After Double or Nothing proved to be a huge success for All Elite Wrestling now it’s time to see how AEW puts on shows when they don’t have months and months to prepare a card. With a headline to mock the failed Fyre Fest, expect some silliness from the matches, but still expect some fantastic wrestling. After Double or Nothing proved to be a huge success for All Elite Wrestling now it’s time to see how AEW puts on shows when they don’t have months and months to prepare a card. With a headline to mock the failed Fyre Fest, expect some silliness from the matches, but still expect some fantastic wrestling.
Fyter Fest comes to us live from the Daytona Beach Ocean Center in Daytona, Florida.
Main Event: Six-Man Tag – Lucha Brothers (Fenix and Pentagon Jr.) and Laredo Kid vs. The Elite (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega)
Matt and Nick comes out as Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter. Some idiot comes out and tries to do Batista’s drumming. The lights go out and we get Akuma’s Raging Demon as Kenny stands over the Batista wannabe. Kenny’s head is dyed pink like Akuma.
Justin Roberts grabs the mic and says “Round one, Fight!” to much applause and we start with Laredo Kid and Nick Jackson. Both men jump around and give that classic Eddie Guerrero/Dean Malinko offensive set. Nick gets mad and all six men get into the ring to face off.
Super Kicks by the Luchas are all blocked and then the Elite are knocked out of the ring and the Lucha trio hit stereo diving moves.
The next few minutes are madness. Laredo Kid hits a few moonsaults. Laredo tags out and the Lucha Brothers can’t beat down Nick who escapes the double team and tags in Matt. Matt hits a few Northern Lights Suplexes in a row. I counted six which includes a double on both Fenix and Pentagon.
Kenny Omega gets the tag in and goes to work on Laredo. After a few minutes of both men trading shots, Kenny goes for Rise of the Terminator but Pentagon cuts him off to remind him that he has “Zero Fear” including Pentagon taking off his right glove, tossing it to the ref and reminding Kenny of said zero fear. He gets the better of the exchange.
Laredo gets in and the Elite unloads on him while the Lucha Brothers are outside the ring and incapacitated. You Can’t Escape is hit followed by a Macho Man Elbow by Matt and a Senton Bomb by Nick Jackson. Omega goes for a stomp cover that’s kicked out of, a Y2J cover if you will.
More insanity ensues and the fight goes out the ring again. A double stomp by Pentagon on Matt Jackson gets a two count. Pentagon’s arm breaker is countered and Matt hits a Canadian Destroyer and spear to allow him to tag in Omega.
Laredo Kid may have gotten a blind tag. We aren’t sure. Kenny hits Laredo with a V-Trigger and snap dragon suplex. Pentagon boost Fenix up over the turnbuckle to take out Jackson and then Laredo Kid goes for another crazy move.
Pentagon hits a Canadian Destroyer after the kickout and the crowd is on their feet. A Superkick Party by all parties takes place. The ELite hit Shoruken’s and triple powerbombs but can’t get a pinfall. Nobody has any idea who is legal right now and Rick Knox is ust letting the wrestlers figure it out.
Nick hits a 450 on both Fenix and Laredo but Pentagon breaks up the pinfall. Fenix eats a spike piledriver and then Nick Jackson eats a Slingblade before Laredo dopkicks Matt Jackson outside the ring. Omega then V-Triggers Laredo . That whole exchange took place in about 15 seconds.
Nick hits a reverse cutter on Fenix and he’s the lone man standing in the ring. “Fight Forever” chant and we’re reminded we have a 30-minute time limit.
An absolutely crazy move I cannot describe took place between everyone not named Kenny Omega and Laredo Kid. Kid goes for a spinning move but Kenny catches him in mid-air with a V-Trigger. We’re at the 20-minute mark and have 10 minutes left.
Kenny hits another V-Trigger and then hits a One-Winged Angel on Laredo Kid. Nobody kicks out of the OWA. Elite takes it.
Winners by submission…The Elite
Match rating: 4.5/5
Kenny talks with Pentagon but don’t come to blows. Kenny high-fives the front row and poses for a few selfies with the crowd. Kenny does his signature “Good Bye and Good Night” pose and leaves the arena. The Lucha Brothers make their way to the back. Not sure if Joey Janella/Jon Moxley match will be available on B/R Live.
Justin Roberts says the lights will go out to end the night officially. When the lights come back on we will have the unsanctioned match with no time limit.
Unsanctioned Dark Match: Jon Moxley vs. Joey Janella
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Moxley and Janella amid the carnage. Photo: AEW.
