Join 411’s Live AEW Battle of the Belts IX Coverage

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I hope the weekend has been kind to everyone so far! Lee Sanders is back with you all to cover AEW BATTLE OF THE BELTS IX. Talk about a great weekend for wrestling and its fans! AEW, NJPW, TNA HARD TO KILL PPV, and even some WWE live events are happening this weekend. There’s something for everyone!

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Location: Norfolk, VA

Venue: Chartway Arena

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly & Tony Schiavone

The street fight between Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs Ricky Starks & Big Bill for the tag titles is underway as all four men are fighting outside a loading dock!

MATCH 1: AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES-Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho vs Ricky Starks(c) & Big Bill(c)

Shout out to Starks for wearing the Prince: Purple Rain t-shirt as Sammy runs Starks and Bill over with a golf cart! Sammy tries to get a cover on both men, but they kicked out. Sammy now checks on Jericho, who was tossed into some bushes by Big Bill. Sammy is now ramming Bill headfirst into the walls of a production truck! Jericho is back up now and trying to lend a hand as Bill fights them off. What’s this?! Bill has a book bag as he rams it over Sammy’s head! It turns out bricks were inside of it as Bill reveals them. Bill tries throwing a brick at Sammy, but Sammy dodges it in time as it goes through a car window! Sammy and Jericho do a double suplex on Bill onto the car’s roof! It turns out that the vehicle belongs to Rhett Titus as he yells at Jericho. Jericho knocks him out with the Judas effect! Jericho grabs Sammy and whips him with a slippery when-wet sign! After being dumped in a laundry bin by Jericho, Sammy comes back with a plunger! Starks tosses a Christmas decoration at Jericho before being whipped into a steel gate for a near fall. Jericho crams Starks face into a copy machine! Sammy’s picture emerges from the printing end as Jericho holds it over Sammy’s face and punches him silly! The action soon heads into a hallway with some good catering nearby. Sammy is choking out Bill with a sweater or blanket. Meanwhile, Starks sends Jericho crashing onto a round table as we head into a commercial break. We are back as Sammy is tossed into a wall and runs over it like Spider-Man to deliver a superkick to Big Bill! Sammy goes for a fire extinguisher and sprays Sammy and Bill with it. Meanwhile, Jericho takes the extinguisher and rams it into Bill’s shoulder. Not the catering food, not the catering food, as the action spills to that area! Jericho sprays Bill in the face with a bottle of mustard, and finally, the action spills out to the live arena, where fans are booing the Hell out of Jericho despite mixed reactions. Jericho is whacking away at Bill with a kendo stick before setting up a table. Bill rebounds and tries to chokeslam Jericho as Jericho goes for a low blow. Someone whacks Jericho in the head with a kendo stick as Bill powerbombs Jericho through the damn table! Who hit Jericho? Turns out it was Takeshita! Meanwhile, Sammy and Ricky fight by a beam structure as Sammy climbs that bad boy. Some serious height as he goes flying in the air looking for a back senton. Powerhouse Hobbs saves Ricky in time by pulling him away as Sammy lands back first onto the ground structure! Starks goes in for the cover and the victory!

Winner:Ricky Starks & Big Bill (18 minutes)
Rating:***
Fun street fight as it was thoughtful and had constant action throughout. Every move was meaningful, and I appreciate that it started in a loading dock and spilled onto the streets. Great stuff! I’m not taking a shot at any promotion when I say this, but I’ve seen my share of street fights through the decades. Many of those fights don’t spill into the back or streets. There is no creativity whatsoever. I appreciate the effort by all involved in this one despite Tony Khan still doing his best to protect Jericho from negative publicity. I hope the catering food is still salvageable.

Another video package for the returning Serena Deeb is shown. Man, I missed this girl and am looking forward to her return.

