As of October 19, 2024[update], only three title changes have occurred during Battle of the Belts episodes, two of which involved Sammy Guevara.
[1][2] Also as part of the deal, AEW agreed to produce four quarterly television specials on TNT that would take place on Saturdays.
[4] Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that the quarterly specials would be one-hour shows, but said they were originally planned to be longer, and also that they would feature pay-per-view caliber cards.
[5] On November 24, 2021, the television special series was announced to be titled Battle of the Belts with the inaugural event scheduled to be held live at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on January 8, 2022, at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
[6][7] The name "Battle of the Belts" came from a National Wrestling Alliance event held from 1985 to 1987 by the promotion's Florida territory that was operated by Eddie Graham.
[15] Despite the addition of Saturday Night Collision to AEW's weekly lineup, which premiered on June 17, 2023, Khan confirmed that Battle of the Belts would continue, although its future on TNT was uncertain.
This in turn returned the special to Saturday nights and also marked the first Battle of the Belts to be held outside of the United States.
This first occurred at Battle of the Belts X on April 13, 2024, in which reigning AEW International Champion Roderick Strong defeated Rocky Romero.
At Battle of the Belts XI on July 27, 2024, reigning CMLL Women's World Champion Willow Nightingale defeated Deonna Purrazzo in a Championship Eliminator match.
This was a standard tag team match in which The Don Callis Family (Brian Cage and Lance Archer) defeated Jon Cruz and Jack Cartwheel.
While there has been no confirmation on the future of the series, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that AEW could potentially shop it to other networks.
On the undercard, Ricky Starks defeated Matt Sydal to retain the FTW Championship and in the opening bout, Sammy Guevara defeated Dustin Rhodes to become the interim AEW TNT Champion; Guevara was originally scheduled to face lineal champion Cody Rhodes for the title, however, Cody was pulled due to COVID-19-related issues.
[23] Battle of the Belts II was taped on Friday, April 15, 2022, at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.
[35] Battle of the Belts III was taped on Friday, August 5, 2022, at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[13][41][42] In the main event, FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) defeated Gates of Agony (Toa Liona and Kaun) to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
[43] In the main event, Orange Cassidy defeated Kip Sabian to retain the AEW All-Atlantic Championship.
On the undercard, Jade Cargill defeated Skye Blue to retain the AEW TBS Championship and in the opening bout, The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) defeated Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal in a No Holds Barred tag team match to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship, which was the first time for the title to be defended at Battle of the Belts.
[44] Battle of the Belts VI took place on Friday, April 7, 2023, at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island.
[26] In the main event, The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fénix) defeated Q. T. Marshall and Powerhouse Hobbs to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship.
Due to inclement weather that caused satellite issues in Calgary, the conclusion of the Women's World Championship match was not broadcast.
In the main event, The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) and Billy Gunn defeated Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Daniel Garcia to retain the AEW World Trios Championship.
[28] In the main event, Orange Cassidy defeated Preston Vance to retain the AEW International Championship.
On the undercard, Julia Hart defeated Anna Jay to retain the AEW TBS Championship, and in the opening bout, Ricky Starks and Big Bill defeated Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara) in a Street Fight to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship.
[20] Battle of the Belts XII was taped on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California.
On the undercard, The Don Callis Family (Brian Cage and Lance Archer) defeated Jack Cartwheel and Jon Cruz in what was the first match in Battle of the Belts history to be a non-title bout, Kazuchika Okada defeated Kyle O'Reilly to retain the AEW Continental Championship, which was the first time for that title to be defended at Battle of the Belts, and in the opening bout, Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Pac, and Wheeler Yuta) defeated The Dark Order (Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds, and John Silver) to retain AEW World Trios Championship.