TJR: AEW (Dynamite) Fyter Fest Part 1 07/01/20 Review
Welcome to the AEW Dynamite review on TJRWrestling although this week there’s a chance to the show because it’s AEW Fyter Fest part one. They’re doing a two-week Fyter Fest special that has a lineup almost like a pay-per-view card, so it feels bigger than a regular edition of Dynamite.
This is episode #40 of AEW Dynamite from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. Thanks to Melo Man for the banner up top. Here’s my AEW Dynamite TV review archive.
There was a show opening video package hyping up this week’s special Fyter Fest edition of Dynamite.
There was pyro display at the start of the show as they were at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville once again. They removed the “Dynamite” name for this week and set up the Fyter Fest logos everywhere. No masks on the people in the crowd. AEW does a test for the Coronavirus before every show they have and we’ve yet to hear of a positive case there, so that’s good to know. Hello random busty blonde girl in a bikini and other girls in bikinis on chairs in the building.
Chris Jericho made his entrance with a Canadian jacket! Yes! Happy Canada Day! The announcers gave a shoutout to Canada Day and for those of us watching on TSN as well, so thanks for that. Jericho joined the commentary team of Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur to call the action. Jericho trashed Excalibur for being a masked idiot. I still don’t know why an announcer needs to wear a mask. I realize that Excalibur used to be a wrestler, but when he stopped wrestling he probably should have stopped wearing a mask.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his entrance with Wardlow. MJF had on a unique looking robe on his way to the ring. Replays were shown of last week when Wardlow beat Luchasaurus in a Lumberjack Match. MJF said that he’s sick and tired of having to beat these guys over and over again. MJF pointed out that “dino douche” is real green and he’s not talking about the color of his tongue. MJF said he gave Jungle Boy the greatest match he’ll ever have in his career at Double or Nothing and ripped on Jungle Boy for being a rich kid. MJF said that this match is happening because “we’re in a ratings war” and how can you expect to get a W without MJF? Good point.
Analysis: An entertaining heel promo from MJF as well. It’s weird to have a wrestler mention a “ratings war” in a promo, but that’s AEW catering to the fans that care about that stuff.
Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy entered with the little man Marko Stunt joining them at ringside.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow vs. Jurassic Express – Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus (w/Marko Stunt)
Boy with a huge clothesline on MJF. Boy went for a reverse hurricanrana on the apron, but Wardlow was there to punch him and send him face first into the ring post. Great bump there. MJF with an overhead belly to belly suplex across the ring. Wardlow tagged in with an overhead suplex on Boy as JR noted that MJF and Wardlow are combined 17-2 in AEW while noting that MJF has never been pinned or submitted. Boy sent MJF into the turnbuckle and a jumping kick on Wardlow. Boy tagged out, but Wardlow was attacking Stunt, so the referee didn’t see it. MJF with a belly to back suplex on Boy for a two count. Wardlow with a belly to back suplex of his own on Boy. Boy broke free of both heels as Luchasaurus tagged in with a pump kick on Wardlow and a chop on MJF as well. Luchasaurus with a running clothesline on Wardlow and a spinning kick to the face of MJF. Luchasaurus avoided Wardlow, two kicks to the head a legsweep. Luchasaurus kicked MJF into the corner, Wardlow tagged back in and they exchanged punches. Luchasaurus bounced off the ropes leading to a jumping kick to the head. Wardlow with a suplex into a slam. Luchasaurus picked up Wardlow and hit a running slam that looked impressive. Boy tagged in against MJF with Boy hitting a clothesline to the floor, then a suicide dive and Boy hit another suicide dive. Boy ran the ropes again leading to a somersault dive over the top onto MJF in what was an impressive flurry of offense. Wardlow went over to Boy to try to attack, Boy avoided that and Luchasaurus went off the middle ropes and flipped over the top onto Wardlow on the floor. Impressive move by the big man! Back in the