8 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts (29 Jun)

Blood & Guts II outdoes the first, Sammy Guevara plummets, Jade Cargill has had enough.

Eddie Kingston Sammy Guevara
AEW

A second red-hot show in a row for All Elite Wrestling last night, with a fantastic, 11,000-strong Detroit crowd buoying the first Blood & Guts match to take place before a full audience 13 months after the original unravelled inside a half-empty Daily's Place.

Forbidden Door was the electric, buzz-generating pay-per-view it needed to be following a middling build ravaged not only by injuries, but rushed booking (under difficult circumstances, admittedly). Following it was an enormous stipulation-driven event that needed to at least outdo some of the original's wrongs while not coming off like a disappointing Anarchy in the Arena sequel. No small task, despite the obvious talent spread across the Jericho Appreciation Society, Blackpool Combat Club, and their Eddie Kingston-led associates.

In the end, this was a very, very good professional wrestling show. Everything that aired at least pushed its featured storyline forward in a meaningful and engaging way. Blood & Guts II occupied the entire second hour, but there was no shortage of material for fans to sink their teeth into elsewhere.

On a night where Sammy Guevara took an almighty dive, several wrestlers bled like pigs, Scorpio Sky's next TNT Title challenger was made official, and Jade Cargill went 34-0, AEW a second successive course-correcting card.

Let's light the fuse...

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.