AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts Preview for June 29, 2022

Forbidden Door is in the rear view mirror, and in its wake, the face of AEW is just a little bit different than it was before! Jon Moxley now reigns as the first-ever AEW Interim World Champion after defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi in bloody combat, “The Bastard” PAC now reigns as the first All-Atlantic Champion, and FTR claimed yet another championship in the form of the IWGP Tag Team Titles!

On top of that, The Jericho Appreciation Society/Suzuki-Gun combination earned The J.A.S the man-advantage in the Blood & Guts Cage Match, Thunder Rosa retained her Women's World Title in a hard-fought battle, Jay White managed to remain IWGP World Heavyweight Champion despite the odds, and Claudio Castagnoli was unveiled as Bryan Danielson's replacement, and newest Blackpool Combat Club member, when he defeated Zack Sabre Jr. in a jaw-dropping battle.

Plus Orange Cassidy continued to prove, even in defeat to Will Ospreay, that he is an absolute world-class wrestler, while the Dudes With Attitudes (or Stingobernables de Japon as Kevin Kelly dubbed them) defeated the reunited BULLET CLUB! If you missed the live stream on Sunday night, the replay is must-see viewing, especially before this Wednesday night's Detroit debut!

For the first time in AEW's history, we make it to The Motor City (Details) with one of the biggest Dynamite spectacles of the year! It's Blood & Guts with The Jericho Appreciation Society versus The Blackpool Combat Club and associates, and it is going down in Motown at the Little Caesars Arena! It is coming your live on TBS starting at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT, and at AEWPlus.com for the international audience, but one has to wonder what condition all these men are possibly in after Sunday night!

To see just what happened, you must catch the Forbidden Door replay (Order Replay), and be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube page to catch up on last week's Dynamite and Rampage highlights, as well as the latest editions of Dark: Elevation, Dark, Road To, and The Control Center with Tony Schiavone!

BLOOD AND GUTS CAGE MATCH...

The Jericho Appreciation Society (Angelo Parker, Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Hager, Matt Menard, & Sammy Guevara)

vs.

The Blackpool Combat Club (AEW Interim World Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) & Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, & Santana

***THE JAS GETS THE MAN ADVANTAGE***

Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing 2022 brought AEW a spectacle of violence unlike anything it had seen over the three years of its existence. That's not do downplay either Stadium Stampede spectacle, or the physicality of the first Blood & Guts cage match, those were all something to behold, as were matches like the I Quit between Kingston and Moxley, the Parking Lot fight between Best Friends, Santana, and Ortiz, or the Cage between Thunder Rosa and Dr. Britt Baker. They were all violent, bloody, visceral, but Anarchy was exactly what the name suggested; an uncontrollable fight all across the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas that left numerous scars on those involved, and sent Bryan Danielson onto the IR for the last month.

Gasoline, tables, ketchup, barbwire, even the ropes of the ring itself, everything imaginable became a weapon in that situation, and it would end with The Jericho Appreciation Society victorious in combat. But it wasn't a dead issue, things were not yet done, and it was only a few days later that this Blood & Guts challenge would be issued by Kingston and William Regal...

Jericho was speechless in the moment, but it didn't stop him from trying to get involved in the match between Moxley and Daniel Garcia later that night. Kingston was on the spot, hitting the ring so fast he nearly lost it getting at “The Wizard”, but it allowed Mox to tap out Garcia in the middle of the ring. Once The J.A.S duo were run off, the former AEW World Champion let the world know here he stood:

While Danielson was noticeably absent recovering from DoN '22, Wheeler Yuta was freshly returned from his Best of the Super Juniors Tournament tour of Japan, Kingston knocked down Jake Hager in a one-on-one collision, and Ortiz went head-up with Jericho in a Hair versus Hair match. Sadly that did not go the way Ortiz had hoped, but in typical Jericho-related fashion, it was certainly through no fault of his own. Who could've predicted that one of Le Champion's old running buddies would return to the fold?