ring, Luchasaurus picked up MJF into a Cutter by Boy for a two count as Wardlow broke up the pin. Wardlow was the illegal man as he hit a step up hurricanrana and then Boy went in with a Poison Rana. Wardlow hit a running clothesline on Boy. Wardlow was the illegal man in the ring way past the ten-second count that is supposed to be enforced, but it’s AEW where they ignore that sort of thing. MJF with an eye poke, then he charged in, Luchasaurus hit a Powerbomb and MJF no sold it leading to a superkick. Then MJF sold it at that point. All four guys did kip ups, Luchasaurus hit a clothesline and Boy went across the backs of Luchasaurus and Wardlow leading to a super Canadian Destroyer on MJF. That was really good! Jericho yelled “Happy Canada Day” for that move. There was a spot where Stunt jumped onto Wardlow, so Wardlow caught him and threw him onto Boy. MJF hit a low blow on Luchasaurus into a rollup for two. Wardlow tagged in (the first tag after about three minutes where all four guys were in the ring doing spots), went up top and hit a Senton Bomb for a two count. MJF put on his Dynamite Diamond ring, Luchasaurus avoided it, kicked Luchasaurus into Wardlow and MJF may have hit Wardlow unintentionally. Boy pulled MJF out of the ring. Luchasaurus with two kicks to the face of Wardlow, Boy into the ring illegally with a swinging DDT and Luchasaurus with a Chokeslam, kick to the chest and a standing moonsault for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus
Analysis: ***3/4 This was a great match that was all action and it gave Jurassic Express a much-needed win because it feels like they lose too often. I think Luchasaurus should have went for the pin after the Chokeslam instead of after the standing moonsault because the Chokeslam is more effective as a finisher. Wardlow is really impressive for a bigger, muscular dude that can move around the ring easily and keep up with the smaller guys. MJF and Jungle Boy worked great together as always. It was an entertaining match. I can’t go higher on the rating because once again it’s an AEW tag team match where they ignore the rules. In the last few minutes, they had all four guys in the ring without trying to get anybody out of the ring. Why even have a regular tag team match? Just go with tornado rules if it’s going to be that way. I know this lack of tag team rules has to bother some people in the company, but they don’t seem to want to do anything about it.
Post match, MJF and Wardlow were both frustrated about the loss. There was a spot in the match where MJF yelled at Wardlow about how he can’t do anything right.
Analysis: It feels like too soon to break them up, but you know it’s coming at some point as AEW keeps on putting Wardlow in the ring and he’s got a bright future just like MJF does. I just think MJF is better with a heater/bodyguard watching his back than he would be without somebody by his side.
(Commercial)
There was a commercial promoting AEW Puppy Battle Royale next week. There were cute dogs playing in a “ring” to promote it. That’s lovely.
The show returned with Lance Archer getting into a fight with Joey Janela, who was being held back by his friend Sonny Kiss, while Jake Roberts laughed about it. It’s Archer vs. Janela next week.
Analysis: Archer went from being an unbeatable monster that was in one of the biggest matches at Double or Nothing to a guy that had nothing to do for a month and now he’s feuding with Janela, who really hasn’t done much in AEW. Big drop off for Archer. The same can be said about Brodie Lee too.
The announcers were there to hype the rest of the show. Jim Ross said that Jericho had a Don Cherry-like Canada jacket. If you don’t know, Cherry is a famous former hockey commentator in Canada that was known partly for wearing his extravagant jackets.
There was a video package promoting Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford for the AEW Women’s Title with the AEW announce team talking about the match while noting how dangerous Ford is and putting over Shida as a tough champion.
Penelope Ford entered with fiancé Kip Sabian. She’s got silver color hair instead of the usual blonde that she used to have. Hikaru Shida entered as a champion with an impressive 12-1 record in AEW in 2020. The match was about to begin, Sabian got into a shoving match and referee Aubrey Edwards ejected Sabian from ringside. Sabian stole Shida’s kendo stick and took it to the back.
