A tough show to rate at only 1 hour, but this Battle Of The Belts show was not without quality. The show had a good structure with 3 matches of increasing quality given good time to breathe. Hook/Taylor was a rough opener, and the crowd were very poor all show, but if you get past that the show does improve. Predictable to a fault, but still efficient with a very good main event.
Tonight on AEW Battle Of The Belts, Athena takes on Red Velvet for the ROH Women’s Championship, Rocky Romero faces Roderick Strong and Shane Taylor challenges Hook. Let’s get at it!
AVERAGE Hook vs Shane Taylor- FTW Championship
A slow and quite boring matchup between two guys that never really clicked. Taylor spent a lot of time jawjacking and punching Hook, but never got the level of heat needed for a cathartic Hook comeback. It just all felt a bit drab, a shame given both guys are talented. This just didn’t work.
Results: Hook by Submission via RedRum
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 2.25 Stars
GOOD Roderick Strong vs Rocky Romero- International Championship
This was a good TV title defence with both Rocky and Roddy hitting their signature moves well. A few sticky miscommunications and a lack of real narrative shape hurt this a bit as a title match, as well as the lack of anything hugely memorable, but it nonetheless did it’s job. The match was here more for the post match angle, which leads to an exciting Dynasty showdown between Roderick Strong and Kyle O Reilly.
Results: Roderick Strong by Pinfall via Jumping Knee
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
GREAT Athena vs Red Velvet- ROH Womens World Championship– Watch Match Here
The best match on the card, this was another strong match in Athena’s reign. This was given 15 minutes which were well used, and Athena’s brutality was really on show here, particularly when she began throwing Velvet into the apron by her hair. A good main-event style match and a great way to close the show, as was the post match continuation of Aminata’s feud with Athena and her minions. A good advert for ROH.
Results: Athena by Pinfall
David Sheldon WR Star Rating – 3.75 Stars
Overall…
A tough show to rate at only 1 hour, but this Battle Of The Belts show was not without quality. The show had a good structure with 3 matches of increasing quality given good time to breathe. Hook/Taylor was a rough opener, and the crowd were very poor all show, but if you get past that the show does improve. Predictable to a fault, but still efficient with a very good main event.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.25/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit: All Elite Wrestling – April 14th 2024
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