AEW Fyter Fest Notes

As fully expected, the satirical references behind this whole event were on full display. The tents were perhaps the most prominent example of that. 

The Buy In 

SCU vs. Best Friends vs. Private Party

Mark my words, Private Party will be breakout stars in AEW over the next 12 months. 

The Best Friends get the win To advance to All Out for an opportunity at a first round bye in the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament.

Post-match, the Dark Order appeared on the screen and proceeded to call out the Best Friends. The lights went out and the Dark Order’s masked minions surrounded the ring. 

Eventually, the masked minions disappeared. 

This was an excellent match to serve as an introduction to the entire event.

Allie vs. Leva Bates (with Peter Avalon)

I've enjoyed the vast majority of the AEW product, but this librarian gimmick is far too silly and serves little to no purpose. Also, when have you ever met a librarian with blue hair? 

Despite the perplexing gimmick, Leva Bates is a legitimate competitor with plenty of experience. 

Peter’s involvement backfired as Allie took advantage of the distraction to win the match. 

Michael Nakazawa vs. Alex Jebailey in a hardcore match

As expected, Nakazawa brought with him a bottle of baby oil and proceeded to spray it everywhere. It was an embarrassingly awful match that did not invoke any laughter or true entertainment. 

The second the commentary team started talking about Michael's thong, I groaned and nearly turned off the show. 

Let's hope AEW scraps these useless "comedy" inspired matches and gimmicks. It's not going to win over any new fans.  

I understand the philosophy of the promotion is that of a buffet where there's something for everyone, but these matches serve no purpose.

Outside of the tag-match, the Buy-In was silly and underwhelming. 

The Main Card 

Christopher Daniels vs CIMA kicked  off the main card. 

CIMA earns the pinfall victory on Christopher Daniels after hitting the Meteora. CIMA redeems himself as the loss at Double or Nothing. Now, he moves on to face Kenny Omega at Fight for the Fallen.

A solid opening match between two veterans. 

Nyla Rose vs. Riho vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Many inventive spots throughout this match.

Riho pulled a quick one over Nyla Rose after rolling her up for the victory.

Based on Yuka’s disappointment, you can understand why wins and losses actually matter.  

Hangman Page vs. MJF vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Jungle Boy

The President of his own fan club, MJF was first out and immediately asked for a microphone. 

“That mother whose basement you live in, she swallows.” Wow. 

The comparison Jim Ross made between MJF and a young Paul Heyman is actually fairly accurate.

MJF: "I used to love video games and then I lost my virginity." 

Jungle Boy then made his entrance sitting on the shoulders of Luchasaurus 

Adam Page came out last and as Jim Ross stated, he made the BMF walk. Bad Mother Shut Your Mouth. 

Jungle Boy just a hit a hanging cannonball moonsault. I've never seen that before. Thought he cracked his head on the ring post. 

Hangman Page pinned Jimmy Havoc following the Dead Eye. 

He's bound to become a big star.

Cody vs. Darby Allin

Darby Allin is a punk rock version of Jesse Pinkman after Jane died. Completely devoid of emotion. 

I love the story behind this match. 

Cody has a big upcoming match and took this match against Darby Allin as a bit of a warm-up, but Allin is dangerous enough of an opponent to potentially beat him or at least hurt him. It feels like a very realistic UFC scenario.

Jon Moxley spoke very highly of Darby Allin following their match together and I can totally understand why. Darby is extremely unique I feel immediate sympathy for him when he's getting beat up.  Jim Ross also did an excellent job of highlighting his tenacity and heart. 

At one point, Allin went for the Coffin Drop and hit the edge of the ring. He will feel that tomorrow morning.

Darby Allin survived a complete beatdown by Cody. The match hit the time limit. 

Shawn Spears showed up post-match and nailed Cody in the hit with a chair. He didn't even get his hand up, so it was completely unprotected. Cody was bleeding profusely.

There’s a reason why unprotected chair shots were banished and deservingly so.

With the somber tone of the commentary team coupled with the fact the chair shot was repeatedly shown on replay, one has to wonder if this was intended all along for storyline purposes meaning that the chair was partially gimmicked? 

Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers & Laredo Kid

The Elite paid homage to Street Fighter with their ring gear and entrances. 

As expected, it was a high-octane match featuring many outstanding spots. Devoid of psychology? Absolutely, but the fans ate it up. It will never not be fun to witness.

Mind you, it was quite difficult to follow as I frequently had to ask myself who the legal men were. The referee clearly had the same difficult as me. 

I simply love the Lucha Bros. 

Kenny Omega pinned Laredo Kid with the One-Winged Angel. 

Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janela (Non-Sanctioned Match) 

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Justin Roberts positioned this non-sanctioned match. Noted that the event was over, the lights will go off, but when they come back on, it will be a non-sanctioned match.

Moxley entered to an overwhelmingly positive reaction.

Jim Ross compared Jon Moxley to a modern day Terry Funk and that’s very fair. 

Moxley brought out a chair wrapped with barbed wire which ended up causing damage on both men.

Joey Janela landed a Russian Leg-Sweep on Jon Moxley to the outside of the ring through a table. Both men took a rough landing. 

Moxley brought out a table covered in barbed wire, but he ended up going through it instead too.

Remember when Seth Rollins claimed that Jon Moxley took his ball and went home? 

Moxley is currently taking bumps through barbed wire tables. Not exactly taking it easy and giving up.

Jon Moxley just poured out hundreds of thumbtacks and removed Joey Janela's boots so they could dig into his feet. After slamming Janela into the thumbtacks on multiple occasions, Jon pinned the Bad Boy and was crowned the winner, though it is non-sanctioned. 

Moxley is sadistic. 

911: "What's your emergency?"

Me: "Jon Moxley is currently murdering Joey Janela." 

Kenny Omega ran down to attack Jon Moxley. Retribution for the attack at Double or Nothing. Moxley was smiling though. 

Final Thoughts

Outside of the tag-match, the Buy-In was silly and underwhelming, but the main card was far better. This was a noticeable step down from Double or Nothing, but the event still offered some memorable matches and moments.

𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: Lucha Bros & Laredo Kid vs. The Elite (Young Bucks & Kenny Omega)

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲: B or less