AEW Women’s Champion: Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford
Shida with a running knee, then she sent Ford into the turnbuckle and Ford avoided an attack leading to Ford getting a two count. Ford to the floor, so Shida hit a running baseball slide dropkick. Ford with a hard whip into the barricade. Thank you Ford for going back in the ring to break up the count. Shida set up Ford on the apron and then hit a running knee lift. Ford slammed Shida’s head into the turnbuckle multiple times. Ford with a handspring back elbow onto Shida, Ford with a boot to the face and a German Suplex for two. Ford with punches to the face.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Ford in control with a chinlock. Jericho put over Ford for some back raking and hair pulling while adding that’s how you win the match of your life. Shida went for a suplex, Ford countered and hit a reverse DDT for two. Ford and Shida exchanged punches, Shida with knee lifts to the face and a step up enziguri. Shida off the ropes and Ford hit a pump kick. Shida blocked a Stunner attempt and then she stretched Ford across the knee. Shida with a slam off the shoulder into a backbreaker for two. Shida hit a Falcon Arrow slam, but Ford countered into a rollup on top for a two count. That was a cool spot. Shida with a running knee to the face, Shida went up top and she missed a dropkick because Ford bent back to avoid it. Ford hit a Stunner that didn’t look very good, but Shida sold it anyway leading to a two count for Ford. Ford left the ring to grab the Women’s Title, the referee checked on that, Sabian went into the ring, Shida avoided Sabian attacking with a kendo stick and Shida hit Sabian with the kendo stick to knock him out of the ring. Ford back in the ring with a handspring cartwheel off the ropes right into another Stunner for a two count. That Stunner looked better than the one before it. Ford went up top, she took way too long, jumped way too far and Shida avoided it. Shida with a running knee to the back and a running knee to the face. Shida hit the Falcon Arrow slam for just a two count. Shida was shocked and so were the announcers. Shida hit another running knee to the face for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Hikaru Shida
Analysis: ***1/2 This was really good with Shida continuing to impress in the ring while Ford was able to keep up with her. I say it that way because Shida is the more established wrestler, Ford is still developing and when I watch Ford wrestle now, she looks better every week. Ford was on offense for most of it, Shida is great at selling and made a strong comeback for the pinfall win. The running knees do a feel bit repetitive, but having Ford kick out of the Falcon Arrow was big for her. At least Shida won with another knee strike to the face after she did the move multiple times before that as well.
Post match, Shida celebrated with the title while they put over Ford for a great performance. I agree. Ford did really well here.
There was a video with Taz talking about the Paradigm Shift that Jon Moxley uses as his finisher while saying that it will be difficult for him to do it on Brian Cage due to Cage’s thick neck.
(Commercial)
Jake Hager made his entrance and he was joined by his lovely wife Catalina. Hager is part of Jericho’s Inner Circle group. Cody was up next with Arn Anderson as his coach/manager and Cody was the first-ever TNT Champion. Cody was wearing a shirt that said “The American Nightmare Cody” on it and it was written in the same styles as the “Great American Bash” logo, so it was a bit of a shot at WWE using the GAB name although his dad Dusty came up with the name. I can understand why Cody did it.
This will be Cody’s fourth title defense in five weeks as Excalibur tried to tell us that was an intense schedule. Working once a week is not intense, but I understand trying to tell a story about having many title defenses. It could also be part of Cody’s rumored heel turn. After all, Ric Flair used to defend his titles seven days a week for many years. Many champions in history worked much more grueling schedules. Just saying. Jericho got into a rant about wanting to knock out Mike Tyson as well. JR noted that these two men are 16-2 in AEW in singles matches. Jake’s nickname is now “Rock Hard” Jake Hager instead of the “Big Hurt” that they were calling him in the past.
