make it clear that he wasn’t worried about such a stipulation because there was no chance he was losing. But he intended to put Ospreay in the ground once and for all and would demand that compete in a Coffin Match. Ospreay would accept the match type, whilst Adam Page would look lost, not sure what to say or who he was even meant to be rooting for.
I will run a Prediction Contest alongside this for any readers interested - The winner/s will get to decide two wrestlers to save from a 'mass purge' of talent on the bottom side of the card.
BUY IN
MAIN SHOW
Oedo Tai (Baker, SLK & Priestley), Aviso Muerte (Martinez, Kellyanne & Giulia) & Ivelisse
vs.
Angel Squad (Hayter, Deonna, Deeb & KAIRI) & Golden Girls (Thunder Rosa, Gibbs & Statlander)