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This is a spot fest match, but not necessarily in a bad way. The violence goes up and up as the match continues and then the part everyone will remember will be close to the ending. Jon Moxley pulls out some thumbtacks and decides to get extra evil. He takes Joey’s boots off and then proceeds to dump him on the tacks on his bare feet. Even the DDT on the tacks to end the match seemed less brutal by comparison.
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Janella bare feet in the thumb tacks. Photo: AEW.
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After Mox wins, Kenny Omega comes back to attack him as payback for Double or Nothing. Omega uses a set of drum sticks from the band that never showed up to the Fest as one of the final weapons before he leaves the arena for the night.
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Kenny Omega does his best Neil Peart on Moxley. Photo: AEW.
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Summary of the night: Remember that analogy that a good wrestling show should be like a 3-ring circus? If you don’t like trapeze artists you can view the elephants or see the jugglers etc. That was this kind of show.
Fyter Fest had enough of the silliness of the “hardcore” match on the preshow, but still treated it as a competition. That’s what WWE’s 24/7 title should be like. The triple threat women’s match continued to show the diversity of what AEW considers women’s wrestling. While not a real “passing of the torch” moment, Daniels/Cima showed great chemistry. The Fatal Four-Way should be a starting point for a Hangman Page/MJF feud and Cody and Darby Allin showed you don’t need a title or a No. 1 contender’s ranking on the line to have a great match where both men come out better. Even the unsanctioned match which was a spot fest if nothing else, showed that you can still do something hardcore that’s completely allowed on television if you get smart about it. If this is the kind of card that AEW can put forth once a month we could be seeing the dawn of a new golden age of professional wrestling.
Match 1: Singles – Christopher Daniels vs. Cima
Cima kicks out of the Angel’s Wings and hits his double knee from the turnbuckle for the win. Following the match, Daniels and Cima embrace and both men bow to each other.
Match 2: Triple Threat Women’s – Riho vs. Nyla Rose vs. Yuka Sakazaki
A friendly reminder that Riho, who is only 21 years old has been wrestling professionally since the age of eight, making her a 13-year veteran. No joke. She’s also Kenny Omega’s favorite intergender tag partner so you know she’s impressive. Yuka comes out looking like a hybrid of Aladin’s and Princess Jasmine’s attire.
Rose starts off my asserting her dominance and then gets double-teamed, or attempted to get double-teamed because every time the two Japanese ladies try to work together, Rose powers out of the moves.
We get a double Camel Clutch attempt by Rose. This draws boos from the crowd but Riho is able to get the rope break. Nyla bear hugs Yuka and hits a perfect suplex and then tosses Riho out of the ring. Yuka avoids a hit and hits a hurricurana to take Rose out of the ring. Yuka gets hyped and hits a dive off the top rope. Not as cleanly as when Sabu used to do it, but it does its job.
Yuka hits a missile dropkick and the two agile ladies go to work on each other. ROse comes back in and gets a 619 for her efforts. Yuka hits a knee move on Rose and then Riho goes for a stomp. With Rose neutralized the two smaller ladies focus on each other. Rose breaks up the pinfall attempt.
Rose gets a very lackadaisical cover on Yuka that is kicked out at two. Nyla loads her up for a delayed vertical suplex and then focuses on Riho. Riho is dumped on the top ropes and Nyla goes to the top of the turnbuckle. She hits a diving knee strike that gets a huge pop from the crowd. Not sure how to describe the move. Rather than go for the pin, Rose goes for another diving move.
Yuka cuts her off but is dropped for her efforts. Rose goes for a senton bomb that misses. Riho avoids it and gets to the top turnbuckle herself. A diving body press is caught by Rose. Yuka goes for a cross body press of her own and Rose catches her as well.
The momentum is countered. Rose reasserts her force and hits a Beast Bomb. We get two quick pinfall attempts and kickouts. A this is awesome chant starts.
Craziness occurs. Riho is able to counter her leverage to get a flash pin on Rose. Rose tries to beat down Riho afterwards but Yuka saves her “friend”.
Winner by pinfall…Riho
Match rating 4/5
Kip Sabian comes to the announce table and we’re ready for our next match.
Match 3: Fatal Four-Way – MJF vs. Jungle Boy vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. Adam “Hangman” Page
MJF just starts ripping on the “nerds” in the crowd. He’d be right at home in the 1970’s era of pro wrestling for just how good he is at being a jerk I want to punch in the face.Jungle Boy rides into the ring on Luchasaurus’ shoulders.
Page and Jungle Boy start off before Page is knocked out of the ring. Havoc gets in and MJF tries to get a quick pinfall that’s easily kicked out off.