TNT Championship: Cody (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Jake Hager (w/Catalina Hager)
Cody with a running clothesline attempt, Hager caught the boot of Cody and slammed him down. Cody slapped on a side headlock, then off the ropes and into a shoulder tackle from Hager. Hager sent Cody into the corner followed by punches to the ribs. Cody came back with a sunset flip attempt. They battled over slapping on an Ankle Lock and then they faced off again. Anderson did a slight distraction, Hager turned his attention to Anderson, so Cody jumped off the top with a double axehandle to knock down Hager on the floor. Back in the ring, Cody with a drop toe hold, then a takedown and Cody slapped on a Figure Four Leglock with Hager quickly getting to the ropes. Cody went for a springboard attack, Hager caught him and slammed him down. Cody to the floor, Hager went after Arn on the floor with some choking, Cody went over there and Hager hit a German Suplex on the floor.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Hager still in control. Hager with a knee to the ribs followed by Cody sending him out of the ring. Anderson stood in front of Hager to prevent a whip into the ring post and then Cody sent Hager into the ring post. Hager slapped on a head/arm choke, Cody bounced off the rope to try to get out, which didn’t work at first and Cody hit a jawbreaker. When Excalibur said “cranium” Jericho yelled wondering what that was, Excalibur said head, Jericho said yeah. That was funny. Anyway, Cody went up top and hit a sweet looking Cutter off the top with Jericho calling it the TSN Turning Point! Happy Canada Day! For those not in Canada, on TSN sports broadcasts they would always have the “TSN Turning Point” after a game to highlight a key moment. It was funny to hear Jericho reference that. Cody with a pump kick, then a punch and Hager ran right into a powerslam for two. Hager got his feet up to knock down Cody and then hit a Vader Bomb (Jericho called it a “Hager Bomb”) splash off the ropes. Hager tossed Cody across the ring. Hager went for an attack off the ropes, Cody got the boots up and Cody hit a reverse DDT for a two count. Cody went up top and Hager hit a belly to belly throw across the ring. Hager slapped on a weak looking ankle lock with Cody getting to the bottom rope. Catalina slapped Cody because Arn was on the apron for some reason, which distracted the referee. With the referee still distracted, Dustin Rhodes showed up and slapped Hager. Even with Dustin showing up, Hager hit a uranage into a slam, but Cody rolled over and held Hager down for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Cody
Analysis: ***1/4 This was a solid match that I thought would be better than what they did here. It felt like just a good midcard match rather than a major title match. They could have done a better job selling body parts or building up sympathy spots for the babyface Cody. I would have like to see Hager get more offense. There have been rumors of Cody possibly turning heel, which was teased here again by how he won this match, so I think that heel turn is going to happen at some point soon. The appearance by Dustin did make it look like a cheap win for Cody, but I don’t know if that’s the intent here. I’m just saying it was a bit of a weird finish in terms of how it was booked.
Post match, Hager thought he won with a submission while Jericho complained that it was a 3 on 1 match. Cody was announced as the winner. Hager had Cody in an arm triangle, so he thought he won because of that. The referee argued with Hager about that, so Hager punched him in the face and the referee sold it like he was knocked out. There were other referees and backstage agents like Jerry Lynn that went to the ring to check on the referee.
Analysis: They try to portray Hager as this badass heel, but when I watch his matches it’s tough to buy into it. Punching a referee isn’t going to do much either.
Darby Allin was shown in a phone booth saying he was not medically cleared. Allin was shown on his skateboard at a skate park with some other guys doing some skating stunts.
Analysis: I liked his matches, but he hasn’t been in the ring for a long time now. I’m not going to break down the skating moves. I haven’t played a Tony Hawk skateboard video game in about 15 years.
Orange Cassidy showed up with a steel chair and he sat beside the commentary table. Jericho talked trash about Cassidy the “dipshit” and said he’s calm now.
Santana and Ortiz from the Inner Circle were up next for a tag team match. They are 6-4 in their AEW careers. Jericho said Santana and Ortiz are super underrated and future champions. The Private Party team of Marq Quen and Isaiah Kassidy are 4-2 in 2020 and they are joined by Matt Hardy as their mentor.
Santana and Ortiz vs. Private Party (Marq Quen and Isaiah Kassidy) w/Matt Hardy
The match was fast paced early with Kassidy jumping onto Quen’s back onto both opponents on the floor. Quen with a standing moonsault press on Santana and a moonsault off the ropes for two. Kassidy tagged in with a step up enziguri for two. Santana with chops on Kassidy, Ortiz tagged in and hit a DDT with Santana hitting a German Suplex. Ortiz trapped Kassidy on the mat in an octopus stretch. Ortiz with a chop on Kassidy.
