AEW Battle of the Belts XII Review - October 19, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and Pac def. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, John Silver and Evil Uno)

I'm pretty sure this was a part of Battle of the Belts, but I've seen others suggest it was an extension of Collision. I mean, it was, but officially, it took place during the Battle of the Belts taping. It's one giant three-hour hour block of AEW programming, so it hardly matters. Oh, and the match was total domination as you'd expect, despite the champs already having defended the titles right beforehand. The best part about this is that it hopefully means we can move on from Dark Order feuding with Jon Moxley's crew.

AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada def. Kyle O'Reilly

I'm sorry but a few enhancement wins wasn't enough to make O'Reilly feel like a threat to Okada here. O'Reilly was never going to win the title, but I'm glad we got the match because both guys are very talented. Granted, I'm sure it would've been even better if Okada more motivated (it feels like he's been coasting for a majority of his AEW run so far), but it was a quality contest, nonetheless. We really need Okada in more singles matches.

The Don Callis Family (ROH World Television Champion Brian Cage and Lance Archer) def. Jon Cruz and Jack Cartwheel

No, we still have no idea why Cage is with Don Callis. That hasn't been explained and it's safe to assume it'll never be explained. At any rate, this match had no business being on a Battle of the Belts show. It was a simple showcase for Cage and Archer and it was kept on the shorter side, but I can't imagine there's too many people who care about them potentially entering the AEW World Tag Team Championship picture.

Anna Jay def. AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May in an AEW Women's World Championship Eliminator Match

I appreciated that these two got the main event spot. They had a pretty good match and made the most of the time they had. Jay really has improved considerably since before her run in Japan and I'm happy she's getting the chance to do something meaningful so soon after returning. Eliminator matches always end predictably, so Jay picking up the win to set up a rematch for the title was a pleasant surprise.

Overall Show

It's hard to believe that there have been 12 of these specials since January 2022. I have no idea why they haven't been canceled yet because they truly serve no purpose. This was another inconsequential installment that you don't need to make time for, but at least it wasn't a total waste of time between Okada and O'Reilly having an enjoyable affair and the main event's unexpected outcome.

SEE MORE: Battle of the Belts Reviews