So with Sammy back at the side of his Le Sex Gods tag team partner, his Inner Circle mentor, and “The American Dragon” still AWOL from The Blackpool Combat Club, it certainly looked like Eddie and Moxley's crew were heading into Detroit at a numbers disadvantage. Then, heading into Dynamite last Wednesday, we learned that Danielson would be on-hand to address both Forbidden Door and the Blood & Guts Cage Match. It was a good news-bad news situation:

No Danielson, but he had hand-picked a replacement for himself in those two upcoming events, and found a new member for The BCC as well. It was an intriguing situation, especially given the number of wrestlers that William Regal had directly influenced over the course of his career, and left a lot of possibilities as to who this mystery foe for Zack Sabre Jr. would be last Sunday night. Overall, the fans were very focused on man man answering the call, and they were not disappointed:

Claudio Castagnoli, a fighter who has been called the Swiss Superman during his career, had arrived in All Elite Wrestling, not only as ZSJ's foe but also as the newest Blackpool Combat Club member! Over the course of the next eighteen minutes, Double C showed the world just why he has always been one of the most elite wrestlers in the world and came out victorious over Suzuki-Gun's technical aficionado. It wasn't the last fans would see of Claudio on Sunday night; he was there in the end to help his allies inside the Blood & Guts Steel Cage fend off the assault by The Jericho Appreciation Society. Angelo Parker paid the biggest price for his team, being taken for a swing by Claudio, but as for The BCC team, well history may tear them apart before they even get to Detroit.

Suffice to say there is a lot of history between Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston, issues that date back more than a dozen years, to the earliest days of their professional wrestling careers in the locker rooms of CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, and because of the paths of their respective careers, they were issues never settled, if they even can be. Kingston has no trust of Claudio, he truly believes Castagnoli is a snake in the grass and was even proven right years ago when Double C betrayed CHIKARA to form a group called The BDK. That may have been over a decade ago, but much like the situations with Bryan and CM Punk, Kingston does not forget nor forgive, and he certainly doesn't think either man has changed at their core.

It was evident that Kingston and Bryan were reluctant allies at DoN '22, and when things got their most heated as “The Mad King” attempted to light Chris Jericho on fire, Dragon and Eddie turned on each other. Take that animosity, amplify it ten fold, and you may understand the depths of Kingston's hate for Claudio. It also makes anyone question just how they could possibly co-exist inside Blood & Guts this Wednesday, and wonder if Danielson didn't purposefully poke the bear when looking to Double C to fill his spot inside the cage.

One also has to wonder how Eddie feels about his friend Jon Moxley now being allied with two men that Eddie despises; one man who certainly despises him in Bryan and another in Double C where it remains to be seen how he feels about Kingston more than a decade removed from their last fights.

Whatever those feelings are, both men have to set it all aside and focus on fighting Jericho and his cronies, especially after that loss at Forbidden Door that gave The J.A.S the man advantage to start the fight. Beat The J.A.S, then worry about it each other; that needs to be Kingston's philosophy on Wednesday night if he hopes to be victorious in the very match he challenged to get.

And The J.A.S, well Chris has to have some PTSD from the last time he entered this structure, when he was chucked off the top and crashed down on the stage below. It was a loss for The Inner Circle that night last year, and now those experienced men are split between the two teams going to war. Jericho, Guevara, and Hager on one side, Ortiz and Santana on the other, with the rest of the battle filled with those new to the this particular brand of carnage.

Rules are as follows: one man from each team starts, after five minutes a second member of The Jericho Appreciation Society thanks to Sunday night's victory, after that a new man will enter every two minutes until all ten are inside the cage. The match cannot end until all ten competitors have entered the fray, and once that occurs, Blood & Guts can only end via submission (physical or verbal) or by knockout.

Will Jericho and his cronies prove victorious this year after suffering a defeat in 2021, or will it be The Blackpool Combat Club who flourishes in this violent environment?

ONE-ON-ONE...

