Applause for a successful AEW’s Fyter Fest Night 1. I was very impressed with the level of television they brought tonight. It’s a good, no, great time to be a wrestling fan. For the first half of the show, Chris Jericho joined Jim Ross, Excalibur, and Tony Schiavone on commentary. It was glorious.
The show kicks off with an amazing opening tag team match with Jurassic Express defeating MJF and Wardlow. Seeds planted for the split between MJF and his bruiser bodyguard. Wardlow is improving with each performance. I am always amazed by big guys who move like lightweights. Great in-ring chemistry from both teams. Luchasuarus is ridiculously fast, agile, and downright stiff. Kudos to an opening match which I can only imagine psyched up the at-home audience.
Hikaru Shida retained the AEW Women’s Championship against Penelope Ford. The women’s division is vastly improving to what it was a year ago. Shida is a strong choice for champion, and Ford was a strong choice for challenger. Now is not the time, but I will predict Ford being a women’s champion in the future. Sabian’s attempted interference backfired. Poor guy.
Cody retains the TNT Championship against Jake Hager. It looks like Hager is slimming down and a bit leaner tonight, but looked slightly winded part-way through. He did exert a lot of “big guy” moves which may have been a contributing factor, but I worry he could be burning out. Again, great match, Cody is the ace when storytelling during a match. Great facial expressions, great energy, it was great. This is one of those matches you just need to watch.
Orange Cassidy joined on commentary, doing nothing, while Jericho lost his mind. After the match, Cassidy nudged over a chair which triggered Jericho, causing a dozen who-knows to hold back Jericho while one or two guys gently tugged at Cassidy’s collar to prevent him from exerting the energy to walk across the stage. This was a tense moment folks. Check it out online. Must-watch brawl.
It is announced in two weeks, at Fight for the Fallen, will be where Brian Cage challenges Moxley for the AEW Championship. WWE may announce Hog Wild or Halloween Havoc to take place on the same night.
Private Party w/Matt Hardy defeated Santana and Ortiz – Holy hell folks. Watch this one. Yes, I’ve heard it. Too much flying, dives, high-risk, blah blah blah. Don’t care. Great match. I enjoyed. You will watch, and you will enjoy. These teams epitomize what makes tag team wrestling fun. Fun characters, close finishes, and some great teamwork. I know, I suck for being unable to give a play by play, but doing so would rob anyone of the enjoyment to watch. You’ve got the internet, watch on TNT or Youtube. Do it. This match will make you enjoy tag team wrestling like you’re a kid again.
Taz has some harsh words. You’ve probably got alert on your smartphone, but holy crap did Taz drop some bombs on a certain company without saying names. Ouch. Taz talked about testing, and how AEW “Doesn’t run a sloppy shop.” Yes, this classifies as shots fired. He shot some more saying Mox is staying home for two weeks just to be sure, and Taz uses it as fodder to hype the title bout. This reminds me of ECW Taz, where he holds back “nuthin’ for no one.”
In the main event of the evening, Kenny Omega and “Hangman” Adam Page retained the AEW World Tag Team Championships against the Best Friends. What will be considered one of the greatest ring entrances of our time, and because 2020 sucks so much we need a lot of humor, Chuckie and Trent arrive to the ring, in a minivan, driven by Trent’s mother. She gives him a good luck kiss, and says “Have Fun!” to her son and best buddy. She is later shown in the stands. Beautiful moment. Just beautiful. This match was beautiful as well.
FTR pulled up some chairs and beers midway through the match. Omega and Page showed how they are on the same page (ha!) and the Best Friends had many oh-so-close moments of becoming champions. I applaud the decision to put Best Friends in the main event. They are fantastic, fun to watch, and the match was long, entertaining, and worth every minute. AEW really shines with their tag team wrestling. It’s enjoyable because the action rarely stops, and guys like Hangman who also, are bigger, but fly like cruiserweights. Omega doling out snapdragons looked painful, although he got planted on his head a few times as well, once via a Scrunchy and another being tossed onto his partner on the floor. Ouch.
As the match ended, FTR offered peace beers to the victors. Of course, Hangman took that right quick, while Kenny, who (if you haven’t been watching BTE, will now know) is “Christian AF” and doesn’t drink alcohol. He pours it out of the ring, which sends Cash Wilder, Dax Harwood, AND Adam Page into a frenzy. Guess Omega is just too naïve, you just don’t spill out a beer like that.
So, a feud which stems from wasting alcohol, likely turn into a series of great matches. Yes please.
Fyter Fest Night 1 earned a 5 out of 5 for me. I enjoyed every moment. It deserves it.
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