A hanging cannonball moonsault by Jungle Boy is slightly botched but he recovers well and hits all 3 men outside the ring. The announce team says he clipped his leg on the move but covered it up so well.
A bunch of crazy moves by everyone that will be impossible to recap. We get a super suplex involving all four men was the most unique. Finally Page and MJF face off in the center of the ring. They trade shots and the announce team says this could be the start of a great rivalry as both men are still in their middle 20’s.
MJF gets caught for trying to mock Bret Hart. Page turns the move into a Sharpshooter of his own but MJF reaches the ropes for the break. Jungle Boy prevents MJF from getting a cheap win. Luchasaurus keeps Jungle Boy up but Havock catches him and FU’s Havock into Luchasaurus
Havock double stomps MJF for a two-count. Havock’s acid Rainmaker is countered and Page hits a Buckshot Lariat on Havoc after MJF ducks the move. A Dead Eye (formerly the Rite of Passage) on Havock and the Hangman gets the win to continue his momentum for his AEW championship match vs. Y2J.
Winner by pinfall…Hangman Page
Match rating: 4/5
Match 4: Singles – Darby Allin vs. Cody
No title on the line here but Cody needs to realize that Darby is an up and comer with nothing to lose if he can’t beat the American Nightmare while he has everything to gain with a victory. Darby’s face being halfway painted isn’t a jab at Dustin Rhodes’ paint from Double or Nothing. Darby simply believes he’s already halfway dead.
Allin drags a bodybag to the ring that says Cody 1-1 regarding his AEW record should Allin win tonight. Cody comes out with Brandi Rhodes. The announce team says that Darby himself doesn’t believe he’ll win this match, but knows this is his chance to make his mark in wrestling.
Darby shows off his speed advantage from the start. Cody uses his grounding skills and we get a reset after Cody leaves the ring. We get back to the action and Cody slaps Darby in the face and overpowers him by throwing Darby through the second ring rope that sends Darby out like a lawn dart. Cody decides to do pushups while Darby gets back into the ring.
Cody continues to show dominance after that quick start by Darby. Cody gets a Figure Four and Darby gets to the ropes and bites them a la biting the bullet while Cody holds on for a few extra counts. Darby is tossed around again like a lawn dart and tells the ref to just start the 10-count rather than risk getting hurt.
Darby makes it back to the ring and then drives Cody’s arm/wrist into the post. Cody is able to go for a pin but Darby kicks out and Cody is inspecting his left hand. The ref asks Cody if he’s okay and he says he can continue. Cody hits a lariat and continues to punish Darby while checking on his wrist.
Cody goes for a delayed vertical suplex but Darby grabs Cody’s wrist and powers out. He starts to go on the offensive, keying in on Cody’s injured wrist including stomps and headbutts to the wrist. Yes. Headbutts.
The two men go outside and Darby’s attempt to stomp on Cody’s hand on the ring steps misses. Cody gets back in the ring after dropping Darby on the steps. Cody then goes for broke and hits a tope suicida. We go back to the ring and hits a sunset bomb for a two-count. Yoshi-Tonic is the name of the move. We’re at the 15-minute mark.
Cody loads Darby up for a reverse release German Suplex off the top rope. Wow.
Darby gets to the top rope and tries to hit a diving elbow drop against Cody. Cody avoids it so Darby hits the outside corner of the ring, spine first. Cody puts Darby back in the ring and brings Darby up. Darby slaps Cody who is knocked into the bodybag. Cody zips the body bag up and then hits a Disaster Kick on Darby. He then unzips Darby and goes for the pin but Darby kicks out.
We’re told we have one minute left in the match. I guess there’s a 20-minute limit. Cody takes his weight lighting belt off and hits Darby with the belt twice. 20 seconds remain. Cody goes for Cross Rhodes but it’s countered. Cody hits Cross Roades finally but the time runs out while Cody is covering Darby.
No winner…Time Limit Draw
Match Rating: 3/5
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Shawn Spears cracks Cody with a steel chair. Photo: AEW.
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Cody asks for more time. While the ref is deciding what to do, Shawn Spears shoes up and levels Cody with a chair. Brandi asks Shawn what he’s doing and you can see the back of Cody’s head is cut up. MJF and SoCal Uncensored all come out to the ring to check on Cody. The crowd is dead silent. Cody is able to get to his knees before a towel is put over his head. Cody rolls out of the ring and MJF seems to honestly be concerned about him, helping him back. Dean Malinko shows up to help lead Cody back. Cody looks concussed and leans on Brandi as he goes back to the locker room.
