{"id":147506,"date":"2022-10-10T14:29:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T19:29:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=147506"},"modified":"2022-10-10T14:29:41","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T19:29:41","slug":"battle-of-the-belts-hits-and-misses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/10\/10\/battle-of-the-belts-hits-and-misses\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS 4 HITS &#038; MISSES 10\/7: Questionable booking plagues show"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-1134661740\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><strong>Pac defeated Trent Beretta to retain the AEW All-Atlantic Title: NARROW MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, the match had good wrestling. Excellent wrestling, in fact, and a ton of crowd investment. On a meta-level, I am really impressed with Pac\u2019s stamina. However, I\u2019m tired of good wrestling being used as an excuse for poor storytelling.<\/p>\n<p>First, it was Orange Cassidy who started this feud with a cheap shot\u2026and now Pac is the heel. Right off the bat, the babyfaces involved in this feud are more unlikable to me than Pac. On top of that, you are asking the audience to boo Pac against the Dark Order, actually have him cooperate with a heel to win the match, and now we\u2019re supposed to respect him for going 40 minutes? I understand he cheated to win both times, but I\u2019ve seen so many heel-teases from Pac in AEW that never really manifested into anything.<\/p>\n<p>I hope Death Triangle doesn\u2019t just suddenly become babyface again and the announcers brush off everything we saw tonight as \u201cwell, Pac was just desperate.\u201d If they actually stick with Pac as a heel going forward, I\u2019ll look back more fondly on this night.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match: IT HAPPENED<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the match, Orange Cassidy ran down to ambush Pac, but security broke it up. I\u2019m not invested enough in this feud to really care one way or another. You could argue that it\u2019s the angriest we\u2019ve seen Cassidy since his Jericho feud, but I just can\u2019t bring myself to care.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jericho Appreciation Society Backstage Interview: HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Good stuff from Jericho and 2point0 here. I would appreciate Schiavone\u2019s \u201csystematic cheating\u201d interjections more if he was more consistent in calling out heelish behavior (especially Britt Baker\u2019s antics). It just looks orchestrated and gimmicked when he picks and chooses who to criticize.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1932564660\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><strong>Claudio Castagnoli Video Promo: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Well, it\u2019s good to see Claudio feels at least SOME agony about losing the ROH title. The way he came out smiling earlier in the night and didn\u2019t even glance at Jericho on the commentary table, it seemed like he had happily moved on with life.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t sit well with me when someone loses a title then cheers for their friend to win it. I appreciate the prosocial tendencies in real life, but here I would have preferred if Claudio spent more time reflecting on his loss and vowing to regain it than mostly putting over Danielson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jade Cargill defeated Willow Nightingale to retain the AEW TBS Title: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This was on the higher (and longer) end of Jade Cargill matches. As for Nightingale, I don\u2019t like it when any talent has the best match of their AEW career one night then this promptly fed to a champion the very next week. I understand that she\u2019s not under AEW contract, but still.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the match, Vickie Guerrero came out and distracted Cargill while Nyla Rose stole the TBS title belt from behind. I thought this was just a Vince McMahon thing, but I think this is the second time we\u2019ve seen it in AEW.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Matt Hardy and Ethan Page backstage Interview: MISS<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3561030226\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>From Ethan Page randomly showing up to criticize Andrade\u2019s leadership last week to us having to believe he\u2019s been stalking Matt Hardy for similar reasons tonight\u2026I\u2019m just confused. I think Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway are trying to discredit anyone potential allies of Private Party so that they can recruit them into the Firm, but this story is not being told well at all. If it was Stokely alone doing this, I think I\u2019d be more tolerant of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hook backstage Interview: IT HAPPENED<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hook tore up the Trustbusters\u2019s envelope. This is his new feud now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida Video Promos: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Decent and effective to build up the tag match against Baker and Hayter.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FTR defeated Gates of Agony to retain the ROH tag titles: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Good to see FTR in a traditional tag-team match on AEW television after a long while. Not exactly marquee competition for them, and it was difficult to get into the match this late at night, but it was a solid effort.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, any bets on whether we\u2019ll get a video package on Prince Nana to explain who he is and what he stands for? Something other than an African prince stereotype?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post-Match Brawl: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After the match, Brain Cage ran down to help Gates of Agony beat down FTR. Then Wardlow and Samoa Joe came out to save the day.<\/p>\n<p>File this under the \u201cthis show didn\u2019t need to end in a brawl\u201d category. I didn\u2019t even like it for what it was. You have four babyfaces against three heels for one, and Samoa Joe is portrayed as a bigger deal than Wardlow as he came out last.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Commentary: MINOR HIT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and Ricky Starks tonight. They were okay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Overall Show: MISS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Weak storytelling, questionable booking, and underdeveloped characters plagued this show. A big comedown from the Rampage episode earlier. This felt more like a re-branded episode of Rampage than a quarterly special where championship rivalries are paid off.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>CATCH-UP:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/10\/10\/aew-rampage-hits-and-misses-22\/\">AEW RAMPAGE HITS &amp; MISSES 10\/7: Strong main event, Eddie Kingston misses with promo, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-2016988796\"><div id=\"pwtor-1193975319\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Pac defeated Trent Beretta to retain the AEW All-Atlantic Title: NARROW MISS Yes, the match had good wrestling. Excellent wrestling, in fact, and a ton of crowd investment. On a meta-level, I am really impressed <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2022\/10\/10\/battle-of-the-belts-hits-and-misses\/\" title=\"AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS 4 HITS &#038; MISSES 10\/7: Questionable booking plagues show\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":147281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,28,27],"tags":[6121,6120,6499,6825],"class_list":["post-147506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists_hitsandmisses","category-specialists","tag-aew","tag-all-elite-wrestling","tag-battle-of-the-belts","tag-battle-of-the-belts-4"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2022\/10\/Battle-of-the-Belts-4-logo.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147507,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147506\/revisions\/147507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}