Shawn Spears says The Pinnacle plans on giving the Inner Circle a very brutal sendoff in the second annual Stadium Stampede match.
Shawn Spears recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard ahead of Sunday’s AEW Double Or Nothing pay-per-view, an event that will see The Pinnacle clash with The Inner Circle in a Stadium Stampede match. The original Stadium Stampede was created in response to the pandemic, but the match now looks to be a signature match of AEW. Spears was asked for his thoughts on entering the Stadium Stampede match with The Pinnacle and how they’ll try to top themselves, and he said they’ll make sure this year’s match will be “vastly different” than what fans have seen before.
“Like you said, it’s become a staple in AEW, and that’s a tip of the hat to the creative genius that is Tony Khan and the concept that he and the team came up with, and that’s to put all these wrestlers inside of an empty stadium and let them fight everywhere and all over. I think it caught a lot of buzz, it put a lot of eyes on AEW, it was different and it was different at a very dark time, not only in professional wrestling, but in the world,” Spears said, “and I think it gave people an escape and gave them something to look forward too. So, now we fast forward a year when the world is kind of slowly trying to open up and go back to normal, we’re going right back into the Stadium Stampede.
“I will say that last year—and I’ll quote Dax Harwood who said this last week and I agree with him wholeheartedly—was a dog and pony show. It was a little comedic, it was over the top, you got to see wheelchairs and you got to see people swimming and changing underwater,” Spears explained, “and it had every bit of entertainment aspect that you could ask for. This year, much like Blood And Guts, things are going to be vastly different. So, at least that’s the plan for The Pinnacle, we get to be in the second-ever one, we got to be in the first Blood And Guts match ever here in AEW and for me, how can I complain? Being in this industry for 19-years and to be able to do something relatively new and to do something for the first time in a company, is fantastic.”
There is only room for 1⃣
It was so nice, they had to do it twice.
?At #AEWDoN on May 30, the #StadiumStampede returns when #InnerCircle goes to war with #ThePinnacle.
It doesn't get more intense than this
?Available on #FITE outside the ???
PPV: https://t.co/pABd8GSRYL pic.twitter.com/A6hcsbJbR8
— TrillerTV (@FiteTV) May 21, 2021
The second match will take place a little more than three weeks after the Blood & Guts match, a battle that was violent and one that delivered what it promised. Asked about how they plan to top themselves, Spears said he told everyone what to expect in Blood & Guts and it happened, and Sunday’s match will be no different.
“I told them that they should expect nothing less than brutality,” Spears explained, “that if blood made them feel uneasy, if blood made them uncomfortable, if brutality made them uncomfortable, then don’t watch this match. I know I’m supposed to sell matches and help push the company and push certain matches but I’m gonna be honest, in 2021 it’s hard to pull the wool over the eyes of the fans, it just is. Stadium Stampede’s gonna be no different. Except now, if we win, they break up, the Inner Circle is done.”
Spears questioned the Inner Circle even being ready for the match, noting that Chris Jericho’s priorities seemed to change, but The Pinnacle has not wavered. He said dominance, and a brutal end to the Inner Circle’s run is their plan, and it always has been.
“We’re the top faction in AEW and I will say that over the Nightmare Family, over The Factory, I would say that over The Elite,” he stated, “because we’re new and we’re the best workers that the company has, collectively, together. You know, Jericho has a big Fozzy tour coming up. He’s always got his fingers in other things—how focused is he for this match at Stadium Stampede on Sunday? Probably not as focused as the other guys in the Inner Circle probably hoped he would be.
“So, the overall theme going into this match for The Pinnacle is the same as it was for Blood & Guts—brutality. Beat them within an inch of their lives, beat them until they have to give in, give up, tap out, whatever,” Spears said, “and they disband and then continue our ascension to the top in AEW. That’s the plan, that’s always been the plan.”
The Stadium Stampede match takes place at AEW Double Or Nothing on Sunday, May 30 on pay-per-view.