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The aftermath of the Cody chair shot. Photo: AEW.
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We see the replays and that chair shot looked nasty. No hands up to protect. Just a straight shot to the side of Cody’s head that just dropped him.
The announcers talk to each other for a while and inform us the Main Event is next. The Moxley/Janella fight will be on the “lights out” part.
Event rating: 4/5
Preshow
Triple Threat Tag Team: Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) Vs. SoCal Uncensored (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen)
Private Party is one of those teams who could be the standard bearers of tag team wrestling in five years if they stay healthy. The NYC team learned from Amazing Red’s House of Glory wrestling school and show off their high-risk tandem offense.
Dealing with issues logging into B/R Live so I started at the end of this match and will update once the show ends.
Best Friends hit their Code Zero finisher to take the win and set them up for a tag team title match at All Out.
Winners by pinfall…Best Friends
We now get the creepy Mr. Popo eyes for a second and we go to the Jumbro Tron. It looks like Super Smash Brothers saying “Hail to the Dark Order”. The lights go off at the finger snap and when the lights go back on, the Dark Order minors surround the Best Friends.
Nothing happens and the lights go out again. When the lights go back up the Dark Order is now gone from ringside. So no confrontation.
Backstage the Bucks say the fans are being disappointed and break the fourth wall going on about their documentary. It’s a knockoff of Fyre Fest with everything the fans were promised at Fyre Fest. Omega shows up to continue the bit. Something about blowing half the budget which means no bikini models who were standing out at the entrance.
The problem is solved by removing half the live bikini models with the deparment store ones. Leva “Blue Pants” Bates shows up in her Librarian getup. The other Librarian, Peter Avalon, shows up hidden in one of the tents. He throws a fit and destroys the tent and one of the models. Leva and Peter stress the importance of reading more than just comics and manga while Avalon plays the hype man. Both shush each other back and forth.
This brings out our next match as Allie comes to the ring.
Preshow Match 2: Leva Bates vs. Allie Recks
A very methodical match. Not sure if it’s intended, but the crowd is dead silent. Leva continuously shushes the crowd. Finally when Allie starts to unload on Leva the crowd wakes up a bit.
Leva hits a Triple-H-esque Pedigree for a two-count. Avalon steps to the mat and gets Leva to his side. He tosses a book to Allie who catches it, tosses it back to Leva and then nails the Librarian with a BSE Superkick for the win.
Winner by pinfall…Allie
We continue backstage with Omega making fun of Fyre Fest. Something about Blink 182 no longer being there and able to perform.
Hardcore Match: Michael Nakazawa vs. Alex Jebailey
Curious to see how Nakazawa’s baby oil will come into play during a hardcore match. Alex Jebailey of CEO has been the tournament organizer for the promotion so it’ll be interesting to see if his extended video game knowledge of wrestling games will help him out.
Nakazawa throws CEO under the bus, talks about EVO being a better gaming event and general heel-ness. Nak gets corrected about Alex’s injured leg and Nak starts off with a kick on the leg.
Jebailey hits a hip toss and a scoop slam. The announcers mention this is confirmed the greatest timeline. Nak uses the baby oil to escape a hold but Jebailey kicks him in the butt afterwards.
Jebailey goes for a running move and slips on the oil. THe ref checks on him and slips as well. Nak oil up more and slips on Jebailey for a two-count.
The fight goes outside and MIchael is tossed into the barricade. Jebailey goes to the crowd and gets some weapons including a heavy gaming “fight stick”. Nak kicks out at two.
Nak goes towards the entrance and Jebailey starts drowning Nak in a kiddie pool. Chlorine water mist and a flamingo are used against Jebailey before Nak gets tossed into the kiddie pool.
The fight goes back to the ring. Nak gets a GameCube controller and starts strangling Jebailey. A table was set up outside and Nak spears Jabailey through the table to earn a “Holy Sh*t!” chant. Two count only for the effort.
Nak pulls out a kendo stick and then clocks Jabailey before attempting a Mr. Socko move using his jock strap rather than sock. He misses the move.
A nasty German suplex by Jabailey buys him some time to get more toys. We now get what appears to be CEO branded LEGOs. Nak loads up for a piledriver but is countered into the LEGOs.
Nak goes for the Mandable Claw move again, misses and hits the ref with it. Jebailey goes for a pin but the ref is suffering from the attack that he can’t count. Nak then uses the jockstrap to shift position and get the pinfall victory.
Winner by pinfall… Michael Nakazawa
The OU fight song comes on and Good Old JR makes his way to the announce table. It’s time for the main show.