8 Ups & 0 Downs From AEW Dynamite: Blood & Guts (29 Jun)
2. Better Than The Original (With Caveats)
Blood & Guts II was a net positive with plenty to love, so let's start its appraisal by acknowledging the not-so-good points.
AEW is yet to truly master the WarGames format it first implemented last year. The Pinnacle vs. Inner Circle was marred by problems beyond the framing of Chris Jericho's bump from the top of the cage, though the sequel did much to address them. Still, whether the initials are written in Stamford or Jacksonville, the stipulation's modern instalments are yet to capture the magic of the best WCW bouts.
The opening sequence between Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sammy Guevara was visually stunning and technically impressive, but lacked bloodthirsty heat. WarGames continues to chase the dragon of Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham. Elsewhere, that the cage has now been broken out of in two consecutive bouts is an issue (as is Jim Ross once again employing "Jezebel" when describing a female wrestler) that undermines the match's lock and key aspect. The idea is that the opposing forces are stuck in the cage with each other and therefore have little choice but to inflict awful violence on one another. Breakouts should be the exception, not the rule.
But the bout still succeeded, which is made all the more impressive by the Santana injury. His knee giving out within seconds of his entrance forced the wrestlers to adapt on the fly. While there were a couple of understandable moments where it felt like they were stalling to do so, that they were able to in this high-pressure environment (with so many moving parts) is admirable.
The pre-Blood & Guts stages were all about the escalating levels of violence. As new wrestlers entered, so too did new weaponry. Jon Moxley was the chief perpetrator of this, carving Daniel Garcia up with a fork and later piledriving Angelo Parker onto broken glass. Santana's arrival brought a barbed wire bat and table. Chris Jericho brought Floyd along.
Castagnoli's throwdown with former Real Americans partner Jake Hager was received extremely well by Detroit, who chanted "we the people!" loudly. Parker's chickensh*t work when realising he was walking into a woodchipper upon entry was another highlight. Multiple wrestlers bled like stuck pigs, too, including Matt Menard, whose forehead was briefly pierced by Mox's handful of skewers.
Guevara's fall from the cage and through the timekeeper's table will go down as the biggest aesthetic highlight. This, in particular, felt like a make-good. As easy as it is to feel desensitized by spots like this in 2022, AEW at least outdid Jericho's widely-criticised bump from last year. This, and Claudio's Giant Swing to Menard atop the cage, may have justified breaking out of it to many.
And the finish, like many other moments in this match, wasn't executed to perfection.
But...