(Commercial)
The match returned with Quen as the face in peril as Santana slapped on an abdominal stretch on Quen. JR mentioned that Ortiz had ten seconds to get out of the ring. Why don’t they say this earlier in the show when guys were in the ring for like three minutes without any tags in the opening match? I just want some consistency. Kassidy made the tag, Ortiz tagged in and Kassidy hit Santana with forearms to the face. Kassidy hit a neckbreaker on Ortiz on the apron. Santana was in the ring until Kassidy hit him out of the ring and Kassidy hit a twisting dive over the top onto both opponents on the floor. Good move there. Kassidy went up top and hit a senton bomb on the back of Ortiz for a two count. That’s a popular move on this show. Quen went up top, then he slipped up a bit and Santana was in the ring illegally with a Cutter, which is another popular move. Ortiz wit ha Powerbomb, Santana sent Quen into the ropes and Santana hit a cannonball splash on Quen. Double team slam by Santana and Ortiz for two. Santana sent Kassidy out of the ring with Santana whipping Kassidy into the barricade. Hardy took a sock with baseballs in it and Quen got a rollup on Santana. Quen with another rollup on Santana for two. Quen prevented a double move, then Kassidy with a backbreaker on Ortiz and Quen charged in with a hurricanrana on Santana into a Cutter by Kassidy and that was the Gin N Juice, which was enough to get the pinfall win after 11 minutes. Ortiz nearly broke it up, but he was a bit too slow.
Winners by pinfall: Private Party (Marq Quen and Isaiah Kassidy)
Analysis: **3/4 This was good most of the way, but it was hard to get into it. They need to do something where Queen or Kassidy is the face in peril for longer, make that hot tag mean something more and then go into the big spots to get the crowd into it. Santana and Ortiz are a great heel team, but it just seemed off in terms of the match structure. The finish looked good as a double team finisher. I’m actually surprised that they followed the rules as much as they did compared to other tag team matches on this show.
Jericho was ranting about how this was a shit night for him after Hager lost and Santana & Ortiz lost. Kassidy went over to the commentary table to dance in front of Jericho, so Jericho threw some water at him. Jericho threw some water at Orange Cassidy as well. Jericho went after Cassidy, who walked away and was “restrained” even though he did nothing to look like he was going to fight. Jericho was very over the top as five or six guys held him back.
Analysis: Jericho vs. Cassidy is a big match on Fyter Fest next week.
(Commercial)
The AEW Tag Team Champions Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page were interviewed by Dasha Gonzalez. Page said he liked Best Friends and he thought they deserved a title shot, but now that they’re in the ring with the titles on the line, the word “deserve” tries up. Kenny said that week after week after week they have defeated every team this division has thrown at them and this week will be no different. Kenny said that they will bid you adieu after the match.
Analysis: That was a faulty promo because they haven’t defended the titles that much at all. They had one title defense in June, one in May and before that was the Revolution PPV in February, which was a classic. They didn’t defend for two months due to the pandemic. I just think it’s strange to say you have beat people week after week when there haven’t been a lot of matches.
Next week on Fyter Fest on TNT:
* Nyla Rose in action
* SCU (Frankie Kazarian, Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky) vs. Mr. Brodie Lee, Colt Cabana and Stu Grayson
* Joey Janela vs. Lance Archer
* Private Party will get an AEW Tag Team Title match against the champions next week.
* Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
* Young Bucks and FTR vs. Lucha Brothers and The Butcher & The Blade
In two weeks on Fight for the Fallen, Jon Moxley will defend the AEW World Title against Brian Cage.
Analysis: The lineup for this week’s Fyter Fest was stronger going into the show. I am looking forward to Jericho vs. Cassidy just to see how it’s booked and the eight-man tag should be great.
Brian Cage entered with his manager Taz holding a microphone. They went into the ring for a promo. JR: “If I was Brian Cage, I would never wear a shirt.” Excalibur: “He barely does.” That’s analysis.
Taz said that the cat’s out of the bag because now everybody knows that on July 15 at Fight for the Fallen, Cage will get an opportunity at AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. Taz said that people might think they are pissed off that Mox politicked and bought himself some time. Taz said that he had a nice, healthy conversation earlier today with Tony Khan. Taz said that in his conversation with Khan, Mox is concerned with the health and well being of the crew in WWE. Taz said that as Mox has been at home, he’s been tested negative on both tests. Taz said that if Mox got to AEW next week (what he didn’t say is next week’s show is taped today on Thursday) you would get tested again as Taz said: “We don’t run a sloppy shop.” That’s a direct shot at WWE’s previous lack of aggressive Coronavirus testing. Cage did a hand motion as if he was shooting a guy to say that Taz was “shooting” there. Taz said that Mox has a case of one thing – the chickenshits. Taz said that Mox is afraid of Cage and he should be because Cage will beat his brains in and take that championship from Mox’s dumbass. Taz said that at Fight for the Fallen on the 15th of July, who better than Brian Cage to be AEW World Champion? They left.
