AEW Planning First TNT Special For 8 January
Could AEW be brining back Battle of the Belts?
It appears AEW is looking to kick 2022 with a bang by serving up a Saturday night special as the new year rolls around.
As per Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast and Wrestling Observer, a source has informed him that AEW is planning to run a special on TNT on Saturday 8 January.
Previously, WCW - and prior to that, the NWA - would run similar TV specials dubbed Clash of the Champions. That name is these days owned by WWE, so that rules out that name for this show. Zarian does add, though, that one possible name for this event could be Battle of the Belts.
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 pic.twitter.com/hjuOqpIHGf
Advertisement— Andrew Zarian (@AndrewZarian) November 1, 2021
Battle of Belts is a name tied to Championship Wrestling from Florida and the National Wrestling Alliance, with the first Battle of the Belts taking place in 1985 and being headlined by then-NWA World Champion Ric Flair defeating Wahoo McDaniel in a two-out-of-three falls bout.
Main AEW programming will move from TNT to TBS in 2022, with 5 January being the first Dynamite to air on TBS. We've heard how Tony Khan's promotion is looking to host quarterly specials on TBS following this move, and it appears as if Battle of the Belts - or whatever the show ends up being called - will be the first of these on 8 January.