According to PWInsider.com, AEW’s Battle of the Belts VII is set to take place on Saturday, July 15th inside the Calgary Stampede Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. AEW’s Battle of the Belts usually takes place on a Friday night immediately following the company’s live episode of AEW Rampage on TNT, but since the seventh installment of All Elite Wrestling’s Battle of the Belts special will be taking place on a Saturday night, it will air at 10PM ET on TNT immediately following that night’s Collision from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
AEW’s Battle of the Belts was rumored to stop airing as soon as their newest television program known as Collision was announced due to its airdate, but AEW President and CEO Tony Khan confirmed that the show would continue.
The first-ever Battle Of The Belts special took place on Saturday, January 8, 2022 from the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Sammy Guevara beating Dustin Rhodes to become the Interim AEW TNT Champion, then-FTW Champion “Absolute” Ricky Starks defeating pro wrestling legend Matt Sydal to retain the title and then-AEW Women’s World Champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. defeating Riho in the main event to retain the AEW Women’s World Title. The first-ever Battle Of The Belts special was able to draw 704,000 viewers and a rating of 0.27 in the 18-49 key demographic and the show ranked #11 for the night in the cable top 150.
Battle of the Belts was a show first held by the NWA and Championship Wrestling From Florida in 1985. The first-ever Battle of the Belts saw WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair, who was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion at the time, defeat Wahoo McDaniel in a best 2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match. In 1986, the second and third Battle of the Belts Events took place prior to the CWF going out of business in 1987.
