The 40th episode of AEW Dynamite also served as week two of the special Fyter Fest supercard edition. With NXT winning in the ratings for the past two weeks and counter-programming with their Great American Bash special, they had to put on a successful show. Let’s see how they did.
Private Party vs. Kenny Omega/Adam Page
This is the second week in a row that Page and Omega are defending their Tag Team Titles, as this served as a replacement match for Moxley vs. Cage (which will happen next week). This tag team opener was hot and set the tone well. Private Party can be streaky wrestlers, but when they’re on, they’re on. Page seemed to strike particularly hard in this match, and Isiah Cassidy seems to be improving week-to-week. They tried some overly difficult stuff toward the end that didn’t land all that well, but overall this was a solid title match. Page and Omega won with their Last Call double-strike. They’re really made the tag titles feel like a huge deal in AEW with this long reign.
Lance Archer vs. Joey Janela
The whole “Archer drags someone out to beat them up before each match” shtick has run its course, but at least tonight, he chose Janela’s tag team partner. I don’t need to see him beating up random jobbers before all of his appearances, that has jumped the shark at this point. This outcome was never in doubt, but it told a decent story. Archer kept his selling to a minimum, and looked strong in beating on the smaller guy. Janela’s strength has always been his selling, and he bumped around well in this one. I don’t like him going for chairs and tables in matches that aren’t No-DQ, as it makes him look like he can’t wrestle normally. Archer wins with the Blackout through a table on the outside, in an average but efficient match.
We get another random black-and-white Darby Allin video. This time he’s doing a Coffin Drop freefall into a foam pit. It really feels lackluster in its delivery and out of place on this show. But at least he name-drops Brian Cage, and that’ll make for some really fun matches once he returns.
Speaking of Cage, he and Taz come out for an announcement. Taz pulls out his old FTW Title belt and gives it to Cage. Taz used that title in 98-99 that he created himself, as the ECW World Champion (Shane Douglas) was afraid to give him a shot at the real title. Now, 21 years later, Taz breaks it out as a way to heighten nostalgia and put Cage over as the real deal. What a perfect way to use a prop to legitimize a new star here. Good promo with great intent.
Lucha Bros/Butcher/Blade vs. Young Bucks/FTR
The early story of the match was the reluctance of the Bucks and FTR to work together, and they did a nice job of gelling in happenstance as the match went on. This serves as good fodder for their future match against each other. This contest started off pretty solidly, but then devolved into a bunch of random moves. The Lucha Bros don’t seem to have a great concept of the US style of wrestling, as their non-tags and constant leg slaps take away from their impressive athletics. They and the Bucks got into a barrage of no-selling as the match started to go way too long. Pentagon gets the win over a Buck with the LB Driver.
Nyla Rose vs. Kenzie Page/Kilynn King
Normally I loathe handicap matches, but in this case, it makes your monster look really strong. Page and King have been doing jobs on AEW Dark for weeks now, and they were solid choices to feed to Rose here. Rose’s offense looks crisp and tight, and she wins with the Beast Bomb quickly. She takes the mic and says that she’s getting a manager. She says managers are effective in AEW so far and she’s taking the Women’s Title off of Shida soon. Very interesting choice here. If the manager is someone who’s already on the roster, I’d say Jake Roberts or Taz best fits her persona. If it’s a new signing, I think Maria Kanellis would be solid. She is very intelligent, has credibility, and could be the gateway for Mike Bennett to sign too.
Colt Cabana is in the back with a badly bruised side. Brodie Lee comes up and says they’ll protect Colt so that this stuff doesn’t happen anymore. Brodie tells Colt to get ready to wrestle, and Colt is submissive.
Brodie Lee/Stu Grayson/Colt Cabana vs. SCU
This was a solid six-man tag that told the story of Brodie Lee continuing to win over Colt Cabana. I fear that Brodie is selling too much and may be getting a bit lost in AEW’s growing roster. SCU were great opponents here, as this rivalry has a lot of continuity and history behind it. Grayson and Sky looked particularly good, and Colt sold his ribs very well. Brodie hit the discus clothesline and allowed Colt to get the win. I like the way this recruiting storyline has unfolded so far.
Earlier tonight, Big Swole was caught outside the arena and was suspended. Swole suspected that Britt Baker was behind it. Who the people were that suspended her, I have no idea. How Baker would have the power to do that, I have no idea. Maybe the announcers explained it and I missed it, but the logic is severely lacking here. Later in the night, a masked Swole approaches Britt Baker at ringside. How she got back in the building after being suspended, I have no idea. She throws the suspension paper at Rebel, who elbows Baker. Normally these segments have been solid/good, but tonight they were garbage. Too much bad acting and too many plot holes.
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
Cassidy still did the dumb “hands in his pockets” thing at first, and I’d have liked him to come out more serious in a main event with a major star. After that, this actually got really good. I loathe Cassidy’s act, but this match was well put together. Cassidy sold pretty well and his normally pale body being beaten red was an excellent visual. Jericho controlled the match and used a lot of added offense. Just as I was about to fall in love with this match, Cassidy did the shin-kicks and it went way too long. Having Cassidy kick out of a bat shot and a Codebreaker was too much for a comedy character. Jericho eventually wins with the Judas Effect. It was better than I thought, and the best I’ve ever seen Cassidy, but it would’ve served from being slightly tighter.
Overall, week two of Fyter Fest was nowhere near as good as week one, but still very solid. The opening tag was tremendous, Taz continues to steal the show, and Jericho did his best to put over a new talent. Some inserts were out of place here (Baker and Darby), but storylines like Dark Order/Colt and Cage/Moxley have some good storytelling behind them. Another special show runs next week, as Cage and Moxley face off at Fight For The Fallen.
