Backstage update on AEW's January 2022 television special: Reports
According to the latest reports, AEW's planned special event, Battle of the Belts, could be a one-hour show.
Yesterday, Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast revealed the rumored TNT live event, which will go down on January 8th, 2022. It's worth noting that this will be a Saturday night show. The reports came on the heels of AEW's recently filed trademark for the Battle of the Belts.
Dave Meltzer has now provided some insights during the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. He noted that the original plan was to hold a one-hour show, but nothing is set in stone yet.
Meltzer also noted that AEW initially wanted a pay-per-view caliber match card to draw a bigger audience. However, its one-hour format could scrap the idea:
"As of right now, it's only a one-hour show that could change because a one hour show doesn't make a lot of sense as far as, like, a Battle of Belts. Because if you're gonna do, like, the original idea of these four specials was to do basically pay-per-view matches, pay-per-view caliber shows, but for free to try to draw a big audience. I think we've already seen a Saturday night that's going to be difficult because, you know, they've done Dynamite on Saturday, and it's done decent in its time slot and everything like that. But it's not drawing a big audience, like Clash of Champions did in the early days."
Per Source:
AEW is planning a TNT Special on Jan 8th.
They're obviously not able to use the name "Clash of the Champions" due to WWE owning the rights...
However, I'm hearing the possible name for this show will be "Battle of the Belts" A throwback to NWA/CFW from https://t.co/hjuOqpIHGf
Although AEW hasn't made any confirmation yet, the Battle of the Belts special event could be similar to WWE's Clash of Champions, where all titles would be on the line. As Meltzer suggested, it would be tough to put on a one-hour show.
What lies ahead of the upcoming episode of AEW Dynamite this week?
THIS WEDNESDAY, #AEWDynamite is LIVE NATIONWIDE at 8e/5p on TNT from Kansas City:
-@CodyRhodes v @AndradeElIdolo
-#AEW World Title Eliminator Semifinals: @JonMoxley v @orangecassidy
-TBS Women's Championship Tournament: @annajay___ v @jmehytr
🎟 - AEWTIX.com https://t.co/UwXMhsxNgC
With AEW Full Gear approaching, the company will be looking to draw more eyeballs with exciting matchups and storylines. Ahead of this week's Dynamite, three singles bouts have been lined up.
Jon Moxley will face Orange Cassidy in the semi-finals of the ongoing Eliminator Tournament. In women's TBS title Eliminator, Anna Jay will lock horns with Jamie Hayter.
Last but not least, Andrade El Idolo and Cody Rhodes will collide for the first time in AEW. The company is likely to announce more matches as we inch closer towards Wednesday's show.
What are your thoughts on the Battle of the Belts possibly being a one-hour show? Sound off in the comments section below.