AEW Battle of the Belts VI Review - April 7, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy def. Dralistico

Cassidy has been delivering as International/All-Atlantic Champion since late last year, there's no doubt about it. I'd go so far as to say that his title defenses have become a weekly highlight on AEW programming. This was another enjoyable outing from him, even though Dralistico hasn't been established enough on AEW TV to feel like a legitimate threat to the championship here. I'm looking forward to Cassidy vs. Buddy Matthews next Wednesday on Dynamite.

AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill def. Billie Starkz

Starkz has been one to watch in recent weeks between her appearances in Ring of Honor, MLW and on the Dark shows. The problem is that I don't think she's ever been established on Dynamite or Rampage, so not a single person had any reason to believe she had the slightest chance of upsetting Cargill for the TBS title. She's an awesome underdog and very talented at just 18-years-old, but it would have been nice if she had a match or two on AEW TV prior to this point so this match made more sense. It was a nice match while it lasted, if nothing else.

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers def. AEW TNT Champion Powerhouse Hobbs and QT Marshall

Yes, Ring of Honor championships are still being defended on these Battle of the Belts specials despite the brand being its own thing at this point over on HonorClub. Granted, I realize Hobbs vs. Lucha Brothers has been a Rampage feud recently, but I don't think this match was necessary, nor did it need to be for a pair of belts Hobbs and Marshall weren't going to win. This was a good match, but it's very dumb for Hobbs to be losing already as TNT Champion despite not being pinned. Hell, it's dumb for him to be associated with Marshall in the first place.

Overall Show

I think it's pretty apparent by now, but Battle of the Belts is a completely pointless quarterly special. These may feel more special if AEW didn't already have multiple title matches on television every single week. That's because the company has so many damn championships. It was a quality night of action, but if you didn't tune in, you didn't miss much because most matches in AEW are entertaining and these shows offer nothing you wouldn't ordinarily watch on Dynamite or Rampage.

SEE MORE: Battle of the Belts Reviews