Analysis: That was a great promo. Of course they took a shot at WWE because they are probably mad that Moxley can’t be there. Thee reason there was no Mox is because his wife Renee Young tested positive for coronavirus, Moxley stayed home with her and even though he tested negative at least twice, he wanted to stay home just in case he had any chance of having the Coronavirus. By waiting to work for AEW again on July 15, it will be after over two weeks of being in quarantine. I believe Renee is doing better already and I hope Moxley will be healthy too. The Coronavirus is not a death sentence obviously, but it’s still something to worry about as we enter our fourth month of dealing with it. I’m a big fan of the promo delivery of Taz. That was very effective.
(Commercial)
There was no more Chris Jericho on commentary.
There was a shot of a parking lot as a car drove up to the arena. Excalibur told us that it was Trent’s mom Sue and she had Chuck Taylor and Trent with her. Sue told them to have fun and gave Trent a kiss on the cheek. That was pretty funny. That was a nice touch. “They were driven to the ring by Trent’s mom” was part of the introduction and they are 10-3 in 2020 including a seven match win streak.
Analysis: This is when the stats are very effective. You are telling the audience that this team is on a roll with seven straight wins and a great record in 2020, which is how they have earned the title shot. Using stats to tell a story is something they need to do more of.
The man known as “Hangman” Adam Page was up first for the AEW Tag Team Champions and they are 8-0 as a tag team. Kenny Omega was up last for his team. The announcers were kissing Omega’s ass, Excalibur said “five, six and seven star” matches while JR responded: “Let’s not get carried away, mark.” I laughed. It’s weird how much they reference that stuff. I don’t think it should be referenced the way AEW does too often. Allow me a bit of a rant here.
Analysis: This is not a shot at Dave, who I like and respect a lot. He’s always been good to me. I’ve subscribed to the newsletter for a long time. I get to vote in the Hall of Fame because he asks me to. I just find the star ratings to be inconsistent. This is the same Meltzer that rated 7 matches in the entire 2000s decade as five stars, yet he had 20 matches at that level in 2019 alone. Isn’t that weird to you? It’s very weird to me. He also has zero Kurt Angle matches at the five star level. I probably have rated at least five or six Angle matches that level. Yes, I use star ratings too as a tool to review matches because I think it’s better than saying “good” or “very good” or “great” and I keep track of the ratings so that I can reference them later. I think it’s important to be objective, to not show favoritism to any company, promotion or wrestler and that’s what I try to do. Furthermore, one person’s five star match is another person’s three star match, so it’s all about personal tastes. Like what you like is what I’m saying. If you’re broadcasting pro wrestling, it’s probably a good idea to not reference it because the average fan at home has no interest in it.
AEW Tag Team Championships: Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Best Friends (Trent and Chuck Taylor)
Taylor and Omega started as they did a lot of counter wrestling to eachother with neither guy getting the advantage. Page and Trent tagged in as they exchanged punches, then Trent took over with a belly to back suplex where Page landed hard on his back. There was a whip into the ropes leading to a double shoulder tackle by Best Friends. Taylor with a brainbuster suplex on Page. Page got out of the corner with a suplex. Omega with a backbreaker on Trent. Page with a high boot on Trent, Kenny with a Kitaro Crusher and Page with a standing Shooting Star Press for a two count. The FTR team of Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler walked out to the stage with beach chairs and a cooler. Omega stomped on Trent against the turnbuckle.