MATCH 2: TBS CHAMPIONSHIP-Julia Hart(c) vs Anna Jay

Nice lockup as Julia is smirking; what does she know? Anna with a few strikes and a takedown before hitting a flipping neck snare. Julia’s head rammed into a corner, but not the second one, as Julia reversed it and was back on offense. Julia with some kicks to the midsection before being reversed by a back heel kick. Anna misses a sidestep kick as both girls exchange blows before Julia hits Anna on her taped right shoulder. The spot sends her off the ropes as Julia tosses her back in and tries for a cover. It’s a near fall as we head into our next set of commercials. We’re back as Anna is fighting with one arm. Anna hits a shot from her right arm to Julia’s face before delivering a sloppy, somewhat lazy kick. Backstabber and a cover attempt as Julia kicks out at two. Julia has a nice STO sweep takedown as she picks up a near fall. Julia rolls over the top of Anna before being tripped up. Anna had another near fall before applying the queenslayer. Julia reverses it and applies a rear naked chokehold from the back. Anna comes to her feet to break free and hits a flatliner. Anna picks up another near fall as her kick is reversed! Julia applies the heartless submission hold to force a tap-out win!

Winner:Julia Hart (9 minutes)
Rating:**
Decent match. Julia continued hitting it out of the park, but this match was a bit off, mainly from Anna’s end. A lot of her offense looked sluggish and choppy, not fluid enough. She came off second-guessing herself a little. This was not one of her best matches, nor Julia’s for that matter, but still a decent effort..

Footage of Team Jarrett from earlier shows Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal are still beefing. Jarrett still wants Lethal to take a hike as Lethal continues standing his ground. Smells like maybe these two might go 1-on-1, and the loser leaves the group. I’m down for it if it means Lethal will return to singles competition. The man can still go at his current age. Social media is in a frenzy as Jungle Boy Jack Perry has returned but in NJPW. Perry attacked Shota Umino while still pushing the long hair and a long grizzled beard.

MATCH 3: AEW International Championship-Orange Cassidy(c) vs Preston Vance

The Undisputed Kingdom’s Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Roderick Strong came out right before the match. The boys have steel chairs as they set them up at the ramp to watch. Bell rings as Preston hits Cassidy with a lariat to send him rolling out of the ring. Preston tries to roll him back in the ring for the cover. Cassidy comes from out of nowhere with the orange punch to rock Preston. It’s enough to stagger Preston as Cassidy eventually sets him up on the top rope. Preston pushes him off and pulls off a flying shoulder tackle! Cassidy uses his quickness, but Preston catches him with a kick to the face. Cassidy rolls to the outside, where the UK is talking trash at him. Preston brings him back in the ring and hits a stalling vertical suplex for a two-count. Back from a commercial break, Cassidy delivers a suicide from in-between the ropes successfully. Cassidy to the top rope as he tries for a DDT, but Preston catches him. There is a series of reversals from both men as Preston catches him with a spinebuster! Preston continues his onslaught by stomping on Cassidy. Cassidy returns with a few light taps on Preston’s chest before rocking him with a superkick! Cassidy takes to the top as Preston moves out of the way. Cassidy leaps onto Preston as he hits a fallaway slam that sends Cassidy into the United Kingdom. Preston hits the full nelson back inside the ring as Cassidy breaks the hold and hits the orange punch before hitting beach break! This one is over as the champ retains!

Winner:Orange Cassidy (12 minutes)
Rating:**
Not too shabby. Love that Preston Vance as it’s been a great week for him. The man has been taking it to another level. I’m happy he’s getting more television time. Sure, no doubt Cassidy was going to retain, but put that to the side. Focus more on Preston, who been on a roll these past few weeks, even if he’s been on the short end of a few defeats.

Post-match, Undisputed Kingdom enters the ring to congratulate Cassidy before beating up Alex, the Assistant, and tossing him outside. Undisputed Kingdom congratulates Cassidy again while telling him his time is almost up as champion to end the show.

End of Show

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