Fyter Fest was another step forward for All Elite Wrestling because of its storytelling and buffet approach to presenting pro wrestling.
The free Saturday night show, which wasn’t as good as May’s Double or Nothing, which cost $50, was a solid introduction to the company’s product if you did not put the money down the first time. There were a few missteps, but the show felt like 1990s wrestling and gave you a reason to tune into AEW’s next two announced shows.
Here are four takeaways from AEW’s second official show.
Don’t Chair Do That Again
Cody Rhodes’ match with the debuting Darby Allin was everything we hoped to get from AEW. The two wrestled a match that felt unique, including a spot with a body bag, and ended in a time-limit draw, which is not often seen in the industry today. Rhodes went for the pin with two seconds left in the match and the bell rang before the ref could count to three, which elevated both participants.
When it was over, Shawn Spears (formerly known as Tye Dillinger in WWE) turned heel by delivering an “unprotected” chair shot to Rhodes’ head.
AEW said it tried to do everything it could to protect Rhodes, despite the ill-advised decision to approve the spot, which was criticized across social media. AEW reps told the media after the event that the chair used was “gimmicked.” A closer look shows the chair likely was pre-dented and Spears hit Rhodes on the left side and not square on — resulting in Rhodes bleeding from the back of his head.
Jim Ross, who had a good night overall on commentary, even spoke about concussion protocol and CTE after on the broadcast. AEW President Tony Khan told the media how the aftermath of the chair shot was handled backstage.
”Call the doctor immediately. It’s obviously really regrettable what happened,” Khan said. “I don’t know if this is the time to go into detail about what happened, but we had taken precautions in this situation, in that specific situation, and a doctor was available. Cody does not have a concussion — he has staples — and we’re all very grateful for that.”
The lesson here is that no matter how safe you try to be, chair shots to the head (which are banned in WWE) are not worth the risk. The spot appeared to go wrong when Rhodes’ head got caught in the space between the backrest and the seat. Rhodes needed 12 staples to close the wound in the back of his head. AEW tweeted a photo of him to let the public know Rhodes was OK.
”All I’m going to say to you guys on it right now, and I will talk about it more in detail, but you could build the safest airplane in the world and if there’s pilot error, there’s pilot error,” Khan said. “That was not good. So, yeah.”
I understand AEW wants to be different, but a simple chair to the back would have had the same effect. The focus would be on how good of a show Fyter Fest was and not about the conversational chair shot. Let’s hope AEW learned its lesson and moves on.
Monday Night Wars era ending
Double or Nothing ended with Jon Moxley attacking Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. It was only fitting that Fyter Fest ended with Omega running from the back to jump Moxley, who just finished beating Joey Janela in an “unsanctioned” match that included thumb tacks, barbed wire and a leap off a ladder in the ring into two tables.
With Omega and Moxley set to face each other at All Out, it was the ending the show needed. Instead of leaving us with a wrestler standing victorious in the ring or staring up the ramp in pain after losing, AEW has given us story-building and feud-building moments. Omega even used the guitar and drumsticks from backstage as part of the beatdown after he was unable to get a real band to play them. Moxley laughing and smiling on the floor when it was over was a great touch.
It all felt like something we would have seen from a WCW and WWF pay-per-view in the late ’90s, which has plenty to do with AEW’s business model. It doesn’t have its pay-per-views as part of a network subscription, as WWE does, so it needs to build anticipation for each show to compel people to buy it.
Stories to tell
AEW continues to do an amazing job telling coherent stories. Hangman Page putting MJF in the sharpshooter was a callback to the interrupted Bret Hart title presentation from Double or Nothing. Spears’ chair shot to Cody was sparked by the American Nightmare calling the former WWE superstar “a good hand” (a five, not a perfect 10) during a YouTube segment in the leadup to the event.
The Dark Order’s minions showed up for a second time when the lights went out to confront the Best Friends, fully establishing how they will be used. I’m sure this won’t be the last time we see a Librarian reading a book outside the ring, and the show closed with pushing Omega-Moxley forward.
It’s in the details
There were still one too many weird camera camera angles, including one on a dive to the outside that was close up instead of a wider shot, keeping the viewer from seeing it. They didn’t get the abrupt pull-back shot on the Best Friends’ hug right; instead it was a slow zoom out. Stuff like that doesn’t get the talent over how you would like.
AEW is trying something with the Librarians, but from the crowd reaction, I’m not sure the shushing and Peter Avalon turning the page of a book to interfere during Leva Bates’ match with Allie is going over. It’s a work in progress, and this try didn’t hit the mark.
Finally, Janela-Moxley was billed as an “unsanctioned” match, and the audience was told that when the lights went out and back on, the official AEW show had ended. Still, the match had the pyro, AEW graphics during their entrances and the ref had an AEW patch on. If you are going to make a big deal about it being unsanctioned, go all the way with it.
