5 Things subtly told on the Blood & Guts episode of AEW Dynamite - Claudio Castagnoli fka Cesaro's real-life feud in works; former WWE Superstar teases joining The Blackpool Combat Club?
AEW produced its second installment of the Blood and Guts episode of Dynamite last night off the back of an eventful Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Not only has there been a slew of injuries, COVID-19 complications have reportedly hit the roster again. Hence, several top bigwigs were missing from the show last night.
Despite the absent faces, the company managed to garner one million viewers for the first time in a long while. Of course, the titular stipulation match lured significant eyeballs last night.
On the brighter side, some lesser-known names got the opportunity to shine in front of a jam-packed crowd in Detroit.
We'll dive into five subtle things fans may have overlooked during Wednesday night's episode.
#5. Claudio Castagnoli stole the spotlight away from Eddie Kingston; could a singles feud be in the works?
Hold to hold with ZSJ to Blood and Guts. 1st week stuff https://t.co/IoRxiqoKNh
The long-running rivalry between The Jericho Appreciation Society and The Blackpool Combat Club w/ Eddie Kingston culminated in a bloodbath last night.
However, Kingston still didn't get the ultimate revenge on Jericho, thanks to his arch-rival Castagnoli forcing Minard to tap out. During the closing moments, the Swiss star and The Mad King simultaneously applied submission maneuvers to Minard and Jericho on top of the barbarian steel structure.
Kingston looked visibly upset at Claudio for stealing away his moment and a chance to avenge all the agony that Jericho caused him during the feud. Though the two men celebrated the victory, fans did get a tease of a potential rivalry between Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli.
AEW has always made full use of turning real-life beef into an entertaining television act for its fanbase. Could The Mad King and The King of Swing produce something extraordinary with their sordid history? Only time will tell.
#4. Luchasaurus officially turned heel and became Christian Cage's lackey on AEW Dynamite
The feud between Christian Cage and Jungle Boy has become deeply personal since the former WWE Champion turned on his protege a few weeks ago.
Captain Charisma once again went off the rails and cut a scathing promo on the entire Perry family. He then shook the wrestling world by introducing his new ally, Luchasaurus, who surfaced with a new evil mask and theme song.
Cage has apparently corrupted Luchasaurus by turning him against his best friend Jungle Boy. The masked star squashed Serpentico to solidify his heel turn.
The duo of Cage and Luchasaurus look very similar to what WWE pulled off with Edge and Damian Priest at WrestleMania this year. The member of Jurassic Express looked reminiscent of the sadistic masked Kane.
Is AEW replicating a similar storyline/gimmick to one-half of the Jurassic Express? It will be interesting to see how the storyline evolves when Jungle Boy returns to flagship programming.
#3. Could AEW star Ruby Soho become the next member of The Blackpool Combat Club?
I just hope Ruby Soho join BCC
#AEWDynamite https://t.co/Pwl9j89EyC
Ruby Soho made a cameo appearance during the Blood and Guts match when Tay Conti unlocked the cage for Chris Jericho. The two former WWE female stars engaged in a brief brawl and teased an imminent rivalry in the coming weeks.
With Conti already with The Jericho Appreciation Society, the company can insert Soho into the Blackpool Combat Club. Interestingly, the commentators even mentioned that Soho is friends with some BCC members.
The former WWE Superstar appears to have been lost in the shuffle since losing to Britt Baker twice. But working under William Regal could become a stepping stone for her to reach the top of the women's division.
#2. Has AEW given up on Ethan Page?
Orange Cassidy returned to winning ways when he defeated Ethan Page in a grueling singles match. Not everyone expected The Freshly Squeezed to go over Page, given the size difference between the two men.
It's a crying shame that Scorpio Sky has captured the TNT Championship twice while his partner Ethan Page's momentum has been booked for losing frequently.
The former IMPACT Wrestling star's poor singles record suggests that the company has given up on him.
#1. AEW teasing dissension between The Gunn Club?
Last night, Danhausen joined forces with FTR to defeat Max Caster, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn in a six-man tag team bout. During the match, Anthony Bowens accidentally hit Austin Gunn with a crutch, which became the catalyst for The Gunn Club's crushing loss.
The aftermath saw a furious Austin confront Bowens, only to be pushed away by his father, Billy Gunn. Wrestling fans were stunned when Billy sided with The Acclaimed in the ring while his sons stumbled away from the arena.
Given what went down between the group last night, we may see a father-son rivalry down the road.