“All Ego” Ethan Page vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy

As can be heard in that tweet embedded above, Dan Lambert had plenty to say about the wrestlers in All Elite Wrestling and the fans who enjoy the promotion. Clearly the head of American Top Team has issues with, well, almost everything, but in this case he has singled out Orange Cassidy for his verbal barbs. As so many have before him, Lambert looks at OC and sees not the man who took IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay to his limits at Forbidden Door, but rather focuses on the appearance and perceived attitude of “Freshly Squeezed”.

It's a mistake that has cost many competitors throughout Cassidy's wrestling career, but Lambert believes “All Ego” Ethan Page is the one to finally put an end to this man that Dan perceives as epitomizing all that is wrong with wrestlers and wrestling. Well after Sunday night's bout with Ospreay, there are a lot of eyes on Orange Cassidy, and that means there will be a lot on Ethan as well this Wednesday night. With all that OC went through on pay-per-view, and with that being just his second match after nearly four months off from injury, one can't help but wonder how Cassidy is feeling, and if it makes him a fruit ripe for the picking by “All Ego”!

TBS CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN CHALLENGE...

Jade Cargill(c) vs. Leila Grey

Stokely Hathaway asked, and thankfully AEW CEO Tony Khan got the message because it looks like Jade Cargill will be in action this Wednesday night on Dynamite: Blood & Guts 2022! Heading into this event with a daunting 33-0 record, Cargill will put that and her TBS Championship on the line inside the Little Caesars Arena! As for her opponent, well TK has decided to give a golden opportunity to one young competitor a bit familiar to AEW fans:

Lelia Grey isn't totally unknown to the AEW faithful; since the March 6, 2021 edition of AEW Dark this young woman has been involved in over a dozen bouts against the likes of The Bunny, Tay Conti, Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, and perhaps most important to The Jade Brand, both Red Velvet and Kiera Hogan. While Grey has yet to pick up an AEW victory, she is the current reigning Ohio Valley Wrestling Women's Champion, and is very motivated to make an impact by stopping Jade's juggernaut like run through AEW.

As for Jade, a victory on Wednesday would not only put her at 34-0, it would also put her one win away from tying Colten Gunn's record of 35 straight victories in AEW competition. In addition, it would tie Cargill with Jon Moxley, Hangman Page/Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks (in their first reign) as the most successful champions in AEW history with nine defenses of their respective titles. Two more wins and Jade becomes the most successful champion AEW has ever seen, two more wins and she creates the most successful streak AEW has seen; she's already proven one of the best athletes professional wrestling has seen in some time, now Jade is on the cusp of shattering records all around!

Can she continue her dominance, or can Leila Grey sneak in and upset the apple cart this Wednesday night?

BETRAYAL...

Last week on Dynamite, Christian Cage detailed to the world exactly why he betrayed Jungle Boy following he and Luchasaurus' World Tag Team Title loss to The Young Bucks. Suffice to say that Cage had been just waiting for the opportunity to show the world his real stripes, and waited until JB was at his lowest point for that great reveal.

Then, when confronted by Luchasaurus and with the threat of physical violence looming, Christian Cage went into pure spin mode, blurting out that Luchasaurus was “like a song to him” and that they needed to talk in private.

What did Christian say to Luchasaurus? Perhaps we will all find out this Wednesday night in Detroit when Cage is scheduled to appear before the AEW faithful! Did he somehow convince Luchasaurus there was a right in his great wrong?

AEW debuts in Detroit on Wednesday night the most violent Dynamite of the year! Blood & Guts 2022 begins LIVE on TBS at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT, and at AEWPlus.com for the international audiences, as everyone recovers from the events of Forbidden Door (Order Replay) last Sunday night, and looks towards the future. With Jon Moxley is at the helm as AEW Interim World Champion, it's a must you tune in Wednesday to watch the next chapter of All Elite Wrestling begin! Before you jump side the Blood & Guts Steel Cage though, make sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on last week's action via Dynamite and Rampage highlights as well as the latest editions of AEW Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, the Control Center and Road To episodes!