All Elite Wrestling’s Fyter Fest, originally scheduled to be in London, England, has now been broken down into two nights on July 1 and July 8, due to the worldwide COVID 19 pandemic, and will take place during the regular AEW Dynamite timeslot.
With a stacked card of eleven matches, here are my comments on each match and some predictions for the outcome.
NIGHT ONE (JULY 1)
Private Party vs. Santana and Ortiz
These are two up and coming teams on the AEW roster. With Matt Hardy being the corner of Isaiah Cassidy and Marq Quen, this match feels like a continuation of what happened at the Stadium Stampede, when Hardy neutralized Jericho’s compadres by locking Santana in an icebox and tying Ortiz up in a wheelchair.
Santana and Ortiz have dominated the tag division since their debut in AEW alongside the Inner Circle which gives them that proverbial aura of unstoppability, but Cassidy and Quen aren’t sloughes either. I think under Hardy’s tutelage Private Party will pull off the win.
Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy / Luchasaurus) vs. MJF and Wardlow
Maxell Jacob Friedman has not actually been pinned in AEW at all; the only blemish on his record is a tag team match where he wasn’t pinned. Wardlow’s only loss was in a brutal steel cage match against Cody, who did a moonsault off the top of the cage for the pin on “Mr. Mayhem”.
The rivalry between MJF and Jungle Boy had been building for weeks leading up to a confrontation at Double or Nothing, in which MJF won with a very technical cover. But the other developing story was between the two big men or either side; it was only a matter of time before they faced each other. Wardlow walked away with a win during a lumberjack match against Luchasaurus on a recent episode of Dynamite.
I think this match could stand out as a potential dark horse candidate, and the outcome could go either way, but I think Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus will pick up the win.
Hikaru Shida vs. Penelope Ford (AEW Women’s Championship)
Shida has had an impressive record in AEW since the beginning of 2020, sitting as the number one contender for 12 straight weeks which culminated in her beating Nila Rose at Double or Nothing for the women’s title.
Having just begun her reign and this being her first title defense since that pay per view, it’s unlikely that Shida would lose to Ford, who has emerged very impressive since coming to AEW and pairing with her fiance Kip Sabian on screen.
Cody vs Jake Hager (TNT Championship)
While it may be technically a secondary title, AEW has made an effort to bill the TNT Championship having equal importance in the promotion as the World title. Judging from the confrontation and recent press conference between current champ Cody and the Inner Circle’s Jake Hager, that looks like the direction AEW is going with this title.
I still think the odds are stacked in favour of Cody retaining; the title needs to be built up to some credibility and him defending it every night, even against talent outside of AEW, is a good way of doing that. But Hager has proven himself to be a force, his title match against Jon Moxley showed the brutality he is capable of in a match built up in this manner.
My prediction is Cody retains, but Hager could end up surprising us all.
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page vs. Best Friends (AEW Tag Team Championship)
This match may last close to an hour if AEW permits such a time limit. Even though they are both successful singles competitors, Omega and Page have shown that they gel very well as a team even though I expect that they will both clash at some point when the team inevitably breaks up.
Did I think Trent Baretta and Chuck Taylor would be the team to do it? That would have been harder to say when I first saw them as a tag team. I thought the hugging was a bit goofy and they looked more like a comedy act than an actually serious tag team for title contention.
However, the Best Friends have really started to come into their own in the AEW environment; the pairing with Orange Cassidy actually has reinforced that serious credibility now that Cassidy himself is going one on one with Chris Jericho. Hangman and Omega have held the titles long enough; I think it’s time to pull the trigger on the Best Friends as the faces of the tag division.
NIGHT TWO (JULY 8)
Lance Archer vs Joey Janela
No contest. Archer has just been running amok since his debut, with his only loss being at the finals of the TNT Championship tournament against Cody. Janela may put up more of a fight, but Lance is walking away with the W.
FTR & Young Bucks vs. Butcher and Blade and Lucha Brothers
Since making their debut on the promotion under new names, Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler have put the tag division on notice, with everyone anticipating a confrontation with Matt and Nick Jackson at some point.
FTR already has a win over Butcher and Blade, so I’m more interested to see how they would interact with Pentagon and Rey Fenix due to the contrasting styles. In the end, I’m sure FTR and the Bucks are walking away with a win, only because it serves to advance the build for their eventual match going forward.
Colt Cabana and Dark Order vs. SCU
You can imagine the story they’re constructing here with Cabana teaming with Brodie Lee of the Dark Order; Colt is rebounding after a series of losses and now he has to face off against friends of his, So Cal Uncensored.
I’m more interested in the involvement of Stu Grayson in this match. Since the Dark Order debuted on AEW, it was Evil Uno that had mostly been the face of that faction prior to Brodie Lee being introduced as the Exalted One. Grayson has always been seen as the enforcer type and I’m interested to see how he factors in during this six man tag match.
On the SCU side, the person to watch is definitely Scorpio Sky since he is being booked as a singles competitor. He and Grayson may be the dark horses in this match, which I think the Dark Order would win. It remains to be seen if Cabana fully joins the Dark Order or do they intend to keep this storyline going on for a few more weeks.
Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy
“Le Champion” is a 30 year veteran of the wrestling business, and one of the positive things that has emerged during his current run with AEW has been Jericho’s ability to elevate some younger talent, such as Scorpio Sky, Hangman Page and Darby Allin. But Orange Cassidy is one of the strangest gimmicks I’ve ever seen in over 20 years of being a wrestling fan.
He’s basically a slacker who puts little to no effort in wrestling yet somehow has gotten over, but he has shown he can have a good match; look at his battle with PAC at Revolution earlier this year. The brawl Orange had with Jericho on the last regular episode of Dynamite prior to Fyter showed that Cassidy can brawl and “get serious” when the situation calls for it.
I still think Jericho walks away with a win, but it may be due to some underhanded tactic because the point is to make Cassidy look good.
Jon Moxley vs Brian Cage (AEW World Championship)
Finally, the AEW Championship match could go either way. Moxley has had to defend the title the last two times against absolute bruisers like Jake Hager and Brodie Lee, and Brian Cage isn’t making things any easier especially if he’s got Taz acting as his manager.
The former Impact star made his debut as the mystery entrant in the Casino Ladder Match to earn his shot at Mox, and the last few weeks has demonstrated his physical power with Taz’ backing. Moxley may look like his back is against the wall, but as we have seen throughout his career (whether as Moxley or Dean Ambrose), the Champion is, as JR would say, “tougher than a two dollar steak”.
The most likely outcome is Moxley will still retain his title, but it’s not going to be clean or pretty and would likely be another gruesome and physical affair between him and Brian Cage.
An average professional doing the 9-5 grind who really loves wrestling across all platforms. Here's hoping wrestlers finally get some basic workers rights in 2021.
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