(Commercial)
Page was in control with a clothesline on Trent, then Taylor saved his partner and Trent hit a clothesline. Trent hit a DDT on Omega. FTR were drinking beers. They showed Trent’s mom in the crowd. Taylor sent both opponents out of the ring and hit a somersault dive onto both guys on the floor. Omega with a boot to the face of Taylor, Trent with a suicide dive on Omega and sent Kenny into Omega, who hit a belly to belly suplex into the barricade. Back in the ring, Taylor got a two count on Page. Page with a clothesline that sent Taylor out of the ring and then Page hit a fallaway slam on Trent across the ring. Page went over the top onto Taylor on the floor and then Page decked Trent with a lariat back in the ring. Omega tagged in with a missile dropkick to the back of Trent and then a Fisherman’s Buster got a two count. Omega with a moonsault off the middle ropes with Trent getting his knees. Trent with a running knee on Omega. Taylor with a spike piledriver on Omega for two as Page broke up the pin. Omega with a Snapdragon Suplex, Trent tagged in and Omega hit a Snapdragon Suplex on him too. Omega with another Snapdragon Suplex on Taylor. Page with running clothesline, Omega shoved Taylor into Page with a German Suplex. Page with a Powerbomb and Omega hit a knee to the back for a two count as Page made the cover for two. The announcers were talking about the ten seconds that Omega could stay in the ring, yet he was in there for a lot longer than that. Omega was pulled out of the ring by Taylor, Trent held Page on his back and Chuck went up with a double foot stomp for the Strong Zero double team move for a two count because Omega broke up the pin. Omega with a rising knee to the face, Chuck got out of a One Winged Angel attempt and Chuck hitting a spinning Powerbomb on Omega that looked like Kenny landed hard on his neck, but Kenny was okay from it. Taylor hugged Trent, then Page kicked Taylor out of the ring and it was back to two legal men in the ring. Page with two rolling elbows on Trent and Trent sat on top for a two count. Good nearfall. Page with the Deadeye slam where Trent is on his back and Page drops to his knees. Page hit the Buckshot Lariat on Trent for the pinfall win after about 15 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page
Analysis: ***1/4 This was good, but not as great of a match as I thought they could have. Yes, I had similar comments about other matches on this show too. It was the longest match on the show. The finish felt a bit flat with Trent and Taylor really only getting one or two believable nearfalls. I thought they should have done more leading up to Page getting the win for his team. It just didn’t feel like a big deal when Page won. I’m not sure if they rushed to get the finish in or what happened there. Omega didn’t do as much in this match as I would have liked. It’s tough sometimes when there’s no storyline going into a match and they are two face teams. I’d rather see a match that is built up well with a storyline.
The team of Page and Omega celebrated with the AEW Tag Team Titles.
The FTR team of Harwood and Wheeler went into the ring to offer beers to champions as the winners of the match. Page appreciated the beer and drank some of it. Omega had the beer in his hand, but he doesn’t drink beer so Omega poured the beer onto the mat outside the ring. The FTR team didn’t like that at all. The Young Bucks ran out to the ring to try to stop an altercation from happening. Harwood was mad about Omega not drinking a beer with them. The teams stood in the ring as show ended there.
Analysis: Those three times are likely going to have a big match in the near future. I wonder if it will be a triple threat tag team match or if it’s just FTR going after the titles. I can see FTR as the next champions for sure, but if it’s the Young Bucks then that’s fine too.
Three Stars of the Show
- Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus
- MJF/Wardlow
- Hikaru Shida
The Scoreboard
This week: 7.5 (out of 10)
Last week: 6.75
2020 Average: 7.13
Final Thoughts
There were a lot of good matches from start to finish although I don’t think any one match really stood out. I was hoping for a little more excitement for this Fyter Fest themed show. The philosophy of this company when it comes to tag team wrestling is to just put everybody in the ring whether heel or face, make sure they get all their shit in during a match, ignore the rules far too often and then go to the finish. I’d rather have more defined characters that can tell a story. There were three title matches with no title changes. I was hoping for a Tag Team title change because I think it’s time to unleash Omega and Page as singles wrestlers instead of two singles wrestlers that have been teaming up for seven months.
I liked the Taz promo representing Cage against Moxley. Yes, there was the shot at WWE in there, but it also had a personal feel to it and it’s actually a storyline that works well. The same can be said about Jericho vs. Cassidy for next week. At least there are stories there. Some of the other matches are thrown together without much in the way of storylines, so it’s hard to get into at times. JR calling Excalibur a mark was hilarious too.
Thank you Chris Jericho for wearing that Canadian jacket on Canada Day. You’re the best.
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John Canton
Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter: @johnreport