When Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson stepped into the ring together at AEW Revolution 2022, few people could imagine what would happen next.
The duo fought in an incredible match where Jon Moxley picked up the shock win over The American Dragon, but it was the post-match scenes which really had people talking.
As Danielson and Moxley brawled after the match, former NXT General Manager William Regal ran from the crowd to break up the fight. Being a friend of Danielson for 20 years and battling in the ring with Moxley for 10, Regal had a close, personal connection with both the men.
He greeted them both with a hard slap to the face, ending the brawl and uniting the pair. He forced them to shake hands and walked them both to the back, and started the formation of one of AEW’s premier factions – the Blackpool Combat Club.
Blackpool Combat Club
The Blackpool Combat Club has quickly become the team to be included in, in AEW. The William Regal-led Blackpool Combat Club has been one of the most exciting professional wrestling stables in years, and has AEW fans excited about the prospect of seeing Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley share a ring again, but rather as teammates than opponents.
The group originally consisted of three men. Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley joined forces with William Regal, after the former pair battled it out in a match at AEW Revolution 2022. The match was a brutal affair, and the post-match fighting was only quelled when William Regal, freshly fired from WWE, ran into the ring and slapped both men into submission.
On the following AEW Dynamite, William Regal cut an impassioned promo emphasising how much he respects and values to talents of Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. He even went so far as to call Danielson “The perfect wrestler“ and emphasised that he was the “Wrestler I should have been”.
The next week the group was named the Blackpool Combat Club, an ode to William Regal’s start in wrestling in his hometown of Blackpool, England. The trio instantly became one of the feared combinations in AEW, with Moxley’s viciousness, mixed with Danielson’s technical ability and Regal’s incredible mind for the business making them three of the most complete wrestlers in the world today.
The trio were joined by Wheeler Yuta, the young wrestlers who recently won the ROH Pure Championship, on the April 6 edition of AEW Dynamite. After an incredible battle with Jon Moxley in which blood was spilled and Wheeler kicked out of two Paradigm shifts, he was greeted by a handshake from William Regal to welcome him into the Blackpool Combat Club.
Wheeler Yuta was the first young AEW star be added to the list. However, before the formation of the group, Danielson did mention Yuta, alongside fellow up-and-coming stars Daniel Garcia and Lee Moriarty, as potential Young Lions for the pair to recruit and nurture in their own faction, a la NJPW.
Whilst Yuta’s joining into the faction was a tough one, it elevated him into a star that AEW fans have to watch weekly. The match on AEW Dynamite between Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta proved how Yuta is going to be a star in a very short time in AEW, despite losing to the experienced former-AEW Champion Jon Moxley.
Wheeler Yuta’s addition into the Blackpool Combat Club is a coup not just for him, but for the group. He was spinning his wheels in the Best Friends, and has the chance to learn to be a top contender under the tutelage of some of the best wrestlers to ever grace God’s green earth. Danielson and Regal mastered the European technical style, whilst Moxley is one of the best brawlers and best storytellers currently in the world of wrestling.
The Blackpool Combat Club will no doubt carry on recruiting young stars to flourish under the learning tree that is William Regal. They are the group to watch out for in world wrestling and will definitely start winning championships before too long.
The AEW Tag Team Championships or TNT title could be soon to be in the hands of the Blackpool Combat Club, and we could even see Jon Moxley or Bryan Danielson as the AEW Champion before too long.
With the recent addition of Claudia Castagnoli to the group, after his debut at Forbidden Door to face Zack Sabre Jr, the Blackpool Combat Club now look like one of the most impressive factions in AEW history. With three of the best workers in the world and one man with huge potential, the future is bright for the BCC in AEW.
Blackpool Combat Club potential members
Jericho Appreciation Society member Daniel Garcia was originally considered for membership into the Blackpool Combat Club, Dave Meltzer revealed. In the Wrestling Observer he revealed that Daniel Garcia was talked about, along with Wheeler Yuta and Lee Moriarty, as potential Blackpool Combat Club fighters to be trained by William Regal.
However, Chris Jericho personally chose Daniel Garcia to be a Sports Entertainer in the JAS, nixing any chance of Garcia being a part of the Blackpool Combat Club in AEW. While it is sad that we never got to see Daniel Garcia team with Bryan Danielson in the Blackpool Combat Club, he has excelled in his role as the “Sport’s Entertainer” as part of Jericho’s Faction.
Wheeler Yuta has excelled as the sole “Young Lion” of the group. He has achieved some memorable matches, improved in every way weekly on AEW TV and even appeared in NJPW as part of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in 2022.
The future is incredibly bright for the Blackpool Combat Club. Jon Moxley is the interim AEW Champion, Wheeler Yuta holds the ROH Pure Championship, and with new addition Claudio Castagnoli joining Bryan Danielson in the group, they now have the potential for one of the best tag teams in the world.
They could dominate the title scene, win every belt in AEW and the fans would eat it up. Because they are simply that good at professional wrestling. They have the potential to be the best faction in wrestling since the NWO, and could surpass that group in star power and in-ring talent if they carry on the way they are going.
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